A few years ago, when we talked about Winter Cup, there was no ambiguity, everyone in karting thought of the inevitable opening event of the international season held on the South Garda Karting circuit. But for some time, the Lonato name has been added, even in the official communication, to avoid confusion. There is another Winter Cup that is more and more popular in Europe, in Spain at Campillos exclusively for Rotax Max engines.
The Spanish meeting organised by RGMMC, which attracted around 90 competitors on its debut in 2011, exceeded 130 drivers this year. After the recent record of 273 participants in 2012, the flagship event at Lonato, which is also open to KZ2, has seen the entry decrease each year, although it still attracts more than 200 entries. It is not uncommon for some drivers and some teams to race at both of the two events held only a week apart.
A sign of the times, Rotax Max racing is increasingly competing with the international CIK-FIA categories, and cost differences are not the only reason. It is well known that the standard of top teams in Rotax are hardly different from those of the best teams in KF or KF-Junior, both in terms of quality and price. But the fact remains that private teams and non-millionaire amateur drivers are more numerous in Rotax and the reputation as a more affordable category persists. You can still race with the same equipment, at least in the definition, in both regional, national and international Rotax, which has not been the case for a long time in the KF and KF-Junior classes.
The Pyramid of karting seems increasingly fragile on its base, even though the foundations in leisure karting are still very wide. Good or bad, there are now several ways to reach the top, or rather peaks that are a little less high than in the past.
Info Kartcom / © Photo KSP