Win & Second for Kiwi ROKer In Thailand

Young Kiwi karter Jacob Douglas claimed a win and second place on debut at this year’s Kart Championship of Thailand/ROK Cup Thailand meeting at the Bira Kart Circuit at Pattaya (south-west of Bangkok) over the April 07/08 weekend.

Kiwi karter Jacob Douglas leads a group of karters in one of the Mini ROK races in Thailand over the weekend (pic – Kart Association of Thailand)

Douglas, 12, from Christchurch, the 2017 New Zealand Vortex Mini ROK class national sprint champion, was invited to attend the meeting in Thailand by members of the Thai team he met at the 2017 ROK Cup International meeting in Italy last November.

He was accompanied on the trip by his father Craig and long-time mentors Matthew and Tiffany Hamilton from Christchurch’s WKS kart shop and was quick from the get-go.

Douglas and mentor Tiffany Hamilton before one of the races (pic – Kart Association of Thailand)

On Saturday, when he contested the Mini ROK class at the second round of this year’s Kart Championship of Thailand meeting, he was fastest in the warm up before winning the heat race then coming back from finishing a close second in the Pre-Final to win the Final after a spectacular last corner pass.

Sunday’s opening round of the ROK Cup Thailand series proved a slightly harder nut to crack, but after qualifying fifth the Christchurch young gun worked his way forward to start and finish the Final in second place.

. Jacob Douglas (black overalls P2) sharing the ROK Cup Thailand Rnd 1 podium with Mini ROK Final winner Sitarvee Limnantharak and third placed Phanutakoch Asdathorn (pic – Kart Association of Thailand)

The Mini ROK Final at the ROK Cup Thailand meeting was won by top local driver Sitarvee Limnantharak of the Singha Maxima team (who finished runner-up to Douglas on Saturday) from Douglas, and CRG Thailand’s Phanutakoch Asdathorn.