Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As a proud member of the Parliamentary Friends of Motorsport, I thought it would be a great opportunity to speak about a great motorsport club located within my electorate of Spence. This club is a proud club that punches well above its weight, as we tend to do in South Australia. On the weekend just gone, the club I am speaking of will likely be back at the top of the list for the best karting track in the country. I am of course speaking about the Southern Go Kart Club, a place where I used to ply the craft of searching for the fastest race line, jostle for pole position—or at least think I was—and swing on spanners, all in the name of getting that racing fix.

There is something about being around fellow racing enthusiasts, smelling the two-stroke, listening to engines warm up, watching teams tweak their setup, looking for tenths of a second in extra speed and seeing karts hurtle around the track.

The Southern Go Kart Club at Bolivar has just had a track upgrade, thanks to state government funding, to improve safety and to add approximately 200 extra metres to the overall length of the course. I must say I'm looking forward to taking a kart out on the track at one of the club's come-and-try days and seeing these upgrades from the race line firsthand. Some great technical aspects have been added, and the track surface is absolutely first class.

It was fantastic to have the state minister for sport, Katrine Hildyard, in attendance to formally cut the ribbon and give a heartening speech to the large crowd ahead of qualifying heats in the afternoon. Also there was the local deputy mayor for the City of Salisbury, Chad Buchanan.

This is a club that has opened its arms to racing enthusiasts of all ages and abilities for over 60 years without judgement, encouraging participants to have fun whilst competing, make friends and maybe win a trophy or two along the way. Throughout its history, Southern Go Kart Club has seen some of the biggest names in Australian motorsport race at the track, including Daniel Ricciardo, Marcos Ambrose, Jamie Whincup, Oscar Piastri, Mark Winterbottom, James Courtney, Chaz Mostert and Russell Ingall, to name just a few. But no matter how good the race field that is gathered, you must have the dedicated club volunteers driven to ensure the club is successful, and Southern is no different. Brett Fortania as club president and Clint Smith as club secretary, along with their whole team, really do a sterling job ensuring everyone has a great day and all remain safe.

In closing, the 2023 City of Adelaide titles will be on 20 and 21 May. This is going to be a cracker weekend, with plenty of great racing, so get on down to the Southern Go Kart Club and enjoy the atmosphere.