Japanese Karter Set For AKA Nationals

AKA press release - karting.net.au

Japanese driver Akari Iwai is getting set to compete in the 46th National Sprint Kart Championships sponsored by Yamaha to be held in Launceston, Tasmania this Easter (March 21 – 23).

Since starting her karting career in 1994 Akari has developed into one of Japan’s top female competitors and in 2003 the now 18-year-old captured the victory in the SD class at the Micronesia Grand Prix.

This trip will be Akari’s first to Australia and during the Championships at the Southern Cross Archerville Kartway she will compete in the elite Clubman Light category with the support of Tasmanian business Crack Motorsport, Birel and the Yamaha Motor Company.

Throughout her career Akari has driven a variety of categories in the sport and is the only female competitor to qualify for the All Japan Championship series and the Asia Pacific Championship. She will be accompanied during her trip from Japan by the CEO of the Yamaha Motor Corporation, Mr Higashihara and also Tadashi Saski, the head of Birel Pacific, and a leading crew member from the Birel team.

“It is planned that Akari will be entering in Clubman Light and compete aboard the Australian version of the Birel TIA Winforce kart. What will be of interest is that she will also be running one of Yamaha’s new on board starting SEC 100cc Clubman engines,” said Crack Motorsport’s Ross Crack.

“The kart she will have has been developed specifically with some modifications and a sister kart is being used by Launceston driver Sam Crack with some outstanding results. The SEC engine is part of the future of Yamaha kart engines in Australia.

“Crack Motorsport has been developing this package over the last 12 months and have had some promising results. We were pleased with the engines performance knowing there is still a lot more to come out of it, and the clutch system still needs some tweaking”.

The Clubman Light category is one of the longest running classes in Australian karting with names like V8 Supercar star Mark Winterbottom, Bradley Brown, Jason Hryniuk, Troy Hunt, Deepal Kandola and James Sera all claiming the title over the past decade.

It is expected there will be over 300 entries for the National Championships with practice beginning on Monday March 17 through until qualifying begins on Friday March 21 followed by heat races on Saturday March 22 and the championship finals on Sunday March 23.

The Launceston Kart Club will this weekend host its final warm up meeting for the championships with the running of the McDonalds Young Guns on Sunday. The Southern Cross Archerville Kartway is located on Pipers River Road, Rocherlea.

ABOUT YAMAHA MOTOR AUSTRALIA
Yamaha Motor Australia was incorporated in June 1983, becoming part of a large international corporation with subsidiaries all over the world.

Yamaha has continued over the years to successfully introduce new products into the marketplace. It has always met market demand by offering better quality, higher performance products that fully utilize Yamaha's advanced technology. These products have become part of a wide range of recreational items and industrial products, such as motorcycles, scooters, four-wheelers, snowmobiles, outboards, water vehicles, boats, golf cars, go kart engines, power generators, water and sludge pumps, industrial engines and accessories.

Yamaha is a proud sponsor of the 46th National Sprint Kart Championships at the Southern Cross Archerville Kartway in Launceston, Tasmania on March 21-23.

 

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