Illawarra Go Kart Challenge
04 July 2015 / Words by Kim Ranger, Photos by Bryan Shedden
Well it was Illawarra's turn for the Go Kart Challenge to see who will represent our chapter at the Jinba Ittai Challenge final later this year. On 18th March 2015, we all arrived around 5:30pm at Fox Karting to register and suit up for our go kart challenge.
Jan and her daughter Allyson had light refreshments for us including fresh fruit, cheese plates, soft drinks and juice to prepare us for the night ahead. It was a great turn out with around 25 eager rev heads wanting to see who was the fastest karter in the south.
Everyone was put into groups for two 10 minute lap sessions. First to go was the kids group of 5 who were a little cautious at the beginning but certainly settled in the more they went on. They were buzzing when they completed their session.
Next it was the ladies turn to get into the action all 7 of us. On with the helmets as we were put into karts some adjustments required for those of us who were short; adding cushions and pedal extenders.
Start the engines and off we go, we were all having a ball and there were plenty of challenges out there, who said we aren’t competitive. The 10 minutes seemed to fly before we were back in pit lane. Time to cool off and have a drink. It was then the guys turn and as there were 13 men in total they had to be split into 2 groups, the first group headed out and there were a few spills as overtaking seemed to be the main option to see who could get to the lead, little did they know that it is a time trial so last did not necessarily mean last as the times later showed. After their 10 minutes they all pulled in and Group 2 was waiting in the wings for their turn. Off they went the engines still warm and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. By the time they all pulled in the light was starting to disappear and we wondered whether we would actually finish. So the kids quickly had their second 10 minutes.
They returned to pit lane and the girls were set to go. By now the light was well and truly disappearing. We started off with 7 girls but after a couple of laps, two pulled out due to poor light. At times, we wondered who was actually out there racing.
We couldn’t see very much at all, which became very obvious as I missed the end of the track and ended up in the gravel.
The men still had to complete their next set and some weren’t keen to go out as by this stage it was pitch black. Well you weren’t going to stop Bryan and a few others. Watching from the sidelines you couldn’t see them but you could hear the roar of the engines. After a couple of laps, it was deemed too dangerous to continue. The men will have to return in the future to complete their trials.
Overall, it was a fantastic night and racing in the dark added to the excitement. Fox Karting now have lighting so we are looking forawrd to the next Go Kart Challenge.
Click here to see all of Bryan's photos
Addendum
The rematch for Mens Group 2 was run and won on 25th May. Fastest lap of the night went to Kieren with a blistering 36.904. The best lap average of the two races: Kieren Heikkinen 37.656, Bryan Shedden 38.112, Darren Giustiniani 38.300, Brendan Barr 39.009, Garry Gibson 39.315, Jan Gibson 39.706.
Combining the results from both nights gives us the final results ...
| Karter | Group | Lap Time (s) |
| Kieren Heikkinen | Mens | 37.674 |
| Graeme Hoswell | Mens | 37.681 |
| Darren Giustiniani (non-member) | Mens | 38.031 |
| Bryan Shedden | Mens | 38.248 |
| Geoff Pollard | Mens | 38.813 |
| Anthony Tang | Mens | 38.816 |
| Garry Gibson | Mens | 38.943 |
| Brendan Barr | Mens | 39.320 |
| Kim Ranger | Ladies | 39.631 |
| Peter Feutrill | Mens | 39.638 |
| Alexandra Brietsameter | Ladies | 39.653 |
| Allyson Giustiniani (non-member) | Ladies | 39.791 |
| Jan Gibson | Ladies | 39.864 |
| Ken Tuckey | Mens | 40.957 |
| Chris Feutrill (non-member) | Mens | 41.053 |
| Carol Hoswell | Ladies | 42.209 |
| Brian Clayton | Mens | 43.993 |
| Janet Wheeldon | Ladies | 46.174 |
| Peter Wheeldon | Mens | 46.848 |
| Anda Clayton | Ladies | 52.322 |
The Illawarra finalists for the Jinba Ittai Challenge at Luddenham Raceway on 20th September will be:
Mens: Kieren Heikkinen, Graeme Hoswell, Bryan Shedden
Ladies: Kim Ranger, Alex Breitsameter, Jan Gibson.
Jan and Garry are keen to have a practice run on the karts at Luddenham - details to come soon.
