Apologies if some of the items below are a little dated by the time you read them – it’s been a while since we did a Quick News Briefs post…
- Have we missed the news at your club? Tell us about it so we can tell the karting world 🙂 Contact info HERE.
LIFE – The Australian Independent Dirt Kart Association has added three names to its list of Life Members – Lawrie Tucker, Jayne Gelston and Darren Rowe. Congrats!
WANTED – Karting SA is seeking volunteers from the karting community to staff its karting display at the Adelaide 500, from Thursday November 23 through to Sunday the 26th. You’d need to spend around two hours speaking to the public about getting into the sport or becoming an official, handing out information and showing the punters around the karts on display. Access to the track will be provided (meaning you can spend time in the general admission areas before and after your volunteer shift/s). Those who can help out need to contact the SA State Secretary – secretary@kartingsa.com.au
MULTI TRACKS – How many track configurations can you fit in one race day? At Oakleigh this month, they’re going for FOUR – the National, Long, Club & Short versions will all be utilised at the club’s November race meeting on the 26th. The short circuit has never been used before and the club says it “might be your only chance to ever drive it and whoever sets a lap record is going to hold it for a long time.”
INDUSTRY/EMPLOYEMENT – Velocity Kart Shop in Sydney is seeking to fill a part-time position. The organisation is looking for someone who is passionate about the sport and customer service and who can work weekends with the opportunity for occasional Friday work. Requirements are:
- Valid driver’s licence
- Strong customer service skills
- Karting experience & mechanical ability
- Ability to assist in lifting karts
- Willingness to learn/use POS system for retail sales
Applicants should send their resume to: velocitykartshop@gmail.com
PINK PLATE – The Ladies Pink Plate Event is back for 2024 at Albury Wodonga Kart Club on the Australia Day long weekend. Not only is this a fantastic event, but it also supports breast cancer research!
KIP ON THE PHONE – Kip Foster talks all things karting on the latest Power Republic podcast! This was recorded prior to contesting the annual SKSUSA SuperNationals in Las Vegas. Click/tap HERE to listen to one of Australia’s top karters.
TRIO OF FLAVOURS – Which flavour do you like best? There are still big savings to be had on various brands/colours of OTK kart at DPE. Visit the DPE website listing the deals HERE.
COLLABORATION – The push to increase female participation and inclusion in the world of motorsport continues with the F1 Academy announcing a collaboration with international karting series “Champions of the Future”. COTF will launch a new junior series, Champions of the Future Academy Program, where select participants will be supported by F1 Academy Discover Your Drive. That all sounds very confusing, but basically the groups are creating a formal pipeline for young female talent, on and off track. COTFA say they will implement a series of cost control measures, including a limit on entry fees and an engine and chassis lottery system, to decrease the financial requirements for competitors. It will comprise three mixed gender categories, Minis (ages 8-11), Juniors (ages 11-14) and Seniors (ages 14-17). As part of the collaboration, F1 Academy will support three female drivers in each category, with their presence highlighted by branded karts and race suits. More on the Formula1 website HERE.
INDUSTRY COMBO – TKart reports the OTK Kart Group (manufacturer of Tony Kart, Vortex etc) and Vega (tyres) have formed a partnership via common investment from companies BIC Capital and QCapital. Roberto Robazzi (President and CEO of OTK Kart Group) is quoted: “We are really proud to be able to count on an industrial partner of excellence like Vega, a company recognized internationally for its expertise in the sector. (The partnership) will enjoy the support of qualified companies such as QCapital and BIC Capital… with whom we at OTK Kart Group have been collaborating successfully for a year.” More on TKart HERE.
WHERE’D YA GO ANNA? Seen crossing the track a Toowoomba. Check the head rotation on the leading driver – “WTF is that?”!
INDUSTRY – BCE (Brad Cady Engineering, formerly BC Kart) has been appointed exclusive dealer for Kart Republic, DAP, FA and WPK for Northern NSW. “We will still sell BC Karts and support both KR and BC” the organisation posted. Its kart engineering works will remain as is (eg, custom parts, chassis straightening, preparation etc). “I personally thank Tom Williamson Motorsport for the long support, the friendship from karting and the dealership” Cady posted.
2024 – Here’s the FIA Karting calendar of events for next year. The World Championships will be single events while the European Championships will run over several rounds (but not every class at each event).
CLUB NEWS – The Gippsland Go Kart Club held its AGM recently. Office bearers for the next 12 months are:
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- President- Troy Alger
- Vice President- Peter Aitken
- Secretary – Lorraine Aitken
- Treasurer- Grant Wicks
- Race Secretary – Grant Wicks
- License & Memberships- Lorraine Aitken
- Committee Members – Dave Bishoff, Zane Bright, Tony Bantick, Tim Ashton, Brenton O’Reilly
- KV Delegate – Russell Frost
BRISK – Brisk Spark Plugs Australia has extended its congratulations to the winners and podium finishers at the Australian Dirt Kart Titles at Tatiara Karting Club. “A massive thank to every competitor that used BRISK SILVER Racing Spark Plugs and a special mention to all below for your outstanding effort” Brisk posted on social media:
- Junior Heavy – Alex Croft W1, Nicholas Magro 32
- KT LIGHT – Alexander Magro S2
- KT MEDIUM – Alexander Magro S2, Joe Chalmers A1
- KT HEAVY – Jake Kervers 36, Nicholas Tapley N3, Craig McIntyre 5
- 125 LIGHT – Alexander Magro 32
- 125 MEDIUM – Declan Morrison S3
- 125 HEAVEY – Jake Oxford 81
- 100 OPEN – Nathan Chalmers 5, Shannon Barry S1, Joe Chalmers 23
- 200 OPEN – Talitha Stott 5
- KT Twin – Alexander Magro32, Nathan Chalmers w2
OLYMPIC KARTING – Former KA Chairman Mick Doohan is pushing to have motorsport, particularly karting, included in the 2032 Olympic Games. Doohan, now the Chairman on the Australian Motorsport Council, was speaking at a function at Parliament House in Brisbane recently as part of an ongoing lobbying effort by the FIA to have motorsport as part of the summer Games. “To have motorsport, in particular karting, involved in the Olympics would be massive for the sport around the world,” he said. “Today’s motor racing stars are all elite athletes in every sense and I hope that we can showcase this to the world on the Olympic stage – not every elite athlete is a swimmer, runner or football player.”
