5th May 2014

Thrill drives 11-yr-old Brodie at Young Guns karting contest - From the Northern Star

(http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/thrill-drives-youngster/2247841/)

Luke Collett hits the front at this year’s Lismore Kart Club Young Guns event. The annual competition features scores of races in different divisions for keen young karters. (Pic: Stuart Turner)

IT was a long journey to this year’s Young Guns competition for Brodie Davis but there was no stopping him once he hit the track.

The 11-year-old travelled all the way from Cairns with dad Scott Davis and mum Heidi Jonsson for the annual Lismore Kart Club event, which featured scores of racers from across the eastern states.

Brodie, who has been racing for about six years, said the thrill of the chase made the arduous trip worthwhile.

“It’s just about getting up the speed and having that rush of blood when you pass someone,” he said.

“When you do, you get that excitement, and the feeling that you might go further.

“You just concentrate on trying to pull away from the person and get the perfect line.”

The annual three-day event, which finished yesterday, featured races in different divisions.

Brodie, who started racing after getting a kart from his grandfather as a birthday present, said he didn’t worry about nerves on the starting grid.

“I’m just thinking, ‘I’ve got to win’,” he said.

“I’m just trying to get that confidence.

“You just get great excitement from it all. It’s a good buzz.

“You make good friends as well.”

Ms Jonsson said attending race meetings had become almost an “addiction” for the family, who travelled to about a dozen meetings across Queensland and northern New South Wales last year.

“It’s good family time for us,” she said.

“We enjoy the adrenalin rush of it all and we make good friends along the way.

“I think it’s an addiction to the fumes as well.

“It does cost a lot of money, but it’s worth it because it brings the family together.

“Sometimes I wish maybe Brodie had taken up something more peaceful, but I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Final results from the race meeting at the Lismore Showground were being collected last night.