Write up of the recent karting challenge event

['The Gaffer']

Ken has asked me to post up a write up of the recent inter-club karting challenge event....

THE ANNUAL KARTING CHALLENGE – REPORT for 2013
Pissed and Broke or Piston Broke – whichever way you call it Ken Robson's BKCC team were clear winners buy over 2 laps; in contrast to the previous two years when the first few teams were pretty close.

As in our previous three years the challenge was thrown down to all our adjacent WSCC areas plus old friends like the BKCC and Chilterns 7's in addition to enthusiasts from other marques like Marcos, GT40, MG, Lotus etc.  Title holders Mark Purves' Chiltern 7's couldn't scrape up a team but Tim Reid's Thames Valley area again threw in two teams, Tim North again assembled the Super Mario Bros, Chris Moore created Team Lost, Colin Moleman Atwell from Bristol formed the Rolling Road Blocks. The Cotswold members put in Tony Sighe's Swindon Skidmarks, I had my AO's Select team, Chris Minton led a scratch Welsh Border Reivers team and there was a late, and very welcome, entry from Ian Cockett of the 3 Counties TVR club – also we nearly had a South Wales area team.

The Swindon Karting facilities have been vastly improved by the addition of a café – this meant we could get hot food and drinks throughout the two hour "Enduro" drive thus combating the infamously deep chill of their vast hangar.

Qualifying results with a cold track and full tanks put the TVR lads on pole with a nippy 28.9 sec time -- the Border Reivers (renamed "Border Revivers" by the electronic score system)  were second with 29.24 and my AO Select was third with 29.57 – would this be a foretaste of the final results?

The Challenge got under way with much jockeying for position in the first 60 laps. In this time my AO Select team gradually sank from first with Ian Murray at the wheel down to 4th as our less rapid drivers got involved. Ian Cockett's TVR team held a steady 7th/8th throughout. Tim Reid's two Thames Valley teams, lead by Steve Thorne, were evenly matched and battled closely for the last two positions, eventually finishing just 27 seconds apart after the 2 hours.
Tony Sighe's Swindon Skidmarks  sagged down to 8th by lap 30 – they had to change karts due to an engine problem – the replacement kart was not as good, even so they climbed up to 3rd by lap 60 – holding this until the end in spite of doing the 3 driver changes in the last 30 laps to ensure they did the obligatory 2 changes per driver!   I am glad to report that Team Lost, led by Chris Moore, didn't need SatNav, settled into 7th on lap 50 and held it through to the end coming in just behind the AO Select crew.

Colin Atwell's Rolling Road Blocks had qualified slowest but clawed their way up to an excellent 4th just one lap behind the Skidmarks.  The Welsh Revivers led by Chris Minton enjoyed the second fastest lap of the day on 28.21 secs quite early on – I suspect young Ben Reynolds was involved here, to finish just two laps behind Piston Broke.
Super Mario Bros under Tim North did good work being two clear laps in front of the AO Select team.

The final Podium had Piston Broke on the top step, Border Revivers on next and Skidmarks on the third — please see the photos
KARTING KONUNDRUMS.............
The four or five driver issue rumbles on – does a fit (younger?) team of four having only 7 driver changes to meet the 2 drives per driver rule, have much of an advantage over the five driver team needing 9 changes? (the maths suggest that two more changes at 50 seconds per change = about two minutes or about 6 laps) I know that in site of conflicting advice from the Chief race Marshall , Ken Robson with his Piston Broke team also Tony Sighe's Skidmarks crew went out of the way to do the full 9 changes.
Our fastest times this year were in the 28 second bracket whereas last year we were in the 27 seconds area – it was suggested that the karts are one year older and the clutches are getting tired!

Team

WSCC COTSWOLD AREA KARTING CHALLENGE 2013
FINAL
No: of
No:
TEAM NAME
TEAM MEMBERS
PLACE
LAPS
1
SWINDON SKIDMARKS
Tony Sighe, Geoff Fairburn, Tom Frankland, Craig Broadhurst
3
233
2
ANDREW'S -- AO'S SELECT
Andrew R, Ian Murray, Jim Payne, David Smeaton, Mark Keating
6
228
3
THAMES VALLEY STOMPERS
Adrian Thorne, Tim Kirk, Neil Hatton, Jon Lewis, Roger Lewis
9
216
4
TEAM LOST
Chris Moore, Jonathan Moore, Andy Bell, Luke von Freeden
7
225
5
WELSH BORDER REIVERS
James Fraser, Ben Reynolds, Chris Minton, Mike
2
235
6
SUPER MARIO BROS
Tim North, Andy Clifton, Dan Privett, Ben Betteridge
5
230
7
PISTON BROKE
Ken Robson, Joe Robson, Josh Lewis, Curtis O'Connor
1
238
8
ROLLING ROAD BLOCKS
Colin Atwell, Rich Dutton, Duncan Maclean, Dave Salter, Alan W
4
232
9
THAMES VALLEY B Scratch
Steve Thorne, Luke Marsden, Simon Jones, Lynn Jones, Will Jones
10
215
10
COTSWOLD 3 COUNTIES TVRCC
Ian Cockett, John Brunner, Mike Mace, Mike Grove, Scott Mace
8
222

YOU MISSED A GOOD DAY

[Moleman]

It was a good day. You don't have to be good at it to injoy it. so anyone who hasn't done it before I would say give it a try next time. 

[Krazyken]

I agree. If Molemans team can come 4th there's hope for everyone!!!!!

So get stuck in, next karting event is November in Bristol, you have all year to practice.