Here's some video from the Oct 2024 JRP Speedway REDA Pump Cyclekart Event in Tulsa OK. Big shout out to Alf, Sam, Doug, Randy, Rick, Fred (not Frank, haha) and many others that made this event well worth attending!
JRP Speedway is a gokart racing facility that caught the Cyclekart bug. They open their track and happily welcome regular-guy-Cyclekarter's like myself to enjoy this very fun race! If you're in the area and interested in Cyclekarts (or want to rent a gokart and get out on the track) give them a call 918-446-7000 or check them out on Facebook share/1LdX6gDTV6/
I captured what I could on video while participating in their 2 days of Cyclekart goodness. Like any live-action activity; seeing something beats actually doing a thing, so I promise it's more fun driving than watching!
Friday is load-in with open track time to sort stuff out, which I desperately needed after the Pillsbury Vineyard 24hr race killed my motor [ua-cam.com/video/YAJ6rADPGz8/v-deo.htmlsi=l7ImB0GKYvozexmV]. With only two weeks between events, I managed to disassemble/clean/reassemble my AZ-silt clogged engine and throw on a new carb, but I still couldn't get it running right. I left NM Thur night after work, stopped in Amarillo, then made it to Tulsa on Friday around 2. That left me enough time to get the Austin7 Post Office Special down and have Randy from Abilene do magic to the carburetor and actually get it running OK. I wasn't super confident in the "mud motor", so on the trip out to OK I hit a HF and picked up a brandy new Ghost 212cc,... just in case.
After Friday load-in and a few shake out laps completed, CK's were pulled inside JRP's big shop. I went and hit Bricktown Brewery downtown Tulsa with Randy for lots of cold beer, good food, and great laughs!
Saturday events:
The Shootout- Driver takes a paintball gun and drives (at racing speed) out of the pit and onto the backstretch where a table serves as a big target. Wearing a helmet and wheeling a Ck with a target coming at you so fast it seemed like a miracle shot. You can see in the awards part that we're all amazed to know we even hit the dang thing!
The Slalom- This was FANTASTIC. Cones are arranged around the course requiring significant steering, throttle, and braking to get around. I put my 2nd run in this video because it was my fastest, I was trying to figure the track out on my first run. Want to know if you built a well handling and nimble Cyclekart? Run the JRP Slalom!
The Drag Race- This is the event made for those who take the advice from cyclekarts.com/CycleKartSpecs.html that says "There is no lower weight limit, as we feel that this is a perfect place to "cheat". Lighter cars will perform better..." . Alf runs the starting line; that flag comes quick and it's a short run, so if you hesitate there isn't much track to run anyone down!
Saturday evening winds down with a big photo of all the Cyclekarts (22 this year!), then cold drinks and friendly socializing around a dinner put on by Alf and the JRP crew. One of the things I love about the Cyclekart community is we're building and wheeling motorized vehicles with limited skills on a shoestring budget, trying to somehow connect with the motoring world of a hundred years ago, all while enjoying the moment AND not taking ourselves too seriously. There's even more to it than that, but in the end I've found I enjoy hanging out with Cyclekart folks as much as I enjoy building and driving Cyclekarts.
Sunday Sunday Sunday
The "Endurance Race"- Sunday's treat is 3 separate 1-hour races broken up with 30 min breaks for refueling, repairs, and driver changes. Last year I broke stuff and wasn't able to go the distance [watch that video here: ua-cam.com/video/FllblMgwLKc/v-deo.html] . This year my goal was just to survive all three hours, which requires a strategy of taking it easy (easier said than done!).
I sorted through my helmet cam and Randy's front-end mounted GoPro video's for some highlights to share here. Apologies for not capturing everything, but again, I hope it's fun to watch!
I fully expected to have to swap motors at some point, but amazingly, the "Mud Motor" actually ran pretty good! You'll see in the video I did have a front wheel give up it's bearings, which I started to replace before noticing the hub was all wallowed out, causing me to go to a warped "spare".
Again BIG Thank-You to Alf and the whole JRP team, they are incredibly selfless folks who bend over backwards to make sure everyone has stays safe and has a fun time.
This event was 2 weeks after the 2024 Pillsbury Vineyard 24hr Cyclekart race in Willcox AZ, and two weeks before the Inaugural Texas Cyclekart OctoberFESTival of Speed at Harris Hill Race way, San Marcos TX.