In The Pits - Victorian Open Championships

Above: A cool way of getting karts to fit in narrow spaces for the journey home - tear off the sidepods and fit really really skinny wheels. Solid bolt-on disks are also great for scaling a kart as they remove the possibility of corner weight variation due to different tyre circumferences.
pic - Wicks

Above: Tall drivers can sometimes have trouble fitting in modern karts. Some manufacturers, such as Kosmic, have factory add-ons to extend the footwell, made easier by the current generation CIK-spec front ends. This is Josh Brooker's example in Leopard Heavy.
pic - Wicks

Above: Queensland's Pacific Kartsport team
pic - Cooper's Photography

Above & Below: As usual, a big interstate contingency made the trip to Geelong for the Vic Open. This is the Bunbury based Revenge Racing outfit from WA. The truck, with trailer attached, hauled 14 karts east with 40 hours of drive time.
pics - Wicks


Above: Despite some dramas at Junior Top Guns, balaclava clad Cameron Waters has made an instant impression in juniors and is proving to be the Kid to Catch in Junior National Light.
pic - Cooper's Photography

Above: If the cap fits, wear it. The Arai of Canberra's Warren White Jnr.
pic - Ash Budd, photowagon.com.au

Above & Below: The 'Nothing' kart of Senior National Light driver Daniel Baker. Baker built the kart as part of a school project but the black machine has never been given a name. The kart appears well built (he's already won a state title with it, hence the blue plates) and follows the traditional sprint kart line of design. The rear axle is located by alloy clamping collars rather than bearing grub screws. Baker was out of luck at Geelong, getting turned around in the pre-final. He set fastest lap in the final on a charge to 6th place.
pics - Wicks

Above: Tyres are marked at the big events, plus engines tagged etc. Several karts returned from post-final checks with tyres popped off the bead as officials looked for evidence of tampering or tyre doping.
pic - Ash Budd, photowagon.com.au

Above: Rear crash protection on Jonathan Venter's Rookie Top Kart. Only a handful of karts in the country seem to be using these CIK-inspired plastic bumpers. Same deal for wider rear crash bars where hire-kart style loops extand out behind the rear tyres.
pic - Wicks

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