Hello Karters,

The Santa Maria Karting Association (SMKA) is pleased to announce the SMKA track located on the Santa Maria Airport grounds is planned to re-open very soon!  Negotiations and agreements between the FAA, the Santa Maria Airport and the club are being finalized and we hope to re-open the track as early as this June.  Since the track has been out of commission for some time, the first order of business is a track clean up and repair day scheduled for Sunday June 3 starting at 9am.  Volunteers are needed to help with the cleanup activities.  We are also planning to hold an Open Track Day open to any and all karters on Sunday July 1.  As an incentive for cleanup day volunteers, all those who show up to help will receive Free Entry Passes to the Open Track Day.

The kart club has worked a long uphill battle to get access restored to the track.  After many months of working and meeting with the FAA, the club was able to assure the FAA that the track and its usage was not in violation of any FAA policies or procedures.  With the help of the Santa Maria Airport Manager and Board, a proposed lease was drafted and approved by the FAA.  The Santa Maria Airport Board’s next meeting is on Wednesday May 30 where it is expected the club’s lease will be officially approved.  Upon approval the SMKA Club will once again be re-opened and back on its home track.

Although the kart club will re-open its doors there will be some changes, the details of which are being discussed and worked out now.  Part of the club’s track usage agreement will include the installation of perimeter fencing around the track sealing it off from the rest of the airport.  Access to the track will be through a new gate which will be controlled and monitored by the club.  As a sign of the times, insurance policies will dictate new procedures for using the track.  While SMKA Members will once again have daily access to the track, an insurance waiver and payment will most likely be required upon each day’s track usage for all persons who enter through the gate to include spectators.  The SMKA Membership fee structure, Daily Insurance Waiver fees and Non-Member Usage fees are being discussed by the board and will be revealed soon.  As always, the goal is to keep the track as affordable as possible while maintaining enough revenue to pay the lease, insurance coverages, etc.

Several races have already been scheduled for the latter half of this year.  The Pro Karters will be back on August 17 & 18.  SMKA will host an IKF Region Race at the SMKA track on August 3 - 5.  The club will also be partnering with the Santa Maria Airport to hold open races, presented by the Vintage Karters Club, during this year’s Santa Maria Airport Air Show.  Additionally, the SMKA club will begin to hold monthly club races.