Locals crowned world champions
Three of the eight new world champions crowned belonged to the Manawatu¯ Blokart Club
Blokarting put Sanson and O¯ hakea on the map recently as host venues for international racing. Blokarters from Australia, Europe, Great Britain, and the Caribbean were among the 121 sailors to take the start line for the World Blokart Champs, with sailing held at both Sanson and O¯ hakea.
Local blokarters fared well on their home course as three of the eight new world champions crowned belonged to the Manawatu¯ Blokart Club.
Scott McIntosh won the Performance Light division, Andrew Curtis the Production Heavy division, and Fletcher Templeton the Youth Division.
The New Zealand Open was held in conjunction with the international event and also proved a successful regatta for the Manawatu¯ club with two NZ champions — Scott McIntosh taking out the Performance Light and Euan Gower the Youth Division.
Among the sailors competing was Paul Beckett, known as the “Godfather” of blokarting.
It was Beckett who designed the original three-wheeled land yacht to entertain his family. His idea was now more refined, and were the blokarts used in world cup events.
The short course¯NZ Open was held at Sanson Domain, as was the first day of the World Champs, while the next three at the Ohakea Airbase, and the last day’s racing retuning to Sanson.
Conditions were variable. There was good racing on both days at Sanson, while O¯ hakea was dealt a mixed bag.
There was little wind at Ohakea ¯ the first day, becalming all blokarts, while conditions were perfect on the second day.
Strong winds on the third day made exhilarating racing with some blokarts reaching speeds in excess of 80 kilometres an hour.
Blokarters were kept on their toes with a few spills.
Blokarting is based around the weight of the sailor, and put into super heavy, heavy, medium and light categories to ensure competitive racing.
There are two categories of blokart: Production was a basic model, while Performance allowed for certain additions to increase its speed.
Hence eight world champions; four weights over two categories.
Meanwhile, the blokart calendar continues to be busy, the Manawatu¯ club holding the start of the summer series on both Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.
The North Island Champs are in Hawke’s Bay later this month, and those wanting to race in the next world championship have to wait two years then travel to Lake Ivanpah in the Mojave Desert in the USA.
The Manawatu¯ Blokart Club wanted to thank the Manawatu Sailing Club members who gave up their time on the water to help marshal the course on land over the regatta.