One of, if not the largest contingent of Kiwi karters – 12 in all – is off to Australia this week to contest that country’s annual multi-day Rotax Nationals meeting which kicks off on Thursday.

The meeting, whihc culminates in a day/night final on Saturday, is being held at the Ipswich track in Queensland and has itself attracted the biggest ever entry of just over 200 Rotax category karters across six classes.

Heading the Kiwi contingent are brothers Daniel and Mathew Kinsman, and fellow Aucklander Daniel Connor, the trio currently running first, second and third respectively in the points standings in the New Zealand Rotax Max Challenge series with one round to go.

They are contesting the most popular senior class, Rotax Light with Daniel Kinsman ranked eighth after contesting 9 of the 12 qualifying events so far this season. Joining the leading Kiwi trio in the Rotax Light class is Palmerston North driver Fraser Hart, who finished third in class at the most recent New Zealand series round in the Hawke’s Bay.

Both Kinsman brothers have contested the Rotax Nationals meeting before with Daniel third in clas in 2012 and second last year, and older brother Mathew seventh last year.

Each is confident of a good showing, with podiums in the Rotax Light class a real possibility though both are realistic about the job ahead in a 50-strong field.

The rest of the 12-strong Kiwi contingent is spread across the other five classes.

In the Senior ones, reigning New Zealand 125cc Rotax Max Heavy class champion Ryan Urban will join Palmerston North driver Josh Drysdale in DD2, and former North Island class champion Aarron Cunningham will join fellow New Zealand Challenge Heavy class regular Brendon Hart in DD2 Masters.

In the Junior classes, Wellington sisters Madeline and Ashleigh Stewart will again line up in the JMax Trophy class, while Christchurch’s Jai Buckley, third in the Rotax Junior class at the New Zealand Sprint championship meeting in Blenheim earlier this year, will join local Rotax Max Challenge Junior class hotshot, Dylan Drysdale from Palmerston North, in Junior Max.

Also travelling to the meeting from New Zealand is top KZ2 class international Daniel Bray who will be working with expat Kiwi Jaxon Evans who now lives on the Gold Coast. Evans has been racing with Bray’s team in the this year’s Pro Kart Series here but for the Rotax event at his home track is contesting the DD2 class.

Also competing at the meeting is two-time World Karting Champion Bas Lammers from the Netherlands.