I tried a different approach for image capture for round 8, forced through circumstances which meant I was unable to attend the event in person.

Something I had been considering all season, was to introduce a different element to the way in which "pictures" are taken and considering the way in why they are viewed, there are probably more supporters than drivers who look at the images almost as a way of a story board of each round. There are also many regular hobbiests, fans or supporters who take their own pictures and then find ways to show their pictures view various on line media such as Flickr, facebook etc. So it makes sense to open up kartshots as a collaborators arena, where any one who wants to share their pictures can do so in one arena.

Ellough round 8 shows a collection of shots from 2 regulars, the gallery structure has been kept simple, so instead of splitting the images into "groups", they are just by collaborator, however, if this idea is developed, this convention will be evolved in 2010.

Take a look through the images published, if you'd like to become a "collaborator", simply drop me a note via the "contact" link at the foot of the right-hand column.

 I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all racers all the best for the final round and good luck for those who are championship winning positions in addition to the top 20 who will be racing in the world finals in Italy next month.

The CIK-FIA will innovate regarding the control of its competitions and the service offered to drivers at the next World Cups of the KF3 (Juniors) and KZ1 categories, to be held on 5 and 6 September at Sarno, near Naples (Italy).

On this occasion, the CIK-FIA will have all the karts equipped with on-board cameras. The first goal of the operation is to improve drivers discipline on the track, as well as safety and, if need be, to multiply the means of control and study of the events for the race officials.

Karting must be exemplary as regards education, explains Luigi Macaluso, President of the CIK-FIA. The international federation therefore naturally seeks to incite the participants to have the most sporting behaviour possible. Leaning on an opponent or even pushing him so as to overtake are methods which motor sport must reprove. As a matter of fact, there are disciplines, in particular single-seaters, where contacts, be they deliberate or not, are out of the question because a driver who is too bold or ill-intentioned risks retiring on the spot or having a mechanical failure. Since many young kartmen aspire to switch over to single-seaters, allowing in Karting what is forbidden in single-seaters would be both inconceivable and counterproductive.

This recourse to on-board cameras by the CIK-FIA will be a big world first for Karting. Such experimentation is primarily a preventive action by dissuasion. More than just a control tool for the use of race officials, these cameras should represent a means of self control for the drivers: they will henceforth be aware that all their manuvres may be studied. Sportsmanship, fair-play, the respect of opponents and the quality of racing: as a result, all these values will naturally be promoted, enhanced and guaranteed.

The use of on-board cameras is not only aimed at controlling races and drivers, adds the President of the CIK-FIA. These cameras will also be valuable conveyors of communication the race will be seen from within the close-fought fields of Karting and they will be able to demonstrate to what extent our sport is a spectacular action-generating discipline. Furthermore, they will be an excellent education tool: after the events, the CIK-FIA will make available for interested drivers all the pictures of their performances, which will enable them to study their race with their team and relive its highlights with the people around them.

At Sarno, the karts will be equipped with Motorsport Hero Wide miniature cameras manufactured by GoPro. Measuring 6x4x3 cm, the cameras weigh hardly 150 grams.

Image galleries from Teesside have now been assembled and published, there are a few shots in there taken by Paisley (the apprentice) ... not bad for her first time with a Digital SLR (MUST be her teacher) !

The Round 4 postcard has also been finished and is ready for download too so as usual, all registered members have received a download key for personal download.

If you have not registered and would like a postcard, just click on the "photos" link on the menu bar, take the option to sign in to register, when done (its FREE), you'll receive your download key by eMail.

Click the "photos" link from the menu bar to launch the Kartshots "flash" site. When open, click on the Galleries link and then take the " Summer '09" sub menu option, you'll then see the individual rounds, just drill down to load the image set you'd like to view.

If you have not already registered and would like a free Postcard, just click sign-in ... registration is FREE and all members receive regular updates and can also use the popular light box feature.

Several drivers offered to carry a GoPro Wide HERO5 on their Easykarts during 15 minute sessions, we were keen to explore good and bad camera positions and mount options. You will see form the video montage that we tried 2 seat mounts, chest strap mount on junior and senior drivers, this is an ideal solution for coaching and tuition. The front bumper mount produced a great camera shot, we also ran a chest strap "back to front" to see what the view looking back worked like and although good, would be better as a seat stay of rear facing bumper mount.

Overall one thing is for sure, the picture and sound quality is very impressive. Both cameras ran forapproximatelyone hour each, they did this easily without the need of any battery changes. A 15 minute session achieved aprox 500mb of card space, it is quicker to take data off the card via and external card reader, as using the camera and the cable suppliedprovedto be long winded if you have an impatient head on (I always do) !

In summary then, the camera performance is very impressive, we dispelled the battery life myth and had loads of fun trying different points of view .. just a shame it wasn't wet !

Watch footage >HERE