Australian Karting Forum
Cash for Comment - it's morally corrupt!
Kart Magazine’s “Total Cost of Ownership” - A clear case of “Cash for comment” from a source you CANNOT TRUST.
This article is going to be looooong. Here’s the short version if you’re in a hurry – Kart Magazine are running a “Cash for Comment” campaign so brazen even John Laws would blush. You cannot trust anything you read in that magazine, and I encourage you to avoid it. Got ten minutes to spare? Read on… (and I apologise in advance for getting more and more cynical as the article progresses, I just can’t believe what I’m seeing!)
I am a big fan of unbiased reporting in the media. It’s not easy to find, necessarily, but it DOES exist. Following the Senior National Heavy final at the Nationals, I interviewed the guy that crossed the line first (Marshall Watson) as the winner on KartBook TV, even though I truly believed that Hayden Stephensen was the true winner of the race. Hayden was driving a kart that I crewed on, that was built by the company I own (Phoenix), and even in the view of the stewards at the meeting was the first legal finisher. Still I interviewed Marshall as the winner. I think that took a commitment to unbiased journalism which affords me the credibility to “call out” when someone else is not adhering to those standards.
I’d like to draw your attention to the “Total Cost of Ownership” articles that have appeared recently in Kart Magazine. After the publication of the first installment, I wrote a blog article suggesting people be somewhat “wary” of the information presented (a blog which had not yet been published to KartBook). Now that they have followed up with a second article, and an email campaign, all in a concerted effort to destroy the business of a man I consider a close friend, I have elected to write a new blog, and one which does not bother to sugar-coat things.
Dear readers of Kart Magazine – the management of that publication is seeking to manipulate you, your thoughts, and your ideas about karting, in order to create financial gain for themselves. Many of you have probably realised this already, based on the breathless superlatives used every time Rotax engines and Mojo tyres are mentioned, and the venomous prose whenever referring to Leopard or MG Tyres. Not to mention their internet forum that is deleting posts so often and so quickly you’d be hard pressed to even THINK about typing something before it’s deleted!
So firstly, let me explain why I have a long-held and deep-seated loathing of the management team at Kart Magazine. The first time a Phoenix kart was ever featured on the cover of Kart Magazine was when Hayden Stephensen won the Leopard Final in 2007. Here’s a picture of the kart crossing the line, taken by Ash Budd, I think (and note the Phoenix logo writ large on the nosecone):
And here’s the kart as it appeared on the cover of Kart Magazine.
Obviously the management at Kart Magazine thought it imperative that you be ignorant of the fact that a Phoenix kart might have WON something, so they carefully airbrushed our logo off the kart! Does THAT seem right to you!? I can assure you, it didn’t seem right to me
At around this time Kart Magazine were happily promoting the Leopard class, as Remo Racing (the Leopard and MG tyre importer) was spending money advertising in the magazine. It’s also worth mentioning that I personally SAW the editor and his son racing a Leopard kart on MG yellow tyres quite happily at the 2007 WA State Titles. Leopard and Rotax racing were promoted equally in the Magazine at the time (though Kart Magazine was doing everything possible behind the scenes to squash Phoenix, because we didn’t spend any money with them, and KartSportNews.com, who was SELFISH enough to think he could report on karting news without their permission!).
Everything changed for Leopard and MG tyres (and any other product carried by Remo Racing), when the new "Kart Racing Magazine" was launched, and Remo was bold enough to advertise in it. This “disloyalty” was considered appalling by the kings of karting at Kart Magazine who feel it their god-given right to be the ONLY source of news in Australian karting, and Remo was banished from their inner circle – you may notice the lack of Remo Racing advertising in the magazine these days?
All of a sudden, every mention of Leopard engines is incredibly negative. Every mention of MG tyres is incredibly negative. Conversely, it seems Rotax engines are going to bring about world peace (when combined with those DELIGHTFUL Mojo tyres of course), the way they’re crapping on about them!!
