International karting follows F1’s lead

Under strong pressure from the Liberty Group, which controls F1, the FIA has decided on major innovations for karting, which were launched today by the FIA World Council.

From 2023 onwards, the European and World Karting Championships will be held on the same weekend for all categories (OKJ, OK, KZ and KZ2) and over six races. The five races to count for the European Championships will be held at as many European F1 World Championship venues, yet to be announced, exactly a week before the F1 race, while the World Championships will be held in Las Vegas (USA) where F1 will return from next season.

The most exciting news is that the circuits will be exact replicas of their respective F1 circuits, on a smaller scale. This will be achieved by designing the track layout with Tecpro-type barriers in the large cement car parks of the selected F1 facilities. It is known that one of the European rounds and the World Championships in Las Vegas will be held at night. There will also be big news about tyres (the brand is not yet known, but in the corridors of the FIA there is a lot of talk about Pirelli) as, like F1, tyre changes during the race will be made compulsory. Drivers will have to stop during the race in a specific pit lane where they will have to “jump” into a second kart, ready with a different type of tyre, with which they will continue the competition. This will not only add spice to the race, but will also incorporate a strong notion of strategic race management. In each event, drivers will have three different types of tyres at their disposal (hard, medium and soft) and will be able to decide which one to use in the different phases of the race as well as for the qualifying times. The maximum number of tyres allocated (per driver and per race weekend) will be ten sets. To be continued…

We are talking about 7″ radial tyres, incorporating F1 technologies, such as an Aramid carcass. These novelties will allow karting to take a step forward in terms of high-tech. This is for a relatively low price, considering the innovations. A selling price of about €450 per set is mentioned.

Info Kartcom / Photo © @formula.addict