XR50 Review
Richard Blackburn from UK dealer AIM MotorSport regularly offers track tests with the aixro XR50,
so he gets to see many smiling faces. This time a customer came to see what the XR50 is worth
before AIM MotorSport's race at Three Sisters, and he wrote down his experience here:
www.drive2.ru/users/england66/blog
For thouse who are not so good at Russian (ourselves included), we kindly got an English summary:
"Last week I had a perfect opportunity to test a Aixro XR50 powered kart. All this happened thanks
to Richard. Very polite and kind person, and in my opinion he is person number one in England to
speak about Aixros. My testing day was at Three Sisters track, where Aixro-guys had a Thursday
practise session. First I was watching them through the fence, and I tell you the truth, I was a bit
scared about speeds they reach on start straight.
Then it was my turn. Richard was in a front driving another Aixro - to show me the track layout.
Despite he was on cold tyres he disappeared somewhere (I was too slow). Anyway, after a couple of
laps I started to understand what a beast this small angry engine is. Tremendous power from the
bottom and never stopping power band until the engine hits the limiter. The sense of speed is just
mind blowing.
I have never driven such a fast kart. Acceleration, corner speeds, all this things will make you
forget any other machines you have tried. And all this comes in a gear-free kart. Another good point
of Aixros is that they are based on top range front brake chassis (I guess normally used for KZ2).
This gives us extra corner speed, lots of adjustments, and sure extra confidence in late braking.
It was my first time with a front brake kart, and my mind was switching on the brake pedal to early.
It’s hard to understand how quick they can brake. You have to get used to it.
Then I was watching Richard testing one of the other Aixros trying to fine tune the engine. This
person can go fast too! Don't take this as an advertising, but I was pretty shocked to see a
seller/mechanic/racer – all in one. Nice person, I recommend to get in touch with him, in case you
are thinking of Aixros. Thanks Richard!
And the final sentence is about Aixro.. What is it? My opinion, that Aixro is probably the most
advanced kart engine option on the market. With no rivals in this sector, no rivals in reliability
and speed. And when you stick this little engine with a top range front brake chassis, you get
probably the best package your money can buy. Does it mean I'm Richard's customer? Yes!"
2011 Racing Kicked Off
The 2011 race series has kicked off nicely with races in Veldhoven (NL) and
Teesside (UK). The Veldhoven race did not have as many drivers as we were used to,
mainly due to the holiday season, but the racing was very exciting and as always
great fun to watch - and lots of fun for the drivers.
Despite some rain, the race at Teesside went really well and everybody had a great
time. This applied especially to the drivers from continental Europe, who were
not really sure why they would be driving up to 1000km for a kart race until they
got to the track. It was superb; more than 1.6km long and really, really fast!
Congratulations to Jurgen De Block, who managed to win both races, though it was
very close at both Veldhoven and Teesside.
Next up are Berghem (NL) on the 3rd of April and PFi (UK) on the 24th of April.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Veldhoven
photos from Heidi Montfoort
and
race results from TimeService
Teesside
photos from Jan Toussaint,
videos on YouTube
and
race results from AIM MotorSport
New 2011 aixro XR50
The aixro XR50 has been redesigned for 2011. It now comes with a
digital ignition system, which has been developed in cooperation with
German ignition specialist PVL.
Its variable ignition timing and integrated start support has resulted in significantly
improved starting performance, and the higher spark quality and intensity yield
increased bottom end power. The ignition is self-sustaining, so it
does not require a battery to start and run, but if a battery is
aboard the integrated alternator will supply 50W regulated current to
keep the battery fully charged.
Integrating the ignition was not easy because it affected the engine's dynamic balance.
This unfortunately means that it is hardly possible to retrofit the ignition to
older engines. But after very satisfying results on the aixro XF40,
both aixro and we were very determined to have
the PVL ignition on the XR50 as well.
Find further engine details and pictures on the
aixro XR50 product page.
Torque Magazine: "Redefined Karting"
UK-based Torque Magazine gave the Aixro XR50 a try, "expecting to find yet another
engine that has tried and failed to match the ‘adequacy’ of the Rotax Max".
