Two young Blue Mountains karters have dominated their respective classes in the Combined Districts Kart Club Championship for 2018, held at the Lithgow raceway.
Winmalee's Joshua Benaud took out six of the seven rounds held throughout the year, to drive away with the Cadet 9 class championship. Joshua, who turned nine in July, also won his class at the Metro Invitational, an inter-club event between the top competitors from the four Greater-Sydney karting clubs.
In the larger fields of the Cadet 12 class, 12-year-old Luke Ferguson from Springwood took out both the class championship and the overall cadet title, after scoring four podium finishes throughout the season. Luke also finished 8th in the NSW State Championships for the year.
The Cadet 9 class represents the youngest racers in the sport, with ages ranging from seven to nine. They drive their own karts powered by Italian racing engines, with many drivers reaching speeds of 85km/h around the 750m Lithgow racing track. The more powerful Cadet 12 class, for 10 to 12-year-olds, is the next step on their way up the karting class ladder.
Both Joshua and Luke are looking forward to another year of racing in 2019, this time competing against each other in Cadet 12, before Luke moves up to the Junior class in 2020.
After a full resurface of their track, the Combined Districts Kart Club has enjoyed a large increase in their cadet and junior numbers throughout 2018, with some of the largest fields seen for many years. Every current V8 Supercar driver began their career in karting, with several of the top drivers racing at Lithgow during their karting careers.