By Trevor Jackson
THE Borderline Speedway will open its gates to something a little different this weekend, with the Australian Speedway kart title to run over two days.
A third day was set down for practice last night, with the action to kick off tonight.
Heats will be run on Friday and Saturday, with Saturday to include finals.
Nine classes will take to the clay oval, with nine Australian champions to be crowned by the end of Saturday night.
A full two nights of action can be expected, with classes ranging from juniors, through to women, Standard Heavy and 125s.
Women and Sub-Juniors will qualify for the final through the heats, while the 125s, Standard Heavy and Juniors classes will also run a B Main to decide the final grid.
The karts will reach speeds up to 120kph-plus, with the Borderline Speedway classed as a large venue for the small machines.
Drivers have come from Tasmania, Queensland, Katherine and Darwin, with several defending Australian champions making up the 127-strong field.
Karts are adorned with corflute body work, designed not to just look the part but also to act like a wing and keep the kart pointed in the right direction.
Speedway karting Association of Australia president Peter Green said there were many reasons the organisation chose the Borderline Speedway to run its Australian title.
“The track itself, Cary Jennings and the committee are just beautiful volunteers,” he said.
“From the announcers to the pit gate, the security and the people who are going to turn the sausages for us, you wouldn’t get a better bunch of people.
“Most speedway tracks we run on are around 330 metres.
“This one is 370 on the pole.
“What we also have is racing room which is awesome.
“We have found you get cleaner racing because there is so much room.
“These wide open tracks like Mount Gambier are awesome.”
Apart from the space on the track, Green said it was not the only reason the SKAA chose the venue.
“We selected the track because we feel it is a premier venue,” he said.
“It has probably one of the best, if not the best track curator.
“It such a good club – their agenda is the sport, just like us.”
All nine classes have been filled, with plenty of classy drivers on the list.
“Liam Aunger, who most people would know from his last name, will be here,” Green said.
“Jason Loft is three-times Australian champion and probably the benchmark of our sport.
“My son Marcus Green races an Open Sprintcar and will be racing, so there will be plenty of action.”
While dirt karts do run in the Limestone Coast, Green said the speedway karts are somewhat different, with the crossover from bitumen karts apparent.
“These karts, a lot of them are ex-bitumen karts bought at a cost,” he said.
“The motor specs they don’t run anymore, we use in the dirt.
“Everything carries over – you run wet tyres if you don’t want to buy a Hoosier.
“In the end, it doesn’t matter what form of motorsport it is, everyone starts in karts.”
Green said he was excited to be able to utilise the Borderline Speedway and said there would be plenty of entertainment across the two nights.
Action will kick off both nights from 4pm and run through until around 10.30pm.
