Kart club ready and set to go for growth

MORE than two hundred go-kart racers from across Australia took to the Ballarat Kart Club’s track at Haddon as part of the Victorian Country Series.

Members of the club hosted dozens of local and visiting riders in revving their engines around their track over the weekend.

With participants racing across 12 categories and aged from seven to almost 80, committee member Bill West said the two-day event offered an incredible spectacle go-karting.

“The atmosphere was fantastic and we had some really, really good racing,” he said.

Racers aged from seven years old to nearly 80 competed across the two-day event over the weekend.

“We had a lot of great comments and massive amount of volunteer help which was really noticed. There were bigger race teams and a really competitive environment for people to enjoy.”

The event was the first round of the Victorian Country Series, with later rounds to be held at Portland, Warrnambool, Horsham, Hamilton, and Cobden through to October.

Mr West said the club typically sees a high participation rate in hosting the VCS, but that recent facility upgrades have bolstered interest.

Recent upgrades to the club’s track have extended the circuit from 675 metres up to more than 800 metres, allowing for more turns an overtaking opportunities.

“We’ve noticed a lot more interest in the club and we’ve taken the track from being a little outdated to bring it up to modern requirements,” he said.

“We had a track that was difficult to pass and was a bit of a one-lane sort of thing, so it’s certainly added interest which shows because we had a club day the last weekend which had 87 entries.”

The club’s high rate of participation will this year see them hosting two large-scale open meetings, including the VCS round, with the next one scheduled for November.

Ballarat Kart Club traditionally hosts later rounds in the annual Victorian Country Series.

Mr West said the increased calendar program is part of the club’s bid to become a regional destination for go-karting.

“We’re really trying to position the club as the go-to go-kart facility outside of metro Melbourne,” he said.

Ballarat Kart Club members will next host come and try days on 8 and 9 March, one of which will be female only, further details of which can be found at the club’s website or Facebook page.