A Message From Mick


  12 November 2014
 

As a Karting Australia/AKA competition licence holder, I today received an email from Mick Doohan. For the benefit of those who are not actually KA karters, this is what he's got to say:

 

12 November 2014

Hi Mark,

As we are heading towards the end of the year I thought that I would take a moment to write to you to let you know personally about what I see as being a very bright future for karting in Australia.

The Board of Karting Australia has been operating for just over a year now. In that time we have started the long process of reinvigorating the sport.

We have laid the foundations for a modern national sporting organisation.

Finances

We have significantly improved the financial position of the company, primarily by eliminating the waste and inefficiencies that existed previously, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars along the way. I can confidently predict that the Profit and Loss and the Balance Sheet at the end of the year will be in the healthiest position that Karting Australia (either Inc. or Ltd.) has ever seen.

As a result, I will be recommending to the Board at our December meeting that our licence and permit fees stay the same for 2015.

Review and Planning

We have reviewed the sport and we have laid down a blueprint for its future that will be developed and fulfilled over the next 3 to 10 years.

It will not be an easy task, hard decisions have to be made, informed decisions have been made and we are well on the way.

As a Board we know that not all decisions that we make will immediately be popular but I would like to tell you that they have not been made lightly and that they have been well researched and are based on objective data and statistics – not popular politics; and are designed to be what is in the best interest of Australian karting.

New Engines

In allocating new engines to the Cadet classes, Junior and Senior (air cooled) competition we have finished the work that AKA Inc. started quite a few years ago. Both of the new engines are quality engines that will serve our competition well for many years!

The first shipments of our new engines; the IAME KA100 and the Vortex Mini Rok that will be a feature on our race tracks for many years to come are on their way from the world class IAME and Vortex manufacturing facilities in Italy.
When we first announced the new engines, they both carried indicative price tags of $3150.00 for the KA100 and $2990.00 for the Mini Rok. Through much hard work with the manufacturers and their representatives we been pleased to see them introduced into the Australian market at the price of $2990.00 (saving of $160.00) for the IAME and $2790.00 (saving of $200.00) for the Vortex.

Competition

Very shortly we will be launching the new look Australian Kart Championship. It is scheduled to start in the first week of April 2015.

For States that are hosting rounds of the AKC, these events will double up as “Open” State Championship events. For example, if you choose to enter say round 2 of the AKC that is to be held in South Australia and if you win that event in the KA1 Class you will receive the State Champion Plate for KA1 as well as accumulating points towards the overall National Championship.

Most States have several State Series events or multiple zonal competitions (e.g. the Victorian Karting Series, Central Queensland Karting Series, Southern Stars in NSW, Victorian Country Series; Festival State Cup, Northern Zone, Western Cup and South Eastern Zone Series in WA; Tasmanian Statewide Series).

Our review, including consideration of the participation rates in Series competitions allowed us to reach the conclusion that Championship Competition should generally be conducted across multiple round series’ and not the old single week format.

We believe that in the longer term that this will be the more sustainable State Championship competition format. Too many people are time poor at the moment and increasingly struggle to devote 4-6 days plus travelling to attend State Championship events.

Some States, for example Western Australia have circumstances that are very unique to their State that will necessitate a different approach. That’s OK – we have said all along that where unique circumstances exist, practical exceptions to our general principle for State competition can be made.

We think that there are numerous opportunities for well-planned event development that creates more exciting karting events for you to participate in if your Clubs and State Associations wish to grasp them. It won’t happen overnight, but the opportunities are definitely there.

Club Competition

I really want to clear up some of what I consider to be deliberate misinterpretation or misrepresentation of our position about Clubs and Club competition.

I want to be very clear – nothing of any consequence is changing in relation to Club Competition! All of the current engines can be used in competition for many years to come. We want to make club competition easier to run and more fun to do.

Despite what some politically motivated people would have you believe, Karting Australia does not have any agenda to close down any Clubs – small or large. Simply put – why would we? If your club is functional and runs race meetings in a safe, fun environment for you, that is all that matters. Similarly, some people would have you believe that we have said that small clubs will never be able to access Track Development Fund loans. You will not find that statement attributed to Karting Australia anywhere at all – because we have never said it and it is false. It has only ever been said by those who are trying to create mischief.

