KART Racing
Willowbank – Ipswich KART Club
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RC racing has introduced me to many warm and friendly father son combinations. The Dorn and the Redmond family have been in our circle of racing since we began and the social aspect of the sport inspires me to continue my relationships with them regardless of where we meet.
We set off towards the foothills of the great dividing range to watch and support Jason, his cousin Josh and Michael Redmond at the Ipswich KART Club. Adjacent to the Willowbank Drag racing circuit the air was filled with the scent of racing fuel and the roar of engines, specially those big block engines doing their “burnouts” over yonder.
On arrival we were greeted with the familiar smile on Jason’s face, with camera and pod in hand I set off to various track positions to get some snaps and get a better feel for the style of racing and the track layout. The track was very long compared to KART tracks I’ve seen on TV etc, it had many sweeping corners and long straights where the 2 stroke engines maxed out the RPMs.
It was very encouraging to see how well the RC racers performed in car. Speaking to Chris Dorn (father), he openly admitted that RC racing was more techincal in setup and their experience transferred across to the KART exceptionally well. Josh Dorn was very fast on track and teamed with Jason and Michael, they are sure to be a reckoning force in the near future.
Agressive driving by others caused damaged to both Michael and Jason’s exposed radiators in the prefinals heat, our RC experience came to the fore, we were relaxed, teamed up and repaired the radiator mounts and had both KARTS ready for the finals. The three drivers patiently managed their drives, an excellent 1st place for Josh, 3rd for Jason and Michael was only a place or two behind the podium at the finish line.
