Sports / Local
Karting set to return to Bulawayo
19 Jun 2012 at 07:54hrs | Views
KART racing is set to return to Bulawayo for the first time in many years at the Breedon Everard Track along Victoria Falls road this Saturday.
This will be the third race in the Zimbabwean National Karting season aimed at sparking an interest in the sport as well as revive it in the city.
Around 20 karts are expected to travel from Harare for the June 23 race, promising an exciting day's racing, including qualifying rounds and demonstrations.
"We are thrilled that the organisers have decided to hold a national kart race in Bulawayo, it's always been such a popular sport and there are still many karters out there just waiting for the chance to race," said Leonora Young, spokesperson of the Bulawayo Motoring Club (BMC).
"It's a great way of introducing youngsters to motor sport and the BMC plans to introduce training sessions to encourage more and more people to take it up.
"Like all aspects of racing, karting has stringent safety regulations, and competitors must meet all of those requirements before being permitted to race. Safety is paramount," said Young.
Karting, still a popular feature in the Harare racing calendar, includes up to seven races per series, and boasts competitors in three categories, the cadets aged 8-11 years, juniors aged 12-16 and seniors who are over 16 years.
Kart racing is a variant of open-wheel motorsport with small, open, four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as the stepping stone to the higher and more expensive ranks of motorsports and it is the closest one can get to Formula One racing.
Professionally racing karts typically weigh 75 to 79 kg, complete without driver and they vary in speed with some known as super-karts reaching speeds exceeding 260km/h while a KF1 kart, with a 125cc two-stroke engine and an overall weight including the driver of 150kg, has a top speed of 137km/h.
Both from the point of view of competitors and spectators, kart racing has always attracted a large and dedicated following in Bulawayo, but problems with the Breedon Everard Track, which has since undergone an extensive renovation programme, together with other challenges, has seen karts being packed away and gathering dust all over the city.
This will be the third race in the Zimbabwean National Karting season aimed at sparking an interest in the sport as well as revive it in the city.
Around 20 karts are expected to travel from Harare for the June 23 race, promising an exciting day's racing, including qualifying rounds and demonstrations.
"We are thrilled that the organisers have decided to hold a national kart race in Bulawayo, it's always been such a popular sport and there are still many karters out there just waiting for the chance to race," said Leonora Young, spokesperson of the Bulawayo Motoring Club (BMC).
"It's a great way of introducing youngsters to motor sport and the BMC plans to introduce training sessions to encourage more and more people to take it up.
"Like all aspects of racing, karting has stringent safety regulations, and competitors must meet all of those requirements before being permitted to race. Safety is paramount," said Young.
Karting, still a popular feature in the Harare racing calendar, includes up to seven races per series, and boasts competitors in three categories, the cadets aged 8-11 years, juniors aged 12-16 and seniors who are over 16 years.
Kart racing is a variant of open-wheel motorsport with small, open, four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as the stepping stone to the higher and more expensive ranks of motorsports and it is the closest one can get to Formula One racing.
Professionally racing karts typically weigh 75 to 79 kg, complete without driver and they vary in speed with some known as super-karts reaching speeds exceeding 260km/h while a KF1 kart, with a 125cc two-stroke engine and an overall weight including the driver of 150kg, has a top speed of 137km/h.
Both from the point of view of competitors and spectators, kart racing has always attracted a large and dedicated following in Bulawayo, but problems with the Breedon Everard Track, which has since undergone an extensive renovation programme, together with other challenges, has seen karts being packed away and gathering dust all over the city.
Source - TC
