Wanderers Go-Kart Championship 2004 ....

  We had a great night at the Gepps Cross Go-Karts. A bruising affair, with karts bending the rules slightly, jostling for positions.

  There were a few late minute cancellations, with some pathetic excuses offered.

  late flight arrival back from Melbourne
working back in the office
bills just come in (money scarce)
attending Wanderers committee meeting

  This all worked in our favour. Ten drivers meant that we would race individually in a Grand Prix event. No excuses, no-one to blame but ourselves.

  One was left wondering as Dean and Bryan (Deb’s brother-in-law) rocked up with their own racing helmets and gloves. These boys were taking this very serious.

  The induction before the race left a few wondering whether they could still back out of the race. RobRoys’ face turned white when we were warned about the potential dangers on the track. Stories of broken bones and grazed limbs were told to ensure we drove in a sensible manner.

  We started the Qualifying rounds with fastest times to be used for the first 10 lap race.

  In grid position was 1 Dean, 2 Stuart, 3 Chris, 4 Bryan, 5 Rick, 6 Claire, 7 Andrew, 8 Kevan, 9 Sarah, 10 RobRoy.

  The track circuit is very tight with a few hairpin turns and the straight running outside in the dark. Being so close to the ground gave the impression of extremely fast driving.

Driver skills are very important, but as Kevan and myself found out, excess body weight definitely slows the karts down as the smaller drivers increased their leads in the straights and going up the track overpass.

  I thought for a moment that Dean was making love to his kart, until I realized that he was thrusting his body forward to try to gain extra acceleration on the track.

  The second 10 lap race had the grid positions reversed, with RobRoy taking pole position. One could see why he gained that spot by watching him drive at walking pace to the first grid. How anyone could crash into the rails while strolling to the grid line is beyond belief. After the marshals had rescued Rob from his predicament, we started on our second race.

  Stuart was trying to gain an advantage when the warning lights came on by driving a bit faster than walking pace and overtaking to catch up with the leading karts. After much yelling and screaming by other drivers he soon backed off and conformed with the rules.

  The Final 15 lap race was tough and fast, as by now drivers had gained confidence to tackle the track and all had victory on their mind. A slight bump here and there, with openings few and far between. The best way to overtake was to wait for others mistakes and sneak through the gap. At one stage Dean and Sarah collided and I could see an opening for a double overtaking. I don’t know how he did it, but Sarah’s Kart was forced into mine where I was unceremoniously dumped into the rails.

  It was all over too fast, with the chequered flags waving us to a halt. The perspiring heads as we took our helmets off showed the grueling effect the driving had on us.

  The results were given to us while we sat in the grandstand.

  In reverse order was as follows:

10th RobRoy
9th Sarah
8th Andrew
7th Rick
6th Kevan
5th Claire
4th Chris
3rd Stuart
2nd Bryan
Ist (by countback) and Inaugural Wanderers Go-Kart Champion Dean

  Ps. I’m going on a diet preparing for next years championship

Rick

Disclaimer : please note