Member Article

Rally driver turned entrepreneur invests in karting business

A North East rally driver-turned-entrepreneur has invested almost £400k creating what he says is now one of the most complete motor and action sports venues in the UK.

Guy Wilks has dramatically transformed Karting North East, which sits just off the A690 near Houghton-le-Spring, Co Durham, since taking on the business almost three years ago.

The vast 30-acre site has been reconstructed and, as well as a state-of-the-art 1.2km karting track, one of the longest anywhere in the UK, Wilks has now added a range of additional motor and action sports features.

The most recent addition has been a purpose-built, 2,500sq m enclosed paintball arena. This comes off the back of Wilks and his team at Karting North East adding dedicated 4x4 off road tracks and an exciting dual track off road ‘rage buggies’.

The additions and improvements to facilities have created ten new jobs in recent months.

Wilks, a former Intercontinental World Rally Championship driver for, amongst others, both Skoda and Peugeot said: “Unfortunately, karting and other motorsports can suffer something of an image problem. This is a fantastic day out that offers anyone a chance to pit themselves against their friends, family or colleagues in a fun, safe and exciting way.

“Importantly, these are all done against a backdrop that genuinely cares about the entire experience. We’ve built a mature, loyal, and highly qualified team here and I’d love to think I can change people’s perceptions about what a day’s karting in particular involves.”

The changes have been welcomed by a growing number of visitors across the region and further afield and, year on year in the last three years, visitor numbers have continued to grow.

Wilks insists the investment will continue. The 33-year-old, who lives in Durham, says the next steps are a lavish overhaul of his current indoor space. This will include a new reception and café areas, as well as overhauled briefing rooms for adult and junior drivers.

He added: “We have a wide ranging appeal, from kids parties to corporate team builders; stag and hens to family days out. We’re really confident that we’re geared up to accommodate all of them now in surroundings that no other karting and motorsport venue can offer. I believe we have the region’s best public motorsports venue.”

Wilks quit professional rally driving in 2011 to dedicate himself fully to Karting North East. The former British Rally Champion enjoyed a raft of podium placed finishes in prestigious races around the world including the likes of Rally-Monte Carlo, Finland and Rally Argentina to name but a few.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .