Commencing in 2020, Kip Foster’s KF Karts will be made in Italy.
The West Australian, who has quite an international following due to his efforts over the years in international events, confirmed to KartSportNews that a deal has been finalised with Ronni Sala for BirelART to manufacture the KF range.
The karts will be imported and distributed in Australia by Patrizicorse.
KF karts have previously been made by DPE Kart Technology in Melbourne.
“The product (from DPE) has been good” Kip explained, “but because I’ve been racing there, I have people in Singapore and other parts of Asia that want the kart, but I can’t sell it there because they can’t race it (due to non-homologation).
“To grow the brand I need a product that I can sell world wide.”
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The idea of the switch developed in Las Vegas at the recent SuperNationals (at which Kip won), however, he has yet to do a deal to supply America.
“I have a good following there, and there are teams interested in running the kart, but I still need to work out how to tackle that.
“For Australia, Michael (Patrizi) will import the karts and he will manage warehousing and shipping to dealers and customers.”
Kip admits it’s going to be a few months before any karts are ready to hit the track.
“We’ve still to settle on the sticker design, the look of the race suits and all the gear. But the deal is done.”
In addition to their headline BirelART brand, the company in Lissone also manufacture Ricciardo Kart, Charles Leclerc Kart, Kubica Racing Kart and Fullerton.
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