Top End Karters Gearing Up for NT Championships

AKA press release

The annual pilgrimage of karters to the Top End will begin next week as they prepare for the Northern Territory State Karting Championships to be held at the Hidden Valley Karting complex next weekend (June 13/14).

Every state from the mainland of Australia will be represented at the Championships with drivers ranging in age from seven years old, who will be competing in the Midgets category, through to the over 40 years of age in a variety of categories.

above: Local driver Tony Willes in action behind the wheel of his Australian-made Omega kart.
(Pic: photowagon.com.au)

“It is great to see the continued support shown by karters from all across Australia for our State Championships,” said Darwin Karting Association’s Greg Meyer.

“The Darwin venue continues to gain a reputation as not only a challenging circuit for the drivers but also one that has got some top facilities, which we are continually improving with the aim of hosting the National Championships in 2012.”

The State Championships provide an opportunity for the local drivers to test themselves against some of the best drivers from across the country.

Local stars dominate the line up in the fastest categories of the weekend, 125cc Leopard and Rotax Light, with the likes of defending Champion Chris Gatt along with Royce Nott and Tony Willes set to fly the local flag. However, they will face tough opposition from the likes of New South Wales star David Whitmore, Townsville’s Zac Schonberger and Gold Coast’s Damien Ward.

“It is great to see a couple of top drivers from the Eastern states coming to Darwin and I’m really looking forward to the event,” said Willes, who won the Clubman Heavy class at the 2007 Championships.

“I’ll be using a new Omega TK24 kart for the Championships, which I debuted at the last club meeting to finish second behind Royce (Nott) but will be hoping to turn the tables on him next weekend.

“Last year’s Championships were pretty much a disaster for me, so I'll be aiming to turn that around this year and finish on top of the podium.”

Practice will be held next Thursday and Friday (June 11 and 12) followed by heat racing on Saturday June 13 with the Championship Finals on June 14. The Championships are supported by Territory Bandag and Motorsports NT.

Above: Royce Nott has been one of the stars during the lead up events.
(Pic: photowagon.com.au)

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