OVER the June long weekend, go-kart enthusiasts from all over Australia travelled to Dubbo to compete in the annual 24-hour Pro Kart Endurance Race.
This race is part of the Australian Pro Kart Endurance Racing Championships, which run over 12 months.
There are 72 karts in the championship and participants have to enter at least 10 out of the 19 rounds to qualify, accumulating points as they race in different locations around Australia.
A few local lads from Tea Gardens and Pindimar competed in the Dubbo event, although they were driving for different teams.
Chris Webb and Graeme Webb from Tea Gardens joined forces with two drivers from Sydney, three from Dubbo and one from Gulargambone, entering their "Myall Travel Kart" in the 24-hour race.
Unfortunately, their kart had a chain break in the initial hour of the race, which was the start of a series of drive line problems for the first half of the race with a clutch failure, stripped sprockets and more.
Chris said that although the team had hopes of a podium or top five finish, due to some minor breakdowns that cost around one hour off the track, they couldn't close the gap to the front of the field.
"We managed 17th outright position, which was disappointing to all of us as we were consistently doing some of the best lap times during the race," he said.
"We completed a total of 989 laps of the 1050m track, wore out two sets of wet weather tyres and half a set of racing slicks plus numerous parts.
"All of our drivers had a great but tiring race and can't wait to have another go next year," he added.
Chris and Graeme would like to thank Myall Travel for sponsoring their kart for the past two years, Fred Sparksman for his support and Glen Henry for the sign writing of the kart, which picked up a Kart Presentation Award.
Father and son team, Peter and Todd Germon from Pindimar also participated in the 24-hour Dubbo race, driving for a Sydney based team.
"Todd and I raced last year with our own kart, but this year we joined another racing team "Mojo Racing" and drove for them in the Australian Pro Kart Endurance Racing Championships," explained Peter.
"Dubbo was a bad race, we came 16th due to chain and clutch problems.
"We came third in the three previous races to the 24 hour race in Dubbo so we were pretty disappointed with our 16th placing.
"Because of the rain the karts get a real flogging," said Peter.
Alan Tennyson from Tea Gardens entered his kart, the "Highland Brewers All Stars" in the event, with a team of drivers from Dubbo, Moss Vale and Canberra.
They led the race in Dubbo on and off for about four hours but ran into some difficulty with a damaged thread and ended up finishing in 11th place.
"We are currently leading the Australian Pro Kart Endurance Racing Championships," said Alan.
Team manager and driver for the "Highland Brewers All Stars", Greg Blackburn, believes the kart was driven exceptionally well by all six drivers, who were all able to lap within a few tenths of a second of each other.
Greg believes the single most enjoyable aspect of this race was the camaraderie of those present.
"Teams shared tools, spare parts, laughed together, raced together and competed in a spirit of sportsmanship that can only be appreciated by those who competed."
The Australian Pro Kart Endurance Racing Championships come to a close on November 25 at Eastern Creek, with the winner taking home a prestigious trophy and other great prizes.
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