Karting in the USSR: how the passion of American pilots became a massive DIY hobby in the Soviet Union
[Disclaimer] Before we begin the story about the history of karting, we will explain in a few words why she interested us with alinatestova . We make content for companies (mainly IT) and we like to take on complex topics: from IaaS hosting to bioceno-saving technologies.
It turned out that this summer we decided to get to a pair of track circuits - talked with coaches and pilots, asked about blogs and social profiles. networks. And, as it turned out, from the point of view of Russian-language content - in the field of amateur and prof. entry-level autosport is an uncultivated field compared to what comes out in English ¯ \ _ (ツ) _ / ¯.
We decided to correct this situation and - in the framework of the Friday format - to write on Habré how media management and content marketing make motor racing a little clearer and more interesting.
')
But for a start, let us tell you what it is about. So, the introductory word about karting.
The screenshot is not from the times of the USSR, but from a summer workout ( group on Facebook )
It is believed that the founders of karting - the American military pilots. Their experiments with riding trolleys on cargo carts quickly turned from self-indulgence into a DIY hobby.
In the early 1950s, Art Ingles (Art Ingels), a former pilot and mechanic of the manufacturer of racing cars Kurtis Kraft, built the first maps. He attached the motor from the lawn mower to the steel frame and put the semi-pneumatic tires. Ingles demonstrated a prototype in 1956 during a car race for hot rods in Pomona (California).
There he found the first associates — mechanics and car repair shop owners Duffy Livingston and Roy Desbrow. With the permission of Arta, they began to build their own versions of karts and conduct the first amateur races. By the end of the decade, growing demand allowed Livingston and Desbrow to commercialize production.
In the USSR, karting came in the late 50s - early 60s. It is believed that the first Soviet cards built athlete Vitaly Enin. The "base" for kart lovers was sections in the Palaces and houses of the pioneers - one of them opened in Kharkov with the support of Enin.
In Kursk - the pioneer of karting Lev Kononov built the first in the USSR children's sports microcar “Kart” and founded a circle for karting drivers. Together with his students, he was engaged in designing, and kart schemes were published in thematic publications.
The card was shown to the general public in 1960: cars drove onto the track during a break in the Moscow race in ice racing. In the same year, the USSR Autosport Federation presented the “Competition Rules, Classification and Technical Requirements for Karto-Type Microcars,” which were soon used in the first competitions.
In just one year, karting gained quite a wide popularity in the USSR - it was possible to assemble your prototype in a garage with like-minded people. In "Technique - Youth" from 1961, they already wrote about karting enthusiasts in Moscow, Leningrad, Tula, Odessa, Tallinn and Riga.
In 1962, the race on the cards began to turn from amateur hobby into a kind of motor sport. At that time, the first all-Union karting competition was held in Riga. It was possible to participate in the competition on maps of two classes: with an engine displacement up to 125 cm 3 and up to 175 cm 3 . The program included a ring race on the pavement and on the cycle track.
The competition was attended by 80 athletes from different regions of the USSR: from Moscow, Leningrad, the Baltic countries and Uzbekistan. A film about this event has reached our days - in it you can see how the first micro cars looked and in what conditions the race took place.
Since 1963, regular competitions began to take place in the USSR. The first summer contest took place in Moscow, and the winter one - in Leningrad. The championships were held on a biathlon system with races on the track and on the cycle track, but already on the third USSR championship the race on the cycle track was declared unsafe (due to heavy loads on the vestibular apparatus of the riders) and canceled. Kart classes remained the same - 125 cm 3 and up to 175 cm 3 .
In 1964, the Soviet racers for the first time left for international competitions between socialist countries. The championship was named the Crystal Cup and passed in three stages in Berlin, Budapest and Warsaw. At the same time, international competitions began to take place in Western countries - the first karting world championship took place in Rome.
Two years later, competitions between racers of the Warsaw Pact organizations began to take place regularly - in 1966 the World Cup and Friendship (or the Friendship Cup of the socialist countries) was established. The championship was held until 1989, and the Soviet kart drivers often occupied prizes in it - the first champion in 1967 was Alexander Safonov.
In 1978, kart drivers from the USSR began to participate in races with athletes from Western Europe. Already in the first championship there were obvious differences between the Soviet and European approaches to motor racing. In the USSR, the most important feature of karting was its availability to the masses, rather than the professional component. Soviet cards were equipped with engines that many motorists could afford. The mass production of karts was carried out in factories in Tallinn. It was also established in KamAZ and at the DOSAAF plants.
