Challenge of the Americas series in the US has adopted OK-N. All other classes are spec Vortex, although it sounds like it might be spec vortex OK-N?). Bold play.
We are excited to be the first program in North America to embrace the OK-N engine program,” added Seesemann. “These engines are due to be homologated in the next few weeks. Provided the process is smooth, as well as production with supply chain issues minimized, we are planning to offer OK-N for the 2023 season. To help start the development of the class, we will focus on just the Vortex model before branching out to include other manufacturers homologated for the class.”
2023 Challenge of the Americas Schedule
February 3-5: Musselman Honda Circuit – Tucson, Arizona
March 3-5: Phoenix Kart Racing Association – Glendale, Arizona
April 14-16: Sonoma Raceway – Sonoma, California
This is exactly what other countries did with OK in an attempt to make it work. They don’t want multi-manufacturers so they bastardise the concept to try and get some of the ‘glamour’ of the CIK classes without the bits they don’t want. If this was FIA accredited I’d refuse permission to call it OK-N.
If this works in any way, why would the organisers accept the other engines?
No one runs OK-N here, yet, because there is nowhere to run it. Challenge of the Americas is hoping to be the springboard to build the class by offering it in their series.
Cool to see someone go for it. CoTA has to do something different; can’t really steal enough entries off SKUSA or other big series for Rok GP when the guys running that already have so many big races in Rotax or X30 to do in a year. It won’t be a huge class, but would be cool to see 10-15 entries at least.
Is it not really a ROK+ type product? It’s not really OK-N. It’s another single-make series.
I know I sound harsh but OK-N is not a spec product. It’s very core of being is mutli-manufacturer. So if it isn’t that, it’s not OK-N.
And if they build 15 entries, what’s their motivation to allow IAME etc… in? The drivers will reject it. In the UK the drivers rejected the notion of bringing updated Vortex engines to the party, let alone all the other engines, when we had a similar thing here.
I understand you’re hardline against all things spec racing but the reality of karting here in the States is that every major series is backed by one manufacturer and provides a spec-engine formula class structure. That’s just the way it works right now.
Given that CoTA is a Vortex-backed series, they likely aren’t looking to add the other engines anyway, regardless of how well they play together. There isn’t a series here that does that.
USPKS and SKUSA should add the OK-N IAME engine and then at the end of the year we should have an OK-N festival where they run them combined for one big one-off event. Could be a class at SuperNats.
I am more hard-line on nomenclature to be fair. This isn’t OK-N. OK-N is a set of FIA technical regulations that multiple manufacturers build and homologate to. If you can’t race a homologated OK-N engine in this class, then it isn’t OK-N and thus shouldn’t be called OK-N. It should be called Formula Vortex-N or whatever.
I’m down! I’ll give it a try if it draws a decent entry list. Going to be tough tho since there were almost zero entries for ROK JR/Sr/Master last year.
For the record, it is not “FIA Acredited”, in the sense that it is a private series / promoter / entity that is building its class outside the governance of the recognized FIA ASN within the US(ACCUS), which is in it of itself perfectly fine.
Our jurisdiction does not extend to national level events (only international), even more so when they are ran by privateers. It is ACCUS responsibility to enforce our regulations, as they are written and meant.
We cannot stop a private entity from running a field which specifies “For the KZ class, only use TM engines with valid CIK FIA Homologation”, as a comparative example.
Seriously considering selling my Rotax and making my way down to the US for a couple races next year. The young guns will properly kick my ass but yeah all of these announcements are exciting.
I have a strong desire to try it. Maybe if I can rent one for the challenge race at pats. Wouldn’t buy as not enough races for the cost. Pats would be a riot with one
