Speedster on track

By Marc McGowan
NARRE Warren South speed demon William Van Der Ark has national success in his sights after winning the junior category at the Victorian Speedway Go-Kart Titles in Mildura on the weekend.
The 12-year-old only started racing in November last year, but has racked up an astonishing number of accomplishments since.
William won a heat at his first meeting before establishing himself as one of the state’s most promising go-kart drivers over the past few months.
But the Grade 6 Berwick Lodge Primary School student admits he was in shock after winning the state championship over rivals from around the country.
“I felt really happy. When you win a race, you can’t believe you’ve done it,” he said.
“I’ve had a couple of wins before in regular meetings, but none of them had been like this one.”
William’s achievement was even more noteworthy considering he relegated the reigning Australian champion into second place.
He qualified on pole after winning three of the four heats and held on in a tight finish in the final.
William’s home tracks are at Drouin and Nyora and he developed a passion for speedway racing from an early age.
He was never far from his father Rini’s side when the latter used to compete.
“We’ve always had an interest in speedway and he’s always loved it since he was a kid – I told him when he was older he could race,” Rini said.
“My main thing for him is to make sure he tries to have fun and I teach him that winning is not everything.
“If you don’t win it’s not the end of world – there’s always another day. It’s about getting experience and meeting people.”
William uses his dad’s eBay-purchased go-kart for competitions and regularly faces opponents who splash thousands of dollars on their vehicles.
“It’s one of those open chequebook things, but we do it on a pretty tight budget,” Rini said.
“Some blokes will spend $5000 or $6000 and can spend up to $4000 on a motor.
“The only new things I’ve bought for this were the two tyres for this title, but we didn’t end up using them anyway.
“We generally just buy second-hand parts and do the best with what we’ve got.”
William is somewhat of an all-round sportsman – he also pulls on the boots for Berwick Springs Junior Football Club and dons the whites for Narre Warren in summer.
But go-karting is his biggest love and he is keen to head to Tasmania for the 2010 national championships after skipping this year’s installment.
“We had a decision between the Victorian or Australian titles, so we chose the Victorian,” William said.
“My goal is to win the Australian title next year.”
And who’s going to bet against him doing just that?