The OK-N and OK-N Junior categories have made significant progress in the Italian Championship this year. At the opening event of the 2024 season in Sicily, 47 OK-N and 42 Junior drivers were present in Triscina. This represents a significant increase of around 50% over the last year, which has given a boost to the recent CIK-FIA categories.
Unfortunately, Italy remains the only major European country to promote OK-N and OK-N Junior in its national championship. In France, Rotax retains control of the National category for Juniors, while the Senior category is split between IAME X30 and Rotax Max engines, pending the launch of a genuine category. In the UK, IAME X30 and Rotax Max coexist in their own categories, while in Belgium the Rotax Max Challenge and IAME Series Benelux account for the lion’s share of national competitions. Germany remains in an uncomfortable position, with an international OK-J category that is losing ground in DKM and the IAME Series Germany gaining in importance. The Spanish National Championship has been based around the IAME X30 for several years.
Taking advantage of the location of engine manufacturers on its territory, the Italian federation ACI Sport has been able to involve numerous teams in the Italian OK-N and OK-N Junior championship by offering a calendar of five races in addition to the regional Zone Cups since last year. The aim of the sporting authorities was to put the private-sector branded cups back in their place and to reserve federal competitions and the corresponding titles for categories emanating from the CIK-FIA with a wide choice of engine manufacturers in the spirit of the origins of karting. In view of the start of the second season, the gamble is about to be won in Italy.
Looking at the difficulties faced by other countries in making this return to national categories, the challenge does not appear to be an easy one to meet. The influence of private series and the financial clout of the brand cups and their distribution network are clearly holding them back. However, the quality of OK-N engines gives all the participants a real advantage. The national competition budget is considerably reduced in this area thanks to reliable engines that require very little maintenance, while offering a higher level of performance than the brand cup racing. The original OK-N and OK-N Junior engines are good enough not to require costly preparation or maintenance, and the choice of taking part in a professional team remains more affordable than elsewhere.
In Italy, TM Kart leads the way in terms of the number of participants and OK-N and OK-N Junior results, but IAME and Modena Engines are in the leading group, while LKE also stands out. The factory teams are not dominant in chassis/engine combinations (DR with Modena Engine and Novalux with LKE). A number of more or less well-known private teams have entered the fray: Gamoto, Team Driver Racing, LG Motorsport, Modena Kart, Monster Factory Team, etc. Private drivers who rely on a family team sometimes feature prominently.
The subject should still be observed, but OK-N and OK-N Junior seem to meet the expectations of most national competitors in Italy.
It is with sadness that we have just learned that the 1st Anthoine Hubert Karting Trophy, scheduled for 9th-12th May 2024 on the Angerville track under the aegis of the FFSA, has had to be cancelled due to the low number of entrants.
Info KARTCOM Selection / Photo © Sportinphoto