David Salmon continued in his role as Chairperson of the England Deaf Karting Association. Following improvements after the COVID-19 pandemic and the easing of restrictions, including the end of mask requirements, the organisation was finally able to fully resume its normal racing calendar.
After two years without events, the return of karting created strong excitement across the deaf motorsport community. David committed to a full programme for the season, including the Winter Open, the English Open Deaf Karting Championship, the British 24-Hour Race, and preparations for the European Championship.
The English Open Deaf Karting Championship was hosted at Daytona Milton Keynes and saw a high turnout of drivers, many of whom returned after missing competitive racing during the pandemic period. The event was highly anticipated and marked a full return to competitive activity for EDKA.
Under the management of Alan Thompson, EDK24T secured sponsorship and developed two competitive teams. At the British 24-Hour Race, the team achieved third place in the Elite Class against 62 hire karts. This result reflected the continued development of the endurance programme, as well as the experience gained through previous years of competition and adversity.
The event was also affected by some of the worst weather conditions in its history, with persistent heavy rain and widespread flooding across the circuit. Many karts suffered mechanical failures as water entered engines, leading to multiple retirements throughout the field. Due to the extreme conditions and increasing number of breakdowns, the race director consulted all team captains, and a collective decision was made to stop the race early at 6:30am, despite the scheduled finish time of 12:00pm.
Once the English Open concluded, David Salmon and Christopher Heppenstall selected an 8-driver England Deaf Karting Team to compete at the European Deaf Karting Championship in the Czech Republic. The competition was extremely strong, with Germany once again proving to be one of the dominant teams.
Across the event, England delivered a disciplined and determined performance, showing clear improvement in consistency, race management, and adaptability following the long competitive break caused by the pandemic. The squad remained competitive throughout the championship and continued to challenge at the front of the field where possible.
Despite this strong effort, Germany ultimately secured the championship title. England finished in second place, earning a well-deserved silver medal. It was a strong and encouraging return to international competition after two years away, but it also highlighted that England had not yet regained the European title, which they had last won in 2018.
Overall, 2022 represented an important rebuilding and re-establishment year for EDKA, marking the full return of domestic racing and the re-entry into European competition at a high level.