Nine-year-old Lumsden boy burning rubber on the go-kart track

By Shawn Slaght

Nione-year-old Jack Klym from the Lumsden area, will be representing Canada on the world stage in Bahrain, a country in the Middle East, in November as a go-kart racer.

Klym won the Rotax Micro Max Canada final in Alberta in August and will be heading to Bahrain from Nov. 29 to Dec. 6 for the Rotax Grand Finals.

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He said he got started in go-karting when he came across some races and decided he wanted to give it a try.

“We were dirt biking for a couple of years, and we came across go-karting. We looked at it for a second, then we were like, ‘maybe we could try this one day.’ So, we tried it for a day, then we left. We went back the next day and the next day and we liked it a lot,” Klym said.

He began his training in Regina with local racers. From there, he started racing and practicing in Chilliwack, B.C., and in Edmonton.

Klym races in two classes, the Micro and Mini Max. His Micro Kart can reach speeds up to 100 km/h, while his Mini Max goes a bit faster at 105 km/h.

For his mom Christie, watching her young son speeding around the track is still a nerve-racking experience.

Lumsden’s Jack Klym won the Rotax Micro Max Canada Final to punch is ticket to the Grand Final in Bahrain in go-karting. (Christie Klym/Submitted)

“I don’t think it ever gets easier, especially now, getting to some of these bigger races. My watch gives me a heart rate alert quite a lot throughout the day. So yeah, it’s a hard one to watch,” she said.

Being born and raised on a farm, the local agriculture sector has stepped up with sponsorship to help with Klym’s travels.

“Jack has been on a combine since I think about a week after he was born. He was born at harvest, so he’s always been that farmer driving everything and then getting into go-karts. So, we’re lucky to have a lot of our agriculture sponsors backing Jack,” Christie said.

Klym’s sponsors include South Country Equipment, Conexus Credit Union, Nexeed Inc., Syngenta Canada and Echo Valley Motors.

Christie added that none of it would be possible without the sponsors. Between helmets, suits, protective equipment and travel, the expenses add up, and she said outside funding is few and far between.

“Motorsport isn’t recognized by SaskSport, and so it’s really hard to get funding elsewhere, like KidSport. We do need help and rely on our sponsors,” she said.

But is Jack an aspiring racecar driver?

“(I) kind of want to be a rallycross driver. I’m practicing it on the sim a lot,” he said.

In preparation for the big race in Bahrain, Jack will be heading to Belgium later this month to get used to the jet lag and gain more experience with European racing.

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