Series updates, industry news, calendar reschedules, club updates, team & driver news, farewell to an icon – sprint, speedway, endurance, superkart – local and international karting info
INDUSTRY – a shortage of Burris dirt kart tyres will be addressed with an air shipment that is expected to land in Australia in the second week of February. “Usually at this time of year we are busy planning for the arrival of our 40 foot container full to brim with rubber” importer Edward Kart Wheels posted. “Unfortunately with COVID hitting the US hard, we’re seeing complications in getting the order ready on time.” There is currently sufficient stock of TX 11 rears, but no 5” fronts or K21 rears. “To make up for the current shortfall between now and March we have just confirmed an air shipment of K21 Fronts” EKW posted. Pricing will remain the same. K21 rears will arrive later with the main shipment.
TEAM / INDUSTRY – New kart delivery, build-up and group test at Port Macquarie for Tom Williamson Motorsport with the Alonso and Will Power chassis (click to watch video on Facebook):
SERIES BUSINESS – The Golden Power Series will once again offer a “Drive Partner” program for 2021. The program legitimises a marketing spend on karting for karters who have their own business, whilst providing funds for the series.
CALENDAR – As a result of the F1 Grand Prix being re-scheduled, Karting Victoria has confirmed changes to the Golden Power Series calendar, bringing round 2 and beyond forward. It now reads:
- Round 1 – Feb 20/21, Rochester
- Round 2 – March 20/21, Goulburn Valley (original date was May 8, 9)
- Round 3 – May 8/9, Eastern Lions (original date was Jun 5, 6)
- Round 4 – June 5/6, Bendigo (original date was Jul 30/Aug 1)
- Round 5 – July 31/Aug 1, Albury-Wodonga (original date was Oct 16, 17)
- Round 6 – Oct 16/17, Gippsland (original date was Nov 20, 21)
PRO SERIES – A five-round KZ and KA2 ‘pro’ series will run in Queensland this year. A KZ2 Masters division (over 32 @ 185kg) will run within the gearbox class. Organised and sponsored by Patrizicorse Finance, it will feature progressive points where each round becomes more valuable than the previous.
“We are putting this series together to encourage local racing of Australia’s two premier classes at senior and junior level” Patrizicorse posted. All rounds will run in conjunction with the host club’s regular club day. The schedule is:
- Round 1 – 6 Feb (Ipswich)
- Round 2 – 6 March (Ipswich)
- Round 3 – 9 May (Warwick)
- Round 4 – 13 June (Warwick)
- Round 5 – 31 July (Ipswich)
MORE PRO SERIES – West Australian KZ Series have announced a similar concept, KA2 joining KZ2 in a West Pro Series of the premier senior and junior classes. The West Pro Series will follow this seven-event calendar:
TRACK WORKS – Combined Districts Kart Club has made significant progress on the Tower project at the Lithgow circuit the past week. “Some awesome members have stepped up to get this zooming along” the club posted.
EVENTS – KNSW has confirmed locations for its signature events in 2021:
TEAM/DRIVER – CRG has extended its deal with Paolo Ippolito in KZ for the 2021 season. Ippolito will take part in all the FIA events for KZ (European & World Championship) plus some WSK races, using TM engines. “2020 was a very complicated year, both for the Covid-19 pandemic and for the events that occurred at the World Championship in Lonato” Paolo said. “But… I was able to show I was competing on a par with the best drivers in KZ and, from a technical point of view, I think I did a good development job with the team. I am therefore very happy to give continuity to this work.”
INDUSTRY – Will Power Kart Australia and FA Alonso Kart Australia now have their own social media channels. When Tom Williamson Motorsport took over the importation and distribution of the two brands, they were initially combined in one channel. To follow them on Facebook, use these links:
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EURO– WSK Promotion has released this “version 2” calendar for its 2021 race season:
SANITIZED – How’s this for a sign of the times… A hand sanitiser company has become the naming rights sponsor of a karting series in the Unites States. Royce & Baxter, which was established early 2020, will present the ROK Cup Challenge of the Americas karting series. The opening round is in Phoenix on January 22-24. Royce & Baxter President Mike Guasch has been a racer for over 40 years, having competed in dirt track, jet skis, motocross and formula car racing. “My hope is that I can help keep all ROKKERS and their families clean and safe both at the races and wherever they may travel” said Guasch. “Every participant will get a free travel size bottle of Royce and Baxter Premium Hand Sanitizer at every event.”
TRY IT OUT – Tatiara Karting Club and Lucindale Dirt Kart Club will run a combined practice and come-and-try day at Tolmer Speedway on Monday, January 25. Participants can also meet their favourite Sprint Car drivers when the sprinters hit the track later that evening.
UPDATE – CANCELLED! Practice day on Monday 25th is now cancelled due to predicted hot weather. The sprint car driver meet and greet is also cancelled. Speedway pit entry is still allowed prior to 5pm if you still wanted to come early for the speedway.
SUPER JUNIORS – The Victorian Superkart Club is again running a Junior MAX series for 2021. Prizes, schedule and info below:
JOIN UP – Sportsman Endurance Karting (SEK) NSW is encouraging all its series drivers to commit to a membership of the club. “Membership to the club supports our club in ways you can’t imagine” the organisation said. “It most importantly keeps our race fees as low as possible so we can continue to provide some of the cheapest motor sport action in the country.” A yearly membership is just $30. The opening round of the 2021 season is the Eastern Creek 7-Hour on February 13.
CALENDAR – Allan over at Kartbook has spent quite a bit of time pulling together all the various karting calendars from all aspects of karting and listing the events on a dedicated page of the Kartbook site. Individual clubs can update their entries or add new events to include any additional information they want to share. Check it out on Kartbook HERE.
$$ VOUCHERS – Five lots of $100 DPE vouchers will be drawn at random at every round of the Victorian Country Series this year. As naming rights sponsor, DPE Kart Superstore is where the series organisers will do the end-of-year shop for the series prizes, selecting from a massive range of karting product. Run over 6 rounds, competitors will count their best 5 events. The final round at Ballarat offers bonus points by having an extra race in the program.
MODEL – Glenn Davidson (Kart Stickers F100) put some custom made mini stickers on a 1:18 scale model to replicate Max Orsini’s Swiss Hutless kart. The base model is from Minichamps.
VALE – German karting identity Botho G Wagner passed away on January 3. He was 85. Wagner drove in the first kart race organised in Germany in 1960. He became editor of the magazine “Karting”, which was published until the 1980s. He was also involved with the administration of clubs and represented Germany on the International Karting Commission. Wagner and his wife Alice were responsible for the largest karting trade show in the world, organising the annual International Karting Exhibition at Offenbach.
KIMI! – Onboard footage at Zuera with Andrea Kimi Antonelli, testing setups with Kart Republic.
PROMO TIME – Gippsland Go Kart Club in the news:
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