Well, we had them convinced - not just of the power, but also of the drivability!
It appears they had a great time driving the engine in both wet and dry conditions,
but read the article yourself here.
Many thanks to Torque Magazine for this great review, and likewise to our UK
dealer AIM MotorSport for hosting the test drive.
Karting Events: Round 2, 2010
The second round of the Karting Events Race Series took place in perfect sunshine at the “De Landsard” track in Veldhoven. In the time practice Robert de Boer marked his territory with a clear P1, 3 tenths ahead of Jurgen de Block and Julien DeBolle further behind.
The first race took off with a hard fight for the first corner, which made Robert de Boer and Jurgen de Block lose a few positions as Julien DeBolle took P1 ahead of Bjorn Bourgonjon. But Robert came back very quickly to catch Bjorn and Julien, and then he escaped for a comfortable victory. After a few laps Bjorn also managed to get past Julien, but did not get away. Julien stayed behind him throughout the race and did not notice Jurgen de Block, who had fought hard to catch up. Therefore he “left the door open”, and Jurgen overtook him in the very last lap to finish third.
The second race again started with some rumbling in the first corner, and again Julien DeBolle managed to take P1, this time closely followed by Jurgen de Block and Robert de Boer. Since both Jurgen and Robert were clearly quicker, it did not take long until they overtook him to duel for the victory. Robert tried his luck several times, but did not manage to get past Jurgen, so Jurgen took the victory in the second race ahead of Robert and Julien.
Winner of the day was Robert de Boer ahead of Jurgen de Block, Julien DeBolle, Jean-Patrick Demoutiez, Bernd Kapper and Poul Henrik Woelfle.
Race Results: www.raceresults.nu
Further pictures of the race: www.heidipictures.nl
Karting Events: Round 1, 2010
The weather forecast did not bode well for the first race of the
Karting Events race series. And in the morning it still rained cats
and dogs, so half the paddock walked around in gumboots, and the
free practice was raced with wet tyres. But when it came to the time
practice, it had stopped raining, the sun came out, and the track
was about to turn dry. Still everybody was out on wet tyres – except
Jurgen de Block, who put all his eggs in one basket and went out on
slicks. One more lap, and he would probably have made it to pole
position, but he still came in fourth place. Fastest was Fabian
Müller ahead of Robert de Boer and René Bosman.
In the first race Fabian Müller got well away from the start and
caught an easy win. Jurgen de Block came in 2nd, closely followed by
Bjorn Bourgonjon. Behind them followed Bernd Kapper, Poul Henrik
Woelfle and Robert de Boer, who had fought his way through the pack
after being too late on the brakes in a fight with Bjorn Bourgonjon
at the early stages of the race.
In the second race Jurgen de Block won the start ahead of Fabian
Müller and managed to get away in the first few laps. But then
Fabian Müller closed the gap very quickly, so it was a tough fight
until the end of the race, but Fabian just didn’t get past Jurgen.
In the next to last corner he tried his luck once more, but there
was not enough space, so he hit Jurgen unfortunately from the back.
As he came out first from the collision, Fabian won the race ahead
of Jurgen de Block and Bjorn Bourgonjon.
Behind these three there were some exciting fights throughout the
race. These were won by fourth-placed Julien DeBolle ahead of
Jean-Patrick Demoutiez and Poul Henrik Woelfle.
Congratulations to the winner Fabian Müller, Jurgen de Block in
second place and Bjorn Bourgonjon in third – and many thanks to
everybody for a great start to the season.
Race results: www.raceresults.nu
Further pictures of the race: www.heidipictures.nl
2010 Race Series
The Aixro race series are gaining ground!
AIM MotorSport and Karting Events are approaching their second season, and in Spain we will have the COPA AIXRO.
We are looking forward to a new season with exciting races and a good spirit.
Find further information and the race dates in the events section.
Karting Season 2009
Now that the first karting season with Aixro XR50 race series is over, we can look back on a very successful year 2009.
