As you may have already known on the occasion of the third round of the European Championship in Franciacorta, with titles won by Kean Nakamura-Berta (KR/Iame) in OK and Anatholy Khavalkin (Parolin/Tm) in OKJ, a first test on the track with the OK-N engine was organized, as Vroom has amply written about in the last two months; its aim, to restore substance to the national supply chain. From the meeting between ACI Sport and the engine manufacturers in Franciacorta, the parameters that are important to make this promising initiative work better still, however, remain in doubt. The crucial point is the modification to be adopted to use the same engine for the two categories involved: the Senior and the Junior.
The OK-N Senior, as already mentioned, has undergone a reduction in performance with a control unit limited to 15,000 rpm (against 16,000 of the OK), the weight brought to 155 kg (including the driver), and the combustion chamber volume to 10 cc, while for the carburetor it should be the Ø 24 diaphragm model. The limitation to 15,000 rpm is a valid solution, but also a dangerous double-edged sword as the usual “wise guys” could use the ECU of the international OK to steal 1,000 rpm, a sad spectacle we also witnessed at the world finals level, with a driver who, despite using a pinion with one less tooth, did not lose too much on the long straight to the finish line! The external color is not enough, as these same wise guys handle and mishandle ECUs with great skill. Just re-mix the control units before the start to solve the problem definitively. The 155 kg of weight is instead a stupid solution because, in addition to a safety problem, they generate a greater consumption of tires and brakes and negatively affect the duration of the frame (today, as we know, some manufacturers supply frames that last 1 or 2 races before becoming unnerved or cracked). A light kart is a safer kart, always and in any case. A higher combustion chamber volume reduces the compression ratio, decreasing performance and reducing the engine’s mechanical stress, so it is a sensible intervention, like the adoption of the diaphragm carburetor. To say it all, the float carburetor in all categories, including the 60, should disappear from single-speed karting. In addition to a very low-quality level, speaking of these carburetors, it is unacceptable that you have to wait for the “Magician” on duty to get the right carburetion and at a high price! The driver must manage the carburetion with the 2 screws to be ready for international races and to be able to manage more variables in the economy of a competition (look at the steering wheel of an F1 and tell me if it is too difficult to manage the carburetion, which they have done for decades, people of the caliber of Senna, Schumacher (father), Prost and company. The float chamber carburetors leave them to KZ!