With the new release of the 2025 OTK kart lineup, I’ve heard a lot of speculation about changes to the chassis and handling of the karts. Apart from the horrible sticker kits, does anybody know of any changes made chassis-wise? I just think it would be weird for OTK to not create something new in efforts to keep up with the likes of KR and Parolin.
1 Like
Since we’re talking about updates.l and I can’t speak to OTK’s changes other than cosmetic…
What changes have Parolin and KR made?
Are Parolin and KR outperforming the OTK?
1 Like
At least in single-gear FIA races KR is winning against OTK except sometimes in OKJ. In CIK KZ Parolin won the KZ Euro championship.
In Euro Rotax series 90% of the grid uses OTK so they aren’t losing much and Euro IAME series there are more brands the results are more diverse
In Australia, KR is dominating. The national series is pretty much the KR cup.
OTK isn’t performing well, not a lot of presence at the top level.
1 Like
Obligatory mention that typically it’s not the kart that’s dominating, it’s the driver.
Nothing wrong with OTK and they remain one of the standards in the industry. KR has proven it can reliably stay at the pointy end over several seasons now.
RPG obviously is the top team here and Speed Concepts splits between KR and OTK and both seem to go well with them.
Notably a few national drivers have jumped back to OTK from different karts as the season wraps up here.
6 Likes
I think driver and tuning are the main factors. I have also seen teams get “lost” down a rabbit hole with drivers under the same tent all chasing each other’s tuning. Situations like that can help explain the times you see and entire team in a slump.
Just today Inter MS switched back to OTK(Tony Kart) 
3 Likes
I can only speak on what I see in the Australian market. But there was a big shift in kart performance when we switched from MG & Dunlop tyres to LeCont.
Undoubtedly if you put the very best drivers in otk karts, they would still be at the pointy end.
However we’ve seen a lot of high quality drivers struggle and finish out of position in otk karts, only to switch to KR and be back at the front.
No doubt otk are still very high quality and they’re putting in a lot of effort with some bolt on components to suit our conditions/regulations.
It’ll be interesting to see going forward.
1 Like
Thought there would be some CRG because they are good in hot climates. That’s why they are popular in Brazil
For sure and I didn’t mean to discredit, you’re completely right in that the tire is a big factor. For example our new MG tires are quite sticky compared to the last homologation so tracks are building rubber and are a lot faster than they were just a couple years ago, which has lead to some karts needing to try more extreme setups and on some chassis it is easier to remove grip than others. So some chassis are better suited to a given tire than others and that could help explain any ebb and flow in pecking order.
2 Likes
I’ve had this conversation in the past with regards to a Chassis Brand that became very popular in a short amount of time in the cadet classes. People began to buy this chassis because “all of the fast kids are driving it.” My response was always, “they were fast before the started driving this chassis.”
It’s not uncommon to build a brand by giving away product and entry fees to get the best drivers using your product.
3 Likes
Now you can buy all those “left” over chassis for about $500 a piece. Extremely well done by that brand to sell chasses at nitro-us speeds in that time period, though!
3 Likes
Whenever someone says “yeah but brand X is always at the front”. Go look at the back of the grid. Plenty of brand X in the LCQ too.
8 Likes
This is a bit speculative as I’ve never driven one, but watching onboard the KR looks very loose on the rear. This can be great in high grip scenarios but requires a deft touch in the low grip scenarios. So maybe, its a frame that works fantastically at big events with lots of grip and scorching temperatures where the tires are working well, but in you average club race or on harder tires they require a driving style that not many possess (uber-smooth).
I don’t think I’ve seen any in the Pacific North West.
Reminds me when a kid in Mini Max won the Pre-RMC South America with an Energy there were three parents who managed to get one, but their kids didnt perform well except for one. From the two left I think only one managed to resell one because there isn’t a Energy dealer here
Ive had that conversation many times. Birel has such stranglehold in this part of Ontario, that any club race you watch, will inevitably be 50% or more Birel. Im some cases ive seen entire grids that were Birel. Its only logical that you’re going to see more win on Birel equipment.
Not new. I ran them all year. I will say that I don’t think they were available to all though.
Didnt know that, thought they were new because the tony kart page mentions them with the new model