The Kart Committee approved the age limit change for the JICA Class from 13 to 12 years old.  The revised age limit will now quote 12th birthday to 31st December of year of 16th birthday. 

The only proviso is that the minimum licence must be a Kart National ‘A’ and for those who have not yet reached the age of 13, evidence must be provided to verify that they have held a National A licence for at least 12 months before competing in the JICA class.  This rule change – which now puts the UK in line with many other countries -  will be effective from 01/01/05, subject to ratification by the Motor Sports Council in their September meeting.

The rationale behind this rule change is that as JICA is the category that introduces drivers to the European and CIK stage (where the minimum age is 13), this extra year in the domestic market allows young karters to spend a season preparing for a European campaign should they choose this route.

“This rule change will bring certain benefits, “said Kart Committee Chairman, Rod Taylor. “We are keen to encourage UK karters to compete at international level and this allows UK cadets to prepare for CIK events, it should also result in stronger MSA Junior British Championship grids in 2005; the recent drop in numbers has certainly been a catalyst behind making this decision.”