Glen Dix Waving The Flag This Weekend
AKA press release
Australia’s legendary flag waver, Glen Dix, will be Grand Marshall when the karting section of the 13th Australian Masters Games gets underway at Nuriootpa, South Australia tomorrow.
Dix’s involvement in the sport of karting extends back more than 50 years, when he was involved with the formulation of the original South Australian Karting Council alongside the likes of June Hodgetts and Jack Self.
“When these new miniature racing machines with their chainsaw motors started appearing in Australia over 50 years ago the existing motor sport organisations like speedway and circuit racing couldn’t see go-karts fitting into their rules,” said Dix (right, AF Images/Budd pic).
“With that in mind we sat down and put together the rules and the next year ran the first championship at Dublin, just north of Adelaide.
“While the karts and engines have changed quite a bit over the years, the excitement of the racing is very much still there. I’m really honoured and looking forward to being the Grand Marshall for this weekend’s event.”
Having been involved in motorsport since the mid 1950s, Dix started out Speedway racing and by the time of the first Adelaide GP in 1985 he had been waving the chequered flag for some 30 years. For Adelaide’s tight-knit community he was the obvious person for the job of waiving the chequered flag at Adelaide’s biggest motorsport event.
Throughout his time in South Australian motorsport, Dix has flagged everything from the great speedway races at Rowley Park, major events at Mallala Motorsport Park to the National Karting Championships – and just about everything in between.
While he is now long retired from the Grand Prix scene and high profile motorsport events, Dix is still involved in South Australian motorsport and charity work.
In 2009, Dix was recognised in the Australia Day awards with an Order of Australia medal for services to motorsport and the community.
Karting Co-ordinator Stephen Blee believes that having Dix as the Grand Marshall and waiving the chequered flag will provide the competitors with an extra buzz this weekend.
“The Masters Games is an opportunity for the older generation of drivers to get out on the track and enjoy a fantastic event which is designed specifically for them,” said Blee.
“To have someone of the calibre of Glen waiving the flag at our event is an enormous privilege. Many of our competitors would have grown up seeing his prowess at the Rowley Park Speedway and the Australian Grand Prix in the later years, I know I’ll be one of the drivers who will be smiling when I see him wave the chequered flag.”
Racing at the Liberty Oils Raceway at Nuriootpa begins tomorrow and will continue throughout the weekend. The competition will based on National, Clubman, Leopard and Rotax classes with four divisions of age groups (30 – 39, 40 – 49, 50 – 59 and 60 plus).
The first Australian Masters Games were held in Tasmania in 1987 and over the years, the event has become Australia’s largest multisport festival.
Karting has been a part of the Australian Masters Games since 1999 and has been hosted at Bolivar, Newcastle, Canberra and Geelong.
