Big Numbers Dont Faze Aussie Pair In Italy

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A gathering of more than 100 competitors in one category would generally have any kart racer worried, especially when they’re 100 of the best in the world, but not Australians Kyle Ensbey (Sunshine Coast, QLD) and Ricky Capo (Melbourne, Vic).

This weekend the pair will line up in one of the world’s most competitive karting events, the KZ2 (Gearbox) World Cup at the Sarno circuit in Italy, where 107 drivers from 19 countries will be competing.

Above: At 16, Ricky Capo will be the youngest driver at the KZ World Cup
pic - AF Images/Carruthers

From the 107 drivers in attendance, only the top 34 in the standings following the heat races will gain the right to start in the main event on Sunday, however, this is not something that fazes either Ensbey or Capo.

“I can’t wait to hit the track, it’s going to an amazing experience,” said Ensbey, who will drive for the Birel Motorsport team while supported by Speedcafe.com and V8 Nights this weekend.

“Given that it’s a new layout for this year it will be a track that not many people have got a lot of knowledge and data on, so that could be something that will play into my favour.

“I don’t really care about the number of entries, I just want to go out there and win. If you go into the weekend with the attitude of just wanting to make the final I think you’ll end up worrying yourself out of opportunities which you can’t afford to do here in Europe.”

Above: Kyle Ensbey races a Top Kart locally, but will drive with Birel at the KZ2 World Cup in Italy this weekend
pic - AF Images/Budd

For Capo, this weekend’s event will be his third on European soil in 2012 and following a strong test last weekend, he believes that nerves won’t be a factor this weekend.

“I tested last weekend at Sarno and the amount of grip was phenomenal - it was like nothing I have ever seen before,” said 16 year-old Capo.

“After competing in Europe twice already this year, I’m not nervous, instead I’m already proud of the fact that I am the youngest driver to ever compete at the KZ World Cup - Just being on the track with drivers of such a high quality is an honour.

“My aim for the weekend will be to make it into the final which means that I have to finish every race and be consistently around 15th place or higher in the heats. However, the most important thing for me is to gain experience which I can transfer to Australia in the CIK Stars of Karting series.”

Practice for the event began Thursday ahead of qualifying on Friday (10:15pm AEST). Racing will continue on Saturday (6:00pm AEST) with the World Cup to be presented to the winner on Sunday afternoon (10:15pm AEST).

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