PERCAT TO RELIVE KARTING PURITY IN AUSTRALIAN KART CHAMPIONSHIP

Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport V8 Supercar driver Nick Percat will be competing at Round One of the Australian Kart Championship in Melbourne this weekend.

Holden V8 Supercars driver Nick Percat will go back to his racing roots this weekend when he takes part in Round One of the Australian Kart Championship at Todd Road, Port Melbourne.

It will be the Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport driver’s first kart race in more than a decade, and Percat said the purity of the sport has a unique appeal.

“I love any form of racing; driving something to the limit and pushing yourself against the best in the country, but I’ve always had a soft spot for karting,” Percat said.

“It’s raw, intense racing. There’s no one in your ear with a radio, and politics. It’s just you and the kart, and going as hard as you can.”

Born and bred in South Australia, Percat raced competitively on circuits throughout the Festival State. In 2003 he embarked on his first National Title assault in Ipswich, Queensland where he finished 10th in the Junior Clubman class won by current Erebus Motorsport V8 driver Ash Walsh. He then contested the 2004 National Championship in Puckapunyal, Victoria where he finished 12th while his good friend Kristian Lindbom was crowned the Champion.

Later that year Percat embarked on a career in circuit racing and has competed in Aussie Racing Cars, Formula Ford, Formula 3, Porsche Carrera Cup and now V8 Supercars where he was victorious in the 2011 Bathurst 1000 alongside Garth Tander.

Percat will compete in the highly competitive KZ2 class in a TM powered Energy kart, and faces a field of 28 of Australia’s best karters, including multiple state and national champions.

“It will be a different challenge racing against guys trying to forge a career, and I’m confident but nervous,” he said.

“I’ll be happy if I finish in the top 10. There are a lot of talented guys coming through the sport, and I think I’ll learn a few new tricks from them, and hopefully teach them a thing or two as well.

“I spend a lot of time in the kart for training, but racing will be something else. Passing is different to V8 Supercars because you can’t rub against them. It will require a different style of driving.”

Percat plans to contest four rounds of the Australian Kart Championship this year.

Round One takes place at Todd Road Go Kart Track, Port Melbourne this weekend with practice being held on Friday ahead of racing across Saturday and Sunday.