It was meant to be a relaxing drive to the former home town, catching up with old friends and taking part in a round of the Adelaide Superkart Series, without the pressure of points towards the Vic State series. Or, call it a shakedown for the Nationals in October. What it actually turned out to be was an unmitigated disaster.

The only highlight of the weekend was the road racing debut of Wild Digital driver Sean Whitfield, right on his 12th birthday. Sean learned a new category and new circuit with unflappable ease and scored a third place in a State where the junior competition is extremely healthy.

Wild Digital were also the meeting sponsor. Sean's father and Wild Digital director John is putting his heart and soul into Sean's racing and subsequently the category, raising the standard of professionalism and presentation to an unprecedented level. It's no secret I reckon this approach is the way forward for the sport.

Meanwhile, at camp Lagler things were not so peachy. On the unofficial Saturday practice, it all went horribly wrong. A caustic mix of dishonest temperature gauges and air pockets in the cooling system sent the top end of the 10-year-old Rotax into "decompression".

I must thank Ian Williams (Ian Williams Tuning), a veteran of Adelaide road racing karts, who unconditionally invited me around to his Torrensville workshop to assist in the emergency rebuild on Saturday evening.

We nailed the symptom, but not the cause. Sunday morning practice #1 saw the same syrocketing temperatures, causing me to miss practice #2. After a flurry of checks and changes I barely made the grid for race 1. All this and I was still trying to run in the new top end!

I needn't have bothered. Trying to drive 1/2 a lap too long with an overheating engine and bang went top end number 2. Weekend over.

The most disappointing part was not being able to take part in a well-organised meeting with a generous dosage of superkart races. 2 pracs and 4 x 7-8 lap heats is a healthy offering, and the South Aussies are a very welcoming bunch. Oh, and they're quite fast.

On a brighter note, the drive from the beautiful Adelaide Hills to Mallala is a delight, the kids enjoyed themselves with the Adelaide grandparents, and the Pizzas at Cafe Flipside in Littlehampton are to die for. And, I got to learn from some (very big) mistakes. Only one week after this disaster is VSKC Round 3 at the Island.

Junior Superkarting has never looked so good. Sean Whitfield powerslides through clubhouse corner.