Mad Myk aims to break solo karting record
author: Andries van der Walt
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A picture by Motorpics.co.za
"MadD Myk Prescott
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On Friday September 3, 2010 through to Sunday September 5, Myk Prescott of Honeydew will attempt to set a new Guiness World Record for solo kart driving.
And if he makes it, it will be his second world solo karting record, as he is already in the Guiness book as holder of the 24-hour record!
Using a newly refurbished Rotax 125 cc watercooled engine and an eight-year-old Birel chassis – the same set-up he used to set his 24-hour solo mark of 1 152 km in September 2008 – Myk will attempt to cover at least 2 000 km at the Zwartkops Kart Raceway outside Pretoria.
“The Guiness people approached me a while ago, asking me if I wanted to up the stakes. The 48-Hour record was decided upon, and their criterion is that I have to break the 2 000 km for it to stand. There have been two world-wide attempts at my 24-hour solo record so far, and none of them beat it, so if I make it I’ll hold two records at the same time.”
Myk has lived an active life, having run Comrades and done triathlons in the past, and also took part in a combined “canoe raft” World Guiness Record involving over 1 000 canoes.
“I’m goal-orientated and I wanted to hold a world record for myself. The 24-hour record was great, except that it was darned cold at Vereeniging, which is another reason I want to do it at the Zwartkops Raceway. They say it’s up to 10 degrees warmer there.”
The Zwartkops Kart Raceway staff have orgabnised floodlights for the record attempt, and Myk also has a light mounted to his helmet, so he should keep going through day and night.
The engine on Myk’s kart has been completely re-built to new specifications for the attempt by Ed Murray Racing, the South African distributors for Rotax kart engines in South Africa.
The Rotax engines, built in Austria, have revolutionised karting in the past decade for providing reliability records which were previously unheard of in karting. Myk’s 10-year-old son Daygin is already a keen karter and a front-runner in the junior Maxterino series in South Africa.
“My wife Debi uses lots of expressions to describe me, many of which include the word ‘mad’, but she’ll be on hand to support me, as will my son Daygin and daughter, Shaye, who has also raced karts
Myk, who is a fit 46-years-old, says the attempt has attracted lots of support from local kart racers and many of them will show up at the Zwartkops Kart Raceway to drive around the track with him for part of the distance.
“During my last record run, lots of guys showed up, they wrote messages on boards to keep me amused, and it was great fun. The Ed Murray Racing team will also be there to support me, keep me amused.
“I won’t go flat out, but I’ll run at about 85 percent speed, taking it really easy on the brakes. I have also been given two sets of Mojo racing tyres for the attempt, the hard compound, and this will be a good test for them.
“I’m trying to raise some money to support a South African racer Roman de Beer, who is competing in the Formula Abarth single seater series in Italy. “We have put up a karting hamper for a prize, and for a small entry fee, anyone interested can enter and win it, by predicting the distance I will cover.” Myk says that if all goes well he should crack the 2 500 km mark, and isn’t worried about the lack of sleep.
“I can take a small break, and I can also use a reserve kart if I need it. But the Rotax engines are ultra-reliable, with a life expectancy of 50 hours, so this should be a doddle.”
The attempt to set the world’s first 48-hour solo karting record starts on Friday, September 3, 2010, at 8 am, and if all goes well will finish at 8 am on Sunday September 5.
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