Mike Paris & Roy Coles

Two Haversham young men have been hitting the headlines in Britain’s newest sporting craze “Karting”. With their homemade £40 special they have beaten all-comers at national races with the exception of the British champion Mel Bayliss.

The kart enthusiasts are Mike Paris, 34 The Crescent and Roy Coles, 39 The Crescent, both of whom work at Hanslope Park. Our photograph shows Mike, all 6ft. 4ins. of him, in the driving seat while Roy makes an adjustment to the 197cc motor cycle engine that sends the kart round tracks at speeds in excess of 60 m.p.h.

A well known motor racing personality Major Mallock of the Mercury Racing Stables, Roade, sparked off their interest in “karting”. He had begun making a chassis and Roy and Mike took over. In their spare time they produced a U2 Kart that has been raced with such tremendous success at Welwyn Garden City and Banbury.

Their own brainwave of putting clutch and gear lever near the driver’s right hand has paid dividends in fast cornering. They did not know whether to be flattered or annoyed to learn that one firm has started adopting this idea as their own “revolutionary development”.

Probably the safest, and possibly the noisiest of all racing sports, “karting” is becoming increasingly popular Mike, in this tailor-made 6ft. model, has averaged 61 m.p.h. on a banked track at Welwyn – and that seems really fast when you are seated only three inches from the ground.

Everything on U2 Kart is homemade with the exception of the engine and the wheels. The steering system, so efficient that the kart will steer itself on a straight course at 60 m.p.h., is controlled by a neat set of handlebars that once adorned a child’s tricycle!

Roy and Mike are at present building a second kart and are hoping for more success at the next British Grand Prix at Banbury on July 10.