Australian Formula 1 star, Daniel Ricciardo has launched his own brand of kart, to be known as the Ricciardo Kart.
The first chassis is expected to hit the track in Europe in November – with a full Ricciardo Kart Racing Team operating in major Championships around the world from next year.
“I grew up racing karts, and even when I moved up to single-seaters I never stopped supporting the sport,” said Ricciardo – who is chasing his fourth Formula 1 Grand Prix victory this weekend in Singapore.
The chassis line will carry across all forms of karting from the entry level for sub-Juniors, right through to the KF and KZ Gearbox chassis (as competed in the Castrol EDGE CIK Stars of Karting Championship in Australia, where Ricciardo cut his teeth).
The Red Bull Infiniti Racing Formula 1 pilot will be heavily involved in the design of the kart, with the build to come in Italy by BIREL ART.
“Being able to follow the design and construction of a kart from a blank sheet, to track debut is an adventure that’s very fascinating and I am glad to do this with a Partner (BIREL ART) who is just as excited,” Ricciardo added.
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The Ricciardo Kart will be the first major project completed by BIREL ART, which is a recent merger between the Birel factory – who Ricciardo started his karting career with – and ART Grand Prix. ART GP is owned by renowned driver manager, Nicolas Todt with teams under the ART banner from karting right through to GP2.
Whilst the first chassis won’t roll out until November, the design and liveries of the Ricciardo Kart are expected to be released in October.
Following the official announcement, Patrizicorse – the team owned by Porsche Carrera Cup pilot, Michael Patrizi – announced it had obtained the exclusive Australian distributorship for Ricciardo Kart.
The brand is expected to feature heavily in the new-for-2015 Australian Kart Racing Championships, however full details are yet to be confirmed.
The final round of the Castrol EDGE CIK Stars of Karting Championship from Todd Road in Melbourne will be webcast live and exclusive on Speedcafe this Sunday, with a live 60 minute preview show on Saturday night from 5:30pm (AEST). Follow the link: https://www.speedcafe.com/kartinglive
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