Don’t forget… Fun Meeting this Sunday 15th January

As this is the first newsletter of the Year can I, on behalf of the WLKC committee and the staff at Karting North East, wish every one a successful New Year both on and off the circuit! As I write this I recall the words of Fred Henderson who presented the trophies at the Presentation night. He said that, while success is great if and when it comes, taking part will provide a lifetime of memories.

WLKC

Anne Laws was unlucky enough to fall just after Christmas on the snow and ice. She broke her right

lower leg resulting in 10 days in hospital. She is now back home on crutches and will be in pot for 6 weeks. Sadly she missed the presentation night but she does expect to be “up and running” for the February meeting. Once we heard of Anne’s accident the committee worked wonders to get everything ready for the Presentation night.

The 2005 Presentation night took place last weekend at the Pullman Lodge in Seaburn, Sunderland. The event was a sell out with 160 guests sitting down to dinner then enjoying Fred Henderson’s talk about his experiences in motorsport over the last 40 years. A copy of his book “The Breakdown Doctor” was auctioned later in the evening with over £1500 in total raised for the club funds. Some karters new to the sport probably do not realise that the smaller MSA meetings lose the club hundreds of pounds. The club needs an entry of around 100 entrants to break even so fundraising or sponsorship does help keep the club viable. Photographs of the night are available from Ian Raper on 0191 4135697. Any one interested in sponsoring an MSA race meeting later in the year should talk to the treasurer, Bob Shipman on 0870 2330896 who will explain the possibilities.

The www.wardenlawkartclub.co.uk website is being overhauled within the next 2 weeks and will then be updated on a weekly basis. Anna Lightfoot joins Karting North East full time on 1st February and will be responsible for keeping the website up to date along with her partner, Steven Little who races in Rotax Max. Contact her at anna@kartingnortheast.com.      

Site Improvements

Changes at the circuit include, amongst other things, new toilets for the ladies which are now situated adjacent to the male toilets outside. Three new unisex showers have also been included in the new toilet block to benefit drivers staying at the circuit for the weekend. A new heating system will be installed to heat the new toilets, MSA race control and the kart shop. More desperately office space has been created for KNE with the new building work. New kart lockers have been constructed so we have spaces available if you would like to leave your kart at the circuit 24/7.  Talk to Chris Keniry at KNE if you would like a locker.

We have asked that all caravans are removed from the circuit on several occasions Three remain which will be removed by us and crushed next week if they are not claimed and removed.

Owner Driver Testing

The New Year has brought a change in the cost of testing. With the exception of the MSA Saturday s we have introduced a Half Day rate from 2pm (members £20, non members £25) as well as the Full Day rate (members £30, non members £35).  Club membership is now £45.00. Mid week testing is now possible every day midweek but we recommend that you check in advance by telephone before setting off. We no longer allow owner drivers and hire karts on the circuit at the same time. How ever we can usually provide plenty of track time between hire kart sessions mid week.

The WTP Headache!

As many of you know the John Mills group have had problems getting the 2006 regulations passed the MSA with regard to the new electric start engines. As I understand matters at the moment the testing required by the MSA has been completed and the correct restrictor for the new engines has been identified. For further advice re MSA events contact Mick Mills on 01636 626424. As far as our Fun Series is concerned we will revert to the 2005 format i.e. 2 Championships …… one for Honda Cadet and the other for WTP. Anyone racing in the WTP class must either race to 93 kg (pull start) or 103 kg (electric start).

Following advice from a number of sources KNE are offering dedicated practice days for those taking part in both Rotax Super One and the WTP Challenge. The dates allocated are both in school holidays and are Thursday 16th February 2006 (for both WTP and Rotax) and Wednesday 12th April (Rotax only as WTP Challenge competitors cannot test a week prior to their event). Only MSA licence holders in the relevant classes will be allowed to sign on for these practice days. This should ensure quality practice time for the drivers taking part.