THE GLADSTONE OBSERVER NEWSPAPER

A GO-KART win for a local in his CIK Stars of Karting Series debut was literally one straight out of the box.

Local Gladstone karter Cian Fothergill takes out the final of the first round of the CIK Stars of Karting Series in his debut for the competition last weekend.

A GO-KART win for a local in his CIK Stars of Karting Series debut was literally one straight out of the box.

Gladstone Kart Club racer Cian Fothergill hadn't jumped into his new kart until the Newcastle event, and came away stoked with how the machine went on the track.

"The new Kosmic kart went really well, any changes we made over the weekend just made it go faster," Fothergill said.

Fothergill was confident going into the final, after winning the second and third heats.

A 10-second win in the 25 km Pro Light final was testament to the kart's speed.

"The most pleasing part of the kart was the fact we basically took it straight out of the box, put it on the track, and it was quick straight away," Fothergill said.

Considering this was his debut at the elite karting level, Fothergill had no trouble dealing with longer race distances.

"I'd thought I'd struggle fitness-wise, but I went well," Fothergill said.

The Newcastle track provided drivers the chance to show off all their racing skills.

"The track is very quick, there's good curves, and plenty of opportunities to pass," he said.

John Grother also in a Kosmic kart had a weekend he'd rather forget, suffering "unbelievably bad luck", including a radiator failure and broken accelerator cable during his Pro Light races.

Grother started the final from last place and mowed down other competitors, setting the quickest lap time on the way.

However, a second-place finish was snatched away, after officials found the vehicle's timer had fallen off during the race, and he was disqualified.

John Grother is joined by fellow Central Queensland karters Cian Fothergill, Elle Brydon, Alistair Ingram and Brenton Simonds in the line-up for the TRACKSA Racing team.

With the major backing from the TRACKSA Safety Light systems Grother believes that the team can showcase the ability of Central Queensland karters in Australia's top line series.

"Leading a team of Central Queensland karters against Australia's best is something that I have always wanted to do and I'm very excited about it," said Grother.

"I feel that I have the skills and confidence to operate a professional outfit and represent our sponsors and supporters well.