BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE
HE might still be in the early stages of his career, but such is top Zimbabwe kart racing teenage champion Zac Dufty’s passion for the sport that he has established a new racing team called Zacademy with the aim of supporting and developing new talent.
Dufty is one of the best kart racers to emerge from the country in recent years and remains the only Zimbabwean to have raced at the Rok World Karting Finals, which are held in Italy.
The teenager is also the reigning Zimbabwe kart champion.
“I’m really excited by the new team! I’m passionate about karting and this new project allows me to contribute to the next generation of drivers by providing them with a platform and environment, which will help them to develop their skills in the best possible way,” Dufty told The Sports Hub.
“I’ve always enjoyed helping young drivers and I have been coaching at Pole Position Karts for many years now. Some of those drivers wanted to take their karting to the next level, but either didn’t have the know-how or the technical skills needed so it seemed like a good time for me to help them take the next step.
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“It’s an idea I had from my South African race team RKT Racing, with whom I have raced since 2012 and over the years I’ve seen not only how a world class team operated, but also how they developed and supported young drivers,”
Currently there are five members in the team, four boys and one girl from ages nine to 15 years and all of them are new to karting.
Two drivers compete in the 60cc Mini Rok class and three in the bigger 125cc Max class and the drivers showed a lot of promise in the first race meeting last week-end.
Dufty articulates his vision for Zacademy.
“Firstly, I want to assist youngsters, who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to race karts and most importantly encourage them to have fun and enjoy themselves. Together, we will work towards creating an environment in which young drivers can develop their racing skills and make good progress either as a hobby or in a motorsport career.
“If I can help to develop them as drivers to a level where perhaps one day they can compete regionally or internationally that would be amazing
The karter, who has been competing in South Africa competitions for the past decade, also spoke about his own career trajectory.
“I did a VW Polo Cup test in 2020 in South Africa, which went well and I had plans to participate in the Championship that year, but sadly Covid affected everything so I’ve lost two years. In 2021, I raced karts locally for a bit of fun and won the championship. Currently, we are waiting for confirmation on a continental kart championship being planned which I would like to race in,” he said.
Dufty has been racing karts since he was six years old.