EAT IT – A food truck festival will be part of the Ultimate Club Racer II event at Monarto, South Australia, on November 4-6. Held on the Saturday evening, each driver will receive a free meal and drink ticket to the festival. The ‘club focused’ classes on offer include 4SS, KA4, KA3, TaG 125 Restricted and TaG 125 in various weight divisions. The winner in each class/division will earn the right to wear a silver number plate at all club events for the following 12 months. Also, two drivers from each state will be chosen from the Cadet 9, Cadet 12, KA4 Junior and 4SS classes to accumulate points for the State-of-Origin component of the event.
NEW EVENT – The MORAC Adventure Park in Langkawi, Malaysia (a 21-turn circuit that has previously hosted the Rotax World Finals) will host a new Rotax event in December that will offer tickets to the 2023 RMC Grand Finals. The RMC Asia Festival will host five petrol-powered Rotax classes (Mico, Mini, Junior, Senior and DD2 with a Masters division) on December 9 to 11.
DUCK?! – Watch out for the bird! On-board with Adelaide Cadet karter Athrun Smith at Monarto.
CLASS SHIFT – Organises have announced that next year’s Challenge Of The Americas series will include FIA Karting’s new OK-N category plus a ROK Shifter class for Junior drivers. “We are excited to be the first program in North America to embrace the OK-N engine program” series promoter Andy Seesemann said before clarifying the assumption of a smooth homologation process and adequate supply of product which, for the 2023 series, will only allow the Vortex OK-N to compete. A restricted performance header is being developed for the ROK Shifter engine for its use in the Junior class for 12 to 15-year olds.
INTERNATIONAL LUBES – Lubricant manufacturers have been reminded that the deadline to submit a lubricant approval application for the 2023 FIA Karting race year is 15 November 2022. “This deadline includes the approval application received by the CIK-FIA and validated by the responsible ASN (National Sporting Authority) as well as the sample sent to the Intertek laboratory” an FIA Karting statement said. The CIK-FIA’s Approval Regulations can be downloaded HERE.
VIC FUNDING – Several Karting Victoria clubs have been successful in the final round of the Victorian Government’s Community Motorsport Program for 2022. The Wimmera club received close to $10,000 towards the purchase of a safety and recovery response vehicle, the Ballarat club received a grant for the purchase of new IT equipment, the Swan Hill club received funding for safety and operational clothing while the Rochester club will put their funding towards a new track safety light system. Well done to all involved! According to sport.vic.gov.au, Motorsport in Victoria supports more than 4,000 jobs and contributes about $700 million to the Victorian economy.
QLD FUNDING – The Emerald Karting Club has received $991,300 from the Queensland Regional Resources Fund and will use it to install sport field lighting around the circuit. “We’ll be able to offer after-dark club and community activities all-year round, including competitions and club meets – something that will be fantastic, particularly for summer evenings” club President Tarina Rix said. Karting Australia reported the club will also become a major multi-purpose night-time venue for the Central Highlands “that will be great for community participation in sporting, social and recreational events”.
EURO RACING – WSK Promotion is claiming a new tradition has been born as the youngest talents of World Karting raced for the inaugural title of “WSK Mini Super Cup” champion. This debut event was run at La Conca in Italy at the beginning of September and won by Iacopo Martinese. Below is the video highlights package.
PROMOTION – Karting was well represented at the Pukekohe Supercars round with Kartsport NZ having a display inside “Merch Alley”. The organisation had a wide range of karts on show to represent various disciplines of the sport. “A big thank you to the Superkart Drivers Club and Josh Hart Racing for supplying karts” KNZ posted.
SHUTTING DOWN – The CalSpeed Karting Center, located adjacent to the Auto Club superspeedway at Fontana, will close permanently on December 4. The track has been hosting karting events for 19 years. “We were recently informed by Auto Club Speedway that due to the planned redevelopment of the property, all rental activities and programs will cease by the end of the year” a Calspeed Karting statement read on ekartingnews. The final regional race at the venue has already been run (California Prokart Challenge final; report & pics HERE). The last ever kart race meeting at the venue will be the 15th annual running of the Machismo 12-hour endurance race on December 3.
TEAM MERGER – Nitro Kart, a significant player in the American Cadet karting scene, will at the end of this year merge its race operations with Ryan Perry Motorsport. Ryan Perry will take over managing the Nitro Kart race team while Nitro Kart owner Nick Tucker will focus on the brand’s car racing effort, Nitro Motorsports. “This is an exciting time for myself and the Nitro Kart brand,” stated Tucker. “What we have been able to build over the last seven years is amazing, and now we have already begun our expansion in driver development, while keeping the Nitro Kart brand growing.”