The SP Tools Australian Kart Championship will break all entry records for round two in Victoria over the weekend of April 18-21 with recently crowned WSK Super Masters OK Champion, Ean Eyckmans headlining the both the X30 and TaG categories.
The 16-year-old Belgian has been specialising in the direct drive OK and X30 categories for the BirelART factory and will connect with Australian importer – Patrizicorse – for the second round of the AKC for the two water-cooled, 125cc categories.
At the time of writing entries have surpassed 400 – a new Championship record.
For Eyckmans, although it will be his first visit to Australia, he tells Speedcafe.com that Australians and Australian culture is not something new to him.
“I’m looking forward to coming down to your lovely country,” Eyckmans said. “For many years, [Australian WSK commentator] Ian Salvestrin has stayed at our house and he has told me a lot about what to expect and shown me a lot about Australia. It’s beautiful and I can’t wait to race down there.”
Eyckmans, nicknamed ‘The Oakman’, began driving at the tender age of three-and-a-half and first raced at the age of eight in Italy. After what could be considered a rapid rise, he is a regular top 10 runner in European and World competition.
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This past weekend, Eyckmans qualified for the European Championship OK final and went on to finish 18th out of the 96 entries.
Patrizicorse team principal and BirelART importer, Michael Patrizi is thrilled to have Eyckmans coming downunder and hints it’s the start of bigger things later in the year.
“We’ve always valued the contribution that pro drivers bring to us and the younger members of our team,” said Patrizi. “We’ve had some of the world’s biggest names driving for us [including former KZ2 World Champion, Marijn Kremers] and Ean is one of the best direct drive kart racers in the world – which is an area I’m really focused on building.
“Drivers like Ean add value to the team and allow us to showcase the BirelART product and in TaG, the ROK GP engine.
“By no stretch are we saying Ean is going to come in and win. The level of competition here in Australia is incredibly high – and I have no doubt that he’ll go back and be praising the quality of Australian karting competition.”
The Belgian adds to the international flavour of the SP Tools Australian Kart Championship that continues to build year-on-year.
Hampus Varis became the first Swedish driver to enter the Championship at round one and will remain with the DR Kart stable for the season. Seven New Zealanders and visitors from Asia have entered the record breaking second round that will take place over the weekend of April 18-21.
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