NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 16 – With an apparently insatiable appetite for success, Kenyan drivers are counting the days of this weekend’s inaugural African Karting Cup with great expectations.
Reigning Kenyan Junior Rotax Champion Krrish Vadgama and Martin Thyge Nojgaard will be representing the country in the OKN senior class for drivers in the 14 and over category.
The two Kenyans are among the 36 drivers earmarked to run six practice sessions on Friday prior to action proper on Saturday.
On Saturday, they will start with an early morning warm up session which will be followed by Qualifying.
After Qualifying, drivers will run three races of 12 laps ahead of the 15 lap Final Heat that will determine the winners.
Kenya Motor Sport Federation (KMSF) wished the two young riders success as they embark on the much-anticipated race weekend.
“The presence of the two drivers down South demonstrates Kenya’s longstanding objective to nurture young karting drivers and prepare them for a brighter future in motorsports,” said Maina.
“Several Kenyan greats including Tejas Hirani, Baldev Chager and Azaad Manji (Autocross champion) honed their skills with go-karts at a tender age and the current generation of drivers are doing just the same,” added Maina.
Motorsport South Africa are hosting the first-ever African Karting Cup (AKC) from February 16-17 at the Zwartkops Kart Circuit in Centurion, Gauteng.
Organised by ROK Cup South Africa, the African Karting Cup is a prestigious new karting event, which aims to discover and support the next generation of racing talent in Africa.
Backed by the FIA, the competition is tailor-made to provide pathways into global competition, including wild card draws for the FIA Karting World Cup OK-N, and free African Karting Cup OK-N tickets for OK-Junior winners.
Maina added that the African Karting Cup is a great avenue to highlight the region’s incredible talent.
The race has brought together racers from FIA Member Clubs across Africa participating this year.
This inaugural event has welcome competitors from various countries, including Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, and Angola, among others.
Each driver will be provided with identical karts – powered by Vortex engines and clad in OTK chassis – to ensure equitable and closely matched competition, across tight, 20-strong grids.
The competition follows the continent-wide karting cup format first introduced in the Middle East in 2021.
The MENA Karting Cup has gone from strength to strength over the past three years – most recently welcoming 165 drivers from 15 different countries to an event at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar.
