Text & photos: www.rotax-kart.com
This year, the pinnacle event of the Rotax world celebrates its 20th anniversary in this beautiful region of Italy, well-known for its rich cultural heritage sites, the wonderful Amalfi Coast and very good Italian food. The race event will see 360 drivers from almost 60 countries competing this week to be on the top of the podium.
On Friday, the early registration started in the Hotel Saturday at the track and about a third of the racers already found their way in. The bigger crowd arrived on Saturday, got through a really smooth registration process and enjoyed some drinks and snacks in the beautiful area of the hotel during the waiting time.
On Sunday, at sunrise, the line-up of more than 360 brand new karts from Rotax’s Official Chassis Partners (BirelART, Praga, Sodikart, and CompKart) was silently waiting on the main straight with the Vesuvius in the background. Soon, the track came alive and buzzing as all the teams from each country arrived for their official photos.
Afterwards, the kart raffle started, so all the chassis’ together with the brand new Rotax engines were allocated to their drivers. Everybody is given the same opportunity to compete with the same material. They also received all the tools and equipment they need to assemble their karting packages in the massive driver tent in preparation for their first on-track day this Monday.
Not only were the karts being prepared for the track action but each class also had a driver’s briefing where they were introduced to the Race Director and his team while also being informed about what to expect when they take part in the Non-Qualifying practices tomorrow.
A big “welcome party” was held last night at the soccer-fields of the track for drivers and supporters as well as the organization team and the chassis partners. The party saw the annual team contest and the qualifying rounds of the MOJO tire changing contest. The teams were judged based on the drivers’ team spirit, the uniformity of their team wear and their overall passion for their homeland.
