"NAKA announces "Call for Homologation" to chassis manufacturers" PALM SPRINGS, CA - Fred Marik, Executive Director for the North American Karting Association (NAKA), the sanctioning body for the CART Stars of Tomorrow karting series, announced today the further definition of chassis requirements for the series. "One of our goals with respect to the technical base of our program is to bring to America a more consistent adherence to the rules that have proven so successful on the international scene. The vast majority of kart sanctioning in the international arena is governed by CIK, or Commission Internationale de Karting. The NAKA Technical Regulations that were released on December 15 closely parallel the rules put forth by CIK." Marik continued, "One of the defining elements of CIK regulations is the "homologation" of many of the principal parts of a kart. Homologation is a process wherein the manufacturer of a part applies to CIK for acceptance of his product into a particular class that is offered. CIK will review the application, take measurements and otherwise document the defining characteristics of the part in question. Upon completion of this process, the homologation form becomes the de facto comparison artifact for technical purposes at the race track." "In our early stages of expansion of the Stars program, we plan to accept all currently active and accepted CIK homologations," Marik stated. "We realize however that many of the American chassis manufacturers have never applied for CIK homologation because the vast majority of their customer base is here in the States. We want to be inclusive in our efforts to bring about this series, and, in this light, we are making a call for NAKA homologation to all chassis manufacturers that wish to participate in the Stars program." Mr. Scott G Evans, NAKA National Technical Director, will be responsible for coordinating the chassis homologation effort. For 2002, chassis homologation from either CIK or NAKA will be required for entry in the Intercontinental C (ICC), 80cc Shifter Junior and CIK World Formula classes only. For CIK homologation to be accepted at NAKA events in the ICC class, the homologation must be specifically for that class. For the 80cc Shifter class, CIK homologations in either the ICA or Junior ICA classes will be accepted. Chassis for use in the ROTAX Max International and Yamaha Junior Superbox classes need only meet the defined structural and dimensional requirements of the NAKA Technical Regulations and homologation is not required. "Due to the relatively short lead time for this process, we will take a rather different approach to the NAKA homologation of chassis, " Evans said. "We will make a NAKA homologation form available to the chassis manufacturer, asking that it be filled out in its entirety, with a vehicle photograph and a dimensional drawing, signed by an official representative and forwarded to NAKA for review, approval and filing. These characteristics will become the standards for acceptance across the country for that particular model of chassis. Any modification to the chassis by the manufacturer that meets the minimum production lot size and does not represent a different model can be described on a homologation extension form, also filled out and submitted by the manufacturer. Only current production models and their immediate predecessor are eligible for homologation." Evans explains the process, "By January 5, 2002, all the required forms and instructions will be posted and available for downloading at the NAKA Internet website, www.NAKARTING.com. Any interested manufacturer may read and retrieve the homologation requirements and applicable forms. These forms must be filled out and forwarded to our Palm Springs office for review, approval and compilation. We will post an ongoing list of chassis homologation approvals on the website so that the competitor can see when his chassis has been accepted for use. We will make every effort to ensure that all the manufacturers are aware of the process, but we are also hoping that the competitors will notify their dealer if the deadline comes near and their particular chassis is yet to be homologated." The NAKA homologation fee is $200 per chassis submitted. The deadline for receipt of homologation application forms is February 15, 2002. For more information on NAKA or the CART Stars of Tomorrow series, contact Fred Marik at the NAKA office, 760-416-1864 or at nakarting@aol.com. Click here to check out the North American Karting Association's website!