Under Review | Racer 401R, the latest evolution of the top-of-the-range Tony Kart chassis

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Under Reviews

RACER 401 R, TOP-OF-THE-RANGE TONY KART CHASSIS

Max Bernardi

16 April 2019

CIK-FIA 2014 - 2020

HOMOLOGATION
Approval of the Tony Kart Racer dates back to 2014. It is valid for 6 years.

OK - OKJ

CONFIGURATION
The chassis is suitable both for use with non-shifter and shifter engines. The version shown in the photos is the non-shifter

TUBES DIAMETER
Tubes of 30 and 32 mm are generally used, either of equal measure or mixing and matching. The Racer 401R has all 30-mm tubes

ROBOT

WELDING
There are two “schools of thought”: manual or automated. OTK subscribes to the latter, welding with robots

MAGNESIUM

ACCESSORIES
The OTK Group’s chassis have accessories in magnesium

The 401R chassis is the continuation, spanning two decades, of Tony Kart’s flagship chassis. There are no wholesale changes with respect to the past: the OTK Group engineers have concentrated their efforts on refining every detail. However, there are still plenty of innovations, starting with the new front number plate fairing and the “hi-grip” steering wheel.

The frame of the new Tony Kart Racer 401R is unchanged with respect to the S version. Therefore, it is a chassis with a traditional shape, consisting of 30 mm diameter tubes welded by robots. Welding, an important phase in the construction of a chassis, is one of the strengths of OTK’s production, the group that owns the Tony Kart, Kosmic Kart, FA Kart, Exprit Kart and Redspeed brands: the expertise gained and the use of the latest generation automated welding machinery makes it possible to produce frames that are perfectly identical to one another, eliminating the variable represented by human error.

Compared to the previously approved chassis, the 401R introduces new seat supports. This area now features a block (sporting the OTK logo in relief) welded to the chassis, to which the seat bracket is fixed. This solution avoids having to fold the support plates, which in the past were welded of the chassis, preventing possible failures over time. Furthermore, the anomalous stresses created when attaching the seat have been eliminated, keeping the chassis neutral.

The new Tony Kart Racer 401 R also includes graphic restyling

The floor panel is raised by 7 mm compared to the past, to prevent the self-locking nuts from scraping against the curbs

The shape of the floor panel is new and has been optimised to improve aerodynamics

The floor panel has also undergone some improvements, in particular the fixing supports, now with a smaller section compared to the Racer 401S: a solution that allows the chassis to heat up less during welding and yet again underlines the attention to detail in OTK’s production operation. The floor panel itself has been raised by 7 mm to prevent the fixing nuts from touching the tarmac and wearing down. At their lowest point, the floor panel fixing screws are now at the same height as the chassis tubes. However, the most noticeable change concerns the size of the floor panel, whose surface has been significantly increased, reaching the ends of the chassis tubes and completely closing the front end. The advantages are in terms of aerodynamics and the optimisation of air flow at high speeds.