Ishlah Muhammad Rahman (two from right), driver of ITS Mechanical Engineering Karting Club, on the podium of the National Gokart Eshark Rok Cup 2020

ITS Campus, ITS News – Good news came from students of Mechanical Engineering Department ITS which is incorporated in ITS Karting Club (MKC) Machine, won the National Gokart Eshark Rok Cup 2020 Round 3 and 4. Through this prestigious event, MKC as a representative from East Java achieved two achievements at once in two categories in the event held at Sentul International Karting Circuit, Bogor.

The Gokart National Championship, held for two days on Saturday and Sunday, (5-6/10) is a racing event organized by Fast Track Speedzone. In this competition, there are several categories based on age and type of machine, ranging from cadet class to senior. “The category we follow is shifter university class and Shifter 150 because it is still in one regulation and the specifications are the same, but for the calculation of podium points are different,” explained Aprilia Ayu Wandari, MKC’s Non Technical Division.

It took about two weeks for MKC to prepare for the race. Although only for a short time, they successfully took home two trophies at once. Driven by Ishlah Muhammad Rahman, this ITS team was ranked 5th in shifter class 150 and 2nd in Shifter University class in Round 3. As for Round 4, it ranks 5th in shifter class 150 and 3rd in Shifter University class.

Ishlah Muhammad Rahman while on the racetrack representing ITS Karting Club Machine

According to Aprilia, there are several preparations made to get the most out of it. “We first evaluated the previous round, then made changes and developments in the part that felt less maximal, especially on the engine part,” she said. Aprilia also added that in this race they used the Kosmic Mercury MY15 frame, with the Ninja R 150 KIS engine ported on several parts to improve the engine’s performance and adapt to the rider’s character.

Not only gokart, the driver also has to do some preparation before jumping onto the track. Aprilia says, as a driver not only is physically prepared, but mental preparation must also be done. “The most important thing is to maintain a diet and consume multivitamins to keep the body in shape for two days during the race,” she said.

ITS Karting Club Engine Team when checking the engine before the race starts

This competition consists of five sessions, namely warm-up session, Qualifying Time Trial, heat, pre-final, and the last is final. Aprilia said they had experienced some obstacles in the lead-up to the final. “In Round 3 our brake locking bolt shattered, but we did our best to prevent the gokart from losing brake function by drilling and creating a new thread that matched the bolt,” Aprilia explained.

Furthermore, Aprilia said that by the time Round 4 approaches the final, they are again in trouble. Engine performance suddenly drops dramatically in pre-final sessions when reviewed based on the average laptime achieved. “We had to go down the engine to do a thorough check, starting from fuel intake, ignition, and others,” she explained.

ITS Machine Engineering Karting Club Team after winning two trophies at the 2020 Gokart Eshark Rok Cup National Championship

After learning from the experience, in the future they hope to be better, both technical and nontechnical. “We will always strive to produce drivers who are ready to compete, as well as more accomplished to bring its name to be the national karting champion,” Aprilia hopes.

(meg/Anjani/ITS Public Relation Officer)