As Australian motor sport gears up for the opening round of the 2012 season, renowned racing father and son duos Jim and Steven Richards, and Andrew and George Miedecke, have added their support to the ‘Clipsal 500 Touring Car Masters Billy Kart Challenge’, a unique experience to share with the students from Adelaide boy’s school Prince Alfred College, all in order to raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Over the past four years, the Touring Car Masters have worked closely with the College on the ‘Clipsal is MY classroom’ program that extends the boys’ learning to include paddock visits and classroom discussions with drivers, staff and team members of the popular classic series.
In the past few months Prince Alfred College and the Touring Car Masters have engineered an additional program to balance curriculum with community service. With the assistance of the Clipsal 500 and Bunnings Warehouse, the Touring Car Masters have challenged the boys in Year 7 to build billy karts for charity. The aim – to raise over $10,000 to help the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
The challenge sees the boys commit to finding sponsorship in order to each raise a minimum of $500, their reward, to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation as well as take the opportunity to build a billy kart at a Bunnings DIY Centre, theme it as their favourite Touring Car Masters vehicle, then race it along Pit Straight of the Clipsal 500 circuit during the event’s opening days.
For the Richards and Miedecke entries, it’s going to be a different way to experience the main straight of the Adelaide Parklands circuit where their normal race mode of transport sees them topping 200kmph. The challenge to pilot a simply billy kart and win against the dedicated racers of tomorrow from the College will no doubt see some great racing, and even some battle scars from the weekend to fondly remember, and there’s no question the seasoned racers are keen to get on track, Jim Richards explaining,
“It’s going to be a different view of the straight than we’re used to, no doubt, but getting back to the age of driving billy karts is a childhood experience that will be great to share with the students and their families.
“The Touring Car Masters series has been working alongside the College for many years now, and we’ve seen so much interest and passion from the students to now mean that as drivers, we also look forward to their paddock visits at each Clipsal.
“It will be another new experience on track at the season opener, so Steve and I will give it our all then it’s back to full speed with the debut of the Javelin and Steve back to the challenge in his Porsche.”
Having returned to Australia to take on the Dunlop V8 Supercars Series after a successful year in NASCAR where he secured the UARA Rookie of the Year accolade, George Miedecke is looking forward to another new experience come the Clipsal 500 weekend, saying,
“What better way to start off the new season than pairing up with Dad (Andrew), jumping in a billy kart and using physical power, and maybe some race tactics, to take on a group of students who keep proving how enthusiastic they are about motor sport.
“Taking away all the technology brings racing back to where it began, people power, teamwork and the dedication to taking the chequered flag first.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what Dad has in the tank, maybe we’ll both get a win under the belt, but either way, this is going to be a whole lot of fun and it’s all happening for a very worthy cause.”
The ‘Clipsal 500 Touring Car Masters Billy Kart Challenge’ will be held on Pit Straight, at 7.00am on Thursday 1 March (standard grid) and again at 7.00am on Friday 2 March (reverse grid).
We invite members of the community to support this cause by donating via the website: http://www.everydayhero.com.au/the_clipsal_500_touring_car_masters_billy_kart_challenge
The Touring Car Masters is proudly supported by Shannons Insurance, Rare Spares and Unique Cars Magazine, with official suppliers Hoosier Tires and Australian Sports Marketing.
