I mean his weight should be at least close on both engines, if anything the X30 would weigh more with the battery etc. on it if he just ran the same kart without adjusting weight.
I guess the OK-N is just that sensitive to the track layout. At Challenge of the Americas Sonoma the OK-Ns were 1.5 off the Rok Shifters. At Challenge of the Americas the OK-Ns were only 0.4 off the Rok Shifters. I can’t think of a track where X30 is only half a second off a shifter. The lap Ryan drives in his video is only 38 sec so it’s a pretty dang short lap.
Yeah, USPKS 2021 was the last time they ran X30 on the Stars National Circuit at NCMP, KA went 1:12.168 in '21 vs. 1:12.595 this past weekend, so 4 tenths or so in track conditions. I know we can’t pull a full comparison, and that 4 tenths in track conditions would be a lot, but I’m just looking at what we can to get a relative idea.
I’m not sure where you’re seeing KZ is down 1.5-2 seconds from last year though, qualifying was 1:06.719 in '22, 1:06.409 in '23, the final was 1:07.085 vs. 1:06.666 from '22 to '23 for fast time.
It most likely is a track conditions issue. It’s strange that some classes are going faster or the same speed and some are going slower, I have no idea what would be causing that.
Norberg did a back to back. Video is linked above.
Still highly unusual. If they ran at the same weight that would explain some of the lack of time difference, but it seems unlikely. What’s weird is the X30 is pulling on the OK-N on the first part of the lap (about 8 seconds) which is mainly mid-top end. It’s always hard to analyse without being leiu of all the data and facts. We don’t know gearing, tyre condition, relative weight, time of day (X30 lap has cones on the track, OK-N doesn’t) etc… Ryan has put out the video for a reason one has to assume as well.
My local track is interesting in terms of assessing trends as Shenington has been around for yonks, hasn’t changed at all and has had multiple high level events, almost every year for decades. The only caveat is Rotax and X30 are ran at club meetings every month so have greater chance of the perfect weather/grip conditions over time.
Lap records are as follows
Super KF (basically KF1) - 39.94
Senior OK - 40.01
Formula A 100cc - 40.14
KF2 - 40.26
OK Junior - 41.42
Senior X30 - 41.46
Rotax Max - 41.49
one can assume that in that scenario that if you take an OK-N. You can add on a second tot he senior OK time just via lack of p/v, less revs and extra weight. It’s basically a OK Junior at that stage. It’d put it right on Rotax and X30 pace. So it is conceivable on some tracks the OK-N would be around Rotax/X30 pace if everything wasn’t absolutely dialed in.
Most of Europe is on X30 and Rotax (and a smattering of Vortex ROK), so the bridge was already built between the two. America and Europe are more in line now than they’ve ever been really.
it was almost 90 degrees all weekend, the air DA for Heat 2 on Saturday and the finals on Sunday was ~3500ft.
Also, there was a near constant dust storm from people driving up and down the road at the edge of the track as well as whatever rock piles / work area is going on across the highway from the track and somewhat form the new extended gravel area in the pits as well.
KZ Masters was a tenth or two faster on new rubber this year vs last year, but fast times in the heats were pretty much the same for me as they were last year. The track was much hotter this year and would get greasy during the hotter parts of the day. Last year it was overcast the whole weekend and cooler ambient temps.
Yea, I grabbed a heat results sheet from this year I think when I was looking at last year’s qualifying.
It was definitely brutal outside this past weekend. Tires were definitely looking like they were coming off a greasy track later in the day on the KA kart I was working.
@Andy_Kutscher I saw that. There was so much stuff getting kicked up at the top.
Forget the Norberg video…totally worthless on face value, and not enough info/controls.
Was it a stock OK-N? there are big differences between brands in stock form.
Gearing? very different gearing than an X30.
Weight? Tires? Set-up?
Unless he spent a day or two getting the OK-N dialed in, the video holds no water. You know his X30 was on point, no mysteries there.
Go Pro comparisions - that track is notorious for huge variations in track conditions, even on the same day. Stars was a night race. We tested at GoPro prior to Stars, during the day, and we we about 8 tenths faster than a couple of good drivers on X30’s.
NCMP is an anomaly; the straight is so long the rev limiter limits the top end. In other parts of the track it looks like the driver is shot out of a cannon when the engine hits the sweetspot. During the final, there was a strong headwind up the straight, the track was dusty, yet the the top drivers hit best laptimes of the weekend.
Some ask what’s the point? Regardless of relative speed, the point is it’s a higher level of karting. It challenges the driver more (the X30 is the easiest engine to drive in the history of karting). It requires the chassis to be spot-on. It allows us builders to tune engines for specific tracks rather than be bound to cookie-cutter spec engines. And, I can make any two engines the same because I can actually build the damn things. No more part matched, suitcase spec engines. The whole thing is really cool. Aidan says it’s the most fun he’s ever had driving a kart. I’ve had a lot of interest from parents of Junior drivers excited about the OK-N Junior class, so that’s a great sign.
Putting on your driver hat as opposed to your builder hat… is it also “fun” for them in some way that would make them want to race it? Does it’s DD nature offer something that even when limited to 15K, they cant get in current TAG?
It is a more visceral driving experience, much stronger, longer pull once on the pipe (if properly built, it has a much flatter powerband at peak hp), and stronger engine braking. It’s also fun because it’s a challenge; it is much less forgiving of mistakes due to its lack of bottom end.
Congrats on Aidan’s win. It looks fun. I have heard that there is still lots of room for builders with this package yet so there will be improvements to be had yet.
