Kiwi Karter To Compete In Europe
press release |
26 March 2014 |
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Fast-rising young Christchurch karter Marcus Armstrong boards a plane tomorrow (Thursday) on the first leg of a journey which will see him contest all four rounds of this year's Rotax Max Euro Challenge series.
Armstrong, 13, is the current New Zealand Rotax Max Challenge Junior class title holder and is fresh from a dominant class victory at the second round of this year's six-round local series at Rotorua 10 days ago.
Above: Marcus Armstrong (here competing at last year's Rotax Max Grand Final in the USA) is on his way to Belgium for the opening round of the 2014 Rotax Max Euro Challenge
pic -
Fast Company/Ash Budd
The Horenbergsdam kart track at Genk in Belgium hosts the first round of this year's Euro Challenge series between April 02 and 06 with subsequent rounds in Italy in May, Spain in July and France in September.
Armstrong has signed to do the four-round series with top British team Dan Holland Racing, and with local mentor/race engineer Matthew Hamilton, will fly back and forth from Christchurch for each event.
The pair fly out tomorrow so that they can attend the official test at the track this weekend and have plenty of time to acclimatize before the first official practise sessions which start next Wednesday.
Hamilton is a multi-time New Zealand Rotax Max class champion and New Zealand representative and says that though there is obviously a lot of traveling involved the idea - which was Armstrong's - to contest the Euro Challenge makes a lot of sense.
"It's going to pit Marcus against all the top Rotax Junior drivers from across Europe while at the same time allowing him to continue things like the Nationals and the Rotax Max Challenge and also, obviously, continue with his schooling here."
With Ryan Grant on his way back home after contesting the opening round of the 2014 WSK series in Italy last weekend and fellow Aucklander Daniel Bray set, like Grant, to return to Europe later this year to contest the KZ2 World Cup event in Italy in October, Armstrong will be the third Kiwi karter to compete in Europe this year.
And if he is after inspiration he need look no further than the record of Palmerston North driver Josh Hart who finished third in the Senior class in the Euro Challenge in 2008 then fourth in 2009.
