Just thought this might be interesting, Andre Martins from tonykart Florida compiled a graph of chassis popularity at the Rotax Grand Nationals which were held last weekend. This is their "big rotax race" which determines who gets to go the the Rotax Grand Finals in Al Ain.

Here's the graph:

Yes in America and Canada,

CRG is VERY VERY big. Especially because of the New Dural Braking that was launched this year. I actually was talking to one of the club president of a kart club in California and CRG is practically Sweeping the scene there. Plus their market there is extremely huge.

Just a comment that Rotax kart popularity isn't the same as popularity in other racing classes in the US. Even in Rotax, I suspect the order might be different if DD2 was split off because DD2 chassis are very unique with the axle going thru the case and there are actually significant differences in brands for that class (ie. some major brands aren't that good).

Otherwise, what is most popular at world/national races (and for newbies) is pretty much what ever manufacturer spent the most preparing and winning in the most recent high visibility races. And that doesn't really have much value to people who don't have a relationship with a manufacturer.

A lot of Birels were sold in the US in 2005 and 1st half of 2006 because Birel won the 2005 STARS ICC championship (and others). Now a lot of CRGs are being sold in the US because CRG is dominating the top class in STARS. But the fact is, neither chassis was special, what was special was Mike Speed running the show for the winning driver both years. Carlton and Speed would be just as dominant with any of the major chassis and then that one would be the temporary "most popular".

Hoosier I think you're right on the money. CRG and Birel also seem to have very strong dealer support through SSC and MRP. Until now I wasn't aware that Arrow karts were as popular there as they seem to be (at least in Rotax), do they have a strong dealer network?

I very much doubt CRG is popular in Rotax now because of a new braking system, most drivers probably aren't aware of a new system and it's not as if you can gain much from "better" brakes. Like you said it seems in the US big race results are very important for current drivers when looking for a new kart, and they also value dealer support and parts availability a lot.

Maybe the News is not popular here in this region, but every where else people DO know about the brakes. And One of the reason is because Mofaz pulled out. So that explains the drop in the brand in this region,

are the new brakes proven to lower lap times?

they aren't proven to lower lap time, but they are proven to improve feel and comfort, so you can go farther to the edge much easier before locking up... i use them and i like them a lot more.

It is really dependant on what region of North America you're in. If you visit the Stars of Karting Series you will notice that Top Kart, Birel, Kosmic, CRG, and ItalKart are very popular. However, at my local club track, Birel, Merlin, and PCR are popular. And at the regionals/nationals Arrow has a good following, probably because one of their drivers finishes near the front constantly. My dad almost became an Arrow dealer a couple years ago, but we really didn't have the money.

Thats very true. It really depends on the size of the dealer in that region. For example in this region, James runs the biggest kart distribution and swiss hutless is seen everywhere.

The size of the dealer isn't the first reason though - a dealer becomes big because of a variety of factors including good service, marketing, pricing strategy, track-side and parts support, and general customer satisfaction. All those things come first to make a dealer big and their karts popular.

A contributing factor to these numbers is that SSC Racing is the US importer for both CRG chassis and Rotax motors, so putting them together just makes sense. SSC is also a very professional company, with presence on both east and west coast, and good dealer network.

5 Margay karts! That is surprisingly low, but maybe this is because they are more known for their 100cc karts rather than shifter and rotax chassis karts.javascript:emoticon(':)')