Nine-year-old kart racer Nico Thomasen’s time as a cadet has ended on a high as the North Island Championship comes to an end.

Despite having a major foot surgery in July to correct the position of his foot and lengthen his Achilles tendon, the Tauranga karter has managed to smash his final season as a cadet, taking his tally of four championship wins.

In the July school holidays, Nico won the National Schools Championship in Nelson, securing the NS plate in the cadet class.

Teammate Charlie Clarke also did an outstanding job and gained enough points for the boys to win the primary/intermediate school category for their school, St Mary’s.

Nico Thomasen in action. Photo / Ben Thomasen.

After national schools it was straight back home to Tauranga for a scheduled foot surgery.

Nico’s mum, Shannon, said he was in a full leg cast for eight weeks and non-weight bearing.

“It was definitely a challenging time for him given how much passion he has for karting and having a forced break.

“Nico had a lot of doubt that he would be able to even drive let alone be up to speed, but it seemed as though Nico hadn’t even been out of his seat.”

Since his operation and being freed from his cast, Nico competed in the Spring Cup at his home track in Te Puke on September 28 – just two weeks out of his cast – and won.

Nine-year-old Nico Thomasen. Photo / Shannon Thomasen.

After bringing more trophies home for his mum to dust, Nico set his sights on the next race where he competed in round three of the top half series in Hamilton.

In Hamilton, he had a dominant performance with five out of five race wins, said Shannon.

Nico continued to ride the high as he turned his attention to the North Island Championships over Labour Weekend.

He still had a long road ahead since his surgery, regularly attending physio appointments to strengthen his leg and foot, but his mum said he wasn’t going to let it hold him back from his karting aspirations.

Nico Thomasen with his trophies. Photo / Shannon Thomasen.

The North Island championships finally came around and Nico had his sights on one more title to round off his 2024 season.

To wrap up his time in the cadet class, he managed to end on an absolute high.

After struggling on the Saturday in qualifying where he qualified second against his rival Ryan Healey, Nico was beating himself up. Shannon said he is his biggest critic, and he was very upset with himself.

Sunday was a new day, including the pre-final and the winner-takes-all final.

Nico came out swinging, winning the pre-final and the final which he led from start to finish with a dominating win of more than 12 seconds, said Shannon.

Nico Thomasen has big goals for the future. Photo / Shannon Thomasen.

After a successful 2024 season and end to being in the cadet class, Nico is excited to move up to the VMR class and the challenges that will come with it.