Mexico has a long-standing passion for motor sport. Karting Competition is currently undergoing a major overhaul, with the aim of offering Mexican Drivers as many opportunities as possible to exercise their talents and improve their skills.
The Formula Karts series is about to embark on its 10th season as a national promoter. Since 2017, Formula Karts has organised the National Championship on behalf of the Mexican ASN, the OMDAI Sport México. Each event brings together an average of 130 Drivers, some of whom come from the United States, Peru and Argentina.
Light, powerful and accessible: OK-N arrives in Mexico in 2024
Carlos Medina Padilla, CEO and founder of Grupo Camp, promoter of the Formula Karts National Championship, presents the action plan drawn up jointly with OMDAI Sport México:
“To ensure the development of national Karting Competition, Mexico has chosen to rely on CIK-FIA homologated engines. The Mini Gr.3 and KZ2 categories have now been joined by the OK-N, in its Junior and Senior versions. The 2023 season gave us the opportunity to follow the introduction of OK-N in Europe before taking the plunge ourselves. This new category offers improved performance compared with the previous configurations available on the market. We ran a series of tests on different tracks towards the end of the year, and the feedback from competitors was very positive. They were particularly impressed by the power and torque of the new engines.
“The OK-N engines help competitors to keep their budgets under control, which fits in perfectly with our vision of racing. The reliability of these tried-and-tested powertrains translates into lower running costs. We expect the number of participants to increase by around 15%. We plan to attract two or three engine manufacturers to OK-N in the first year and our aim is to have at least 60 engines running by the end of 2024.”
The 2024 Mexico Karting Championship calendar comprises six national Events and three regional series using the same regulations, procedures and class structure. The race weekend programme follows the FIA Karting model with Free Practice on Friday, Qualifying Practice and Qualifying Heats on Saturday, Super Heats, and Finals on Sunday. 22 cameras are available to assist the marshals in monitoring the races, FIA lights are installed on the start/finish line, the track marshals complete their action at flag level with lights at each position, the timing uses the APEX Timing system as in FIA Karting and a broadcast of the races is provided on Sunday.
Mexico is implementing a structured plan to increase the number and level of its competitors, based on the FIA Karting model. For the coming season, OK-N will be a new focus for development, with the ambition of encouraging the best Drivers to enter international Competition. The possibility of taking part in the FIA Karting World Cup – OK-N in the United Kingdom next September is motivating many Mexican Drivers.
OMDAI Sport México President Jorge J. Abed said: “We are very happy to see one of our main karting championships in Mexico, is following the proposed path by CIK-FIA and OMDAI Sport México, introducing the new FIA Homologated OK-N Engine. We are convinced that this competitive and accessible category will soon become a very attractive option for teams and drivers and hopefully, we will see more of it in the country. This initiative aligns with OMDAI purpose to offer new development paths and prepare a new generation at the highest standard of competition.”
Info FIA Karting / Photos Grupo Camp Racing Solutions