Though some of the drivers didn’t make it for the last race in Berghem/Oss, we still had 14 drivers on the grid – a very respectable result for a new race series, so as in the UK things are looking great for 2010!
We would like to thank all drivers who attended the races and of course the organizers Karting Events and AIM Motorsport, who made the race series possible. We hope you had as much fun as we did, and that you will be around again for next year.
And we congratulate the winners Justin Coxon (AIM Motorsport) and Jurgen de Block (Karting Events)!
Photos of the last two Karting Events races can be seen and bought from the website of
Heidi Montfoort, an extensive report about the last race is available on
www.autosport.nl.
Karting Magazine: “Absolutely Awesome!”
The September Edition of Karting Magazine features an article written by an excited test driver: Martin Capenhurst.
Martin, who is an institution in British karting and organizer of the KartMania show, took part in the June Race of the AIM Motorsport Aixro XR50 Race Series.
Read the article to find out how much fun he had. Or read the complete magazine that includes a report on eight F1 drivers testing karts at Lonato (www.kartingmagazine.com – online edition costs GBP 1.50).
Many thanks to AIM Motorsport and of course to Martin – see you again at www.kartmania.co.uk in December 2009!
Race Report: Hahn
To make it short: great track, great fun, great event, great weekend!
Instead of having all three races on one day, we had the first race on Saturday afternoon, then a barbecue and party in the evening, and another two races the next day.
And since the Aixro drivers are developing a good friendship and team spirit, they did not just show great races and the best lap times, but they also stayed longest at the party.
Keep up the good spirit, and see you at Emmen! Oh, the results: Falko Günther dominated the weekend and won all three races ahead of Jurgen De Block.
Robert De Boer completed the podium with a fine performance – driving the Aixro XR50 for the first time!
2009 race series update
We have been very busy the last weeks, so with quite a delay we now want to provide an update on the new Aixro race series:
With comparably big numbers expected, the first two races of the Dutch Karting Events race series were a bit disappointing with 8 drivers in Veldhoven and only 6 drivers in Emsbüren.
Apparently people wanted to see how things pick up first and then join in when they know it’s OK.
As the participating drivers were really excited and spread good news about how much fun they had, we now ended up with a remarkable 15 drivers at Spa Francorchamps – even our dealer José Barrantes and his driver Juanjo Gazapo came all the way from Spain!
Many of the drivers are now planning to run the remaining races of the season and more will join in, so we are expecting good numbers for the next race.
At the “race weekend” in Hahn we will probably see even more, as we are expecting some guest starters there.
Here are links to the current ranking and the
full results.
Despite some drivers hesitating in the UK as well, the AIM Motorsport race series had a terrific start at PFi with 15 drivers.
The races were great, everybody had lots of fun, and though the following race was just postponed due to quite a few late sign-outs, we are convinced that the series will soon have more than 20 drivers.
As pictures say more than words, take a look at the photos from the race on the website of AIM Motorsport
and see the video on youtube.
Both race series are not the ultimate challenge for the next F1 talent, but a really good platform for more and less experienced drivers to have a great time together.
And if you enjoy karting, you will enjoy racing even more!!
If you want to come along as well, you want to know more, or you want to rent an engine to test the Aixro XR50 in a race, just feel free to contact us.
Aixro XR50 in Japan Kart magazine
The March 2009 issue of Japan Kart magazine features a three-page article about the Aixro XR50!
Many, many thanks to Midori Ikenouchi and Japan Kart, who made this possible,
and who allowed us to publish the article on our website.
Details about the Japan Kart magazine are available on
www.japankart.co.jp.
2009 Race Series
The race dates have been announced, and the interest in the two new 2009 race series is more than remarkable!
In the UK 22 drivers are registered by now. And in BeNe/Germany 15 drivers are registered already, though the race series has just been released.
Details and race dates of the UK series are available from Aim Motorsport www.aim-motorsport.co.uk.
Details and dates of the BeNe/Germany series will soon be available from www.kartingevents.nl.
If you have any questions, please also feel free to contact us.
