S97 MODEL YEAR 2022: HOW THE LATEST EVOLUTION OF THE CHASSIS BY DR RACING KART HAS CHANGED

TKART Staff

10 January 2024 • 18 min. read

CIK-FIA 2022-2024

HOMOLOGATION
The S97 model is a chassis registered with the approval number 002-CH-66, starting from the 2022 season. The new FIA Karting regulation, introduced in 2018, stipulates that the new versions will last indefinitely, provided that an annual fee is paid. (To learn more, read “Special | FIA Approvals: What they are, What they are for, How long they last… The Ultimate Guide!”).

SHIFTER/DIRECT DRIVE

CONFIGURATION
The chassis is approved for both Direct Drive and Shifter use, without geometric distinctions. The only difference is found in the thickness of the tubes of the frame, which is available in both 2 mm (more rigid and more suitable for the Shifter category) and 1.8 mm (more flexible and more suitable for the stresses of the Direct Drive category).

TUBE DIAMETER
The chassis are generally made of 30 and/or 32 mm tubes. The DR Racing Kart S97 has a chassis with all 30 mm diameter tubes.

MANUAL

WELDING
There are two schools of thought that distinguish the welding of a kart chassis: by hand or automated robotic welding. The DR Racing Kart S97 is manually welded by experienced technicians using a continuous arc MIG welding process. The production is implemented by CRG.

ERGAL AND MAGNESIUM

ACCESSORIES
The standard accessories are made of magnesium or 7075 aluminum alloy, depending on the type of application of the component. These are alloys that we can define as more “refined” than classic aluminum and which attest to the highest level of quality offered by the chassis by DR Racing Kart.

Article update of January 2024

Launched on the market in 2012, the S97 chassis is one of the flagships of the DR Racing Kart range. This is why the Italian company, founded (and led) by Danilo Rossi, 5 times World Kart Champion (to learn more read "Dossier | The kart champions of the 1980s and 1990s"), decided to confirm the approval of this chassis once again in 2022, which has a body composed of tubes all 30 mm in diameter, designed to optimally meet the needs of both types of classes: Shifter and Direct Drive.

We went to Arce (about 100 km from Rome, Italy), to the headquarters of DR Racing Kart, to analyse all the new features of the S97 model year 2022, such as the new seat anchor points, the pedals with a more ergonomic design (as well as precautions that preserve their structural tightness) and the predisposition for the installation of 2 different braking systems.

Like all the chassis in the DR Racing Kart range, the S97 chassis also tells a piece of the sporting history of the founder of the Italian company, even if only in its name (which summarises "Salbris 1997", the year and place of the world title in the Formula Super A class.