So those mentioned above is not homologated by fia cik? I mean im digging those factory karts tho.
Correct. There is no reason for an American company to go through the expense and hassle of homologation. No racing series or sanctioning body in the United States requires it.
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What about those races like rotax rokcup supernats, etc you dont need to use a fia cik homologated chassis?
For clarity:
Factory Karts: American made and its own manufacturer, not CIK homologated.
Magik Kart: Italian made, brand not CIK homologated but part of the Emme Racing manufacturerās group, which homologate EKS, Draco Corse, PCR (which is why AJ raced an EKS in last yearās World Championship)
- Margay Racing: American made and its own manufacturer, not CIK homologated
-Coyote karts: American made and its own manufacturer, not CIK homologated
-MGM Chassis: American made and its own manufacturer, not CIK homologated
-TB Kart: Italian made, CIK Homologated as manufacturer and brand
-GFC: Italian made, brand not CIK homologated but manufactured by the TB Kart Manufacturer group. (It is a non homologated TB kart)
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Nope. I am not sure about Rotax stuff because thereās none around, but SKUSA and all other major organizations donāt require it.
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Iirc SKUSA days CIK homologation or SKUSA approved. I dont know what that entails.
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Coyote is expanding its dealer network per the press release:
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MiniKart or KartMini from Brazil was as far as I know the only CIK homologated chassis from America but their homologation expired last year, though I heard they want to sell karts in Europe in a few years so maybe they will go to the process again.
I was surprised when I saw in the first round of the Rotax Euro trophy the senior class was mostly OTK and only one CRG and a KR. Expected to see more KR at least.
British teams I would guess forcing that direction. Reality is people fear making the wrong choice and as the sport is now dominated by parents buying for kids the aversion to risk is ever higher. Its a shameā¦ but in line with behavioural psychology.
Here in the PNW I donāt think Iāve ever seen a US made kart in use for sprint races. We mostly see OTK, italkart and some CRG and some Swiss Hutless. Actually, I think I have seen one iKart which I believe is now defunct but was a us brand.
Yeah, it depends on the zone though. I remember in Chile thereās a lot of Birels instead of OTK because the Birel dealer is also a Rotax representative iirc so he sells both as a package at a relatively cheap price. Meanwhile in another city of my country OTK dominates because most national champions used a Tony Kart. There is only one GP there.
I think Margay homolgated a chassis in the late 90ās and took part in the CIK world champs. I either heard the story on one of EKNs podcast, or when I was chatting with Keith Freber. Would be cool to have him reshare the story though.
Thereās little value for an American manufacturer to homologate with the CIK unless they plan participating in CIK events (or those sanctioned by a CIK ASN). Thatās a REALLY big effort to try and run from the USā¦ at which point you might as well setup in Europe.
US orgs donāt require homologated chassis BUT they do refer to the dimensions in the CIK rulebook for them. A little naughty perhaps.
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Is Merlin made in the USA or are they a non-homologated European chassis?
They are made by Parolin and are homologated.
Some were made by Merlin in the past but Iām not sure if any models are still made by them in house or if they are all outsourced to Parolin.
But theyāve always been Italian.
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One nuance to this is that homologated or not some* components on karts are supposed to be homologated to CIK specs in American rules.
Namely this is for bodywork or common components.
The homologation process is costly and especially for small brands not really feasible as I think for each variant or model you have to produce something like 75 copies of the same chassis correct?
Jim, my son switch to a Coyote this season. We have been extremely happy with it. He says it handles so good he doesnāt want me touching it. The support from Coyote Motorsports Canada has been fantastic.
As far as I can tell iKart is alive. We have a guy at our track who bought a new iKart for this season plus their website is current but a little light on details.
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Definitely still alive. When the owner passed away a few years ago, it slowed them down a lot. Now itās more of a local shop doing their thing as best they can. Great guys and definitely super fast here locally in central Indiana.
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Thanks for mentioning CW Kart USA @fatboy1dh
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we have a larger variety at the tracks I go to, but surprisingly Iāve only also seen one iKartā¦ a shifter driven by one of the āfasterā guys at new castle.