POWER: Karla Curtis, 13, from Tweed Heads will be among the young guns competing at this weekend’s Lismore kart racing. (Pic: Doug Eaton)
ENGINES are revving and helmets are being tightened in preparation for this year’s Young Guns go-karting competition.
The event, which will feature competitors aged between 7-16 taking to the tarmac at Lismore Go Kart track, has been growing every year, said Lismore Kart Club president Diana Smith.
“It picks up every year. We’ve just matched our number of entries of last year, and we’re still expecting more,” she said.
She said they’ve already got people coming in from as far as Darwin, Emerald and Victoria, with almost 150 registered so far.
Mrs Smith said one of the reasons she believes might be behind the level of interest in the event is that it’s a competition geared towards their junior karters.
While most competitions don’t allow cadets and rookie karters (P-platers in the karting world) to compete, this event has been designed so they can, she said.
It’s a fun day all round, with six titles in each of the eight classes to be given out, as well as many major prizes and lucky door prizes, all donated by the event’s sponsors.
For 13-year-old Jake Wheeler, this will be his first Young Guns and he’s pumped.
The Casino boy has been karting for 10 months and is keen to compete in this level of competition with Lismore Kart Club.
He said that while he’ll be trying to win, the thing he’s going to enjoy most will be the atmos- phere.
Parents-come-pit crew, Sharon and Steve Wheeler, said they love the sport just as much as Jake and have been just as engrossed since he became involved.
They said as a motor sport-loving family, Jake is pretty well living their own dream, and they love watching it happen.
But it’s not just the boys burning the rubber on the track, Karla Curtis is out to prove.
The 13-year-old Tweed Heads girl has been karting with Lismore Kart Club for three months and has been involved in motocross before this. She said she can’t wait for her first Young Guns competition this weekend.
Young Guns 2013 will be held at Lismore Go Karting track at the Lismore Showgrounds, Sat- urday and Sunday.
Entry is free for spectators.
