A strange month, April, with the change of dates for the Fun and WLKC meetings. It may come as a shock but the next Fun meeting is next Sunday 1st May! What a Fantastic entry we had for the April Fun meeting!

Congratulations to Nat Twiss and Harry Winkfield (both WLKC members) for their success at the ABKC Cadet “O” Plate.

Lindsey Oman has resigned as Chairman of the WLKC due to pressure of work. He has been a huge and positive influence in bringing both the “O” Plate and Super One series to Warden Law. In addition Bob McLean has also resigned whose input will also be missed by the club. On behalf of all the club members may I say a big thank you to both of them. We welcome John Johnston onto the committee who has been involved with his two sons for several years at Warden Law.

Recall of Rotax Engines
The following engines (8223982 to 8226247) need to be returned to a Rotax service centre (HRS being the only centre in the north east of England) for a replacement conrod to be fitted free of charge. All costs are covered by Rotax. Contact Nigel for further details……..0191 5238942.

The Fun Meeting
The huge entry posed one or two problems mainly with the new timing systems. How ever we got the system working with the Prokarts and we hope to extend the timing to another class next Sunday. We do need drivers to invest in their own transponders if we are to get all classes onto the system. We will have new transponders for sale next week.

Matthew McClure was the cadet driver who “T boned” the stationary kart on the start line. He was taken to hospital for a check up and, apart for some bruising to his back, he is fine. The stationary kart broke her throttle cable when the lights went green which caused the melee.

The paramedic who was on site was attending to a burnt arm when the incident occurred which caused the delay. He, like all paramedics used at Warden Law, is an MSA registered paramedic who works for the NHS during the week.

Parents must understand that they cannot run onto the circuit at any time. If their driver stalls on the start line we (KNE staff) will deal with it. Likewise during the race we will assist cadets but older drivers must accept that their race is over and pull the kart off the circuit and wait for the end of the race.

Kart Politics
As some of you will know I am increasingly involved with the politics of karting at a national level. In the belief that it is better to attempt to influence change “from within” rather than being critical and negative on the outside, I am now involved with both the MSA (through the Kart Sporting Committee) and the National Karting Association (NKA) which represents circuit operators.

One recent issue discussed at length is the impact of the claims culture on karting. A huge settlement in the south plus two other outstanding claims are causing major concern for both the MSA and NKA. These claims are not from owner drivers but from hire kart racers who then “drag in” the MSA on the grounds that they are the governing body. The outcome will, I believe, change the way we operate at Warden Law probably from the New Year (2006). The two significant changes
possible are –

To keep this issue in perspective a recent meeting with the H&S Executive in Birmingham resulted in a down grading of karting as an activity likely to cause injury.

Yellow, Red and Black
On Saturday 16th April circuit staff complained to me of owner drivers ignoring yellow lights repeatedly. Several drivers were black flagged and brought in to discuss this point. When a Red Flag incident occurred the owner drivers took no notice despite the hire kart drivers stopping.

For the next month any driver overtaking on the Yellows on a Saturday other than the WLKC Practice Saturdays will be black flagged then asked to leave the circuit without refund!

Shoot the Staff!
Last summer the staff from Warden Law took on the staff from the Indoor centre at the paintball site next door. This year we are challenging karters (over 16 years old) and parents to an evening of paintball. It will cost you £15 per person plus additional paint pellets at £7 / 100. This can push the cost up to £30–£35 each. How ever this is your chance to get your own back on KNE staff! The probable night would be a Monday in June with a drink or two in the Copt Hill afterwards. Please give your name and deposit of £10 per person to Emma if interested. HRS are leading the assault on the KNE team so why not join in the Fun!

Dates To Avoid

Dates To Remember