Kohls | Wikimedia | CC BY-SA
In the West, karting by this time became an “exclusive” sport and provided more opportunities for customizing karts. Largely because of these differences, Soviet pilots did not show impressive results at major international competitions. Therefore, throughout the 1980s, karting drivers from the USSR mainly competed with athletes from socialist countries, and international events were rarely held.
One of such events was the stage of the championship of the European organization of kart CIK-FIA, which was held in 1989 in Poltava. Later, in 1990, the USSR held another international event - a winter karting race with Finnish and Swedish athletes. After the competition, the Scandinavians proposed to create a new championship - the Nordic Cup, but the Soviet racers managed to participate in it only once, in 1991.
Of course, not only adults were involved in karting in the USSR. The first championship took place in 1963 in Kursk - the competition was held at Privokzalnaya Square.
Unlike adult athletes, the young kart drivers did not go to the international championships - the main tournament for them was the competition for the prize of the newspaper “Pioneer truth”. Soviet schoolchildren met with foreign riders on friendly races. For example, in 1989, young kartists from the USA and the USSR arrived in Zelenograd.
In total, at the time of the collapse of the USSR, 130 thousand people were engaged in karting sections. After 1991, the sport fell into disrepair, and the popularity of such circles has seriously decreased.
Karting in Russia adopted not the Soviet, but the western model of development - its main characteristic was competition at the professional level, and in the 90s the Russian Karting Committee obliged athletes to buy equipment that meets European requirements.
But the legacy of the Soviet karting has not disappeared. In 1999, production resumed the factory "Patriot", which issued cards from the mid-60s. In addition, there is a massive interest in karting. Only now DIY-mapping is a rarity, fans do not collect prototypes with their own hands, but mainly use the services of rolling karting.
By the way, last year we got out just a couple of workouts. This season you want to spend more actively and together with those who are somehow interested in amateur karting (and motor racing in general). No pathos and snobbery in the spirit of the "club for the elect." We select the date, the track circuit and go on rental maps. For anyone who is from the IT and IT-media field , and would like to join - a group on Facebook (or write in the LAN on Habré - I’ll let you know how we are going to the gym).
Microposts on the topic will be in the Telegram channel .
It turned out that this summer we decided to get to a pair of track circuits - talked with coaches and pilots, asked about blogs and social profiles. networks. And, as it turned out, from the point of view of Russian-language content - in the field of amateur and prof. entry-level autosport is an uncultivated field compared to what comes out in English ¯ \ _ (ツ) _ / ¯.
We decided to correct this situation and - in the framework of the Friday format - to write on Habré how media management and content marketing make motor racing a little clearer and more interesting.
')
But for a start, let us tell you what it is about. So, the introductory word about karting.
The screenshot is not from the times of the USSR, but from a summer workout ( group on Facebook )
Start in the west
It is believed that the founders of karting - the American military pilots. Their experiments with riding trolleys on cargo carts quickly turned from self-indulgence into a DIY hobby.
In the early 1950s, Art Ingles (Art Ingels), a former pilot and mechanic of the manufacturer of racing cars Kurtis Kraft, built the first maps. He attached the motor from the lawn mower to the steel frame and put the semi-pneumatic tires. Ingles demonstrated a prototype in 1956 during a car race for hot rods in Pomona (California).
There he found the first associates — mechanics and car repair shop owners Duffy Livingston and Roy Desbrow. With the permission of Arta, they began to build their own versions of karts and conduct the first amateur races. By the end of the decade, growing demand allowed Livingston and Desbrow to commercialize production.
The appearance of karting in the USSR
In the USSR, karting came in the late 50s - early 60s. It is believed that the first Soviet cards built athlete Vitaly Enin. The "base" for kart lovers was sections in the Palaces and houses of the pioneers - one of them opened in Kharkov with the support of Enin.
In Kursk - the pioneer of karting Lev Kononov built the first in the USSR children's sports microcar “Kart” and founded a circle for karting drivers. Together with his students, he was engaged in designing, and kart schemes were published in thematic publications.
The card was shown to the general public in 1960: cars drove onto the track during a break in the Moscow race in ice racing. In the same year, the USSR Autosport Federation presented the “Competition Rules, Classification and Technical Requirements for Karto-Type Microcars,” which were soon used in the first competitions.
