Nothing to report sorry Mike, Hidden Valley where very welcoming to have superkarts there and I had lengthy conversations with 3 of the main staff behind its approval.
The hurdle I faced was, 1. V8 Supercars and ASBK get to choose there dates first in December prior to the following season. 2. Hidden Valley only have a 6month window to run all categories due to the wet season. 3. Having only 3-5 months notice is no where near enough time for the overseas competitors and would even be a decent hurdle making it not clash with our existing nationals.
Transport was also a big hassle but is doable. Via truck or rail. Rail option was only going to Darwin not return off memory.
I was in discussions with ASBK previous promoter, discussing the possibilities of Superkarts being a support category but was left with a vague answer and no real commitment. Lucky, they no longer exist as the promoter for ASBK anymore.
I can add some info here........When I was based up in Darwin (2002-2005) I did quite a bit of leg work with the NT Events Dept who ran anything to do with motorsport at Hidden Valley to get a SuperKart race included with the V8's.
I was a committee member of the very large Speedway club in Darwin and knew some key players in the Events department. They were very receptive albeit had no knowledge of what comprised an actual "SuperKart".
I took my own Stockman International along to Hidden Valley and gave a few laps demonstration as well as let the Events people crawl all over it. They were sold on the idea and were happy to provide some travel compensation but couldn't fund any of the freight costs.
I was working for Toll Defence Logistics at the time and managed to gain the promise of a back-fill B-Double to Darwin and back at no cost. Departure point would have been from Adelaide or Brisbane due to B-Double restrictions however potential competitors would've needed to organise their own packaging, tools etc a few weeks prior to departure. (This later proved problematic)
I also floated the idea of accommodation to one of the major providers of demountable style accommodation to the FIFO industry based in Palmerston. They were happy to provide air conditioned, basic bed-sit style dongas at reduced cost for the duration of the racing week.
I was very new to SuperKarts at the time as I had bought my kart in QLD, relocated to Darwin and intended on spending much more track time when I finally moved back down to the Eastern States.
So I contacted 2 of the major clubs to seek interest and advice and this is when it started to go 'pear-shaped'......
My initial inquiries were met with some suspicion and disbelief that anyone would want to quote "Go all the way to Darwin and race". After long emails and phone discussions, the Club contacts started to warm to the idea and a flurry of emails went back and forth when out of the blue.......One of the "experts" decided to contact and make some demands direct to the NT Events committee. This was before any real dialogue had taken place and firm commitments had been made regarding when the SuperKarts would race - how many races would be allocated - if it could be part of the national Championship etc, etc.
Long story short.......Internal politics between rival Clubs and certain people from both NSW and QLD grandstanding to others that it was all their own idea to run an event in Darwin left Super Karting looking like rank amateurs to the then NT Events dept and the V8's organisation. I was left shaking my head in disbelief that an opportunity like this was missed particularly when I had organised freight and accommodation.....plus I was looking forward to competing against some fellow SuperKarts and stop wearing a groove around Hidden Valley by myself :-)
A lot's happened over the past 10 years but keep in mind a few things....
- The opportunity is still there! - It's 8000+ kilometres return from Sydney to Darwin. Figure on 8-10 days driving time alone if you had to trailer up a bunch of karts and equipment - Only race in May-July. It's just too wet or too bloody humid any other time - It's a fantastic layout and great track!
Most of my contacts are dated now but I'm happy to provide any information or assistance.
Comments3
Re: HIDDEN VALLEY
The hurdle I faced was,
1. V8 Supercars and ASBK get to choose there dates first in December prior to the following season.
2. Hidden Valley only have a 6month window to run all categories due to the wet season.
3. Having only 3-5 months notice is no where near enough time for the overseas competitors and would even be a decent hurdle making it not clash with our existing nationals.
Transport was also a big hassle but is doable. Via truck or rail. Rail option was only going to Darwin not return off memory.
I was in discussions with ASBK previous promoter, discussing the possibilities of Superkarts being a support category but was left with a vague answer and no real commitment. Lucky, they no longer exist as the promoter for ASBK anymore.
Re: HIDDEN VALLEY
I was a committee member of the very large Speedway club in Darwin and knew some key players in the Events department. They were very receptive albeit had no knowledge of what comprised an actual "SuperKart".
I took my own Stockman International along to Hidden Valley and gave a few laps demonstration as well as let the Events people crawl all over it. They were sold on the idea and were happy to provide some travel compensation but couldn't fund any of the freight costs.
I was working for Toll Defence Logistics at the time and managed to gain the promise of a back-fill B-Double to Darwin and back at no cost. Departure point would have been from Adelaide or Brisbane due to B-Double restrictions however potential competitors would've needed to organise their own packaging, tools etc a few weeks prior to departure. (This later proved problematic)
I also floated the idea of accommodation to one of the major providers of demountable style accommodation to the FIFO industry based in Palmerston. They were happy to provide air conditioned, basic bed-sit style dongas at reduced cost for the duration of the racing week.
I was very new to SuperKarts at the time as I had bought my kart in QLD, relocated to Darwin and intended on spending much more track time when I finally moved back down to the Eastern States.
So I contacted 2 of the major clubs to seek interest and advice and this is when it started to go 'pear-shaped'......
My initial inquiries were met with some suspicion and disbelief that anyone would want to quote "Go all the way to Darwin and race". After long emails and phone discussions, the Club contacts started to warm to the idea and a flurry of emails went back and forth when out of the blue.......One of the "experts" decided to contact and make some demands direct to the NT Events committee. This was before any real dialogue had taken place and firm commitments had been made regarding when the SuperKarts would race - how many races would be allocated - if it could be part of the national Championship etc, etc.
Long story short.......Internal politics between rival Clubs and certain people from both NSW and QLD grandstanding to others that it was all their own idea to run an event in Darwin left Super Karting looking like rank amateurs to the then NT Events dept and the V8's organisation. I was left shaking my head in disbelief that an opportunity like this was missed particularly when I had organised freight and accommodation.....plus I was looking forward to competing against some fellow SuperKarts and stop wearing a groove around Hidden Valley by myself :-)
A lot's happened over the past 10 years but keep in mind a few things....
- The opportunity is still there!
- It's 8000+ kilometres return from Sydney to Darwin. Figure on 8-10 days driving time alone if you had to trailer up a bunch of karts and equipment
- Only race in May-July. It's just too wet or too bloody humid any other time
- It's a fantastic layout and great track!
Most of my contacts are dated now but I'm happy to provide any information or assistance.
Re: HIDDEN VALLEY
Why doesn't that surprise me?
Trouble in our Sport, TOO many ex spurts in our sport that know everything.