Niverville native and professional race car driver David Richert, has turned to racing locally with the Manitoba Karting Association in preparation for his European events.
Earlier this year, Manitoba-born David Richert was set to race cars throughout Europe – then, as with everything else, COVID-19 interrupted all plans.
Having signed a contract with Inter Europol Competition, a Polish owned racing team, Richert was just two days away from leaving for Barcelona and the first race weekend of the Ultimate Cup Series where he was set to drive a Formula Renault 2.0 race car in mid-March.
“Thankfully we made the right decision to stay in Canada as the coronavirus was just starting to advance across Europe,” said Richert. “It was tough to see everything cancelled as I had spent many months preparing for the start of the season, but everyone across all walks of life is in the same boat so that’s just the way it is.”
As the summer started, Richert began looking for a way to stay fit and keep his skills sharp while waiting for international travel to open up once again. This ultimately lead him back to his roots and participation in the Manitoba Karting Association (MKA) where he first got his start in motor racing back in 2002 – 2004. Richert has already completed a couple of race events in the very quick Rotax DD2 around the kart track in Gimli, Manitoba.
“It’s a lot of fun to be back driving karts and 120 km/h still feels quick when your seat is just one centimetre off the ground, plus it’s an excellent way to work on fitness training,” stated Richert.
David Richert intends to do a few final days of preparation with a kart in Manitoba before heading to Europe and competing with Inter Europol Competition in the Ultimate Cup Series this fall.
