The Australian team that will head to the World Karting Championships next month has received a massive boost with assistance forthcoming from the Australian Motor Sport Foundation (AMSF).
The October 19-21 World Championships to be held in Macau will see Kosmic racers Cian Fothergill and Matthew Waters represent the green and gold against the likes of five times World Champion Davide Fore and current Under-18 World Champion, Matthew Graham.
Whilst Australian drivers have driven for Italian factories throughout the years, the Kosmic Australia team heading to Macau is the first full Australian outfit to attend the World Championships in over 20 years.
AMSF Chairman – Geoff Morgan – expressed excitement at the arrangement and hinted this was the beginning of a long term plan to ensure young Australians will continue to be represented on the world stage:
“This is a new initiative for the AMSF which is in line with the strategic plan for the future of the Foundation, where we are aiming to develop the pathway to Formula One for our young Australian drivers,”said Morgan.
“We expect to be able to take young drivers from the top level of karting here in Australia through to success at the World Karting Championships and onto the Open Wheeler categories internationally before breaking into Formula One in the years to come.”
AKA President, Craig Denton welcomed the AMSF initiative:
“The AMSF has been a great platform for many of Australia’s top young drivers over the years. I believe the partnership between the AMSF and Kosmic Racing Australia for this event is another step forward to a closer relationship between the AMSF and the country’s top kart drivers,” he said.
Team Principal, Peter Galvin is hopeful that the assistance from the AMSF will help his drivers wave the Australian flag strongly at the very highest level of world karting on the Island.
“To have the backing of the AMSF is proof once again of how the CIK Stars of Karting Series is providing a perfect breeding ground for Australia’s future motorsport stars,” Galvin explained. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had young Australian drivers starring on the world karting stage on a regular basis. I hope that this is the start of a relationship between the AMSF and top line Australian karters where we can help develop the skills of young drivers and assist them in taking on the world’s best.”
Some of the graduates from AMSF programs include former elite karter and Toro Rosso Formula One racer, Daniel Ricciardo, IZOD IndyCar Series runner-up, Will Power, MINI WRC pilot Chris Atkinson, WRC Academy driver Molly Taylor and current V8 Supercar drivers James Courtney,Will Davison and Michael Patrizi among many others.