In the Whole of Sport Review we highlighted that 44 out of 88 Clubs affiliated with us, have less than 50 licensed drivers. That is simply a statement of fact. In some cases it is a concern because in combination with their participation rates at Club level, it says that some Clubs aren’t doing that well. In some of the more remote locations it is simply just how it is. We felt it was important to highlight the issues – nothing more, nothing less.

The Board’s intentions towards Clubs is to try to make it easier and not harder for Clubs to conduct competition. To establish programs that make it simpler to train officials to a consistent level, to encourage junior development and to make it easier for new members to join Clubs. We also want to implement a Superior Clubs program that will act to draw many different Club programs together with reward for effort.

Rules

We are working on simplifying our rule book and are on track to deliver our 2015 Australian Karting Manual on time for the 2015 competitions at all levels. Despite the statements to the contrary emanating from some of the mischief makers, our 2015 rule book was never intended to be released other than in time for the year in which it will be used – as has always been the case.

Officials Uniforms

Our Officials are a vital cog in the karting event machine. During 2015 our Officials will start to sport a whole new look with new uniforms that reflect our new Karting Australia brand.

Thank you

During the weekend just past, Ashley Waardenberg (Karting Queensland President) and Glen Egan (Chairman of Karting NSW) retired from their administrative roles in karting.

The Board would like to thank both Glen and Ashley for their work and professionalism in managing their respective State’s karting affairs and for the professional and constructive approach to all levels of the sport.

Unfortunately for our sport both men have decided to retire as a direct result of constant harassment and undermining actions by a few club members who would rather criticise the actions of those seeking to improve the sport rather than supporting it and making a positive contribution.

Karting cannot afford to lose good people who want to do the best for their sport. The sport is poorer as a result.

The Future

We have identified six key principles that have largely gone missing from the sport of karting in Australia in recent years. Its popularity as a sport has been waning as a consequence.  Karting should be Fun.  | The need for sustainable Growth. | The need to provide Valuefor money at all times. | The need for Simplicityin a sport that is at times overly complicated. | The need for the sport at all levels and in all places to be conducted with Integrity. |The need for improved Retentionof competitors, participants and officials.

We will not be able to achieve the improvement in these areas unless we make serious changes in many areas.

Beneficial change is hard to achieve but it is worth striving for. If you don’t improve you are standing still. If you’re standing still your competitors will pass you. Karting in Australia has been in that position for some time – that is why the new company was formed and the Board was given full authority to run the sport.

Some people on some State Karting Councils don’t seem to want to accept that the structure of the sport has changed. They openly profess that Clubs should dictate what happens at National level and that every decision should be viewed through the very narrow focus of their particular Club’s eyes. Frankly that is a recipe for disaster and paralysis for the sport as a whole that the sport consciously decided to move away from several years ago.

We all have our role to play – you the karters who race and the officials who work so hard, the Clubs that you join, the States and the Karting Australia Board and administration. As a Board we are not prepared to accept the “but that’s how we have always done it” approach to initiatives and required change. As the ones who race – we don’t think that you should accept that either.

It has taken a lot of work by a few people to ensure that we are well entrenched as part of the broader motorsport community. Our CAMS and CIK-FIA relationships are strong and where we need them to be. You simply can’t be out on your own – whether you like it or not – it’s just how it is these days.

Like so much in the modern sporting world today, our motorsport relationships are based around sound business principles that the Board has implemented over the past 14 months.

As and when it becomes apparent that something needs adjustment or a rethink we will do that and we won’t ever say to you “but that’s how we always do it” because that’s just unacceptable.

I can assure you that the Board and our administration are working tirelessly to develop and improve our sport.
It is work that simply has to be done. It is not overstating it to say that karting in this country is very much at the cross roads and has been for quite some time. We can see the opportunities for future development and ask people to park their prejudices if they have them and get on board the new direction in the sport as we work to make karting a real feature of the Australian sporting landscape.

Best Regards

Karting Australia
mick_signature_low.png

Mick Doohan

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