I’ll just draw your attention to a couple of the stand-out comments they make, because if I tried to show them all it’d be midnight before you’re finished reading! Here’s a selection:
Most drivers think that do they? That’s funny, because back in the day, when Kart Magazine was in the LOOONG and deep shadow of the far superior (and now sadly defunct) KartOz, we had the Vega tyre, which was NOT a grippy tyre, and was widely regarded as absolutely terrible (for many reasons – not just grip level). Almost every club allowed people to use the GRIPPIER (and generally superior) Maxxis HG3 in a “Sportsman” class. Have the management of Kart Magazine forgotten that a nearly DEAD class (Clubman) has been resurrected to premier status BECAUSE of the MG Red!!? Ask anyone who has been karting for more than 6 years what a clubman field looked like back then!
I see! So Clubman is the most popular class DESPITE the class tyre, and Rotax has picked up BECAUSE of the class tyre. No bias there! It keeps coming though, look at the next massive double standard.
What this is really saying is – at the moment Rotax clutches blow up frequently, but for the small price of $525 bucks you can solve it, so don’t worry! But now when discussing Leopard or other competitors:
And what this could be saying, but isn’t, is that people have been revving Leopards to massive numbers, causing the engines to require regular rebuilding. The rules have now been changed and the revs will be limited to 15,800, greatly increasing engine life, but we won’t mention that! Wait though, this next one is my favourite:
Let me translate that for you… “We’ve never even seen a Cheetah engine, and nor have any of our ‘expert engine builders’ (who are they exactly?), and we have NO idea how it will perform in regular use, but we’re happy to make BOLD assumptions about it to make the Rotax look good!!”
Next, here’s what’s required to look after a Leopard carby:
And for a rotax?:
Wow, that’s cheap! Oh wait, what about the 7 different jets I have to buy? (Or the power valve bellows that blow to bits if I choose the wrong jet?).
Actually, I take it back, this next one is my favourite. It’s discussing the tyre used by TaG Restricted (with a Rotax):
Let’s get this straight… On a clubman, at 140kg or 160kg (light or heavy), with 16-17 horsepower, an MG Red lasts TWO meetings. But strap a magical 18-19hp Rotax on for TaG Restricted (at 160kg or 180kg) and suddenly the tyre lasts a whole extra meeting!! Hallelujah! World peace coming up!
So, do you want to see the results of their “investigation”?
SURPRISE!!
Their next effort, an article on tyres, is even more diabolical, and probably illegal. I’ll let the courts decide that, but for now I’m happy to highlight their “Cash for Comment”! If I haven’t already convinced you that the management of Kart Magazine is ludicrously biased and morally corrupt, let’s have a look at the opening headline of their article on tyres:
Or how about this for subtlety (regarding MG Yellows):
Clearly anti- Remo Racing there, followed closely by this, about MG Reds:
Okay, so we’ve established that MG Yellows cost WAAAY too much (@ $255 per set) as do MG Reds, which now only last “one or two” race meetings (@ $235 a set). So how about world peace on Mojo’s? Let’s see…
Who would have thought!? Despite costing MORE than the tyres from “greedy” Remo Racing (by 15% in the case of MG Reds), Mojos receive “high praise”! I AM shocked!!
Last month, MG Reds were good for “two or three” meetings, which this month has sadly dropped to just the “one or two” while Mojo’s are simply getting better with age, jumping from “three” last month to “three or four” now! At this rate, by the end of the year one set of Mojo’s will last you for the YEAR! Great news!!
So, if you’re now wondering why the sudden barrage from Kart Magazine, why despite 6 years of great Clubman racing all of a sudden the MG Red is a piece of shit, I think I might have the answer for you:
That’s right. Kart Magazine is going to do all it can to sway the votes of the NKC to direct money TOWARDS the people advertising in its magazine, and AWAY from those that don’t. They speak so often of how the cost of racing effects YOU, how the KARTER is bearing these “unfair” costs, but suddenly the truth becomes clear, doesn’t it? Kart Magazine don’t give a toss about you! So long as the money in your pocket makes it’s way into the pockets of the management of Kart Magazine – whether by fair means or foul, they’re happy.
