Written by Mr. Frank Swann - Life member.
The Tiger Kart Club of Perth WA was formed in 1958 by a group of riders from a motor cycle club. For two years they didn't have a track to race on. Therefore, it was car parks, airstrips or Claremont Show Grounds between the buildings and almost anywhere that they could obtain authority to race.
This ended in 1960 when a bitumen track was opened at Cockburn Sound down by the sea. It was in a quarry which it turn was used as a rubbish tip. A vast amount of work was needed and many people dedicated huge amounts of time to complete the track and facilities. The club received enormous help from the Cockburn Road Board, now the City of Cockburn.
In 1961 the First State Championships were run at Cockburn. In 1974 the track was upgraded and increased to 560 Meters. 1975 saw the club have its first turn at the National championships.
In 1976 the club was advised by the City of Cockburn that the Government was intending to take over the reserve for shipbuilding. This eventually happened and the club opened a new track of international standard on the 30 th November 1980 at the present site in gemma road, Henderson. The track was 1070 mtrs by 8 mtrs wide. As the track had been doubled in length the government paid 48% and the club 52%.
We held out first international meeting at this track in 1982 with the Dap International Championship. It was an Invitation meeting and six international drivers from 5 countries attended. Then in 1983 the Tiger Kart Club hosted the CIK Asian Pacific Championships. We had the honour of holding the first CIK event run in Australia. This time twenty two international drivers from 9 different countries competed, a mighty achievement.
Just 10 years later, in August 1990, the club opened another international standard track at Wattle Ave, Neerabup Wanneroo, 1025Mtrs x 8Mtrs in size. Loan payments on Cockburn were completed in 9 Years and the Wanneroo loan was paid in 7 Years. The foregoing was a very successful operation and was achieved by a fairly small band of dedicated people.
Currently the club has 500 members but this is not as great as we had anticipated 5 years ago. Should you wish to belong to a Kart club, grab the Tiger by the tail and join.
If you would like to become a member or visit one of these beautiful locations, please contact one of the officer bearers listed below.
