Striving to make a big splash for their 30th anniversary, Sudbury Kart Club members are inviting the public to join them on 11 race days throughout their 2025 season, beginning on May 25.
Race days are “exciting but family orientated,” club co-founder Phil Taus told Sudbury.com during a recent visit to Sudbury Kartways on Notre Dame Boulevard.
Attendance is free of charge, and this year’s slate of races includes a special race day on June 15, which will be followed by a Canadian Grand Prix watch party with pizza.
Also special to this year is an enduro race on Sept. 28, at which racers start off on the opposite side of the track and run to their karts which teammates start for them.
“There’s a pit stop involved … and it’s meant to be a fun event at the end of the year to kind of burn your tires, use the last of your equipment to use for the year and have fun with your friends,” club chair Joey Haynes said.
These special event days are intended to draw attention to the club for their 30th anniversary and get the community involved more than usual, Taus said.
Taus founded the club 30 years ago with fellow go-kart enthusiasts Steve Durkac and Heinz Wuthrich.
Taus owns the Sudbury Kartways track on Notre Dame Avenue, which has been there since 1981, and raced competitively with his daughter, Bobbie-Lee, in southern Ontario, where kart racing is a much bigger pastime. (While not kart racing, in the mid-20th century through the 1970s, car racing was a popular sport in the city. You can read more about that here.)
It’s unclear why it’s more popular elsewhere, Taus said, suggesting that alongside a greater population to draw from, fewer southern Ontarians have other pastimes those in Northern Ontario have, such as cottage life and other outdoor activities.
Wuthrich raced karts in Switzerland before relocating to Sudbury, and brought his love of karts with him.
Finding an appetite for a competitive kart club in Sudbury, the trio started the club (now sanctioned under ASN Canada) 30 years ago, linking local racers up with other events throughout Canada to advance in.
The local club currently has approximately 25 races, some of whom travel and advance in their racing careers while others take part in local races strictly for fun.
Zachary Vanier is one of the club’s success stories. He advanced to full-sized cars and became the first driver to win in both Porsche Sprint Challenge North America and Porsche Carrera Cup North America last season.
For Haynes, it’s about fun.
Originally from Barrie, he raced from the ages of eight to 16, moved on to other things, started a career and relocated to Sudbury with his wife where he found himself with a disposable income and a need for speed.
“You don’t really get rid of the want to go racing,” he said. “Once you’ve done it, you want to keep racing.”
“It doesn't go away,” Durkac said, nodding in agreement.
Karts travel as fast as approximately 100 km/h, and it takes them around 30 seconds for racers to make their way around Sudbury’s track.
Younger racers have karts which top out at a much lower speed, including their newly introduced Kid Class, which introduces youngsters aged four to seven to kart racing.
Cadets are aged eight to 11, juniors are aged nine to 15, and seniors are aged 15 “to old guys,” Taus said.
“To 63, I guess,” he added. “I’m the oldest now.”
When it comes down to it, Haynes said it’s all about hanging out with friends and having fun at the track.
Although the club is competitive, he said that members help each other out, which you see less of in southern Ontario where competition is harsher and crowds are much larger.
“When you’re doing it you’re doing it with your kids,” Taus said. “It’s not like you buy them a four-wheeler and say, ‘See you later,’ and your kid’s off in the bush.”
Kids, Taus said, learn a lot about such things as sportsmanship when they’re out in their karts.
“It’s pretty much the best sport you can find if your kid’s into STEM,” Haynes said, referencing an acronym which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.
Although joining the club requires the up-front cost of purchasing a kart, prospective racers can also dip their toes into the sport by renting karts for races around the track.
The 2025 race schedule is as follows:
- Race 1: May 25
- Race 2: June 1
- Race 3: June 15
- Race 4: June 22
- Race 5: July 6
- Race 6: July 27
- Race 7 : Aug. 10
- Race 8: Aug. 24
- Race 9: Sept. 7
- Race 10: Sept. 14
- Enduro: Sept. 28
- Year-end banquet: Nov. 8
Race days begin with practice runs at 8:30 a.m. and wrap up by approximately noon, except for on June 15 when the post-race Canadian Grand Prix watch party will take place.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.