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Grass karts and minibikes lure budding engineers

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High octane footage from the 2009 Grass Kart Challenge
and NZ Secondary Schools Mini-Moto GP events!

 

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Former world superbike champ Aaron Slight visits the
2009 Mini-Moto GP event, and is impressed with what
he encounters there.

 

High schools around the country are getting involved in two action-packed annual events - the Minibikes Challenge in Manawatu, and the Otago Southland Grass Kart Challenge. The events are taking off - and attracting young people into mechanical engineering and other trades training.

A number of schools using the Tools4Work resources are opting for the grass karts and minibikes to complete the project-based part of the course. Students learn valuable skills and earn unit standard credits towards the National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering (Level 2) - and they have a lot of fun, including the chance to race their machines against other students.

Minibike Challenge

For the Minibikes Challenge, students "reverse engineer" a standardised kitset bike to industry-based Level 2 unit standards, and they can also make specialised components in their school workshops. The students then race their bikes in a range of events at Manfeild raceway in Feilding. The 2008 inaugural event was such a success that more than 20 schools are keen to enter the two-day event this October.

The organisers, engineering teachers Roger Emmerson (Feilding High School), Richard Dawson (Central Hawke's Bay College) and Ross McDonald (Lytton High School) say minibikes - also known as pocket bikes - are an affordable and compelling way of getting students involved and developing their practical skills in mechanical engineering.

For more information on the Minibikes Challenge, contact Roger Emmerson, ph 027 2968373 or email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For more information on minibike kits and components, visit www.newmanz.co.nz

For more information about Manfeild raceway, visit www.manfeild.co.nz

Grass Kart Challenge

The Otago Southland Grass Kart Challenge involves schools around the region and is supported by Tools4Work, the Otago Polytechnic, Southern Institute of Technology, Southern Group Training and the Royal New Zealand Navy. Students work in teams to build motorised grass karts from a kitset, and their entries are judged on performance, construction, appearance and record keeping.

Organisers say the event is a great way for students to sharpen their skills, develop team management abilities and learn in the workshop and classroom. The challenge includes a number of events through the school year and gives youngsters a hands-on taste of the benefits of a career in mechanical engineering.

For more information visit http://www.grasskartchallenge.co.nz/index.html

To contact the Grass Karts Challenge organisers, email or fax your details and inquiries to (03) 218 2647

Kitset Construction Timelapse from Aurora College

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A time lapse video put together by the 2008 Aurora College Grass
Kart team showing the beginning stages of their build as well as
how it progresses.

 

Kitset Construction Manual from Lytton High School

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