Up for the race: Young participants are ordered to get ready for the race.
As young as they are — one is still only 7 years old — they look skillful when steering the kart, negotiating the corners and pulling through at high speed. The roar from the rear and the support from the pit crews added to the hype of the race at the Sepang go-kart circuit in Malaysia last week.
The racers, 118 from 14 countries, including Indonesia, demonstrated their driving talents at the Red White Sangari Kart Prix 2009.
The event was split into three age groups — Rotax Junior for the 13-16 set, Micromax (8-12) and Rotax Senior (17 and above) — was held in collaboration with Indonesia-based promoter Red White Racing Indonesia and Sangari of Brazil, a worldwide educational institution with representatives in 16 countries.
“As the host of the Red White Sangari Kart Prix 2010, we want to show our commitment to developing karting in the world and giving Asian racers a chance to compete against their world peers,” said RWR Indonesia managing director Stanley Iriawan.
Collision: Long Mohamad Nor Ariff (14) of Malaysia fails to control his kart as he collides with Rafif Rabbani (30) of Indonesia.
“It’s an honor that we can bring in Brazil as a country with reputable world drivers. Our mission is that if karting is to thrive, we have to begin the development with young talents.”
It was in the karting arena that several drivers begin their racing career before becoming Formula One world champions, including Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button.
Young champion: Hard work pays divident for Suhaizarul Bin Suhaizat of Malaysia as he wins the Micromax competition.
Several NASCAR drivers also began with kart. Among them are Darrell Waltrip, Lake Speed, Ricky Rudd, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon.
At the end of racing at the Sepang racing festival, which ran from Nov. 18 to 23, home racers took two titles, with an Irish team grabbing the third.
Suhaizarul Bin Suhaizat and Muhammad Nabil Jeffri won the Micromax and Junior Max respectively, while Martin Pierce triumphed in the Senior Max.
— Text and photos by J. Adiguna
