Who are we?

So you might be wondering who's behind all this. What authority does Thrashed have to rate courses, gear and give racing tips? You might be mistaken for thinking that we're all world class karting champions (and who could blame you?). But we're not. We are no different from anyone else, we spend most of our time racing in arrive and drive races. We do have our own prokart but we suffer the same problems as many of you - we have no transport for it. We don't race every weekend (we ain't that rich), and we don't even win every race. But we have been doing this for some time, believe that we have some worthwhile advice to give and experiences to share. But most of all, remember it's all about having fun.

Andy Whitelock

Born:

1975

Occupation:

Designer

Other hobbies:

Any motorsport, Mountain Biking, Jackass stunts

Biography:

I came to karting quite late on, I was about 20 and was asked to stand in for somebody at an organised indoor race. My first practice was awful - catching my rear tyres on plenty of tyre barriers, but when the race came along suddenly I was in my element and finished the evening in 2nd place. Aftfer that I was addicted, Jules and I met up regularly at arrive and drive events and always enjoyed ourselves. We quickly progressed onto outdoor karting and eventually bought our own kart, but cost and travel arrangements conspired against us and we never got to use it much. These days we generally take part in open endurance events where we perform pretty well. If we can get our kart on the road next year we may even take part in a championship, just for fun

Jules Thrasher

Born:

1974

Occupation:

Bike Mechanics Assessor

Other hobbies:

Any motorsport, Mountain Biking, Jackass stunts

Biography:

The trigger for me was a works indoor event at the now extinct Uxbridge track. I was racing Mountain Bikes at the time and thought that my fitness would give me a good advantage. I never thought that I would enjoy it as much as I did and found that I had a natural ability to correct the kart when it slid which I put down to having ridden two wheels over slippery ground for a few years. I got through to the final and beat my boss, placing third in the end, the guy who won had his own race suit and helmet and I vowed that one day I’d be the one standing in his position with all the kit, supping champagne and wooing fit ladies. It’s still something I’m aspiring to now, but at least I have my own helmet and race suit!

I am fortunate enough to have Andy as a fellow racer, who is someone I know I can trust when we are on the circuit, which is invaluable. We have had some great races and are super competitive, whether it be on the track or on the playstation! I guess I'm the token clown of the outfit, always willing to take one for the team! My favourite courses are ones that are super fast and wringing wet, (preferably at the same time!)

Dan East

Born:

1981

Occupation:

Designer

Other hobbies:

Most types of motorsport, not much else!

Biography:

Like Andy W, I was a late starter. In my earlier years I dabbled in RC racing with some local success (nothing compared to my brother though - the king of RC!) but always wanted to do the real thing.

I've always enjoyed karting but thought it was financially out of my reach as a hobby. Until last year that was, when a couple of trips to Red Lodge got my racing juices going again and I decided to look a little deeper into it. I'm now a bit of an arrive and drive addict, taking part in Club100 and other events whenever I can, and contributing to Thrashed which, cheesy as it sounds, I feel proud to be a part of.