By Tania Phillips
THRILLS, spills and billycart wheels – that’s what you get when Cooly Rocks On and V8 Superfest Gold Coast 600 join forces.
The two groups have joined together to run the Burleigh Billy Kart Derby in James Street, Burleigh, from 9am to noon on Sunday 20 October.
The inaugural event is expected to attract huge crowds and entrants from around Australia.
There will be a Show ‘n’ Shine event for the best looking cart, plus heats and a final in three categories: junior (primary school); intermediate (secondary school); and open (all others). Teams of three are required – two pushers and one driver. The fastest time on the day will win the perpetual V8 Billy Kart Derby Trophy.
Cooly Rocks On CEO Bob Newman said the Billy Kart Derby would be “a time-warp of fun”, taking participants and onlookers back to the old days, when billycart racing was a regular event on the Gold Coast calendar.
“Over the past couple of decades, billycart racing has sadly disappeared from the Coast,” Bob said.
“The Cooly Rocks On team is thrilled to have the opportunity to revive such an exciting and family-friendly event. The ramp set-up at western end of James Street will create a perfect track and venue.
“Dads and grand-dads across the Coast will need to brush up on their engineering skills, put on their creative caps, and draw on every shred of their ingenuity if they are going to come up with a winning design for their kid’s kart. We expect competition to be ‘fierce’,” he laughed.
The open category caters for ‘big kids’ – teenagers and adults. Organisers hope to see teams of friends, families, corporate groups, sporting and social clubs, car dealerships, and hopefully, teams from the local police and emergency services, fighting it out to be the fastest on the track.
Participants and spectators will have the chance to meet some of the stars of the 2013 V8 Supercars Championship so organisers are expecting the crowd to get into the spirit of racing by dressing up in their Ford, Holden or favourite racing car team gear.
Postal entries for the 2013 Billy Kart Derby close on 16 October but ‘in-person’ entries will be accepted at the registration tent in James Street, Burleigh, up until 8am on the day of the race.
Entry criteria and rules for the Billy Kart Derby are available at www.coolyrockson.com. For more information call the Cooly Rocks On office in Coolangatta on 07 5599 2081.
The V8 Billy Kart Derby is one of many activities taking place in the lead-up to the Armor All Gold Coast 600 in Surfers Paradise (25-27 October).
