Title-winning Kiwi karters Aaron Marr from Wanganui and Callum Hedge from the Bay of Plenty cross the Tasman this week to compete in a brand new one-day event, the Coates Hire Race of Stars in south-east Queensland on Saturday.

Part of a programme of motorsport-themed events put on in the build-up to the annual Armor All Gold Coast 600 V8 Superfest meeting on the Gold Coast in 10 days time the Race of Stars is being contested at a new, private venue, the Xtreme Karting Facility at Pimpama, half-way between Brisbane and the Gold Coast and has attracted a star-studded line-up of Australia’s finest karters including William Yarwood, Michael Saller and Kel Treseder.

Marr, 18, a former CIK Trophy of New Zealand KF3 class title holder, will compete in the Senior Pro Light (KF class) while Hedge, 10, the reigning North Island and New Zealand Cadet class champion will compete in the Cadet class.

One of the reasons the meeting has attracted such a strong entry is the fact that though purpose-built to international standards the 1125 metre track has so far only been used for hire karts and not for a competitive sprint event in the past five years.

That means there will be no ‘local’ knowledge in terms of set-up or gearing, meaning a rare ‘level playing field’ for everyone, no matter how far they have had to travel to get to the event.

Both Kiwi drivers have competed in Australia before, Marr a comparative veteran of the trans-Tasman scene, having last year contesting the 2012 Stars of Karting series in the KF3 class (finishing sixth overall) as well as both the Northern Territory Championships meeting (fifth in National Clubman Light) and the 2012 Sprint Nationals in Darwin (third).