The thrill of racing runs deep for the Marks family

By Sheree Hoddinett

They definitely feel the need for speed in the Marks family. Not only do young guns Lillian and Cooper (who you may remember from our February edition) love hitting the track, but speedway racing has now been passed down through four generations of the Marks family. It started with their great-grand father Howard, along with their Aunt Sonia, Uncle Matt and cousin Dylan who are all now retired from racing, but their Pop Robert and dad Nathan still compete.

Nathan, who grew up in the Northern Territory, competed in motor cross titles at the age of five and the Australian Independent Dirt Kart Association (AIDKA) dirt kart titles since 1997, before moving to South Australia where his father was the founding president of the Port Pirie Dirt Kart Club. It became even more of a family sport when they made the move to Queensland and became involved in the speedway karts division.

“Both Lillian and Cooper would sit up on the hill watching all the racing and waiting to turn seven so they could join in the fun with their Pop and dad,” Nathan said. “Their mum Tennille also joined the team two years ago. We really are a family that loves racing.”

So, what does a typical weekend look like when it comes to karting? A race day itself starts as early as 4.30am when they hit the road, but there is so much more involved.

“Our race day prep starts the week before with dad and Pop spending the week in the shed making sure the motors and karts are all ready to go,” Lillian said. “Nan and mum make sure the food and water are packed. Mum packs race bags and tear-offs on the helmets. Nana does all our sticker kits for our karts through Coastal Signs and Stickers.”

Just to add another dimension to their busy lives, the kids also have other sporting commitments. Lillian plays netball for the Bribie Dolphins and Cooper has previously played soccer and will be playing footy for the Bribie Warrigals this season.

Spending time with family and friends at the track is a big part of why they love karting so much.

“We are always learning new things with kart set ups, engine tuning and tyre pressure, but we just love every- thing about it,” Cooper said.

“What keeps us going back each race day is the thrill of speed, the competitiveness of not just the other competitors on the track, but also improving our own driving skills, taking better race lines and the friends made along the way,” Nathan adds.

Heading out to competitions up to three times a month, life on wheels sure does get busy for these guys.

“We travel to Maryborough, Gatton and our much-loved home track Sunstate Speedway Kart Club at Nudgee,” Nathan said. “As a family we have also travelled to Tamworth in New South Wales and Mt Gambier in South Australia for state and Australian title events, with the most recent trip being to Avalon in Victoria for the 2023 Australian Titles.” On day one of the Australian Titles weekend, Cooper competed against six others in the sub juniors class ranging in age from seven to 11-year-olds. He finished first in all three heats but was relegated back two spots in his third heat for jumping the restart after a yellow flag stoppage. Lillian was up against 29 other competitors in her junior class and they had to split the field into three groups. She finished sixth out of nine in heat one, seventh out of nine in heat two and sixth out of eight in heat three. On day two, things didn’t quite go according to plan. With one heat and a feature race, Cooper finished first in his as we develop further practical policies to address the juvenile crime crisis in the lead up to the Queensland state election next year.

On another critical issue for Bribie Islanders, residents were recently asked by the Department of Transport and Main Roads to comment on plans for a new bridge between Bribie Island and the mainland.