Karter Hart Carving His Driving Career In Europe

Karter Hart Carving His Own Driving Career In Europe

Having returned to Europe in January this year, ace New Zealand karter Josh Hart believes he's well prepared for his first professional assault on the Rotax circuit in Europe after completing several successful test sessions in Spain in February.

The 2009 Rotax Max European championships in which he will compete this year kick off this weekend in Zeura Spain and will features 90 drivers from 36 countries.

In a toe-in-the-water exercise for a small Austrian team last year, Palmerston North 22-year-old Hart, a two-time New Zealand Sprint Kart champion and two-time winner of New Zealand's Rotax Max Challenge series, was a round-winner in both the Austrian and Czech Republic Rotax Challenges and ended up third overall in the 2008 European Challenge.

An impressive display, particularly from someone who was new to all the circuits, and one which justifiably earned him a works drive with the Intrepid Force Rotax team this year.

As part of that deal Hart will now live and work (for the Intrepid Force Rotax team) in Salzburg and focus solely on the four-round Rotax Euro Challenge.

Young New Zealand drivers - most of them former karting contemporaries of Hart - have been making quite a name for themselves in Europe of late with Brendon Hartley recently named as the reserve driver for the Red Bull and Toro Rosso Formula 1 squads, and Chris van der Drift and Earl Bamber impressing behind the wheel of New Zealand's A1GP car.

After winning the SpeedSport magazine Scholarship in 2002 Hart also made the moves to cars, finishing fifth in his first year in the New Zealand Formula First championship and runner-up in the second. Unlike the others, however, he was unable to find the budget to take the next step, and returned to karts to see if there was another way.

As it turned out there was, via the annual Rotax Max Challenge series.

Each year Challenge series are held in more and more countries around the world (the number now is well over 70) with the winners meeting at an annual 'Grand Final' to decide who is the best Rotax Max category driver in the world.

Hart's big break came at the 2007 Grand Final at Al Ain near Dubai where his pace and racecraft impressed Austrian kart shop owner Freddi Hochhauser enough for him to offer Hart both a job and a drive in the Austrian Challenge.

The young Kiwi didn't need asking twice and when he started beating some of Europe's best drivers Intrepid Force Rotax took an interest.

A brilliant drive to third in last year's European Challenge sealed the deal and as well as a growing number of young single-seater racing drivers, New Zealand now has a professional kart driver competing in Europe.

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