Karting Rumours: TKM Elite
By Karting1 ~ June 18th, 2006. Filed under: Kart Racing News.
I thought it was just an idea OSK came up with on the karting forum, but it seems to be something people are actually talking about. Super 1 TKM driver Danny Drew mentions it here
A TKM class where you can use CIK chassis, just like Rotax, ie Intrepid, Tony Kart and Birel.
TKM themselves have helped to fan the flames by raising the question of opening up the kart chassis homologation to European karting manufacturers and have also been asking drivers what they want to see. This seems to be a reaction to the way cadet drivers don’t choose TKM based on the speed and looks of TKM vs Rotax and JICA
This would mean you could use the 115cc TKM Extreme on a CIK chassis and maybe tyres currently used in Rotax, or something with high grip. This would be a master stroke by TKM because it would put them in direct competition with Rotax, and would make the transfer from Rotax to TKM very easy ….and cheap
At karting1 we fully intend to test some CIK kart chassis and tyre combinations to see how quick a TKM elite could be, and whether it could become a real class! unfortunately TKM declined to help us out by supplying an engine and commented over the phone
“Why would you want to do that? A TKM on a CIK chassis isn’t anything special”
So we will have to source a motor ourselves, but rest assured we will be getting it sorted pretty soon and the first TKM Elite will appear with video on the karting1 pages pretty soon!
Related posts:
June 25th, 2006 at 12:43 am
Are you kidding me? TKM is a class where you can’t run a CIK homologated chassis? That is rediculous. Of course it is a good idea, its right proper to allow all CIK homologated chassis. How could you go racing any class when you cannot choose from the finest of Italian chassis? Tony Kart, HAASE, Birel, Intrepid, ect, how can anyone forget these names that have been tearing up karting world cup in Italy for over 40 years? Plus, the styles of these teams are the best proper looking karts ever!
June 25th, 2006 at 12:47 am
You gotta have all CIK stuff. How can you forget all of the chassis manufacturers that make awesome stuff. To name a few, Birel, Tony Kart, CRG, HAASE, Intrepid, PCR, ect. These are really top quality makes that (have) and do dominate the European landscape.
June 28th, 2006 at 11:00 pm
tkm is an affordable class and should not try to compete with rotax etc we are starting tkm junior class because that is what we can afford keep the sticky tyres and expensive engines for the money guys .otherwise you will just get rich daddys boys racing and only in it for the posing so leave tkm as it is
June 29th, 2006 at 5:01 pm
It’ll never work – the power of a TKM perfectly matches the grip of the tyres and current style of chassis. If you just stick the engine on a CIK style chassis with the better tyres then you’ll just end up with a Rotax Max with 18HP instead of 28HP, or am I missing the point? Unless you upgrade the engines as well you’ll just end up with karts that have awful handling and bog down all the time because the engine power doesn’t match the increased grip. I think TKM is a valid class for what it currently is, and there seems to be an recent upsurge of interest in it, with a lot of Rotax drivers returning to it. If you want to run CIK chassis then do that, and if you want a cheaper alternative then TKM is still there. If you want to use CIK chassis in a TKM class, get TalKo to make a 125cc or 135cc aircooled piston port engine then you might have a serious alternative.
July 13th, 2006 at 12:21 pm
[...] You may remember our post on TKM Elite for 2007. Well, Tal-Ko press released their Formula TKM regulations for 2007, and its looks as if TKM Elite will not happen. Here it is from Tal-Ko – [...]