Tiger's Have-A-Go Day
| by Sean Phillips | 27 November 2013 |
| Tweet | |
WA’s Tiger Kart Club concluded the racing season with its annual Have a Go open meeting that this year also incorporated for the first time a karting swap meet.
It was a great turn out for this unique event held at the newly resurfaced Wanneroo Kartway. It was enjoyed by all who attended.
Above: Alex McKenzie, Junior National
pic - Sean Phillips, TKC
Along with the have a go sessions - where your friends, family and sponsors can “have a go” in your kart between the racing rounds - each round of racing was also on a different track.
The “triple track test” keeps all the racing drivers on their toes with the final race of the day held on the high speed tri oval circuit with NASCAR style slipstreaming. For those who are really serious it means a gearing change and even a staggered chassis set up is a must.
To keep things fun no trophies or places are awarded during the day, but a huge range of giveaway prizes were assembled and handed out after the event. This would have to be the most relaxed and fun day at the track you could have.
Above: Have a go at how many are having a go!
pic - Sean Phillips, TKC
In what has been a huge year for the Tiger Kart Club, with the Wanneroo track being completely rebuilt, further upgrades continue to take place, in this case the state of the art Race America safety light system which was in operation for the first time.
The club enlisted Ken Seeber from Strike Products to further upgrade the system by having him design and develop Strikes new and unique self contained safety light case. This ensures the lights and battery are kept as one unit while being safe from damage and making it easy to install and remove at each event. The system is remotely operated via the control unit in the main tower and its bright LED warning panels (6 of them mounted around the track) make it easy for drivers to be aware of danger and safer for our dedicated track crew who no longer need to man the flag points.
Above: The new safety light cases that Strike Products have put into production
pic - Sean Phillips, TKC
The main focus of the day was the “have a go” sessions and what a huge turnout we had. Never before have we seen so many new karters having a go, and by the smiles and animated stories on the in grid we can safely say that karting will benefit from quite a few new members to our great sport.
It was also a real treat to see John “Rocket” Nastas and Gary Light (or “Lighty” to most) having a run as well. These two guys are legends of our sport and I for one remember watching them as a kid during the 80’s when both raced at the top level of Karting. Gary and John both continue to dedicate huge amounts of time into our sport and it’s great to see them turning a wheel in a kart again.
Above: WA karting legends, Gary Light and John Nastas
pic - Sean Phillips, TKC
The club should be congratulated for making the effort to help promote karting to the wider community and having the foresight to put on such a unique and fun event for all involved.
The final part was the karting swap meet. A first for WA karting and what better way to get new people into our sport than following a blast around the track taking a walk through the swap meet area where a number of karts were for sale ready to go racing!! Talk about striking when the iron is hot!
The Tiger Kart Club really put some thought into this event and our already booming club with over 400 members and two full CIK international standard tracks looks forward to an even more successful 2014 season.
Above: Daniel clark and John Sheppard, 125R
pic - Sean Phillips, TKC
Huge thanks to our sponsors Kart Mart, Ace Karting, Flat Out Karts, Yamaha, Caltex and Aqua Filter Services who provided a range of prizes and all the officials and helpers who ran the event like clockwork. A special thanks to Meg and her crew in the canteen, I can vouch for the “works burger” it rated 11 out of 10 along with all the great food and service with a smile that makes such a difference to everyone enjoying the day at the track.
We all look forward to a nice break now and get prepared for what should be a fantastic 2014 racing season.
Above: Christopher Wilson, 125R
pic - Sean Phillips, TKC
Above: Craig Kilgallion, 100cc Open
pic - Sean Phillips, TKC
Above: Cadet racer Craig Spencer
pic - Sean Phillips, TKC
Above: Howard Heerey in National class
pic - Sean Phillips, TKC
Above: Joshua Byrne, Cadets
pic - Sean Phillips, TKC
Above: Riccardo, 125
pic - Sean Phillips, TKC
Above: Ross Sears Twin in 200cc Open
pic - Sean Phillips, TKC
Above: Roy Tester, 125
pic - Sean Phillips, TKC
Above: Kids loved the chance to drive a kart during the Have-A-Go part of the day
pic - Sean Phillips, TKC
Above: Tyler Peel
pic - Sean Phillips, TKC
Above: 'Race America' control unit for the safety lights
pic - Sean Phillips, TKC