NSW SHIFTERS – The KZ2 Super Series for NSW is done for 2023. Mathew Erdmann took out the Light division and Robert Cribbin was crowned champion in Medium having won every race he finished during the year. The placings:
KZ2 LIGHT
1 Mathew Wedmann
2 Jack Lemon
3 Darren Dowd
KZ2 MEDIUM
1 Robert Cribbin
2 Glenn Linnett
3 Daniel Orsini
MORE LIFE – At its AGM last month Karting Victoria announced life memberships for two of its long-term volunteers, Adam Bourke and Gary Haythorpe. Bourke, from the Oakleigh club, has held KV positions such as Vice President and State Track Inspector and is a regular Steward and Clerk of Course. Haythorpe, from the Go Kart Club of Victoria, has been a long standing delegate for his club at KV Council meetings and a regular at race meetings in a technical/scrutineering capacity. The dedication of both to the sport over many years is greatly appreciated by all clubs in Victoria. Well done guys!
ENDURO AFFILIATION – The Endurance Racing Club (ERC) has joined Karting NSW. ERC is a four-stroke club that runs endurance races using Honda twin-engine karts. The club is currently preparing its 2024 season, details of which will be announced soon.
CLUB NEWS – Oakleigh Go Kart Club has named its 2023 Club Champions – see below. Congrats to all!. Full point scores are on speedhive HERE.
TYRE CHANGE & CLASS TWEAKS – The Challenge of The Americas series will switch to Vega tyres for all its classes in 2024. The Vega Green XH4 tyre will be used in all categories except for Cadet, which will compete on the Red VAH compound. Vega’s W6 is the series’ rain tyre. The basic class structure will remain as it was this year, though TaG Cadet will allow both Mini ROK and IAME Mini Swift engines and the Shifter classes will allow KZ powerplants to join the ROK Shifter but with a weight difference to control parity.
SPEED READ – Dave Sera runs through how to read the speed traces from your track data.
GIVE A GIFT – eGift Cards are a thing and DPE Kart Superstore can deliver them to the recipient at a date you nominate – ie, you can organise ahead of time ensuring you never miss a birthday or special occasion again! A DPE Kart Superstore eGift Card lets the recipient choose whatever they like from the DPE online store. Visit https://dpekartsuperstore.com/products/gift-card now and set the amount you want to gift.
REVERSE – The Rotax Winter Trophy USA will run across two rounds at the same venue on back-to-back weekends. Conducted at the Orlando Kart Center, round 1 (Jan 26-28) will run clockwise and round 2 (Feb 2 to 4) will be raced counter clockwise. Winners will receive some of the very first tickets to be awarded for the 2024 RMCGF.
REFUEL RETHINK – Vic Superkarts has reiterated that during an event when fuel is transferred (from container to container or container to vehicle) each person within one meter of the fuel transfer must at least wear shoes and socks, long pants and a short sleeved shirt. Also, there must be a similarly attired fire attendant who has direct contact with a 4.5kg (or larger) ABE fire extinguisher, which has the safety pin removed. The fire attendant must be in a position to extinguish a fire started from refuelling or fuel transfer at all times during the refuelling or fuel transfer. The safety pin of the extinguisher may be replaced after refuelling or fuel transfer is complete.
TRACK NEWS – The new asphalt is now down on the Tiger Kart Club’s Cockburn circuit. Looking good!
SERIES DATES – AusKart Racing’s 2024 endurance series will run over five rounds at three locations:
EURO HIGHLIGHTS – Here’s the highlights reel from the WSK Euro Series finale at Sarno earlier this month. Australian William Calleja finished sixth in the wet Mini final, placing him second overall in the series.
2024 CRG – CRG has announced its 2024 racing chassis, which from a technical perspective are basically the same as the 2023 models. There are four models: KT2 with 30mm tubes, KT4 with mixed 30mm and 32mm tubes, Road Rebel with 32mm tubes and KT5 with 30mm tubes and 32mm front end. “All models have FIA homologation for all categories” CRG posted. “Following the experience of the CRG Racing Department, it can be given as a general indication that the KT2 model is the reference for versatility in the direct drive classes, as it is for the shifter categories the Road Rebel, while the KT4 and KT5 versions represent very effective variants for both classes.” Alongside these models is the Black Mirror chassis for the Mini categories. First releases in 2020, this chassis has been updated for 2024, based on the experiences of the CRG official Mini team.
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