SOUTH Yunderup’s Joe Chalmers made history when he claimed three of a possible four titles at the Ditchfield memorial dirt kart races held at the Dirt Trackers’ Kart Club earlier this month.
The race meeting, one of the most prestigious on the calendar, is dedicated to Ken and Ces Ditchfield who founded dirt kart racing in Western Australia.
Ken Ditchfield Senior founded the Dirt Trackers Kart Club after placing a newspaper advert that attracted 50 people from the area.
A busy-bee was held at Ditchfield’s gravel pit, which formed the basis for the club’s first track.
The event launched on Saturday, April 2, with gates open for competitors to set up their pit bays in preparation for the weekend’s racing.
More than 200 karts competed in the event, with Chalmers coming agonisingly close to pulling off a clean sweep.
Chalmers raced in four different classes (KT mediums, 125 lights, 100 open and 200 open twin class), winning the first three and finishing second in the fourth.
The 19-year-old’s accomplishment will be remembered as one of the most dominant feats in the state’s dirt kart racing history.
A unique format was run for the weekend event with hot laps, time trails and a series of three heats, followed by a dash format and a 12 lap main event.
The event’s prestige is complemented by a high amount of interstate racers, with many travelling from South Australia and the Northern Territory.
Karts travelling from the eastern states were put into a container and transferred across the country.
Chalmers’ domination resulted in him sealing a pole position start in the KT mediums, 100 opens and 200 opens.
He used the track advantaged superbly, showcasing his driving talent.
The track presented a number of dive areas, which Chalmers took full advantage of from kerb to fence, driving to wins at a comfortable pace.
In the 125 light class he was faced with much tougher proposition.
Chalmers missed the start, shuffling him back to as far as eigth in the first turn where he had to run the sand trap with others to get back on the racing line after the first corner melee.
From that point he sat back and picked his way through the field to set out for eventual winner David Carathers from South Australia.
Chalmers crossed the line in second.
The running of the 200 opens was the day’s feature event, where Chalmers lined up on the front row against Mark Buford from South Australia.
The two cleared out for a fierce battle, away from the rest of the field.
Around lap 6 Burford suffered mechanical woes and Chalmers pounced into the lead and never looked back, taking the flag and celebrating in style with a display of post-race donuts.
