Thirteen-year-old Kiwi karting star Nixon Cripps takes the next step in his motor racing journey this weekend, making his South Island Formula Ford Championship debut at the Levels circuit in Timaru.
Cripps hails from the small Southland town of Edendale, 35km from Invercargill, the town where another speedy Southlander, Burt Munro, grew up. A Year 8 student at the nearby Menzies College, Cripps has already had a stellar karting career.
The youngster won the Vortex Mini Rok National Title in 2025, as well as the Kart Stars Series and the ROK Cup Series, New Zealand’s three main karting titles. He has won numerous other accolades and championships, including South Island titles.
He has twice represented New Zealand in Italy, finishing fourth in the world as an 11-year-old in the Rotax Grand Final, while the following year he took a win and a third place in the heats of the Rok Cup Super Final against the best in the world, before a tough final which he did not finish.
He is now ready for the next step, preparing to line up in a Spectrum 015 for the opening round of the South Island Formula Ford Series. Nixon has straightforward goals.
“I am going out there to do my best and make everyone proud. I’m not scared of hard work and will do whatever it takes.” As a newcomer to the series, everything is new to Cripps.
“I have had one day of testing at Timaru. It is definitely challenging, but it is a cool place!”
The plan for Cripps this season is to tackle both the South Island and New Zealand Formula Ford Series. He took possession of the Spectrum in the middle of last year, but with the Rok Cup Super Final in Italy looming, he was advised not to drive it at that stage because it required a different driving style than his kart.
He made his Spectrum debut at this year’s Classic SpeedFest at his home track, Teretonga Park in Invercargill. He went exceptionally well and, more importantly, as he says, “I learnt a lot.”
Since then, he has raced at Euromarque Motorsport Park in Christchurch, where he finished third and also at the last two rounds of the Winter Series at Manfeild Circuit, Chris Amon in Feilding, where he finished second and third despite having little time to learn the track.
At just 13, Cripps has achieved an incredible amount and, ironically, didn’t grow up in a family totally immersed in motorsport. “Dad was watching Formula 1 on TV one night, and I liked it. It was fast.
After that, my parents took me to the Invercargill kart track. I did a Have A Go Day, and then we bought a second-hand kart. I watched the owner race it over his last weekend with it, and we bought it home, and the next day the country went into lockdown!”
During his karting days Nixon met Jordan Michels, an Invercargill race driver who, among other successes, won the 2018/2019 NZ Formula Ford Championship. When Nixon’s family purchased the Formula Ford race car, Michels came on board to help.
Michels rates the youngster highly.
“Nixon displays talent and work ethic well beyond his age, so when his family approached me to help guide him through this next chapter of his career, I was excited just to be a part of this young man’s journey.”
Ask Nixon why he went to cars at such a young age and the answer is simple – “cars were my main goal. I always wanted to aim higher than karts.”
A typical Southland teenager, he also finds time to play netball, Touch, Basketball, and golf, and he enjoys fishing.
Nixon acknowledges the help of his parents, grandparents and Michels, as well as his team of sponsors – Leithfield Nursery, Haakman NZ Bulbs, Circa Marine & Industrial, OneForest/IFS Growth, Sign Solutions and Evolution Motorsport.
Header Photo: Christopher Scrimgour