It’s not right. They should feel dirty down to their souls for writing these articles. I implore all of you to stop buying Kart Magazine, to desert the NKN forum, and to source your news from reputable, unbiased sources who have a true KNOWLEDGE of karting… and may I suggest www.kartsportnews.com, run by former world champion (in Rotax Masters, ironically!) Mark Wicks, as the best place to start.
Yours Sincerely,
Col Fink
- Kart enthusiast.
- Owner of KartBook, and Phoenix Race Karts.
- Friend of Remo Luciani.
- Disgusted by what I've read, and determined to make a difference.
Want to join me? Add your comments below. Just to confirm, the topic of this article is not "Rotax vs Leopard". The topic of this article is, that the "cash for comment" behaviour CLEARLY displayed by Kart Magazine is unethical, immoral, and illegal unless I'm very much mistaken. Please keep discussion below to that topic. If you want to argue about which is better out of Rotax and Leopard... well, at the moment I don't really care! :-)
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Comment by Ernie Meznar (Willow Vale - Mez) on June 6, 2009 at 18:41 -
:) a length of chassis rail each at 3 paces - wouldnt be long before he wouldnt need a bender!
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Comment by Steve Lee on May 22, 2009 at 21:14 -
Phoenix karts don't utilise common tube bending practises and machinery to create that race winning edge...Col just uses the force :-)
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Comment by Col Fink (old account) on May 20, 2009 at 16:50 -
Wow, Mal you are seriously a wierd dude! I look forward to each of your posts to see what crazy theory you'll come up with next!
"here you are stealing posts on NKN forum..ie:clutch bailout." - If by "stealing" you mean "allowing people to post on here what is being deleted on the other forum", then yes Mal, I'm guilty as charged!
"pheonix and Hypermax cheats" - "Cheating" at Superkarts you say? The HyperMAX chassis that Phoenix produces has a wheelbase of 1058mm, under the 1060mm limit set in the rules... which would make the kart legal, also known as "not cheating". Incidentally, it also means it's a grand total of 8mm longer than MANY standard 32mm chassis's from CRG, Tony et al... rather unlikely to be the cause of the collapse of a class!
All that said, while I suspect there are many other reasons why the NGB class is struggling, frankly none of it has ANYTHING to do with me because all Phoenix has ever done is produce the chassis to Hyper's specification. I've never actually BEEN to a superkart race, ever, in my entire life. But I'm ruining the class - apparently using some kind of Jedi force.
"it's made out of 6-7 off cuts" - Yes, originally each piece of steel was "cut off" the full lengths from the french tube manufacturer, so I guess you could call them "off cuts". I don't have a saw, either by the way. I cut them off using the force too.
"but hey, you will never read about that here or on kartsport will you?" - Ummmm... well you might! You are, right now actually... I warn you though, I have CIA operatives trained in the Jedi arts who are monitoring your every move, so think VERY carefully, or at least fashion yourself one of those "anti-mind-reading" helmets out of aluminium foil, just to be on the safe side.
Yours sincerely,
Buzz Aldrin.
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Comment by Luke Fong on May 20, 2009 at 16:41 -
Mal - the clutch bailout stories/thread were never started by Colin.
Can we have your evidence of this chassis then, and also have the evidence of the stolen posts?.
We need to see evidence Mal, taking cheap shots is making you look not so great the moment mate.
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Comment by Mal Crosher on May 20, 2009 at 16:09 -
col,
man your so full of it...kartsportnews and cache of stolen articles...here you are stealing posts on NKN forum..ie:clutch bailout.
I got a kid who has stripped back one of your chassis to be re powder coated and it's made out of 6-7 off cuts welded together.
you make extended wheel base chassis for Hypermax for a class that was intended for "normal sprint" karts to race long circuit. Basically, the reason there is no !@%NGb superkart Nats this year is because no one wantsto compete against you (pheonix and Hypermax cheats.
but hey, you will never read about that here or on kartsport will you?
