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Blokart

Top blokarters coming to New Zealand

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Another world event is coming to New Zealand, with the Blokart world championships due to be hosted in Manawatu next month.

Blokarting was invented in New Zealand in 1999 by Paul Beckett, who had a background in hang gliding and sailing. The sport quickly grew in popularity, to the point the first world championships were held in Beckett's home town, Papamoa, in 2008.

The world championships are normally scheduled to be held every two years but due to Covid-19 have not been raced since 2018 when Spain played host. Manawatu had been scheduled to host them in both 2020 and 2021 so will be hoping their third attempt goes off without a hitch.

Next month's event will be run in conjunction with the New Zealand championships and will utilise two venues - the Manawatu Blokart Club’s purpose-built blokart sailing track for short course racing and Ohakea Air Base for three days of high-speed racing on the tarmac.

Racing is due to get under way on October 21, with registration and practice from October 17.

Please see notice of race here and enter here

It's said that it's easy to spot a blokarter from the 'blokart grin' and experienced sailors can reach speeds of 90km/h. 

There's an active group of sailors in Manawatu and it's not uncommon for as manay as 30 sailors to compete at regattas there.

You can find out more about blokarting and the world championships here or see what it's all about on the Manawatu Blokart Club's Facebook page here.