Albany City Kart Club young guns Alex Hills and William Panizza clinch State podium finishes in major events

A pair of rising go kart drivers have sped to impressive results in major karting events, one finishing on the podium in the State titles, and the other scoring a top-three finish in the State series.

Albany City Kart Club young guns Alex Hills and William Panizza have been mixing it with the best in WA this year.

After seven rounds at different tracks across WA, Hills claimed third place overall in the cadet 12 category of the WA State Karting Series that wrapped up in Kalgoorlie-Boulder earlier this month, while Panizza finished third in the KA3 junior heavy class of the 2024 WA Kart Championship in September, also held in Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Reaching speeds of up to 95km/h, ACKC cadet 12 track record-holder Hills produced a consistent season against some of the best young riders aged between 10 and 12 to finish on the podium.

He flexed his muscles on his home track, winning the Southern Sprint, and also finished second at the Coastal Classic in Bunbury and Carnival of Karts in Wanneroo.

He came third at the Triple Crown in Geraldton and fourth at the Recherche Rumble in Esperance.

Panizza competed strongly in the hotly contested championship race for a shot at the State title and powered his way on to the podium.

The WA Kart Championship was contested at the Eastern Goldfields Kart Club from September 27-29, and after qualifying third in the heats, Panizza slipped back to sixth on the starting grid in the final.

Panizza fell back to ninth after being caught up in a crash on the opening turn of the final, which forced two drivers off the track and into the sand.

However in a gruelling 18-lap final, Panizza clawed his way through the field in a superb effort to finish third.