Kent Sprint Kart Club.
[wptb id=6372]1982 – 2005
Lot 66 Charsley Street, Nyabing 6341
Compiled by Gordon Browne
(past member and treasurer of the Kent Sprint Kart Club)
Sprint Karting began in Nyabing in a gravel pit in 1982 with most Karts being old and home-made. The sport grew quickly and purpose built Sprint Karts were purchased. Land adjoining Charsley Street was acquired from the Kent Shire and a track 546 metres long was built.
Pre-Weslig days at the track
A Club was formed and, on the 17th of October 1985 and the Club was incorporated. Members volunteered many hours and put in a lot of work on the track. A product called Weslig was sprayed onto the track to keep it from breaking up. In 1986 a clubhouse, shed and score tower were built.
Maintenance of the dirt track was very high and, in 1989, the Club applied for and received a grant of $12,000 to lay bitumen. The bitumen started to move on the corners so in early 1990 the Club applied a hot mix to the corners.
Kent Sprint Cart Club in its heyday
At the peak of the Kent Sprint Kart Club’s popularity it had over 37 racing members and about 40 social members.
Two-day race meetings were held over weekends with invitations to other clubs including Perth clubs, Wundowie and Cockburn as well as the Bruce Rock and Kalgoorlie clubs. Approximately 300 people would converge on Nyabing arriving Saturday morning, camping Saturday night, and leaving after the meeting and presentations Sunday night. The vision of hundreds of campers around the track was a sight to behold.
Garth Tander [2], today a celebrity V8 Saloon Car Driver, was a frequent visiting competitor to the Kent Sprint Kart Club and members of our Club visited other Clubs around the State.
The fact that running Club days, hosting large weekend events, which needed ten to twenty volunteers, and the fall in wheat and wool prices in the early nineties saw the demise of the Club. By 1993 the Club had virtually stopped running meetings.
In 1998 $2,000.00 of Kart funds were donated to the Nyabing branch of the St John Ambulance to help towards the purchase of a Defibrillator. Finally, in May 2005, the Kent Sprint Kart Club’s bank accounts were closed and the balance of $6,228.00 was donated to the Nyabing St John Ambulance.
FROM CONTRIBUTORS
Pam Clulow
We used to take our sons Brad and Jason out to Nyabing when the Club commenced. Motors were Victa lawn mower motors, they had a lot of fun. Jason went on to race in Perth and Newman for a number of years.
Alyson Cooper
A few karts are still in the district today, Easter weekend there was a couple from Perth came down to have a run too.
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