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Birel.CrG.Tony KarT.leT The war BeGin.Photos: Mark Weber

SHIFTER MADNESSSHIFTER MADNESSSHIFTER MADNESS

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Birel CrX 32-SeIf you’ve been paying attention to shifter kart racing in the past five years, you’ll know that Wes Boswell scored some of his most memorable wins aboard a Birel chassis, including the 2003 SuperNationals and a slew of Stars of Karting victories in subsequent years. To this day, Boswell is still good chums with the Italian crew at the Birel factory, where they still consider him as one of their own.

So it caught us by surprise when Wes made his initial comments about the CRX 32-SE.

“In the first session, I felt pretty uncomfortable in this kart,” commented Boswell upon climbing out of the Birel. “ As always, the steering wheel is like a bus, it’s so flat. They had the optional Tillet seat which has the flat bottom, which I’m not a fan of in any kart. But those ergonomic issues aside, when I first got into it, it felt unfamiliar, which is a bit strange given how long I raced on Birels. Granted, it’s been 20 months since I last raced one. During my first

session, I went out and it had the new ’08 braking system, and try as I did, I couldn’t get them dialed in and they weren’t really to my liking.”

Things would not stay that way for long though, as Tim Lobaugh, Wes Phillips, and Mike Speed (whose son Alex was running a Birel at the time of this test) got things straightened out in a hurry.

“After that first session, the chassis felt a bit loose and the gearing was a bit off, so I came into the pits and talked to Tim and Mike,” elaborated Wes. “They got the gear changed and that helped tremendously, though we were still fighting to get the brakes adjusted. We finally settled upon dialing out some front brake and giving it more rear bias, as we wanted to desensitize the front. We got that figured out, Mike and Tim had the chassis sorted, and things got better in a hurry.

“So by the third session, the Birel was extremely fast as the stopwatch clearly indicated. I give those guys credit for getting this chassis dialed in

so quickly. This kart went through the esses at Moroso really well, which is so important at this track. I continued to struggle to find a comfort level with the brakes; you had to be ever so light with your brake foot, if you got on them too hard it would lock up immediately. Going into some corners, I would just brush the pedal and that was enough to slow it down.

With the chassis dialed in, the MRP crew fitted fresh skins to the CRX 32-SE and Boswell went out to do some flyers.

“Just before we went out on new tires, Mike Speed made an adjustment to take a little bit of grip out of the rear, and while I was questioning that at the time, it was absolutely the right call to make. The Birel felt awesome on the fresh rubber. We got robbed of some laps on this kart when the motor seized a ring, and I suspect that there was some speed to be had if we’d had a little more time aboard the Birel. In my opinion, that makes its time compared to the others all the more impressive.”

Let’s cut to the chase: this is the main event we’ve all been waiting for since our first chassis

shootout test was held at Iron Rock Raceway in Austin, TX back in 2006 . That year, heavyweights Birel and Tony Kart squared off to decide 125 shifter supremacy, but alas, CRG chose not to participate. Last year at Homestead, both Tony Kart and CRG were on the docket, but no Birel.

This year, with the tremendous cooperation of importers MRP Motorsport, Tony Kart Florida, and SSC East, we got what you, the readers, have been screaming for since Day 1: the big cage mage between the three most heralded manufacturers in the sport.

To make the stakes all the more juicy, it was Birel who claimed the title back in 2006, and Tony Kart who snatched it in 2007. Now, with the hungry eyes of consumers lurking in the shadows, checkbooks clutched in their grimy little paws, this trio of giants square off in a battle to claim the title of finest shifter kart chassis on the planet.

Just like our TAG chassis test found elsewhere in this issue, Moroso Motorsports Park in Jupiter, FL was the site for our 2008 shootout. Once again, ace pilot (and now, ace tuner) Wes Boswell would slip behind the wheel to wring the necks of our contestants. Each importer provided tuning support to get their respective products dialed in juuuust so; pretty good company

when the guys turning the wrenches included Tim Lobaugh and Wes Phillips from MRP Motorsport, David Dodson and Danilo Dirani from Tony Kart Florida, and Gary Carlton from SSC East.

Each chassis received up to three sessions on used tires to get adjusted to the satisfaction of driver and importer rep alike; then, fresh Bridgestone YJBs were fitted up for a final session of flying laps. Big props to Kevin Hunley of Bridgestone USA and Mike Tetreault of Grand Product for supplying and shipping the rubber.

To the track we go.

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CrG road reBel 125In last year’s KartSport chassis shootout, the CRG finished a close second to the Tony Kart, so Wes was eager to find out if the Road Rebel was an upgrade over the ’07 version. From the look on his face after the first session, he seemed to think rather highly of the CRG.

“This is an significant improvement over last year,” he began, chatting with Gary Carlton, who’s become synonymous with CRG shifter success in the past 24 months. “The seat position, the steering wheel, both of those felt really comfortable, the brakes were nice and even, I didn’t even have to touch the bias. I also like the beefy shifty lever and thicker steering wheel because I have big hands.

“Though, the kart was a little loose in the back during the first session, so they went back and changed the axle

to one step softer. Gary came up and gave me some good direction on how to change my driving style to adapt to the different axle, and once I hit the track, the change was immediately evident. They made no changes for the third session, I just got the opportunity to do some more laps and become more and more accustomed to the chassis.“

Carlton and Boswell pronounced themselves satisfied with the Road Rebel’s setup, and with that they mounted up some Bridgestone sticker tires and sent Wes back onto the track.

