After a 20-year long hiatus, international karting is finally racing back into town. The Straits Times reported that Kartright Speedway will host the final two rounds of this year's Asian Karting Open Championships (AKOC) over the weekend of 30th November to 1st December.
This will be the first international karting event held in the Republic since the Castrol International Kart Prix at Kallang car park in August 1993.
"It is good that besides Formula One, we can also attract other regional and international series to Singapore," said Tan Teng Lip, President of the Singapore Motor Sports Association (SMSA).
Kartright Director Allan Teo, meanwhile, noted that the AKOC's arrival will help raise the sport's profile in a country which has approximately 300 kart owners - 80 of whom race competitively.
Mr. Teo added that the weekend in Singapore will also open the door for local karters to gain some experience without having to spend the $10,000 or so it costs to compete in a single overseas race.
That said, one burning question is whether size does matter when it comes to karting circuits. Located along Upper Jurong Road, Kartright's 750m track is considerably shorter than that of other AKOC venues. Macau's Kartrodomo de Coloane, for example, has a 1.2km circuit, while the Carmona Race Track in the Philippines is approximately 1.1km long.
But AKOC Managing Director Johnny Tan is confident that this will not be an issue. "The track at Kartright is tight and twisty, which will be technically challenging for the drivers. All of us are looking forward to a solid weekend of not one but two rounds," he said.
Introduced in 2002, the AKOC currently boasts some of the most promising young racers from the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia and Singapore.
Among them is the Republic's very own Nasri Naufal, better known as Opai. "To win the championship on home soil would be a real honour," said the 25-year old Kartmaster Drakar Racing Team member, whose biggest win to date came in the 2006 Macau International Kart Grand Prix ROK Senior class.
