GF Motorsports was started in 2013, when our son Sam showed an interest in motor racing. This something that a great many kids do, but for Sam it was different. For Sam, most sports don't hold his interest, with one big exception; motor racing. He loves the V8's and NASCAR. This might have to do with his favourite movies (Cars and Cars 2), and that his favourite personality is racing driver Mark "Frosty" Winterbottom. He has since expanded the list to include Chaz Mostert (Frosty's teammate). Driving has been very good therapy for improving his gross and fine motor skills and it is also a big boost to his confidence. One of our team goals is to help raise awareness for Autism. We started small with just the single kart, and spent many days practicing. As Sam got faster, we travelled to a couple of different tracks so that he could gain experience. We settled on Warwick Kart Club as our "home" track, because of the fun, friendly atmosphere. The other tracks are great, but there were far more positives going to Warwick, than there were negatives. Once we got a decent engine (thanks to Norm at Sweet Tune Engines), and a reasonable chassis Sam's confidence rose quickly. To the point of us entering him in his first race in November 2014. SOme rule changes caused us a bit of grief in 2015, and put us a bit behind in Sam's development. Instead of being able to stay in Cadets for another year, Sam was forced to move up to Rookies (now called Cadet 12). I had to source a different engine, and we just never got comfortable with it. Sam has done his best, but with nearly all of the competitors in his class moving to the new engine, we had to follow suit. So for Sam's 10th birthday he got a brand new Vortex Mini Rok. It coincided with the WKC Junior Top Guns event. He was rather excited when he saw the engine. Before I move on, I need to mention that our team expanded to 2 drivers in 2015. We added Jack. The new rules allowed 6 year olds to practice, so we bought Jack a kart of his own and just before his 7th birthday he got to have a drive. Jack is running a similar chassis (both are made by the Italian kart manufacturer OTK) to Sam's, which makes things so much easier for me. Jack progressed quickly, and managed to have his first race at WKC's Junior Top Guns too. What are our goals, and what does the future hold for GF Motorsports ?? First of all, we want to raise awareness for Autism, and to show that Autistics can compete at a high level alongside of "neuro-typical" kids. Although motorsports can be incredibly serious, we are in it for the enjoyment of the sport. It's a sport that promotes communication, team work, quick thinking, yet it still boils down to the individual. Due to the costs involved in motorsports, we are nearly always seeking partners to help our team. So if you, or someone you know is interested in working with us, please drop us a line. Ideally we would like to partner with a company (or companies) who are also passionate about motorsports, and promote fun, and developing kids. We are looking for partners that are willing to work with us for several years. We want some continuity so that we can strive for, and achieve our team's goals. Thank you for visiting the GF Motorsports page. For more information about Autism Spectrum Disorder please check out: http://www.autismawareness.com.au/
