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NEWS BRIEFS
12-31-01

Editor Note: We will be updating News Briefs on a weekly basis. If you have news or information relative to the sport of karting, please e-mail it to: karting@msn.com or fax to: 630-653-2637.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH (Perhaps the year)

“It is God’s responsibility to forgive Bin Laden.

It is our responsibility to arrange the meeting!”

-- An actual quote from the U.S. Marines Commander of Deployment

AUTOBAHN COUNTRY CLUB

A proposed new facility called “Autobahn Country Club” is being planned for Joliet, Illinois – already home of the Route 66 Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway. The facility is intended to bring the best of motorsport (including kart racing), leisure and entertainment facilities to the area. The track and other amenities of the Autobahn Country Club are being designed to cater to all forms of motorsports, and to provide members with a great environment for racing, touring, concourse and entertaining. The promoters have enlisted preeminent road course designer Alan Wilson to develop the club’s Grand Prix course. Wilson’s work includes the South Carolina Motor Sports Park and Gingerman Raceway in Michigan. Track features: 2.2-mile Track with 11 turns, 1.7-mile course with 13 turns, 4-mile track with 22 turns and a 1-mile kart track.

Memberships are available for the course that plans to begin operation in the fall of 2002. For more information, contact Mark Basso at 630-375-7652 or online at www.autobahncountryclub.com.

NO. IRELAND KART SHOW

The Ulster Kart Show will take place on January 26-27 at the ARDs Leisure Center in Newtownards, south of Belfast. For more info call: 011-44-028-9181-4987. Check it out!

SEARS POINT BREAKS GROUND

Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, California has completed surveying and chalking the course and other preliminary work and broke ground on December 20 for the much-anticipated Sears Point Karting Center.

The Center will feature a state-of-the-art 16 turn, three-quarter mile course that will be 28-feet wide and can be divided into six different configurations. Some of the track highlights include an 850-foot sweeping straightaway from turn 15-1 and another 450-foot sweeping straightaway from turn 1-2.

The track, which was designed in part by the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School will be built to CIK/FIA standards. The Jim Russell School will operate the track.

“We will have a mix of everything with this track, whether it’s fast turns, slow turns or technical and challenging corners,” said Mark Wolocatiuk, chief instructor at the Jim Russell School. “This karting facility will be one of the best in the country.”

The Sears Point Karting Center is expected to be operational in March 2002 and is part of the $50 million modernization plan that will transform Sear Point Raceway into one of the premier motorsports and entertainment venues in the world.

“I’ve seen the layout in person and this is going to be one of the best karting centers in the country,” said Memo Gidley, who competes on the CART Champ Car circuit and is a resident of nearby San Rafael.

The Jim Russell Racing Drivers School will offer a wide variety of racing programs as well as a racing series. Details on all the programs can be found on the web at www.russellracing.com or by calling 800-733-0345.

BURRIS CIRCLE TOUR SCHEDULE

The highly popular Burris Circle Tour, based in Illinois has announced its 3-state, 3-track, 13-race 2002 schedule. It is as follows:

April 28 – Lake Geneva Raceway, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
May 12 – Lake Geneva Raceway
May 26 – Rockford Speedway, Loves Park, Illinois
June 9 – Lake Geneva Raceway
June 16 – Illiana Motor Speedway, Schererville, Indiana
June 30 – Lake Geneva Raceway
July 21 – Rockford Speedway
August 4 – Illiana Motor Speedway
August 18 – Rockford Speedway
September 1 – Iliana Motor Speedway
September 15 – Lake Geneva Raceway
September 22 – Lake Geneva Raceway
October 6 – Lake Geneva Raceway

For more info see: www.karts.net/burriscircle or call the Raceway Kart Association at 630-355-8714.

AMERICAN GRAND PRIX KART RACES

The inaugural American Grand Prix Kart Race will be run at the California Speedway in Fontana, California. The event, run in conjunction with the Skip Barber Regional Race Series, the official amateur championship of CART, will take place on January 12-13. For more info see www.californiagp.com or call 949-481-5101.

WISECO BUYS PERFECT BORE

Ohio-based Wiesco Piston announced that it has purchased Perfect Bore Pistons, a new company that specializes in piston development and technology. This purchase expands Wiseso position in the European automotive and motorsports market.

CHICAGO-AREA INDOOR TRACK AND PARK TO OPEN

A former Montgomery Ward store in the Chicago suburban village of Villa Park will become Safari Land and will include electric karts on a multi-level track for adults and kids. The $3.5 million project will include a flight simulator, Tilt-A-Whirl, and other attractions including the largest indoor roller coaster. Safari Land plans to open in mid-March, 2002. Joe Damato, a Barrington Hills, Illinois businessman owns the facility as well as other area shopping centers. Phone: 630-530-4649 for info.

NKN EXPANDS

National Kart News, America’s Leading Karting Magazine, has expanded its Granger, Indiana facility by 2,500 feet. The new warehouse will accommodate the enormous NKN archives, and vintage karts and other memorabilia.

NEW CHAIRMAN AT ABKC

Russell Anderson has been elected chairman of the Association of British Kart Clubs, replacing Steve Chapman, who has stepped down after 11-years. The ABKC represents a number of kart tracks in Great Britain and works hand-in-hand with the MSA and CIK to better the sport.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

END

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Wheaton, IL 60189 USA
Telephone: 630-653-7368
Fax: 630-653-2637
Email: karting@msn.com

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