“The surprise we got dealt was that the CRG was quite a bit slower on its new tires, and in hindsight, the kind of change we made to the Birel to free it up for the fresh rubber probably would have served the CRG well,” commented Boswell during his debrief. “I think this is especially true given the Maxter engine, which is renowned

for not having a lot of bottom end. An overhooked kart mated to a motor with little bottom end is going to kill the momentum coming out of the corners.

“I felt that the CRG hadn’t received my best effort, so I did make one more session on it to see if there was any more time to be had. There was: we picked up a couple of tenths as the tires began to wear a little bit.

“On the whole, this chassis was a lot of fun to drive. The steering is very precise, it requires very little input on turn-in, and then you just drive with the gas on the exit. It’s exactly what I teach to some of the kids; do all your turning at the beginning of the corner and then accelerate out of it. That’s the way this kart begs to be driven. It squares off the corner and rotates extremely well, the balance is excellent, though you do have to be a little patient with the throttle, you don’t want to get onto it too early.”

“iT’S a CaGe maTCh BeTween The Three moST heralded manufaCTurerS in The SporT.”

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The playerS It takes a heap of people to put together the KartSport Chassis Shootout. Along with drivers Wes Boswell and Michael Rossi, who logged over 100 laps each, special thanks go out to all these people who helped make it happen this year: MRP Motorsport’s Garry Lobaugh, Tim Lobaugh, Wes Phillips; BTK Motorsports and Shayne Shipley and William Peetz, Rodney Berryhill from Champion Racing, Dave Davies from SSC East, Gary Carlton, Andre Martins, David Dodson, Danilo Dirani, First Kart USA’s Tony Ventresca, Terry Ventresca, Mike Maurini, Aaron Weiss from Moroso Motorsports Park, Kevin Hunley from Bridgestone USA, and Mike Tetreault from Grand Products. A final big shout out to Don Moormeister and Nichole Wimsett.

Tony KarT raCer eVXXIt was one year ago that Boswell chose the Tony Kart as the best shifter kart in the land, and when the opportunity arose to race one at three events in 2007, Wes jumped aboard a Racer EVX and made his only appearances of the year. His results were a win at the KartSport Grand Prix, a second place at the Rock Island Grand Prix, and a top ten finish at the SKUSA SuperNationals. And at the hands of KF1 World Champion Marco Ardigò, the EVX outright won the SuperNats.

With expectations high, Boswell climbed aboard the new EVXX and went out for his first sessions.

“Even though this is a chassis test, the first thing I noticed was the Vortex engine. The Maxter and the TM have a point where they just flatline, but the Vortex has a nice overrev that’s real good to have at times. While the

other motors would require you to grab another shift, the Vortex just keeps on revving and means you may not need to shift another gear.

“From the outset, the Tony Kart had a pretty bad hop in the long sweeping corners. I came in and talked to David Dodson, so they want back and added a seat strut to each side to try and stiffen up the rear to make it hold, and they also put in a softer front bar. I went back out and while it was better, the hop was still there.

“I came back in and we talked about it some more, and I mentioned that it felt like the kart had too much caster, like the front end was jacking too much. One of the changes that Tony Kart made for the EVXX was to add more caster, so it was a bit odd that we were now dialing that out. Once they took half caster out of the front for the final session, that did the trick and

the rear end calmed down. After that, the chassis rolled through the corners nicely, and overall the kart was much better to drive.

“With that, we put the new tires on and while the Tony was still hopping just a little bit, I could at least drive around it now. And as the times indicated, the Tony Kart was every bit as fast as the CRG and the Birel. It gave nothing away on the stopwatch, and I think there was even a little bit of time left in this chassis. Ergonomically, this kart still has the maligned flat seat, but some padding on the bottom helps with that. Overall though, it’s a great product, and I rate highly both the steering and shifting feel. It’s definitely been interesting to compare the Tony and how it felt at Homestead last year, versus how it feels at Moroso this year. Both the track layout and track surface are significantly different between the two facilities.”

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iT’S Good To Be The KinG

Upon reviewing his notes, the first thing that Boswell mentioned was how incredibly closely matched the three chassis were.

“It’s a bit amazing when you think about it. All these chassis ended up being within two tenths of each other, and that’s on a track that produces a 57 second lap. That’s really good in my mind.

“I was very impressed by how far the Birel came considering how it felt at the start. The Tony, I was a little disappointed with how it started out, I expected it to be better. It certainly improved as we dialed it in though. The CRG impressed me the most with how it was out of the box. And each chassis

had its strong points here at Moroso; the Birel was awesome through the esses, the CRG was tops through Turns 1 and 2, and the Tony Kart just ripped through the hairpins. It makes choosing a winner a pretty difficult decision.

“But in order for a chassis to win this test, it’s got to be on its game and instill complete confidence. I rate the Birel and the Tony Kart as equals, but the CRG Road Rebel is just a cut above them both. Once you figure out what the CRG wants from you, it’s gonna be fast, and this kart is much more forgiving than the one I drove a year ago. It still demands finesse, but in just about every significant category, from braking to steering to balance, the Road Rebel outperforms the other two. And it’s my pick as the winner of the 2008 KartSport 125 Chassis Shootout.” KS

“By The final SeSSionS, all Three ChaSSiS were wiThin Two TenThS of eaCh oTher on a TraCK ThaT’S 57 SeCondS lonG.”