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ITALY-BOUND . . . Young karting driver Zac Dufy and his father Kevin on the grid at Donnybrook

Sports Reporter
IN the beginning there was Axcil Jefferies who caught the imagination of the Zimbabwean and South African karting world by winning several national championships in both countries while driving as a rookie driver at the turn of the new millennium.
Jefferies has since graduated into becoming a Formula Two driver in his quest to join the ranks of the world popular Formula One racing.
And now there is young Zachary Dufty who is slowly following the footsteps of fellow Zimbabwean Jefferies as he prepares to make his maiden appearance at a major motor racing event outside our borders this month.

Nine-year-old Dufty will soon be leaving the country to race in the Rok International Karting Finals to be held at the South Garda race track in Lonato, Italy, on October 19.

Zac will be the youngest kart driver ever from Zimbabwe to race at world championship level and will be one of the youngest drivers competing in Italy this year.

Over three hundred competitors from 30 countries, spread over five continents, will compete in five classes to battle for an internationally recognised title.

Zac and his father, Kevin, who is also his race mechanic, will leave for Italy on Thursday next week. They will spend a few days practicing and testing at the track before qualifying starts on October 16 followed by the finals on October 19.

“I’m really looking forward to going to Italy for the race”, said Zac.
“There will be lots of other drivers there from all over the world, and I hope to learn a lot from them.

“I’d like to thank Motortorque and Transerv who have already come forward and helped us with sponsorship. I’d also like to thank Harare Karting Club for all the support that they have shown us. I will do my best and will really focus on my starts as there will be so many karts all around me.”

Kevin is equally excited at the prospect of his son racing in Italy.
“It will be hard work for me as the mechanic; for example, each evening I will have to remove the engine for checking by the engine supplier and then re-fit it in the morning before we can race. The setting up of the kart and practice sessions will be crucial to Zac getting a good drive for the qualifiers and in the races themselves. Of course, I also have to help Zac prepare psychologically for such an important race at an unfamiliar track.”

Zac started karting at the age of five. By six years old, he was competing in the Harare Karting Club Cadets class. At the end of his second season in the Cadet class, he was the runner-up to the most improved Cadet in the club.

At eight years old, he moved up to the MiniRok class which had been newly introduced to Zimbabwe, as it offered the chance of competing at the MiniRok World Championships as well as being a faster, more challenging class.

In 2012, Zac continued to race in the MiniRok class in Zimbabwe, but also trained in the UK at Whilton Mills Racetrack, with UK-based kart training outfit, Protrain Racing, who have trained several UK Championship Kart drivers.

In 2013, Zac raced in Harare and Bulawayo at national and club level. He also competed in South Africa, twice at Zwartkops Raceway in Pretoria and at the iDube racetrack in KwaZulu Natal to gain more experience.

Zac has proven himself to be dedicated to karting by spending many hundreds of hours practicing, testing and racing.
He has driven thousands of kilometres in practice sessions and in competition.

As he grows older, he is also taking more responsibility for the set-up and maintenance of his kart.
Zac dreams of competing in various forms of motorsport when he grows up, but mostly, his ambition is to be a Formula One driver just like Axcil Jefferies before him.

A Grade 5 pupil at Twin Rivers Primary School in Harare, Zac enjoys Maths and is popular with both fellow pupils and teachers. He is an active member of the school chess, swimming and cricket teams.

Kevin, who is chairman of the Harare Karting Club, says, “the chance to race at international level is a great opportunity for Zac and for myself. It is also important for the karting fraternity in Zimbabwe. I hope to absorb lots of ideas and see some good practices that we can gradually introduce to make karting in Zimbabwe even more competitive than it is. It’s a great chance to develop karting in Zimbabwe.”
MiniRok karts are capable of speeds of up to 100km an hour. Just as in Formula One racing, technical setup, driver skill, tactics and split second decision making are of utmost importance.

MiniRok is a class of karting for nine to 13 year olds. In Zimbabwe, MiniRoks (and other classes of karts) race at Donnybrook Raceway and at the BreedonEverard Race Track in Bulawayo, on a regular basis from February through until November.

Vortex, the promoter of the Rok Series and manufacturer of the Rok engines, organises this event each year. The Rok International Final is a CIK-FIA event, which means that the race is recognised internationally.

Many Formula One drivers started their motorsport career in karting, such as Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
Axcil Jefferies, a young Zimbabwean who started karting at the Harare Karting Club is now racing in the IndyLights series in the USA and is hoping for a Formula One drive in the next few years.