NOT QUITE FORMULA ONE

Grand Prix
ready to go!

AUSTRALIA'S TOP GO-KARTERS ARE POISED
FOR THE START OF THE
TENNANT CREEK GRAND PRIX

The Australian Street Circuit Go-Kart Grand Prix was first mooted in 1988 when a handful of people decided to purchase a few Go-Karts. In 1990 the dream of a street circuit began to seem more of a workable idea, which in turn would see more than a thousand people come into Tennant Creek over the Go-Kart weekend.
Grant Hamon, the ex-fire chief of Tennant Creek and Mark John, took on the challenge of setting up a sporting event like no other in Australia. The pair managed to get funding for the event and on the May day weekend of 1991, the first Australian Street Circuit Go-Kart Grand Prix was held in Tennant Creek.
The event has grown by around half as much again each year since it began, and now attracts about 160 entries and includes drivers from every state in Australia. Included among the entrants are drivers who have won Australian Championships. Tennant's Grand Prix holds the largest prize money amount in this sporting area, $15,000, and is considered by many to be the premier Karting event in Australia.
This year local drivers such as Michael Harvey, Rui Desousa and Tony Civaterese will be competing alongside champion drivers like Remo Luciani five times Australian Champion, Nick Agland current Australian - and Oceania Champion, Darrell Smith World Cup Champion and Craig Denton Australian Champion.
The attraction for many people to come from far and wide for this event seems to be the lure of the Outback. What ever it is, Tennant can be proud that it has become such a prestigious event.
Organisers for this year are expecting re-acceptance from nearly all of last year's entries, with 140 Karts coming from out of town.
This year a carnival will be held to coincide with the event, run by the Lions Club. Yamba will be back for the kids, as well as Dorothy the Dinosaur. There will also be a merry-go-round and miniature hire karts for aspiring drivers to race around on an in-field track.
The hard-working committee involves more than ten Tennant Creek business people who have so far raised $30,000 through sponsorship deals for this year's event.
Richard Dodd, the event organiser has raced every year since the Grand Prix began and this year is putting a very professional team together with Michael Gallagher from Alice Springs, renowned for having the worst accident in the history of the event. In the1996 Grand Prix, he was put in hospital for six weeks with a pelvis broken in three places, it has not deterred him from the event at all.
The Grand Prix has won the Northern Territory Tourism Brolga Award in 1995 and 1997 and continues to thrive as the town's largest sporting event.

Grand Prix ready to go! AUSTRALIA'S TOP GO-KARTERS ARE POISED FOR THE START OF THE TENNANT CREEK GRAND PRIX The Australian Street Circuit Go-Kart Grand Prix was first mooted in 1988 when a handful of people decided to purchase a few Go-Karts. In 1990 the dream of a street circuit began to seem more of a workable idea, which in turn would see more than a thousand people come into Tennant Creek over the Go-Kart weekend. Grant Hamon, the ex-fire chief of Tennant Creek and Mark John, took on the challenge of setting up a sporting event like no other in Australia. The pair managed to get funding for the event and on the May day weekend of 1991, the first Australian Street Circuit Go-Kart Grand Prix was held in Tennant Creek. The event has grown by around half as much again each year since it began, and now attracts about 160 entries and includes drivers from every state in Australia. Included among the entrants are drivers who have won Australian Championships. Tennant's Grand Prix holds the largest prize money amount in this sporting area, $15,000, and is considered by many to be the premier Karting event in Australia. This year local drivers such as Michael Harvey, Rui Desousa and Tony Civaterese will be competing alongside champion drivers like Remo Luciani five times Australian Champion, Nick Agland current Australian - and Oceania Champion, Darrell Smith World Cup Champion and Craig Denton Australian Champion. The attraction for many people to come from far and wide for this event seems to be the lure of the Outback. What ever it is, Tennant can be proud that it has become such a prestigious event. Organisers for this year are expecting re-acceptance from nearly all of last year's entries, with 140 Karts coming from out of town. This year a carnival will be held to coincide with the event, run by the Lions Club. Yamba will be back for the kids, as well as Dorothy the Dinosaur. There will also be a merry-go-round and miniature hire karts for aspiring drivers to race around on an in-field track. The hard-working committee involves more than ten Tennant Creek business people who have so far raised $30,000 through sponsorship deals for this year's event. Richard Dodd, the event organiser has raced every year since the Grand Prix began and this year is putting a very professional team together with Michael Gallagher from Alice Springs, renowned for having the worst accident in the history of the event. In the1996 Grand Prix, he was put in hospital for six weeks with a pelvis broken in three places, it has not deterred him from the event at all. The Grand Prix has won the Northern Territory Tourism Brolga Award in 1995 and 1997 and continues to thrive as the town's largest sporting event.		Peter Barnes from Alice Springs (last year's third place getter), leads Harvey Morrison from Perth (second place) into the chicane. ASCGKGP Committee members Richard Dodd and Natasha Storey look on.