Gold Coaster Counting Down For Race of Stars

With just 60 days remaining until the inaugural Race of Stars (October 19), Gold Coaster Josh Crossingham is celebrating the announcement that he will join Yatala's Harrington Doyle Racing for the event.

As a joint initiative between V8 Supercars and Karting Queensland, the Race of Stars will see more than 150 of Australia and New Zealand’s top young drivers converge at the Xtreme Karting facility at Pimpama, as part of the week-long celebrations for the ARMOR ALL Gold Coast 600.

Crossingham, 18, will line up in the Pro Light (KF) category and is excited about being a part of the prestigious event.

“It really means a lot to be a part of the Race of Stars event, it is a great opportunity and I am looking forward to making the most of it with Harrington Doyle Racing,” said Crossingham.

The Race of Stars will kickstart a hectic fortnight for the local driver with Crossingham climbing aboard an Aussie Race Car at the ARMOR ALL Gold Coast 600 on the Surfers Paradise street circuit the following weekend.

“We’ve got a big two weeks with the Aussie Race Car at Surfers Paradise the weekend after but my first aim is to get a good result in the Race of Stars,” Crossingham added.

“I’ve got a lot of family and friends coming out to the event and I hope that I can do them all proud.”

Another Gold Coast driver set to complete double duties across the two weekends of racing is Porsche Carrera Cup competitor and former V8 Supercar driver Michael Patrizi.  

Patrizi – a former Australian Karting Champion – will be a part of the Race of Stars in the Pro Gearbox (KZ2) category before lining up in the final round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Series the following weekend.

“I’ve driven the track in a hire kart a few months back and it is amazing, I really can’t wait to get out there in a Pro Gearbox (KZ2) kart,” said Patrizi.

“The concept of having the best drivers from all across Australia, and possibly the world, is unreal. It’s certainly set to be a sensational event.

“It’s really cool to have such a enthusiastic group of people behind this event, including the team at V8 Supercars. I’ve always firmly believed our sport needs to really get behind karting. I really hope that the V8 Supercar community on the Gold Coast will be coming out and see the talent and level of professionalism that karting is now at.

“Given the right opportunities I firmly believe that the best half a dozen to dozen drivers in these categories would be extremely competitive in any form of motorsport. But it all comes down to opportunities.”

The Race of Stars will feature the three ‘Pro’ categories of Australian karting – Pro Gearbox (KZ2), Pro Light (KF) and Pro Junior (KFJ) – as well as three state-based classes – TaG 125cc, Junior National and Cadets – along with a ProAm race, with the one-day event set to showcase karting to the wider motorsport community on a 1125-metre circuit.

The Race of Stars will be the first time in more than a decade that top-line karting has featured on the Gold Coast with drivers in the ‘Pro’ categories expected to reach speeds in excess of 130 km/h around the Xtreme Karting Facility.