This past Monday two teams of Year 9 and 10 Industrial Technology & Design students competed in the Interschool Go Kart Challenger hosted by Ipswich City Dirt Kart Track. The competition is an opportunity for students to learn fabrication and automotive skills while experiencing problem solving, driving and team work challenges. It is a tangible way that students can both ‘Belong and Contribute’ and ‘Grow and Thrive’.
This year was the biggest in the competition’s history, with five schools and 13 teams racing. Mueller College entered two teams, the Dragons and the Swamp Monsters.
Each student in the team is responsible for building, testing and tuning and driving a real racing go kart. This year our drivers were:
Harvey Dickfos
Micah Dowd
Jeemirah Fenech
Flynn Lane
Chad McKenzie
Zach Burrows
Joseph Cotterill
Jadiel Poonan
Briar Richens
Levi Smith
All of our students drove excellently, and were able to diagnose and repair multiple problems on the day, including a bent clutch and disengaged flywheel. Despite having a lot of fun and development our teams finished just outside of a podium finish. We are hopeful to be back on top in 2020.
Learning to drive on a compacted dirt track is a tough challenge. The opportunity to be able to drift a go kart around corners allows for some spectacular moments as the students come to grips with the track and kart control.
The competition is an extra-curricular activity, which means that the students and staff involved complete all of the work outside of school time. It is a significant commitment for the students, but the rewards are well worth their effort.
We are currently hoping to raise funds to purchase a trailer to store our karts and transport them to racing and test and tune days. To achieve this goal we are seeking sponsors. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Would your company consider sponsoring the Mueller College go kart racing teams to enable us to meet this goal? If so, please contact Mr Gater on c.gater@mueller.qld.edu.au
We look forward to the challenge of regaining the trophy in 2020.
“Go kart racing was awesome! It was really fun and I learned so much. Race day was the best and I recommend that students take the opportunity to join the team next year.”
– Joseph Cotterill, Year 10 team 2019
“I had the most enjoyable time, working with friends, learning lots, and making vehicles go faster! Even though we didn’t win, it was way too much fun. It’s always important to just give it a go!”
– Levi Smith, Year 10 team 2019
