The End of Rotax?
There is no doubt that Rotax is the dominant force in karting across the world. That's not bad for an engine thats supposed to be in a snow-mobile and not on a kart. But is it's time as the number 1 kart engine going to come to an end?
There are many 125cc long life kart engines on the market ranging from the Parilla 125cc Leopard, PRD 125cc Fireball ,VORTEX 125cc ROK etc... but do any of these pose a threat to the Rotax 'monopoly'?
Well, yes, to the monopoly anyway! It is no secret that the Rotax is a high maintanance engine, and as it is sealed, checking for internal problems can be a nuisance. The carb is difficult to set up and weather stations seem to be a necesity.
There are now many alternative motors on the market for you to choose from that rival the Rotax FR125 MAX. Lets look at two motors that could cause the Rotax FR125 MAX some trouble in the near future:
1. Parilla Leopard - A popular engine in France, and America. Engine life of up to 20+. Uses CIK 360 Tillotson. And retails at about £1200. Not sealed. Rebuild cost £200-400
2. PRD Fireball - Built in Taiwan. Engine life similar to Leopard. Uses CIK 360 Tillotson. And retails at £850. Not sealed. Rebuild cost £200-400
Both these engines offer performance that is the equivalent, if not better than the Rotax FR125 Max.
Also, these 'new' batch of engines are specifically designed for karts, unlike the Rotax FR125 Max. This results in them having a power band more related to the 100cc engines. The Rotax FR125 MAX is notorious for having a power band that is slow-fast-slow. They also offer the same ideal of near FA performance, but with lower cost and higher engine life. Also, the carbs that these engines use are better designed for karting and offer the oppurtunity for outside tuning while driving.
Across the world there are many classes. To accomidate all these engines a TaG (Touch and Go) class was introduced. Go to www.tagracing.net for more information, or check the UK 'TaG' equivilent at www.clubmankarting.co.uk. This class allows you to use any 125cc Touch and Go engine. And any engine performance differences are levelled by weight restrictions.
So why isn't there a TaG class in the UK? Why can we only race Rotax and not the other engines?
Unfortunatley the UK is one of the only countries that doesn't incorporate the TaG ideal. I will tackle this issue in a later article.
But is the dominance of Rotax coming to an end? Well, with the infux of cheaper and improved high performance long life engines, it is only time until the dominace of the Rotax FR125 MAX weakens.
posted by Al @ 8:29 PM
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