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Comment by Jason Hamilton on May 19, 2009 at 19:13 -
Boycott
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Comment by Andrew Daley on May 18, 2009 at 18:22 -
"There could be more than one reason an image is edited, photo shopped etc, yes legally they are obliged to add "Digititaly enhanced image" somewhere on the page, but given the whole image is lifted (their is no back ground, track, or any indication of where and when the image was taken) there is no point."
Mal, legally they require the permission of the photograph copyright holder to alter an image. They can't just write that.
The image from the front cover of the mag that I took that was edited (Feb 2009), i can tell you it was taken at Oakleigh on the 18-10-2008 at 10:50am. It was the corner after Tony Kart (sorry can't remember the corner name, i just remember it as Pit Exit from before they extended the track). If you want the complete Metadata of the file i can give to you.
To be completely honest, no disrespect to the driver at all, but i don't give a crap if he objected to the photo being edited or not, the fact remains that I took the photo, and i don't like MY work being altered without my prior knowledge. However they run their magazine, it doesn't bother me one bit. He has been supportive of me in the past, and i have helped him out with photos. This photo in question, he had actually requested, it wasn't stolen from me (just wanted to clear that up too if there were doubts). This has upset me a bit, and i will be thinking twice and asking questions before submitting anymore.
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Comment by Col Fink (old account) on May 18, 2009 at 10:52
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"Did Kartsportnews.com actually fact check with KM mag"
Yes Mal, because all the evidence to support my accusations is provided in black and white WITH my accusations, unlike anything you've managed to come up with. The fact that KartSportNews ALSO has a HUUUUGE dossier of items that have been stolen from their site and printed by the magazine without permission probably meant that yes, he was pretty happy to link to this story. I keep asking you to stop making unfounded accusations of people, and you keep managing to ignore me!
As for the driver of the kart, he was the one that rang me, face bright red and swear words flowing freely, to let me know that the logo had been removed from his kart on the cover. I can assure you, he did indeed object to being printed on the cover in such a manner. He's on KartBook, Hayden Stephensen. Ask him yourself. Oh, and stop making unfounded claims in the meantime. (I'm like a broken record!!... or perhaps that's you?)
The fact is Mal, the people running Kart Magazine are dodgy pricks, and everybody knows it. So my blog was a success and I'm happy.
I agree with you that the sport needs a good quality print magazine, but that's not a good reason to keep a crap quality print magazine hell-bent on spreading mis-information to new karters.
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Comment by Mal Crosher on May 16, 2009 at 16:12
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Did Kartsportnews.com actually fact check with KM mag on "C$4C" before posting or do they just print any piece of crap that enters their inbox? Reputable my ass.
I don't think some of you guys realise how important a monthly national publication is to a sport. Without it, the sport isn't even a blimp onthe general public's radar.
Where would skateboarding be without "Thrasher" or the motorcycle industry without "MCN"?
Sure the news may be old in comparison to internet, but they do have to deal with printers etc, usually over seas and not english speaking but 9 times out of 10 they also fact check before anything goes to print..
There could be more than one reason an image is edited, photo shopped etc, yes legally they are obliged to add "Digititaly enhanced image" somewhere on the page, but given the whole image is lifted (their is no back ground, track, or any indication of where and when the image was taken) there is no point.
The driver driving was the driver in the same brand of kart he was driving at the time, it is cleary obvious what brand it was, the result and reason he was on the cover was self explantory and wether it was even a "file or stock" image is secondary.
Would the driver object to being on the cover of a national publication for his efforts if the image was altered?
No way...
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Comment by Simon Thomas on May 13, 2009 at 18:19 -
they now pulling my posts...
Someone asked about online kart shops, i told them that www.karts.com.au was good, have had good dealings with them. Post dissapeared. Post stating my post has been removed was removed. Started a new thread asking the moderator why, thread deleted.. WTF is going on there?
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