Karting People
Met at a vintage karting event in the USA, in 2011, Jack Spitler, (died October 12, 2017, aged 83) recalled his trip to Europe in September 1961 as a member of the Grand Prix Kart team Club of America run by "Red" Crise, then president of the now defunct GPKCA. Then races in England, Italy and Nassau made up the 1961 World Championship for single and twin engine karts. (by Frank Weir-Photos: Jack Spitler Collection
Jack recalled how he was awarded one of the two all expenses paid GPKCA European tour team positions by winning the Hoffco Kart Prix at Tipp Raceway, a one quarter mile banked road course near Tipp...
Father and Son: a relationship that is often the heart of track activity, but that has changed over the past 30 years. Fathers who are less and less "mechanics" and increasingly more "managers", when they're not a pain in the neck of Racing Departments. How has the relationship between father and son on the track changed? (fm)
Urban legends tell of kids locked in the van in the dark in the midst of their dad's chassis, as a punishment when returning from a race gone bad. Older tales tell of big fights in the paddock...
The recent full haul of the English team at the Rotax Finals, a race that - especially in the RMCGFF - rewards the driver with equal machines, once again underlines the quality of the British karting nursery. (fm)
A country where the Rotax movement is highly developed, but which in recent years has expressed a large number of talents who have landed in FIA competitions and, several of them, in the coveted goal...
Mirko Sguerzoni needs no introduction: founder of Intrepid, chassis manufacturer and talent scout of many drivers who have landed in Formula 1 and professional motorsport in general, he talked to us about how high-level karting should be rethought from the ground up. The starting point in a concept that generates discussions even in the topmost board rooms: budget cap and a clear distinction between titled and non-titled races. (f.m.)
What do you think is the state of health of karting today, 2023?
«Let's start in order: the health status of karting is the health status of competition, primarily. I personally think that...
At the end of the season that has just ended, as per tradition, Giancarlo Tinini draws up a sporting balance for the CRG brand, also facing the main technical and commercial issues affecting the karting world on a larger scale.
From a sporting point of view, 2022 has seen the CRG colors conquering a new World title with Viktor Gustafsson in the KZ category, as well as obtaining success in the KZ2 World Cup with Arthur...
Snell is a not-for-profit foundation founded in the USA in 1957 and named after William ‘Pete’ Snell, an amateur racing car driver who tragically passed away the year before in an accident in which the race car rolled and his helmet proved sadly inadequate. His name is inside any helmet, on a label that certifies your own helmet, or ….the helmet you’re going to buy. (f.m.)
The Foundation born in the name of Pete Snell has always maintained neutrality with respect to manufacturers according to the purpose that its standards pursue to measure and certify: the safety...
Claudio Pagliarani, a very experienced driver who spent a good part of his twenty-year career in the Rotax Trophy, has finally brought the Italian colors back to the podium. Today the owner of a team (Squadra Corse 54), he raced his eighth Grand Final in the DD2 Masters in Portimao, bringing home a result that he often missed in the past by a whisker. (f.m.)
Tell us a little about your Portimao
Since I've managed my Team, having made my passion my job, I race less. This year I staked everything on this race, I came here with the aim of winning it, I...
Rotax-powered karting races have existed in Portugal for over 20 years, but 2022 marks a new era for the brand in the country: instead of having trophy status, the bar is raised to another level by transforming into the Portuguese Rotax Championship.
With or without championship status, fans of the Rotax format are well established in Portugal. In any case, in 2022, the Portuguese Automobile and Karting Federation (FPAK) instead of promoting the...
On the occasion of the penultimate round of the Italian Formula 4 Championship held in Monza we had the opportunity to speak with the English driver Arvid Lindblad, in his second race in formula 4 and who chatted with us remembering the “old days” of karting.
A rainy day this Sunday in Monza, with even a race canceled due to adverse weather conditions. Arvid Lindblad (Team VAR), a former kart driver with team KR, shone on this occasion, managing to finish...
We spoke with Ricard Ferrando, who puts his experience as a pilot and his knowledge in data acquisition at the service of the official Birel Art Spain team to achieve the best results.
Hi Ricard, we've seen that the number of karting teams that include a coach in their ranks is increasing; what advantage do you think they have over those that do not have one?