In just one year, karting gained quite a wide popularity in the USSR - it was possible to assemble your prototype in a garage with like-minded people. In "Technique - Youth" from 1961, they already wrote about karting enthusiasts in Moscow, Leningrad, Tula, Odessa, Tallinn and Riga.
Karting as a sport
In 1962, the race on the cards began to turn from amateur hobby into a kind of motor sport. At that time, the first all-Union karting competition was held in Riga. It was possible to participate in the competition on maps of two classes: with an engine displacement up to 125 cm 3 and up to 175 cm 3 . The program included a ring race on the pavement and on the cycle track.
The competition was attended by 80 athletes from different regions of the USSR: from Moscow, Leningrad, the Baltic countries and Uzbekistan. A film about this event has reached our days - in it you can see how the first micro cars looked and in what conditions the race took place.
Since 1963, regular competitions began to take place in the USSR. The first summer contest took place in Moscow, and the winter one - in Leningrad. The championships were held on a biathlon system with races on the track and on the cycle track, but already on the third USSR championship the race on the cycle track was declared unsafe (due to heavy loads on the vestibular apparatus of the riders) and canceled. Kart classes remained the same - 125 cm 3 and up to 175 cm 3 .
In 1964, the Soviet racers for the first time left for international competitions between socialist countries. The championship was named the Crystal Cup and passed in three stages in Berlin, Budapest and Warsaw. At the same time, international competitions began to take place in Western countries - the first karting world championship took place in Rome.
Two years later, competitions between racers of the Warsaw Pact organizations began to take place regularly - in 1966 the World Cup and Friendship (or the Friendship Cup of the socialist countries) was established. The championship was held until 1989, and the Soviet kart drivers often occupied prizes in it - the first champion in 1967 was Alexander Safonov.
In 1978, kart drivers from the USSR began to participate in races with athletes from Western Europe. Already in the first championship there were obvious differences between the Soviet and European approaches to motor racing. In the USSR, the most important feature of karting was its availability to the masses, rather than the professional component. Soviet cards were equipped with engines that many motorists could afford. The mass production of karts was carried out in factories in Tallinn. It was also established in KamAZ and at the DOSAAF plants.
Kohls | Wikimedia | CC BY-SA
In the West, karting by this time became an “exclusive” sport and provided more opportunities for customizing karts. Largely because of these differences, Soviet pilots did not show impressive results at major international competitions. Therefore, throughout the 1980s, karting drivers from the USSR mainly competed with athletes from socialist countries, and international events were rarely held.
One of such events was the stage of the championship of the European organization of kart CIK-FIA, which was held in 1989 in Poltava. Later, in 1990, the USSR held another international event - a winter karting race with Finnish and Swedish athletes. After the competition, the Scandinavians proposed to create a new championship - the Nordic Cup, but the Soviet racers managed to participate in it only once, in 1991.
Youth competitions
Of course, not only adults were involved in karting in the USSR. The first championship took place in 1963 in Kursk - the competition was held at Privokzalnaya Square.
Unlike adult athletes, the young kart drivers did not go to the international championships - the main tournament for them was the competition for the prize of the newspaper “Pioneer truth”. Soviet schoolchildren met with foreign riders on friendly races. For example, in 1989, young kartists from the USA and the USSR arrived in Zelenograd.
In total, at the time of the collapse of the USSR, 130 thousand people were engaged in karting sections. After 1991, the sport fell into disrepair, and the popularity of such circles has seriously decreased.
What now
Karting in Russia adopted not the Soviet, but the western model of development - its main characteristic was competition at the professional level, and in the 90s the Russian Karting Committee obliged athletes to buy equipment that meets European requirements.
But the legacy of the Soviet karting has not disappeared. In 1999, production resumed the factory "Patriot", which issued cards from the mid-60s. In addition, there is a massive interest in karting. Only now DIY-mapping is a rarity, fans do not collect prototypes with their own hands, but mainly use the services of rolling karting.
By the way, last year we got out just a couple of workouts. This season you want to spend more actively and together with those who are somehow interested in amateur karting (and motor racing in general). No pathos and snobbery in the spirit of the "club for the elect." We select the date, the track circuit and go on rental maps. For anyone who is from the IT and IT-media field , and would like to join - a group on Facebook (or write in the LAN on Habré - I’ll let you know how we are going to the gym).
Microposts on the topic will be in the Telegram channel .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/444020/
All Articles