The new Rotax Challenge Kart racing series takes off!

Three months after the last year's finals of Rotax in the Emirates this most prestigious cup class launches this year's karting season. As usual, the Spanish town of Campillos hosts the top kart drivers from Europe and other continents for the opening race of the Rotax Winter Cup. This year there is very strong competition, because many top pilots take part, including those who specialise in other kart classes during the high season. From today until Friday afternoon there is scheduled free training, on Friday afternoon there will be measured training. Based on the position achieved in the measure training, on Saturday the pilots will go to the three qualification races. And their position in these will decide their position at the start in the Sunday's semi-finals. The event will culminate in the final race, where the staring roster positions will reflect the results from the semi-finals.

In this year of the Rotax Winter Cup, the Czech Republic has three representatives, mostly in the Rotax Senior Max category. All the Czech pilots start in the colours and on the machines of MS Kart. Jiří Forman and Petr Běžel already have experience from the Rotax Eurochallenge competition, including participation in the Grand Finals. Miroslav Kovář is at such prestigious event for the first time.

Last year, Jiří Forman, Champion of the Czech Republic 2011, 2010 and 2009 in the Rotax Senior Max category, took part in the whole Rotax Eurochallenge series and he achieved the overall 12th position, though in the individual races he was 10th or better.

In the world Rotax Grand Finals he achieved a splendid 7th position. Apart from the Rotax category races, Jiří Forman also took part in the World Kart Championship of under 18-years drivers, CIK FIA U18. In spite of the tough competition in each race, in the finals he managed to get to the front of the starting field. His 5th position in the final race in Sarno, Italy, was a great result. Jiří Forman crowned the successful 2011 season with a third position in the Golden Driving Wheel awards, in the kart category.

The Rotax class is by far the most widespread kart class. Every year in many countries of the six continents more than 30 000 licensed drivers grab the kart driving wheel in one of the Rotax categories. From the youngest drivers in the Rotax Mini category, through Rotax Junior up to the highest class Rotax Max Senior and Rotax DD22. The most prestigious and most watched is the category Rotax Senior Max, where every year pilots race, who win the titles of Champion of the Continent or Champion of the World in this category and other kart categories of the CIK FIA series. In the category Rotax Senior Max the drivers use the engine Rotax with the volume 125 cm2 and almost all the world's producers deploy their chassis to this category. So it calls for a lot of respect, when even a Czech producer, the MS Kart company from Prachatice, is successful in this tough competition. In the classes Rotax Junior, Rotax Senior Max and Rotax DD2 many countries organise their national championships and there are championships on the continental level too. In Europe it is Rotax Eurochallenge. The best 72 pilots advance to the world finals, the Rotax Grand Final. This prestigious invitation is sent only to the national champions and the best ones from the continental series.