8th November 2014

Kart star Ryan Kennedy to take on Europe’s best drivers in the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals

(http://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/moreton/kart-star-ryan-kennedy-to-take-on-europes-best-drivers-in-the-rotax-max-challenge-grand-finals/story-fni9r1i7-1227116183196)

Wamuran driver Ryan Kennedy, 17, will take on the world’s best in Spain. Photo: Brad Cooper.

PUT a motor under Ryan Kennedy, blink and you’ll miss him.

He may be known as a smiling assassin in the pit lane but this 17-year-old go-karting star has a fierce game face when he gets a sniff of victory.

Kennedy has impressed so much that Team Australia has picked him for a trip of a lifetime to test himself in Europe at the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals next month.

It has been a rapid rise for Kennedy, who only started karting competitively two years ago, soon after a switch from motocross.

His shot in a race of more than 60 countries has come with the help of highly respected karting team G-Force Karting, which led him to a shock third place in the season opener.

Kennedy said he would have to fight hard to set up the kart and get used to the track in such a short time before attempting to qualify in the top 40 from a field more than 100.

The Wamuran resident is one of three Australians in the Rotax Light class who will be racing in Valencia, Spain.

“The tracks are a lot wider over there so getting used to the track in the first session will be good, and just getting the car set up straight away because you only have three practice sessions,” he said.

“I do a lot of testing to kind of know what changes do what. It’s pretty difficult going in and finding exactly what it is you need to do.”

Kennedy said it was a good chance to show he could cut it as an open wheel driver in the future.

“Going the F1 way would be pretty good. Anything with open wheelers,” he said.

His dad Darren said it had been an amazing transition for Ryan from his motorsport beginnings in motocross, considering the competitiveness of karting.

The difference between first and 21st on a 50-second lap on Australia’s Rotax Light Pro Tour can be as little as 0.2 seconds.

“It was just getting a bit dangerous to do motocross. He was a bit fearless and too many kids were just getting busted up,” he said.

“To get to the front you have to have a good team. You’ve got to get in with the right people. You need a good support group.