Kart club race ready - From the Gympie Times

From the Gympie Times (http://www.gympietimes.com.au/story/2012/01/13/kart-club-race-ready/)

Harrington Doyle Racing – Race for Daniel charity race meeting ambassadors, Harrison Oddie and Lauren Coomber, help get things ready at the track for the charity race day with Morcombe Foundation workers Tara Baty and Coralee Lihou-Edwards. Pic: Gympie Times/Craig Warhurst

COOLOOLA Coast Kart Club is ready for its biggest ever weekend of racing and everyone is invited.

The club will host the Harrington Doyle Racing – Race for Daniel charity race meeting tomorrow and Sunday.

Club spokeswoman Kym Coomber said the event had exceeded their expectations before a single race had been run.

She said the club had a bumper field of almost 100 drivers and was set to exceed earlier fundraising predictions.

“We thought we would raise about $3000 for the Daniel Morcombe Foundation, but now we could treble that,” she said.

Club members have been working hard in the past five months promoting the event and getting the track into top condition.

Coomber said last weekend members spent two days working around the track and would be flat-out until the event finished on Sunday.

Gympie Region Mayor Ron Dyne has confirmed he will attend the official opening on Sunday morning.

Harrington Doyle Racing’s Craig Doyle, the meeting’s major sponsor, said Cr Dyne was one of a number of local dignitaries to have given their support.

“The support shown by the local councillors and members of parliament for this event makes me proud to be a Gympie lad – no matter how far I am from home,” he said.

Both Doyle and Coomber were proud to raise funds and awareness of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation through kart racing.

“The Daniel Morcombe Foundation has done significant work to implement harm prevention and our club felt that this foundation is an integral part of all of our communities, which is why we have chosen to support the foundation,” Coomber said.

“It’s great to have the support of the local dignitaries and although the Morcombes themselves will not be able to attend the meeting due to an interstate engagement, Bruce and Denise have also personally expressed their gratitude and have enlisted the help of foundation representatives to attend.”

Along with a host of sponsors, the National Karting Council of the AKA voted recently to endorse that the normal fees that apply to running a race meeting be a part of the contribution to The Morcombe Foundation.

Entries have been received from as far north as Cairns and south to Coffs Harbour and Adelaide.

Kym Coomber said “We thought we would raise about $3000 for the Daniel Morcombe Foundation but now we could treble that.”