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Boys’ School Year 6 student, Sebastian Manson is making his mark in the world of mini-max carting. He has recently returned from Sarno, Italy where he joined 360 competitors from over 60 different countries taking part in the Rotax Grand Finals. He gained entry after earlier winning the Rotax Challenge in New Zealand.
There were 36 entrants in Sebastian’s event in Italy for karters from 9-12 years old. All the international competitors were loaned an identical kart for the event which was not allowed to be modified.
At the first official practice, Sebastian was the fastest on track and stayed within the top 5 all day. The second day was tough mentally as he had issues with the brake on his kart sticking, which dropped him to 16th place. In the following days he had both good and not so good races but during the pre-final, he was spun off the track which saw him go to the complete rear of the field! He managed to make a few positions up but finished 28th, which determined his starting place for the final race.
Starting 28th of 36 with only a 12-lap final was tough but with huge determination and pace, he managed to pass 22 karts and cross the finish line in 6th place! Due to another kart jumping the start and getting a time penalty, he moved up to finish 5th overall with the New Zealand team just missing a spot on the podium in 4th place! Well done Sebastian!
Sebastian isn’t the only speedster! Year 4 student, Maxim Kirwan won a National title becoming the North Island Champion in the Cadet class, on top of his Auckland Schools champion title. He also achieved a 3rd place on the podium in Melbourne for Australia’s biggest event, City of Melbourne Titles prior to that. At his most recent event, he won 13 out of the 19 races at four North Island tracks to win the Top Half Series. Well done Maxim!
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