Track Warrior Breaks Cover
The much anticipated launch of the new kart brand from DPE took place at the Oakleigh Go Kart Track on Wednesday night. Three chassis were on display; one fitted with an IAME Leopard engine, another with a Subaru 4-stroke motor, plus a rolling chassis.
Kart dealers and guests in attendance were addressed by DPE General Manager George Turton and Company Director Drew Price.
The duo was keen to point out that the aim of this new brand of kart was to expand the sport and simply get more people into karting. While it is expected the new machine will appear in AKA races, particularly at club level, the kart was not designed to go out and win state championships. That is what the Arrow brand is for.
Instead, the Track Warrior is designed to offer recreational and hobbyist karters a much more affordable way of owning race spec equipment without all the unnecessary frills and cost. In fact, Price is hoping to pitch the machine to the growing number of private circuit owners and the non-competition karters that frequent those facilities for fun, or to simply race their mates in a social setting.
The Track Warrior is the first new 'brand' sprint kart from DPE in the last 25 years. DPE launched the Ace kart in 1973, followed by Demon in 1981 then Arrow in 1985.
Above: Cameron McConville presents Lee Howell, an active karter from the Geelong club, with his new Track Warrior, the first off the production line.
Above: Plenty of room for radiators for water-cooled engines.
Above: And on the other side, plenty of room for many different types of engine, including 4-strokes.
Above: Chassis layout is typical of a modern day race kart - 3 rail design, 40mm axle supported in 3 bearings. Tubing is robust 32mm chrome molly.
Above: Bold, high impact graphics
Above: With the covers off, it was time for a closer look.
Above: Back to basics fuel tank
Above: Track ready with Subaru KX21 4-stroke engine.
Above: A target of the Track Warrior project was to pull $1000 out of the retail price of a kart. Going back to simple but still effective components, such as the basic fuel tank and this steering wheel, helped to achieve that.
Above: Seat mounting for the strong and lower cost seat.
Above: Rear axle bearing cassette
Above: On a cold and wet night, Lee Howell was the first to try the new kart on the track. This was the Subaru powered machine, the engine having just received AKA homologation.
Above: The kart was tested by several dealers in attendance; even the boss had a go! David Sera hands Drew Price some gloves.
Above: Drew making a rare appearance behind the wheel was enough to get everyone out in the bitter cold to watch.
