BIREL DRAG, ONE OF THE MOST SOUGHT-AFTER HISTORICAL KARTS BY ENTHUSIASTS

Presented in 1968, the Birel Drag is characterized by a triangular type structure: two tubes start from the rear axle and converge towards the front until they join. Here, at furthest point of the frame, there is the steering shaft attachment, formed by two tubes supporting the uniball. An additional tube, always smaller in diameter, positioned above the uniball serves to fasten the oval-shaped number-bearing plate, which was mandatory at that time to display the race number.

The main frame sizes are: 1010 mm wheelbase, 800 mm rear track width and 740 mm front track width. The diameter of the two main longerons is 30 mm. On each one of them two shorter tubes are fastened which go to the chassis’ Cs, one is always 30 mm in diameter, while the other has a smaller diameter, used to increase the rigidity. This very particular design created a sort of mechanical suspension at the front and it distinguishes the Birel Drag from all the chassis of the time as well as those used today. At the rear, the 25 mm axle is not fastened by means of an axle support bearing as in modern karts but passes directly inside the chassis and rotates on its bearings. Always at the rear, one notices the absence of the bumper, as the chassis ends with a straight bar. The muffler, the most protruding element, is protected by a secondary tube, welded precisely with the objective of preventing the exhaust from leaking in the event of a rear-end collision.