The countdown to the first Rotax Grand Festival in the UK continues with drivers from around the globe set to compete across four categories; the Grand Festival categories – MicroMAX and MiniMAX, and the Motorsport UK E Plate categories – Junior Rotax and Senior Rotax, which now both have tickets available to the Rotax Grand Finals later in the year.
We’ve previewed previously the history of the Rotax Grand Festival and the prizes on offer for drivers competing at Warden Law, this week we’re taking a look through what the competitors can expect with how the event will run at Karting North East.
The competitive action will begin with Timed Qualifying to set the grids for the Qualifying Heats. Drivers will compete in three Qualifying Heats each across the categories, forming a bumper period of action on Saturday that will see the drivers look to maximise their work from TQ or recover from challenges earlier in the meeting.
Culminating the weekend, Sunday will see the crucial Super Heats take place in the morning, giving the drivers one last chance to qualify for the Finals on Sunday afternoon. All races across the weekend will be broadcast live across the Motorsport UK and Alpha Live platform of media channels.
Alpha Live, providers of high quality broadcast content to the Motorsport UK British Kart Championships since 2020, are onboard to bring the full picture to audiences at the event and around the world, with commentary and paddock interviews from the familiar voices of Henry Beaudette, Andrew Mather and Nicole Sutherland.
Coverage of the Rotax Grand Festival is part of a growing working relationship between Rotax and Alpha Live, who will also be providing coverage of October’s Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals at Sarno in Italy.
As part of services on-site to support the competitors and customers, JAG Rotax – the official UK distributor for all Rotax products – will be present with full technical support for any and all entries. The team from JAG Rotax will include technical expert Darrell Smith, experience and knowledge from those at Karting North East, as well as JAG Rotax’s provision of spares for any competitor requiring parts across the course of the meeting.
Continuing on the technical theme, parity across the field will be in place with the new spec of Mojo tyres in use for the weekend. Tyres will be placed under parc ferme conditions, with one set of dry tyres and one set of wet tyres controlled for each driver across the course of the whole race meeting.
Controlled fuel will be in use also, provided by Vital Equipment, with MotorsportUK’s fuel testing station operational to ensure all competitors are racing fairly. As demonstrated in the MotorsportUK British Kart Championships, the venue-wide CCTV system will be in place to provide security and safety to all visitors to Warden Law both on and off track.
From everyone at MotorsportUK, our thanks go to the whole team at Karting North East, as they prepare to welcome competitors and officials to the Rotax Grand Festival, and to JAG Rotax, the official UK distributor for all Rotax products, for their continued support and dedication to Rotax customers and competitors across the country.
Just over a week remains before racing begins at 2024 Rotax Grand Festival. Entries remain open now via the Motorsport UK race entry platform and will close at noon on Monday September 16th.