The 2009 Leopard Challenge Is Here!

press release

2009 marks a new era for the Leopard engine in Australian karting. Following four successful years running the National Leopard Series, class promoter Remo Racing has listened to feedback from Leopard drivers and made some changes to the series for 2009. Enter the new National Leopard Challenge!

1.   A brand new Toyota! You don’t have to be David Sera to win it, either, as the winner of the car will be from a RANDOM DRAW of all the drivers at the Leopard Series Final!
2.   Three PAID entries to the 2010 IAME International Challenge – a prize that cannot be bought. Includes your airfares, entry fee, tyres, mechanic, AND spare parts all paid for by IAME and Remo Racing! You can’t find that anywhere else!
3.   Three unpaid invitations to the 2010 IAME International Challenge – and you don’t have to win to get an invitation. The fastest lap of the 2008 IAME International Challenge final was set by Adam Hughes, who along with Grant Smith and Lee Mitchener was invited without recording a podium finish at the National Leopard Final.
4.   A brand new Leopard kart-and-engine package worth over $7000.
5.   Two brand new Leopard engines worth $2995.00 each.
6.   Many other randow draw prizes, giving every competitor a chance to win!

With prizes like that on offer at the National Leopard Final, we assume we have your attention! Let’s now take a closer look and see how the 2009 National Leopard Challenge differs from last year’s Leopard Series.

In short, instead of having a 5 round series in each state, there is the opportunity to earn National Leopard Challenge points at most open meetings around the country. This offers karters much greater flexibility, as they can race in any State in Australia, and at any sanctioned meeting they choose, to earn points for the National Leopard Challenge leaderboard! It’s also good for the clubs, who do not need to make special arrangements for the Leopard class at their events. Qualification for the National Leopard Final is achieved by competing in three or more sanctioned National Leopard Challenge events – it’s that simple!

Not only that, but there are MORE PRIZES to be awarded based on the Leaderboard, so you can win even if you can’t make it to the Final event – and prizes will be distributed down to 20th place! At the conclusion of the National Leopard Challenge (after the Final event), the points leaderboard will be tallied up, and top 3 points scorers from both Leopard Light and Leopard Heavy win a fully-funded test drive with Australia’s premier Formula Ford team – Sonic Motor Racing! The test-drive is no laughing matter either, as you will be following in the footsteps of such names as 2007 National Formula Ford Champion Tim Blanchard and current V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup!

Finally, in conjunction with Kart Racing Magazine, the promoters will be choosing one promising young driver to take a FULLY FUNDED test drive of a Gelles-Os Racing BMWFB02 Formula BMW race car, at the Moroso Circuit in Florida, USA! With flights, accomodation, test-drive and engineering services all paid for by Kart Racing Magazine, this prize is worth over TWENTY THOUSAND dollars!

The recipient of this prize will be a loyal Leopard Challenge competitor selected very carefully by the Kart Racing Magazine team, and will display all the traits of a professional racing car driver – with presentation and manner as exceptional as their driving ability. Drivers keen to win this prize must specifically register their interest at www.leopardengine.com. Note that the winner will be selected without prejudice of team or chassis, and without regard to finishing position at the Leopard Final or National Leopard Challenge points.

With such amazing prizes on offer, you’re by now wondering when and where you can earn National Leopard Challenge points, and it’s as simple as competing at almost any open race meeting around the country. A full list of the sanctioned events and points mechanics can be found at www.leopardengine.com. Of course the National Leopard Final and the AKA National Championships are big points earners, along with the Open State Titles, but you can start earning points at events such as the NSW Southern Zone Series, the Victorian Country Series, the Queensland Inter-Club Challenge, and many other great events around the country!

It’s worth remembering too that 2009 sees the introduction of the rev-limiting CDI ignition module for the Leopard engine. It’s no secret that the top-level racers with big budgets have been revving engines to astronomical figures, making it difficult for those of us with reasonable budgets to keep up. Remo Racing has worked tirelessly to introduce a phase-in period for the new CDI to limit the engine to revving within it’s designed range. This has immediate and obvious effects in the rebuild-frequency required for the engines, and interestingly enough makes the kart smoother to drive on the grippy MG Yellow tyre due to the resulting reduction in gear ratio. Some of the Leopard Heavy driver’s ribcages might receive a pleasant surprise!

2009 is a great year to participate in the National Leopard Challenge – the series that offers the most racing, the best prizes and a tuneable carburettor on great tyres!

The primary aim of the National Leopard Challenge is to offer karters greater flexibility in this tough economic climate – greater flexibility to race when they want, where they want, and to reward those results with a berth at the richest race in Australian karting – the National Leopard Final!

Nowhere else can you find the sort of prizes on offer at the National Leopard Final Shootout!  (date/venue announced soon)

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