I think it's...
Antti Ollikainen (FIN) started karting at the age of six and is now 42 years old racing in Rotax DD2 Masters. At the end of the nineties, he competed around the world in the Formula A and Formula Super A classes.
Then the best achievement was fourth place in the FIA World Cup in Suzuka, Japan. Antti started competing again at the beginning of 2010. He has participated nine times at the Rotax MAX Challenge...
On the circuit of Franciacorta, a fortnight ago, closed perhaps the most uncertain and exciting edition of the last FIA European Karting OK and OKJ Championships.
It was an endless fight that took place on the Italian track, a worthy showcase to put the spotlight on yet another fight for the continental crown. If in Junior it was the constancy of Nakamura-...
The wait is getting less and less for the OK and OKJ European Championship at Franciacorta staged this weekend, with eyes already on the 2023 World Championship.
Head down and work. This is the mantra that probably, even without saying it, all the staff of Franciacorta had well in mind when the new adventure of the kart track started. A staff led by Raffaella...
Although it’s a big country with only 26 million people, Australia has a racing heart for Motorsport. They’re competitive and play hard, and they travel a long way to go karting. It’s a lifestyle they love. Jen Wade was trackside for Vroom International Magazine and caught up with some of the familiar faces ever-present at the Rotax racing events Down Under, sharing their thoughts about the sport of karting and how it has developed over the past seasons, based on their own position in the industry (by J.Wade/Pictures RaceMax mark Wicks/KartSportNews & Media)
Mark Wicks kartSportNews.com.au
Mark Wicks won the RMCGF in Egypt almost two decades ago and has been responsible for telling the news about karting and karters on the long-running web portal - www....
Racing has played a major part in Corinna Kamper’s life since she was just 6 years old. Today, the 27-year-old Austrian ‘racer at heart’ leads a busy life travelling, manages her own boat license school and can regularly be seen on the ORF TV F1 Motorhome program during the Formula One coverage. When the opportunity came along for Corinna to race the Rotax Project E20 electric kart last season, she didn’t think twice of doing (J.Wade)
We recently caught up with Corinna in Belgium when she lined-up on the grid once more in the Project E20 at the opening round of the Rotax MAX Challenge Euro Trophy in her first appearance since she...
After bidding farewell to Formula 1, the Swiss driver's career has taken that mental leap that allows one not to be blinded by the top Formula alone, looking at the entire global motorsport landscape. Sunday's fourth Le Mans victory seems to prove him right...
Sebastien Buemi is an emblematic case of top-level Motorsport in recent years: an early debut in Formula 1 thanks to a well-known supply chain brand, which just as quickly first benched him then...
We had a chance to talk about the differently-abled category with Santi De Luca, better known as "Dorso," Event Sport Manager of the KZR championship organized by Demorace. (M. Boscariol)
To better understand the category within the KZR championship, it is useful to do a little history. The project was born in 2015 when a group of youngsters with motor disabilities owned their own...
The OK and OKJ European Championship returns to Kristianstad three years after the last time. A technical and fast track which over the years has made Lorenzo Travisanutto its landlord.
Thinking about Kristianstad means thinking about and retracing the most important stages of Lorenzo Travisanutto's career. It is not emotions or admiration for one of the best Italian karters of...
With WS2+, Mapetrol, the Slovenian oil company that in 2022 celebrates 100 years in the world of production and distribution of lubricating oils, makes its debut in the world of karting. The product, characterized by cutting-edge technology, is ready for any challenge (by M. Pierluigi)
Mapetrol, a company with a centennial experience in the lubricant production sector, launches a new line of products dedicated to karting in which the WS2+ blend engine oil stands out. This lubricant...
The success story of Club100 in the UK continues to build momentum with every season, having had a record number of drivers participating in 2021 in the increasingly popular ‘Arrive & Drive’ championships powered by BRP-Rotax 125 MAX engines. In addition to this, the British Universities Karting Championship (BUKC) celebrates 21 years and the new generation of Club100 drivers has just joined the ranks in the two cadet categories (J. Wade - Photo J. Patterson)
John Vigor, Managing Director of Club100 Racing Ltd, shares an insight into the encouraging growth of the Club100 classes and explains what is planned in an exciting season ahead now, as the...