Update: Super One appointed as UK ROK qualifying series

For the first time, the ROK Cup will be coming to the UK, as the Super One series adds the class to its roster of classes.

The series organisers announced today that they will be running classes for Mini, Junior, Senior and Master ROK with the series champions earning a golden ticket to either the international final or US final. The series will use Bridgestone tyres, with the Super One series organisers being names the new UK distributors for the brand. The specs of the engines are not revolutionary in the karting world, with the mini ROK being a 60cc air-cooled unit, while the Junior and Senior classes will most likely use the ROK GP engines, which are water-cooled 125cc affairs. The main difference between the ROK classes and other karting classes are that the Junior engine has a power valve. This could end up seeing a performance bump in the Junior classes compared to Rotax and X30 in the UK.

The ROK by Vortex has been extremely popular all over the globe, with series running on every continent, however the class has never had a full series in the UK. The various ROK cup culminate in the International final, traditionally held in Italy as well as the US final. The US event being held on a temporary circuit at the Rio all suites hotel, and has become known as ‘ROK the Rio’.

All of this is all well and good, but does the UK actually need another karting class? When Iame introduced the X30 class, it was met with some mixed receptions. Quite a few people in the karting community believed that it would dilute the grids so far that it would be un-sustainable for some clubs. Now we have the Rotax, Iame, TKM and OK classes running in the UK, with the latter struggling to gain traction since its introduction. Super One itself already has 4 different classes that run under its umbrella: Rotax, Iame, TKM & Honda. They are now adding a 5th in the ROK classes. Will there be enough drivers to go around?

The series will visit 4 tracks along with the regular Super One Classes. The ROK Cup starts at Fulbeck on March 23/24 before heading to Rowrah on May 18/19. Then its a trip to Clay Pigeon on June 22/23. The final will be during the 3 day mega meeting at Shenington in August alongside the rest of the Super One grid. That means a total of 15 classes will be on track during the 3 days of racing, making it a true festival of karting.

Image: ROK Cup USA