Ballast
The EKS advises that any driver who weighs less than 90kg when fully kitted uses ballast to weigh up to the minimum weight of the class above their natural weight. This is to avoid a situation where drivers are racing in a class where they are heavier and hence at a competitive disadvantage to others racing in their class.
The tables below list the class that we would recommend each driver races in and the ballasting method that we would advise using to reach the minimum weight of each class.
Types of Ballast
Daytona Ballast
The Daytona Milton Keynes and Daytona Sandown Park Birel DMAX karts have weight posts next to the drivers seat, as pictured, where up to 16kg of Daytona-provided ballast can be fitted for free.
The Daytona Tamworth DMAX-GT karts have weight boxes built into their left sidepod where up to 22.5kg of Daytona ballast can be inserted for free.
Ballast cannot be fitted directly to or inserted into any of the 4-stroke karts which are used in the EKS.
Weighted Seat Inserts
Weighted seat inserts are permitted at every circuit which the EKS visits and they are the recommended ballasting method at 4-stroke events.
Seat Inserts
The EKS recommends purchasing a foam seat insert if you would like to create your own weighted seat insert. These foam seat inserts are strong, comfortable to sit in and flexible which allows them to fit securely into different shape seats.
Alternatively any form of owner driver kart seat which is smaller than XL in size can be used to create a weighted seat insert. These seats however are typically uncomfortable to sit in and inflexible meaning they usually do not fit securely into seats and move whilst driving.
Please be aware that all of the karts which the EKS use have either Tillett XL or Tillett XXL seats fitted to them.
Ballast Sheets
The EKS owns a collection of 2kg ballast sheets which can either be borrowed free of charge at any event or can be purchased permanently for £10 per sheet. If you would like to purchase sheets of ballast from the EKS please click here.
To create ballast sheets, the EKS recommends purchasing a role of lead from a local builders merchants and then slicing this lead into chunks. A role of lead typically costs between £4 to £5 per kilogram.
These ballast sheets are best fitted to seat inserts using either strong Velcro or screws. This allows ballast sheets to be removed and added when necessary. Tape can be used to fit ballast sheets to seat inserts however this method makes adding and removing sheets impractical.
Body-Worn Ballast
All forms of body-worn ballast are prohibited at Daytona circuits for safety reasons.
All forms of body-worn ballast, such as weight vests, ankle weights and wrist weights, are allowed at the 4-stroke circuits which the EKS visits, however weight vests and wrist weights are not advised due to the discomfort and bruising which they can cause whilst driving. Ankle weights can be used however ankle weights which weigh more than 2-3kg will make walking tiring.