Vintage Karts Come Alive in Mount Gambier
| from Jason Fewins | 28 February 2017 |
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Mount Gambier Karting Club recently played host to the opening round of the 2017 Vintage Kart Calender with the Glenburnie Raceway Complex stepping back in time.
Now in its fourth year of hosting such a round, historic kart owners from as far away as Sydney made their way to the South East of South Australia for the two day event.
With outstanding track facilities, and the support from the local club, the event has quickly become one of the benchmark rounds on the Vintage Kart Season calendar.
The 860m circuit consists of 9 turns and provides a flowing and rewarding layout with two heavy breaking areas and plenty of other passing opportunities. Since its inauguration in 2014, driver entry number for the event have been on the increase, as a number of new drivers for 2017, came to tackle the rewarding circuit.
Promoted as a demonstration event, rather than a race event, the meeting gives owners and drivers an opportunity to hit the tarmac and let loose in their machines, some up to 55 years old.
Setting their own benchmark lap times, drivers then worked on kart setup and driving styles to try and improve as the weekend progressed.
For the drivers who were able to get the most out of their karts, a top 10 style shootout was held for the fastest qualifiers, proving some outstanding entertainment for those in attendance. Despite some light rain falling on the track during the shootout Josh Tynan was the driver setting the benchmark and ended up taking the honours with a lap time of 36.293 seconds in his DAP Greyhound Comet 135cc K30 configuration.
Other awards presented on the night went to the highly prestigious Best Presented Kart. Original restoration being a high criteria amongst the judging, a number of the owners take great pride in presenting their racing machines in period correct condition. Glen Maher was presented the top honours with his immaculate 1960’s Bug Stinger.
Rob Clarke and his Excel Twin and Mount Gambier's Karting Club President, Greg Muller and his A9S Clubman were also amongst the winners circle.
With such a successful weekend along with great feedback from all the entrants, the 2018 event looks to continue the successive trend as the stature of the event continues to grow.
