The time has come to kick of the Nationals in a big way.
The entry form is now available, plus other useful information via this link:
http://www.superkartsvictoria.com/AASA%20Nationals.html
If you wish to come along and watch, it's FREE.
If you wish to contact us, please do it via the e mail link on our Nationals page rather than here which may not get checked as often.
Hope to see you there.
Comments15
Re: 2014 AASA Australian Superkart Nationals
There must be a sensible answer surely?
Over to you older timers.
[i]And do we REALLY need either? or?[/i]
IS it time for US to take control?
(My god this needs a new thread)
:)
Re: 2014 AASA Australian Superkart Nationals
Re: 2014 AASA Australian Superkart Nationals
Billsh1t!
;D
Re: 2014 AASA Australian Superkart Nationals
Remember the heady days of F1 coming to Australia, the 250 Inters moving from Yamaha engines to European Rotax's and gaining 20kph, the Superkarts having a race at rounds of the V8 Supercars , well at least at Mallala and AIR every year !!
We had grown and were getting noticed , and then we suddenly took centre stage by becoming the fastest little racing cars in Australia. We got on the program and on the track at the first ever F1 race of the modern era in Adelaide, yet in the first year we were still competing under AKA licenses !!
It all happened quite quickly over one June long weekend. I raced in Melbourne at the Vic state Superkart championship and then on the Monday flew to Hobart as a guest of a Tassie driver who was sponsored by Qantas. I was on a fact finding junket to go look at the circuits in Tas to see if we could race Superkarts on the Apple Isle. When I got to the front gate of Baskerville raceway I was presented with a copy of a letter from CAMS addressed to all of the circuit owners around Australia.
They were being told by CAMS that no category would be allowed to race on a CAMS licensed track if it was not a CAMS category, otherwise the circuit would lose its CAMS track license. And back then when the V8's raced at regular motor racing circuits, that license was an essential part of their survival.
I flew back to Melbourne the next morning and had a meeting at the CAMS offices along with the Vic Superkart club's president , among others. We got told just what they thought of our upstart ways, and then we were given the whole sales pitch on what joining CAMS directly would do for us , which considering they had effectively pulled all of our circuits out from under us, what else could we do ?
It was under a month later that the whole of Superkarting moved from the AKA to CAMS, the club affiliations, competitors licenses, even our officials accreditations , the whole lot. If anyone has any old AKA manuals they will see one year we were in there, all the class rules and methods of racing etc along with a picture of our 250 Inter national champion on the cover, and the next year were were not mentioned anywhere.
We were not the only ones affected by this storm, from that era the Bob Jane Corporation went their separate ways with the Thunderdome and the AASA.
And so to the present ...
Whether we need to be a part of this organisation or that is not a proper question. Considering the size of Superkarting today we cannot stand alone in any form, we need to be in with someone else. It is all about numbers , which then is what makes the money go round. The entire number of license holders we have today is not equal to one half decent sized AKA club today, and even they have a need to belong somewhere.
Re: 2014 AASA Australian Superkart Nationals
It seems the same situation will exit today with CAMS; will they not stop us from racing on their licenced tracks if we go with the AKA?
Re: 2014 AASA Australian Superkart Nationals
Of all of those tracks, Winton , QR and PI all get V8 rounds , so it no longer seems like CAMS has an exclusive hold over them - which I doubt they had in the 80's either, but until Bob Jane did what he did in creating his own organisation no-one risked being on the outer.
Positives to going AKA .... they are affiliated with CAMS, so a driver can still climb up and down the same tree. They have 7,000 license holders now who we could more easily entice to try long curcuit racing. They are an all new structure today, no more politics as it is a company with a board of directors and run by a lone CEO.
Negatives to AKA . they are unknown to us and our clubs, so all new links will need to be forged. They have always been averse to radical new ideas , and having been away from there for 30 years we would be a new idea to them !!
Any more thoughts , go talk to your club. Its now over to them to do anything.
Re: 2014 AASA Australian Superkart Nationals
The only problem I see is that clubs would have to be prepared to run their own meetings for the regular season and this is something that most clubs don't see as an option. Or maybe I'm wrong?
Jason.
Re: 2014 AASA Australian Superkart Nationals
So lets finish on a high. A positive that came from us moving from the AKA to CAMS is a little known aside regarding a couple of our Stewards from back in the day. In SA the chief CAMS steward today is a Mr Phil Twigg, and in Victoria the last time I asked the CAMS state chief steward was a Mr David Bellinger.
Now back in the early 1980's both of these gentlemen were AKA karters and Stewards, both raced Superkarts and I know Phil was a sprint driver along with his son. So when we as a sport moved across these two officials gained their CAMS accreditation.
So we have as a sport some claim to fame in having two of our guys make it all the way up a magnificient tree to the highest rank of their chosen paths. And it did not happen once, but twice. We should all feel proud of who we may help along the way, and proud of just where they go.
So to that current club VP , put your blinkers down .......... LIFE HAS NO REMOTE. GET UP.
Re: 2014 AASA Australian Superkart Nationals
On a side note; I had a really good chat with 'another (probable outside the guard) old guard' the other day that really made feel proud to be a part of the VSKC. We have a good future down here and we have the right people at the helm. Bring on 2015/16 ;D
Re: 2014 AASA Australian Superkart Nationals
One of the things I like about this forum is the freedom which Superkarters can share their thoughts and ideas about the sport the love so much. :)
Part of the process of moving forward with our sport is for the members (new and old) to discuss what they want and don't want from their sport. Hopefully, the members are being listen too by the elected officials and the suggestions addressed. :)
This is a very healthy situation to have and without it, the sport suffers and membership declines as we have seen. :'(
Re: 2014 AASA Australian Superkart Nationals
It sums up the arrogant attitude by some in this sport that seem to be void of the ability to think outside the square and are blind to the fact the sport has failed to move forward for years now.
As I see it we are a sport with stagnant if not dropping numbers that is now split between AASA and CAMS with no clear way forward for a national championship that can accommodate all it's members. Anyone who fails to see this has their head in the sand.
Jason.
Re: 2014 AASA Australian Superkart Nationals
Re: 2014 AASA Australian Superkart Nationals
And all this after the fact that this "communist club" started their own forum so they could talk their own ideas and stuff to their members, now they are still here standing over people around the country who don't blend into their cult-ure.
Poison and the Puppet......Sherlock Homes not required Owen.
Re: 2014 AASA Australian Superkart Nationals
Re: 2014 AASA Australian Superkart Nationals
It appears to me that some good will come of this.
There does need to be some change.
We (as a sport) have had a positive input to motorsport, from drivers through to officials.
There are people who care about the sport and wear their hearts on their sleeve.
Some people get delusional, and I for one never tire of the antics of those who "know" better.
(The one's who fight from behind the scenes.) And then duck for cover with a face of innocence when exposed.
I am proud that the Vic club has shown it "can be done" MORE THAN ONCE!
And it's not one person who drives that vision and positive motive.
One things for sure. Out of some of this some will not take any notice.
But the sport needs the opinions of the people that take part.
Please continue to "take part"
Merry New year everyone.
Peace out and love.
;D