As Goodwood Kartways continues to evolve and meet the needs of karters from every aspect of the sport, the Management Team at the facility is now set to prioritize track time for the Toronto Racing Association of Karters, as it once again looks to the past in shaping the future of karting.
“As our business continues to grow, without a doubt one of the greatest challenges we face is the balancing act of using one track for multiple programs,” stated track owner Daniel Di Leo. “We have the general public looking for rental kart time, Arrive-and-Drive racers looking forward to their next events and corporate events that can occupy exclusive track time for hours at a time. We are sensitive to the fact that as those programs have developed, track time for independent racers has been at a premium. So, at the dawn of a new season, we wanted to demonstrate our commitment to racers and we feel we can best do that with dedicated track time.”
With kart owning racers in mind, Goodwood Kartways is excited to announce twelve dedicated Test-and-Tune sessions open to ALL kart owners during the 2020 season. The sessions will be uninterrupted lapping in a controlled environment, with the goal of offering valuable track time prior to TRAK club events. Goodwood Kartways Practice Pass holders will have access to all scheduled sessions, while for others looking for test time, standard lapping day fees will apply. Drivers must possess a valid club license and karts must meet club technical regulations prior to going on track. The paddock will be open to all privateers and approved vendors, and staff will always be on hand to assist.
“To be honest, we’re really excited about working these sessions into the schedule this year,” Di Leo continued. “Karters can still practice as before, knowing interruptions occur, but now they also have dedicated times just for them, and we believe they’re a great opportunity for independents in the sport. The additional track time will better prepare drivers for their future racing activities, and it’s just another effort to guide the sport in a positive direction. Looking back to when I was coming up, for example, racing at the club level looked a lot different. The paddock had many more secondhand karts, the tuner and team was mom and dad, and perhaps most importantly, there was a much more collegial approach in the paddock, where your neighbor was always prepared to help if you had a question or needed a tool. It was certainly a far, far less intimidating atmosphere for those new to the sport, and we think it was better for the sport overall. You didn’t need to be part of a big team or outspend others in order to be competitive, you needed to get to the track and learn, so that’s what we did.”
“Back in my day, and maybe too few will remember this, but Goodwood had Wednesday night racing and that helped me develop my skills, for sure,” Di Leo said as he continued down memory lane. “Masters of the track like Lon Herder would suit up and lap with all of us who were looking to be the next big thing. Kyle Herder, Sal Ditta, Aaron de Heus, Rob Oakman, Keith Barrick, Mike Maurini, Dave Anderson…we were all new to the sport back then and trained in a similar environment. Then we went on to win some of the biggest races in the country. That’s what we want to have at Goodwood, an environment where the champions of today are educating the champions of tomorrow, and we believe this program is a great way to start, because as has long been said: If you can win at Goodwood, you can win anywhere.”
All Goodwood Kartways scheduled track activities can be found here: https://goodwoodkartways.com/?post_type=tribe_events
TRAK Dedicated Test and Tune Days:
- Thursday, April 16, 2020: 3pm until closing.
- Friday, April 17, 2020: 3pm until closing.
- Friday, April 24, 2020: 3pm until closing.
- Wednesday, May 6, 2020: 3pm until closing.
- Thursday, May 14, 2020: 3pm until closing.
- Friday, May 22, 2020: 3pm until closing.
- Friday, June 5, 2020: 3pm until closing.
- Friday, July 17, 2020: 3pm until closing.
- Thursday, August 6, 2020: 3pm until closing.
- Friday, August 28, 2020: 3pm until closing.
- Thursday, September 3, 2020: 3pm until closing.
- Thursday, September 17, 2020: 3pm until closing.
