How many people, I wonder, know when they go shopping at the vast Clifton Moor shopping complex that it was once a Second World War airfield (RAF Clifton) where, among other duties, battle-weary Halifax bombers were brought for refurbishment and, at war’s end, were broken up for scrap? The airfield was derelict for many years before it became the trading estate it is now. One of the many ventures once staged there was the then new-fangled Go-Kart racing.
A “circuit” was set-up in one of the vast “dispersals” (about where the Toyota Dealership is now) and drew a very large number of spectators.
However the early Go-Karts were usually propelled by a scavenged lawn-mower engine of some 25cc. That meant they were very slow and the spectacle was more about the novelty rather than high-speed racing.
The organisers, seeing the large numbers of spectators, must have thought “we are on to something” and a return meeting was organised. The huge crowd from that inaugural meeting didn’t re-appear however and, as far as I can remember, there were no further meetings.
Probably most people thought the novelty of Go-Kart racing would rapidly die-out.It has gone from strength-to-strength, however, culminating in today’s very high-powered machines capable of 100+ mph!
In fact Lewis Hamilton,who is shortly going to win the F1 Championship again, cut his driving teeth on a Go-Kart.
Philip Roe,
Roman Avenue South,
Stamford Bridge, York
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