U18 D-11: Single Make Engine

The most groundbreaking – and almost revolutionary – element of the new CIK-FIA “U18” World Championship is undoubtedly the single-engine type which has been designated fur- ther to a tender procedure, and the principle of allocating the engines to the participants by drawing lots.

Designating single-equipment is indeed not new within the framework of the CIK-FIA Championships. Since 2001, it is common practice for the international sporting body to select for its own Championships single-suppliers for equipment such as tyres, carburettors or fuel. Other FIA Championships have recourse to tenders, in Formula One, the WRC, the WTCC, Formula 3 or GT. And this is also practised by the FIM (International Motorcycle Federation), which recently launched the Moto GP2 concept. This is clearly the most efficient way of reaching the aims of radical cost reduction and of promotion of equal opportunities.

For the first time at the CIK-FIA, the principle is extended to engines, but in the exclusive context of the “U18” World Championship and Academy Trophy. The technical emulation between engine Manufacturers is maintained in all the other CIK-FIA competitions, in KF, KZ and Superkart.

Four engine Manufacturers (IAME, Maxter, Parolin and TM) had made a bid for the tender issued by the FIA, and in December 2009 the members of the FIA World Motor Sport Council retained Parolin’s proposal as the engine supply conditions perfectly complied with the aim of mastering budgets: in effect, as tyre Manufacturers have done for several years, Parolin places his engines on a free basis at the disposal of every Driver in the World Championship events! And these exceptional conditions will not be applied only in 2010 as the contract signed between the FIA and Parolin concerns three years.

The list of requirements for the engines supplied for the CIK-FIA “U18” World Championship was meant to be close to the current homologations and regulations. The idea was to adopt an engine homologated for KF4, with a few adjustments either from the KF2 regulations in view of gaining performance (maximum engine speed extended to 15,000 rpm) or specific to the “U18” Championship. Among these specificities, let us mention the full sealing of the engine and carburettor (the set-ups of which will be predefined by Parolin), the feeding with “E10” bio-fuel, the adoption of an additional exhaust silencer in order to reduce noise pollution, and the absence of any exhaust valve. Although the removal of this “power valve” can be pena- lising at low engine speed, it will be partly compensated by the adoption of a float-chamber carburettor (instead of the membrane carburettor used in KF2), which will mainly result in a neat increase in reliability.

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