Sibling Rivalry On The Kart Track In Gympie This Weekend

02 July 2009

The Brother and Sister pair Dylan and Kloe Higgins will go head to head on the kart track this weekend in the Southern Cross Motorsports Queensland Championships at Gympie's Cooloola Coast Kart Club.

The pair is two of 385 competitors from all across the country competing at the prestigious event and while they may only be 13 and 11 years of age the pair have already amassed almost ten years of driving experience between them.

Dylan, a two-time State Champion in the Midgets division - for drivers between seven and ten years of age - is the most experience of the duo. When asked if he has ever been beaten by his younger sister the response from Dylan in quick time was "Not in one that I've finished!"

Kloe and Dylan Higgins will line up against each other in this weekend's
Queensland Karting Championships. (Pic: photowagon.com.au)

The passion for karting was ignited in the Higgins' Gold Coast home over six years ago when Dylan was racing minibikes and following a number of death defying jumps his Father Ian decided four wheels would be safer than two.

"Dylan was jumping some impressive distances while racing minibikes and I thought it was only a matter of time before he either breaks a few bones or the bike breaks," said Higgins.

"I took him out to a come and try day at the Gold Coast kart track and he was instantly hooked, so the motorbike career came to an end."

Such was the talent shown by young Dylan behind the wheel of a kart that he finished on the podium at a State Title during his first year of competition while Kloe was an eager helper on the sidelines until she was old enough to begin her racing career.

While competitive on the track, it is the adrenaline rush from the racing that the pair enjoy the most.

"I really enjoy the adrenaline rush, meeting new people from all across the country while making some great friends along the way," said Dylan.

"It is pretty cool to go to school and say that you race go-karts at a speed of over 80 km/h almost every weekend. In a few years time I will be old enough to go for my licence and by then I will have already been driving for over ten years, so I know a lot about driving techniques."

Kloe is one of over a dozen female drivers competing at this weekend's championships as she joins the likes of local Gympie driver Sharon Jaenke, Cairns teenager Chelsea Holman, Canberra's Shae Pluis, Victorian Brittany Hall and Rockhampton's Elle Brydon on the track.

Qualifying for the Championships begin tomorrow (Friday) followed by heat races on Saturday and the Championship Finals on Sunday.