Hazelwood turning to karts to 'stay sharp'

Todd Hazelwood is set to put his brand-new go kart to the test this weekend, competing in a karting event in Bundaberg.

Keeping himself sharp between Repco Supercars Championship events, the 25-year-old took ownership of a CRG Australia KT2 125cc kart in June.

Heading to Bundaberg following the doubleheader events in Townsville last month, the Brad Jones Racing driver seized the opportunity to get back to his karting roots.

“Getting back in the kart was somewhat part of my plan, originally I was going to have it in Melbourne as I’m meant to be living there,” Hazelwood told Supercars.com.

“When the initial lockdown started in Melbourne, I relocated up to Bundaberg to stay with my partner's family.

‘It’s somewhat a selfish move as I’ve left my sister in Melbourne, but I’ve now got the flexibility and the advantage to keep honing my skills, keep active, keep my bum in the seat and keep racing.

“I’ve been doing races on and off over the years but now to have my own setup gives me the ability to race when I want.

“There’s a lot of fast guys in karting, from my perspective it’s great, you’re still honing your race craft.

“You’re still managing tyre pressures, trying to get the best setup for the conditions on the day, it’s all relevant, and that why I love karting.”

Sharing a video of assembling the kart earlier this month, the 2017 Super2 champion won his first karting title in 2006 when he was 10-years-old.

Earlier this week, Hazelwood shared a defining moment from his childhood, when his parents sold their Mini to help fund the purchase of his first kart.

Joined by his partner Alice Litzow for race meets at the Bundaberg Kart Club, the South Australian driver said it’s perfect date for them, but admitted they are both competitive.

“She’s beat me once but I’ve now changed classes so she can’t do that,” he joked.

“Alice is racing her kart, I’m racing mine, it’s the perfect date on the weekend I reckon.”

“We have a lot of fun, Alice comes from a karting family, who run a kart shop up in Bundaberg called Bundy Karts.

“It’s great for me to have an awesome partner who is involved.”

The BJR driver celebrated his season-best result at the WD-40 Townsville SuperSprint, with a fourth-place finish in the finale.

Hazelwood will return to Victoria for when the Supercars championship resumes at Winton Motor Raceway across October 2-3.