Club History
The griffith Kart Club was formed in 1975 with an initial membership of 34
people. This group set about establishing a track on land at Tharbogang, a
small village 10km west of Griffith, that the council leased to the fledging
club.
Initially a dirt track was developed which was used for social events while funds were raised for the construction of a bitumen track, which was built in 1976. The clubs inaugural race meeting was held on 21st November 1976. This was a great success with some 90 Karters attending from across the state.
In 1983 the track surface was replaced with hot mix to give an ideal racing
surface. Futher upgrading of the track was carried out in 1987 when the hairpin
corner was rebuilt for the NSW State Championships, which the club hosted that
year. This was another successful event which ran over 3 days of the June long
weekend.
With the growth of the sport in the Riverina region, the Riverina Kart
Championship was instituted in 1989, with rounds being held at the Griffith,
Grenfell and Wagga tracks. With the series expanding in 1990 to include the
Canberra and Orange clubs. This series has now gone on to be expanded into the
Southern NSW Zone Championship which now also includes Dubbo, Forbes and
Albury.
During 1994 lights were installed at the track which heralded an exciting and
spectacular new era for kart racing in the region with the club promoting a
major series which was raced under lights in the summer months.
In 2001 the club members decided to extend the length of the track and set
about designing a new one and planing upgrades of facilities.
In 2003, after generous sponsorship, help from local businesses and hundreds of
hours of members and friends hard work, the extentions, new canteen and
facility upgrades were completed. The length of the track was more than doubled
to 850 meters. The new layout providing many new challanges fro competitors and
their crews.
July 2004 saw Griffith Kart Club host the NSW Junior State Championships. Over
three days of racing, 120 drivers competed in this championship, bringing with
them family and support crews who enjoyed several days in the Griffith
area.
The Club celebrated its 25th year anniversary in June 2005 with a celebratory
dinner. Many past members returned to Griffith for the fun filled
weekend.
The Club continues to hold a round of the Southern Zone Series. At Easter 2006
the Club hosted, for the first time, a round of the Pro Kart Endurance Series.
Endurance racing consists of teams of drivers competing over a number of hours.
Griffith hosted a nine hour race, and have been asked to host a 24 hour race in
2007.
To continue attracting a variety of race meetings to our area, the Griffith
Kart Club continues to upgrade the safety and facilities of the track in
accordance with the Australian Karting Association and Department of Sport
& Recreation regulations.
The Griffith Kart Club meets on the second Wednesday of each month at the
Griffith Ex-Servicemens Club at 8:00pm. All members and interested people are
invited to attend these meetings, to be important contributors of club
activities, and progress for the future.