Southern Mallee Kart Club

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The Southern Mallee Kart Club is an independent karting club offering fun practice days and races affordably and for everyone!

Our track redevelopment is nearing completion and racing is due to start in 2025! We also hold regular practice days, and offer track access to our members.

Please note a license obtained through the club is required prior to taking to the track.

The Northern Loch Recreation Reserve was an important part of EH Lascelles efforts to open up the Mallee for broadacre farming in the late 1880’s. As semi-permanent water, a pumping station and orchard was established to demonstrate the viability of farming in the area. The new railway line of the early 1890’s and the channel system in the early 1900’s meant water no longer flowed into the reserve.

The reserve was then used for coursing events up until the mid 1960’s when go-karting began in January 1966. In 1968 the reserve together with the Hopetoun Go-Kart Club held the Victorian Dirt Championships. In the 1970s a pony club was established at the reserve, utilising open ground and also the expanses of the reserve for a well-respected cross-country track.

In the early 1980’s, go-karting was started again as the Southern Mallee Kart Club, and the club together with Karkarooc Shire laid a bitumen track. In 1984 the first Southern Mallee Titles were held which included a champions race including Russell Ingall, John Pizzaro and Drew Price. Many future professional drivers would race at the track up until the club stopped karting in April 1994. These included Cameron McConville, Stephen Ellery, Todd & Rick Kelly, and Jamie Whincup. The reserve hosted the 1988 Vic Open Sprint Championships, with over 400 entrants travelling from as far as
Queensland for the event.

The pony club stopped operations at the track in the mid 2000’s.

The go-kart track was used intermittently by drifting clubs over a number of years, however it started to be misused by people travelling to Hopetoun as it was publicly accessible. In 2021, police and DEECA looked to have the track locked up and halted any drifting activities at the club.

At the same time, local interest in karting had led to the reforming of the Southern Mallee Kart Club, and works began in January 2024 to restore the track. The local community has contributed around $350,000 worth of works not including labour to the restoration. Karting began in practice form only in March 2024, and thanks to more funding recently, official licensed racing is expected to begin again in 2025.