IKA Kart 2009
The IKA 2009 show in Offenbach was a perfect start to the new season. The high interest from both customers and dealers confirmed that we are on the right path. We are now not just known for the immense power of the Aixro XR50, but also for its reliability.
The increase in requests after the show points in the same direction, so we are looking forward to a very successful year 2009.
KartMania 2008
It was great to see our rotary engines continue to gain acceptance and excitement among the British karting crowd.
The interest in the 2009 race series was immense, and while the competition is struggling, we provide the true powerful and reliable 4-stroke alternative.
The increase in requests after the show points in the same direction, so we are looking forward to a very successful year 2009.
Many thanks to Richard, Brian and of course Steve of Aim Motorsport for the great job they have done!
SLR Season Finish
We finished the SLR season with 2 great weeks in (mostly) sunny France.
As always we had many interesting guests at the karting track – this time also the young talents of Deutsche Post Speed Academy.
In the SLR karts they showed their skills with extremely fast lap times, and in the SLR GT car they proved their potential for the future. To some it was a surprise that they were less than a second off the fastest professional race drivers in the GT, because they drove it for the very first time.
But for us it was another proof that karting is the best driver training!
www.speed-academy.de
SLR Spa Francorchamps
What a weekend it was at Spa Francorchamps!
Daimler occupied most of the Formula 1 paddock, New Swiss Hutless did the same at the karting track, and a few hundred (!) Mercedes-Benz owners from Belgium came to see the SLR GT race (Jean Alesi won), race their own cars on the GP track, and to get the real racing feeling in the SLR karts.
World Champions in SLR Karts
At the last SLR Event on the Paul Ricard race track two very successful sportsmen dropped by to test the SLR karts.
The one was Wimbledon-winner Boris Becker, the other Formula 1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen! Both were surprised by the performance and truly enjoyed themselves – just like Andy Brunner from New Swiss Hutless and Paul Woelfle.
Brooklands Double Twelve at Mercedes-Benz World
At McLaren-Mercedes’ big “Double Twelve” event on 28 and 29 June 2008, held at the impressive Mercedes-Benz World facility near London – possibly world’s largest Mercedes outlet – Aixro and Swiss Hutless, represented by Kai Attwood, kept the best of company with their SLR kart in the SLR pavilion. Sir Stirling Moss, Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen were among the active participants.
The numerous, karting-enthusiast professional drivers who visited the SLR pavilion were agreed: The SLR kart would have been the fastest of all the vehicles around that fairly tight circuit. Unfortunately, the catch fencing around the track is anything but kart-friendly, which is why we will have to await the next opportunity to provide the evidence. All the more so, we look forward to a reunion.
Karting1 Test on YouTube: More than 500.000 clicks
About 1½ years ago, the british online karting magazine www.karting1.co.uk
tested the Aixro XR50 and put a short film about the test on YouTube. When it reached 50,000 views, we were really impressed. Now the legendary video has exceeded the threshold of 500,000 views. Congratulations and many thanks, karting1!
Mission Everest on Discovery Channel
The 60 minute documentation about the GKN Mission Everest will be shown on Discovery Channel for the first time on November 25th and again on December 1st and 2nd 2007.
http://dsc.discovery.com
Hyundai Kart Wintercup: 2nd stage
The second stage of Hyundai-Kart-Wintercup took place on December 8th in very cold, but dry conditions. Spectators got to see exciting duels between the international field of drivers. All this left Joel Berends unimpressed – he won both races.
SLR Event October
At the third and last SLR Event in 2007 we were again able to prove how quick a SLR kart is. Customers from all over the world – also celebrities like golf legend Nick Faldo – were impressed by the direct driving experience and the enormous speed.
Live at London Science Museum
The London Science Museum has shown a GKN Mission Everest live event. The event highlighted the technical achievement of the mission, in which Mount Everest was overflown with a paramotor. This achievement can especially be accredited to Giles Cardozo, who used an Aixro engine as a basis for the most powerful paramotor ever made.
www.parajet.com
www.gknmissioneverest.com
