Gudang Garam Kart Races to start on Saturday

JAKARTA (JP): The first of five scheduled Gudang Garam Kart Races is to be staged on Saturday at the Sentul International Karting Circuit.

The two-day race, in which more than 80 drivers are due to compete, will feature three categories, Formula A, junior Intercontinental A and clubmen Intercontinental C.

Helmy Sungkar, chairman of the organizing committee, said that Saturday's race is also the fourth event in the National Championships series and the second in the Sentul Karting Series.

Firhan Ali, last year's champion, expressed his hope that many people will become interested in kart racing.

"In Europe, more than 100 drivers take part in each race. But here, only 20 participate. I hope that through wide publicity, more people will become interested in karting," the 18-year-old racer said.

"I really want to renew my own record," Firhan said.

Helmy said that the second leg of the series will be in September, the third in October, the fourth in November and the final one in December. All the races will be staged at Sentul.

He also said that the organizer plans to stage special races, called gear-box domestic categories, which are expected to be participated in by college students.

"The categories need special maintenance skills from the participants so they can take care of there own karts," he said.

Helmy said that the organizer also plans to stage a special race for high school and college students.

"It's one of the ways to popularize karting in the country," he said.

The free-of-charge race is expected to attract about 4,000 spectators to the 1.27km circuit. (yan)