State Honours On The Line For Shepparton Karting Stars

AKA press release

Shepparton’s Luigi Catanese and Travis Kodric are considered to be among the top young kart racers across the country and this weekend they are out to prove they deserve this accolade.

The duo are among a group of Shepparton drivers that will tackle competitors from all across Australia at the Victorian Open Sprint Kart Championships at the Hume International Raceway in Puckapunyal this weekend.

Catanese will battle for the highly sought after 100cc Clubman Light crown as well as competing in the 125cc Rotax Light category.

Above: Shepparton driver Luigi Catanese in action during the recent National Championships
pic: photowagon.com.au

The teenager leapt into the Australian karting spotlight when he headed to Europe to contest the European Rotax Championship a couple of years ago and since returning to Australian shores has never been far from the front of the field in major Events.

Catanese has enjoyed success at the Puckapunyal circuit throughout his career including victory at the All Stars round late last year.

“I’m really looking forward to the weekend, with the best drivers from all across the country it is going be very exciting – hopefully the weather will be good so we can get some good racing in,” said Catanese.

“I won a State Championship a couple of years ago when I was a junior, it would be great to be able to win a senior championship this weekend but there are some very good drivers out there and it is going to be very tough competition.”

Kodric will be flying the Shepparton flag in the Junior ranks as he contests the Junior National Heavy and Junior Clubman category.

In both of these categories, the recently crowned National Champions – Darsey Kondopirakis (National Heavy) and Chris Hays (Clubman) - will start as the favourites. However, with over 30 drivers in each category the competition is going to be very tough.

Above: Travis Kodric will be flying the Shepparton flag in the Junior ranks as he contests the Junior National Heavy and Junior Clubman categories
pic: photowagon.com.au

There will be a total of 421 competitors in action at this weekend’s Championships across a total of 15 categories, catering for a variety of ages and weights.

The youngest drivers competing this weekend will be those in the Midgets category, where they can start their karting career at the tender age of seven. With these children racing at speeds up to 80km/h it is a sport that teaches these kids, both boys and girls, basic driving skills well before they are able to obtain their road licence.

Qualifying for the Championships will begin on Friday followed by Heat Races on Saturday and the Championship Finals on Sunday.

The Hume International Raceway is one of the best in the country. In 2004 the venue played host to the National Championships and next weekend’s Event will act as a precursor to next year’s Nationals that will be contested at the venue.

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