Family puts kart before Lotto win

BY JARED SMITH

Some of us watch the Lotto draw and dream about what might be, but petrol head Yaun Chapman and his family just decided to make it happen regardless. They talk to Jared Smith about Naki Nitro, soon to open as Taranaki's indoor go-kart track.

It was an interesting living room conversation that never went away.

Yaun Chapman knew what he wanted as he and wife Cheryl Coleman sat watching the weekly Big Wednesday draw when they lived in Whanganui.

That was two years ago and rather than pin their hopes on an unlikely jackpot, Mrs Coleman said her petrol head husband decided to make a move on his dream of an indoor go-kart track.

"We were sitting there with our ticket wondering what we would do if we won. We talked about it and then he just wouldn't give up on the idea.

"He was determined to do this and just [went] on and on for the next nine months.

"I said, dammit, we'll sell the place then and go."

It's been about 18 months of scrimping, building, planning and promising, but as we sit in the upstairs office of a converted warehouse in Bell Block's industrial hub on De Havilland Drive, Mr Chapman can almost hear the screech of tyres and roar of the engines.

The vision - Naki Nitro - is nearly ready.

"I had a small engineering workshop, mechanical place down in Whanganui," he says. "My partner and I are selling our property down there to move up here to be closer to my daughter and grand kids, and start the go-kart business because there was also nothing like that up here."

The track will start as a single level, 140-150m long.

Ten karts have been specifically built at North City Indoor Raceway in Porirua and will be delivered in the next few weeks.

Getting up to 50kmh on the straight, a lap will take around 24 seconds.

"There's definitely passing points, down the end of the straight you've got a full drift corner where people can drift on.

"We've got stop/go lights around, there will be a full set of them. Also, the karts are all on timers so you can do lap timing and that sort of thing for competing.

"They've also got a cut-out on them so if anyone starts ramming or misbehaving you can press a button and cut them right down to an idle."

"My long-term goal is I'd like to put in New Zealand's largest two- level track, which I'm hoping to put in just after Christmas if everything goes well," Mr Chapman says.

The only other two-level is in Auckland and is about a quarter of Naki Nitro's potential size.

Mr Chapman shows the designs for ramps, banked corners, and bridge tunnel to enter and exit the track.

"Later on I want to put an arcade above the workshop where you can have all the facilities up there for doing things.

"That's why that extension's going in, so people can stand up there and view it all."

It is a family affair - Mr Chapman and his brother Kyle will run the track, along with two part- timers, while Mrs Coleman handles the cleaning and daughter Toni Hopkinson works in the office.

Not many kids would know how to react when mum and step-dad phone to say not only are they moving to town but coming to live with you, but Ms Hopkinson was thrilled.

"I was all for it, if it was to get them here I was keen.

"I can't wait, I just want the doors open. I'm really excited."

Mr Chapman appreciates everyone's sacrifices to get this off the ground.

"It's very scary, going from a very tiny business out of my own backyard to something to this degree and size.

"A lot of people put up a lot of brick walls for me, put it that way. I just kept scaling it until I got over the top.

"Even though I had the collateral of my property, banks wouldn't touch me because of the type of business it was.

"I just kept pursuing it and pursuing it. The guy I'm leasing the building off, he's the one that actually lent me the money to do it, against my property and my mum's.

"If it wasn't for her as well, it wouldn't have happened so between everyone that I know and everything that we've cobbled together, we're getting it done."

Since Naki Nitro's radio commercial started airing, the phone calls have been continuous requesting corporate functions, team-building events and Christmas parties, while others just walk up asking about opening day.

Delays with delivering the karts have pushed this out to the middle of next month at the earliest.

The fun will encompass all ages from 10 upwards. "Before Christmas we're going to be introducing cadet karts, which is ages 5-9, so we'll end up catering for everyone," Mr Chapman said.

They would also like Naki Nitro to become headquarters for growth of the sport in the region.

"Ross [Honnor] at Dobsons Dyno Tune in Waitara, he's sponsoring the prize money to run events, every week for six weeks and run them all year round. "So there will be prize money and a trophy at the end of six weeks.

"To start off with we're actually going to be open from 9am-10pm, seven days a week, because we've also had a lot of interest from night shift workers wanting to come in from any time from 9-11am onwards.

"Everyone's talking about it."

- © Fairfax NZ News