Hello,
I am new to karting, based in Europe and I am wondering what’s your opinion on OK vs KZ, if I want to get serious about this, on which category should I focus? Along with kart suggestions, teams, etc.
Thank you!
Start with a single engine make series. X30 is very popular in most European countries. There is also Rotax and Rok. Look to see what is most popular and supported near you.
OK and KZ is the serious deep end of the pool and is normally only raced at the national championship and international levels.
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Ok Tanguy might have thoughts about euro teams but he was based in France.
Since you are new, a lot of this is really going to rely on what’s available in your area. Have you had a chance to visit your local tracks?
Yes, but I’m not a believer in that.
Nowadays you can order whatever you want from wherever you want.
Sure, you can order whatever you want…. But it’s probably not going to yield you the results you seek.
If you plan being serious, you’ll want serious support too…. Especially if you’re intending to go with open manufacturer classes like OK and KZ.
What tracks are around you?
By available I mean more than just brands, but the specific classes.
No point in buying an x30 if there’s only an OK class at your tracks and vice versa.
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It depends on your talent, resources (money and team), and experience. If you don’t have all those in spades, then you will not have fun. Do not underestimate how difficult karting is.
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Here is a shop located on the North/Northeast side of Bucharest. They are located on a kart track as well. The National Series is Romanian Karting Masters. They run Vortex ROK GP engines, a good platform. That’s where I would start, on one of the Formula K chassis supported by Grozea Racing and a Vortex ROK GP.
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In order to fully develop your driving technique, it’s usually recommended to start in something slower, you wouldn’t want to jump right into the highest level class. Something like Rok or X30 would be a good place to start in your area.
When you’re just starting out, it’s important to have support and parts availability from a fairly local source, so though you can order parts or ask questions online, it is good to build a personal relationship with a team or shop that could provide you with that support.
What are you goals in karting?
Guys, we are quite off topic here. Thank you for your suggestions but my question was different.
I think most of what everyone is saying is relevant to your question.
OK and KZ are just different style categories; some prefer one or the other. Comes down to driver preference I suppose.
When you say “if I want to get serious about this”, do you mean competing at World Championships? Racing F1? Having fun? What are you looking to do? What does “get serious” mean to you?
Competing at world championships, F1 is out of question if you’re not a billionaire or close to become one.
It’s not much different for World Championship karting unfortunately. You’ll need a budget of a couple hundred thousand Euros to run with a top team.
But that’s why I mentioned starting in something slower. You don’t just write a check and jump right into the World Championships with no experience. You start in lower level championships and work your way up. And a lot of lower level championships have different classes or categories than the World Championships do, so that may change what you’re able to race.
KZ is probably the more hotly contested category at the moment. OK seems to be filled with more younger drivers at the highest level.
I would start in something like X30 or Rok, get good, and then you can decide if KZ or OK is better for you once you get to that point. No point in thinking about either of those yet.
OK is going to be a lot easier to get to grips with.
The premise of the question is the problem. It doesn’t seem like you are ready to compete at world championship level yet. So your first step to getting there is finding out what’s available locally. At the least you’ll need to progress through various license levels to enter CIK\FIA world championships.
That’s why folks are encouraging you to understand what’s local first.
Sure, it doesn’t hurt to have aspirations, but by the time you get to that level, things will probably have changed.
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I forgot that part. When I raced in Germany, I had a national B license which enabled me to compete in the regional and possibly also the national championship events, but not more. To get the national B license, I needed to be observed for 1 year racing in the club and local races. At the end of the year, the head of our club signed off on me to get the B license. Prior to this, despite having raced for 2 years in the US in WKA races, no license, no regional ICA racing.
Maybe Germany is different than other places, but you need a license to FIA kart race and it is a little harder to get than a WKA license. As for USPKS, I don’t think I even have a license – just a membership, I believe.
Most of you seem a little depressed or upset with this sport, I say be more happy and optimistic. Leave the license problem in my hands, that’s something I can easily sort out here.
I agree with what you all say about “start low”, but I feel like investing in a less-powerful kart just to learn how to ride is pointless, hence I can rent any kart, any time. By the time I will reach the KZ level that’s a whole other story and I need to go back to the roots, why wouldn’t I buy directly a KZ and go from there? I don’t see that big of a difference in price. *I exclude maintenance and competitions here.
Nope, love the sport and am very happy with it. I would rather race a kart than do just about anything else.
Go for it. Get a KZ if that is your desire. You seem like a smart guy. I am sure you can figure it out.
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KZ will be more maintenance and cost because it’s faster so you will go through brake pads, tires etc. more quickly.
Don’t underestimate how fast a KZ is or how much practice it takes to learn how to drive properly. It’s like skipping F4/3/2 and jumping right into F1. It can be very difficult to learn how to position your body, hit an apex, learn proper braking technique etc. when the kart is so fast that you can’t keep up with it. Starting in something slower gives your brain time to think about all those things and work up to them. We have all seen it a million times, where someone wants to run KZ right away, takes it out once or twice and it’s way too much power for them and they sell the kart because it’s not fun because they can barely control it. It happens all the time.
Now if you are going to use rental karting as a learning tool to practice with, that’s not such a bad idea.
I can tell you that the drivers competing at the front of the World Championships didn’t just start in KZ. They started in slower karts and learned the craft of driving and worked their way forward. You can’t just shortcut the learning process, it takes years to become a world-caliber driver.
Maybe there is a possibility for you to rent a KZ or an OK for a day with a local team and see how you like it before committing to buying one.
Everyone here has years of experience in many levels and facets of karting, I wouldn’t say we are depressed or upset (or at least most of us aren’t) with the sport, just realistic, especially when it comes to money. This forum is probably one of the more positive groups for karting on the internet actually. We are actually trying to help you make a decision that’s better for you in the long run believe it or not, because everyone here wants to grow the sport and get more people into it.
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