Ashburton’s Danny King and his 13-year-old son, Tyler, have each won titles at the South Canterbury Family Kart Club Championships at Washdyke, Timaru.
The pair, who are also members of the Ashburton Family Go Kart Club, won the senior grade, and intermediate sections, respectively.
‘‘It’s quite nice to sneak down to Timaru and pinch a couple of their trophies,’’ Danny said.
‘‘The weather was great, the track was in perfect condition to be able to throw the kart into the corners at speeds up to 100kmp/h.’’
‘‘Good drivers don’t use the brakes too much; they just flick the kart into the corner and use the slide to slow the kart down.’’
The South Canterbury titles followed their individual success at the national championships in Dunedin at Easter where Danny placed third in his grade, and Tyler claimed the national title.
‘‘Tyler backed up his 1NZ with a dominant display (in Timaru) winning all three heat races comfortably, in the intermediate grade.
‘‘I’m really proud of how Tyler’s driving at the moment, he is relaxed and consistent.
‘‘It’s taken over three years to perfect his skill and he just seems to have come on-form in the last few months, proving to be the one to beat by his peers from the wider Canterbury clubs.’’
Danny on the other hand had his work cut out for him during the event, starting from 17th and going to second in the first race.
He then backed it up moving from 14th to second, and then a win to take to the top spot.
Other notable results included Aiden Perkins from Ashburton third place in junior class following a solid NZ2 in his new Kart, and Milo Keely, in his first points racing, placed a respectable forth in the midget grade; his proud dad, Glen, finished in the top 10.
Members of the club race every third Sunday of the month. Everyone is welcome to attend and enter, Danny said.
‘‘Members are only too happy to help point you in the right direction to get started.’’
‘‘It’s such a great family atmosphere with many families dragging along, the kids, the mums and grandparents.’’
‘‘We also run a rookie racer programme where parents can hire a kart for their child to try for a race meeting to see if they like it.’’
Details are on the Ashburton Family Go Kart Club Facebook page.
