First Meeting On Extended Circuit Mark Webber

by Ben Aylen

Round 1 of the Canberra Club Championship and NSW KZ2 Series, supported by Natural Gas and Water, was held on the 1110m Circuit Mark Webber on Sunday 22 March 2020.

Mark Webber had attended a track opening ceremony the week prior and sampled a few laps himself, however no karts were run in anger on the circuit until the weekend of the event.

Mark Webber at the official opening earlier in the month

In the lead up to the race meeting, and with all kinds of events being cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 virus, there was uncertainty around whether or not the race would proceed.

However, once it was made clear the event would proceed with a number of precautions, the number of pre-entries skyrocketed reaching the maximum number of 120 competitors allowed within 24 hours of communicating on Facebook that the event would indeed go-ahead.

The race meeting was structured in a way that removed the need for people to congregate together. In order to comply with Government Regulations (which have since been tightened), some of the precautions that took place included:

Limiting the number of competitors to 120 people
Drivers Briefing was performed via email and over the PA system
Presentation was also performed over the PA
Canteen food was limited. Only food items in sealed containers were served
Competitors were only allowed one spectator / pitcrew
Social distancing was of course exercised
Spectators were not allowed within precinct.

Fortunately, there was good television coverage from ABC News Canberra and WIN News Canberra so anyone that wasn’t able to make it the race meeting could get a taste for what the new circuit is like.

There are some things money can’t buy, like happiness and toilet paper. But both of those were won by James Ordish in the raffle

The amount of positive feedback from drivers about the circuit extension was overwhelming with everyone thoroughly enjoying the mix of fast flowing corners combined with some technical sections as well.

The wide track created excellent passing opportunities and some absolutely fantastic racing.

Results below. Full results on speedhive HERE
Several videos are on the club’s Facebook HERE, several photos of the build HERE

The Canberra Kart Racing Club thanks everyone who worked together to allow this event to proceed in difficult times. The club has since closed the track for all activities but encourages anyone considering sampling the new Circuit Mark Webber to keep an eye on the club’s website www.canberrakarts.com.au or Facebook www.facebook.com/CircuitMarkWebber for the tracks re-opening.