Is there life in the old dog? We see if Formula TKM has still got it!
By Karting1 ~ May 12th, 2010. Filed under: Kart Racing News.
The TKM Karting class has existed for 20 years and produced an F1 World Champion. Can it relive it’s glory days?
Without doubt Formula TKM has been the most frustrating kart class to follow in the last few years. At several kart circuits in the UK it is a nice little antidote to the continual onslaught of FR125s buzzing around. Despite not being particularly quick in regard to lap times it was always nice to see some light nimble karts slide about with an engine that puts out some sort of noise that’s recognisably ‘kart like’.
TKM Track Test video –
Unfortunately for Tal-Ko, the manufacturer of the BT82 engine and the company behind Formula TKM, the dominant success of Formula TKM in the 90s had slowly drained away in recent years. While the economy boomed the attraction of the more expensive TaG engines was enough to see TKM face near extinction despite being remarkably affordable.
Luckily for TKM numbers stabilised and it’s now a solid little club class with a respectable national grid. It certainly doesn’t match the success of Rotax MAX karting in the UK, but it still attracts enough drivers here and there to keep it just about healthy. But let’s face it, ‘just about getting on’ is not what Tal-Ko and the drivers have in mind for the class.
So what changes have been made to the class?
Apart from Tal-Ko developing an optional TaG version of the BT82 for the lazy racers who can’t be bothered to use what I like to call ‘organic starter motors’ aka legs, the real major changes to the class are a move away from the oldskool route of specifically TKM homologated chassis and rock hard Maxxis tyres. Tal-Ko are directly aiming Formula TKM at the guys who prefer the faster classes like Rotax. This is war!
Gone are the skinny old tyres, and in with big fat sticky new ones for 2010 onwards!
So then, is the new-look TKM any good? Will it lose its oldskool soul in exchange for commercial success?
We got some of the new Maxxis tyres from Tal-Ko and put them on our Karting1 Test Wright Kart with a direct drive version of the BT82 to see what modern TKM is all about! What we want to know is that regardless of lap times, has TKM kept its soul and has it changed enough to attract a wider market share?
At first sight the new Maxxis tyres have a much wider profile and more modern construction compared to the older Maxxis tyres, which shared characteristics with the Bridgestone YBNs for those that can remember that far back. The aim of the new tyres is to increase grip and speed while maintaining longevity.
Working at a pressure range of around 8-12psi it is clear in the opening few laps that these new tyres represent the absolute grip limit you could ever want from an engine that puts out about 18-20hp. Any more grip and it’d be like driving a train on rails. The first two corners at Whilton Mill usually require a delicate balance of throttle and steering input but with the new tyres TKM has traded having to use finesse with more focus being put on physical strength. There is no doubt there is a load more grip to play around with here.
They might have new chassis and tyres, but they are still incredibly simple to run.
When you enter a corner with the ‘old TKM’ your mind is certainly working more. You’re judging the pitch and load of the kart while gently introducing the throttle. The kart is doing more so you have to do more mentally. With the new tyres and kart chassis you are still trying to do this but to a lesser extent. More focus is on your outside turning arm making sure your body copes with the additional grip. This will frustrate some TKM purists and be somewhat of a disappointment, but to the wider market which demands fast lap times and grip it will not come as a negative. For most racers faster = better, and that’s what the new tyres deliver.
One of the benefits of having an air-cooled engine with no accessories is that it’s incredibly light. This is a massive selling point to the whole TKM experience. Despite the kart having a ton more grip there is still that level of satisfaction of having a very light kart underneath you to work with. You have a degree of driving freedom that heavier karts just don’t allow. You’re not fighting against the weight and this is only a good thing.
The humble BT82 might lack a bit of power compared to it’s rivals but it’s without doubt an engine built for kart racing.
I did fear the added grip might just kill the engine coming out of slow corners but thankfully that little punch you get from the BT82 is still there. The engine may not have the mid to top end power that other more powerful engines create but the main thing you want from a kart is for your right foot to have a direct impact on the amount of power going to the rear wheels! Karts are about things happening in an instant. Waiting for anything, especially power to kick in, is never a good thing.
It has been argued that the increased grip has made TKM easier to drive quickly, and I found there is a level of truth in that. Despite more demands being put on the body, mentally TKM isn’t quite as punishing as before. Opening up the chassis regulations and new tyres means the kart feels a lot more stable to drive. In this sense TKM has moved itself more into the modern arena of karting.
Formula TKM has always been great fun to race in!
The karts and class have made a huge step forward aesthetically speaking. TKM karts have always looked a bit narrow and have lacked a bit of self-respect. As great as the class was to race in it seemed to lack the little something that hooked the majority of people in. It really does matter how a class presents itself on the grid and with a move to more modern chassis TKM is no longer an outsider to be frowned upon. Whether TKM drivers like it or not quite a large section of the karting scene looked down on the class, but no longer can they! The new-look TKMs are great.
But what about the soul?
TKM has certainly sacrificed many elements to appeal more to the mass market. This is inevitable, it’s business at the end of the day. But you still can’t beat bolting on a simple engine and dropping the thing and going. Thankfully, they are still great race karts. While they may not be able to hold their own in terms of pure driving experience, when in their simplest form, they are recognisably kart racing machines that don’t nuke your wallet. There’s a reason why the class has lasted so long and it will be crucial for TKM to see the new changes work for the future.
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