FOUR Island kart racers flew the Jersey flag at one of the most prestigious weekends in the sport’s calendar this summer.

Roger Norman, Andy Davis, Robert Mière and Reg Roberts were invited to show off their formidable racing skills and their historic machines at Le Mans. Top honours went to Robert, who walked away with a trophy for the quality of his kart and for his performance on the track.

They all took part in the Kart Légendes event, a hugely popular warm-up for the Le Mans 24-hour kart race involving classic karts from yesteryear. In glorious sunshine at the end of August they took their positions in two half-hour runs and a presentation run.

Roger, a former president of the Jersey club, took his 1963 Brise Continental and a newly restored 1965 Techno kart fitted with a Komet K77. He has owned the Techno from new and said he was delighted to show her in all her glory again.

Robert raced a restored 1969 Deavinson Sprint fitted with a Komet K88. Andy had a trusty Zip Mark II, which he had raced in Monaco and Mariembourg, while Reg drove a Barlotti Dino, also powered by a Komet K77. In all, 25 beautiful old machines, mainly from the 1960s and 70s, took to the track. The late-70s karts were lapping in around 55 seconds, with the fastest 1960s model getting around in just over 60 seconds. Modern karts can achieve times of around 50 seconds.

Roger said: ‘It was a great event, and the first time they had done it for the historic karts at Le Mans. It was good fun. It was ostensibly a demonstration race and a warm-up act for the main event.’

He added that historic kart racing was a growing movement and this event was a great way of throwing the spotlight on the sport. ‘The karts race at about 65 to 70 mph, which is not particularly slow,’ said Roger. ‘These karts might be old, but they still have a lot of wallop.’

At the end of the weekend trophies were awarded for track positions and the quality of the karts. Robert took first prize for his kart and efforts on the track, which was not a bad achievement given that it was the kart’s first run and he had not driven a kart since 1992.

Roger said: ‘The Le Mans club made us most welcome and the historic kart movement continues to attract converts.’