So, my first outing as President of HUGS started as usual at the Conti with only a minor amount of panic as we waited for minibuses and for all involved to turn up. At long last all were assembled and so we set off for the 1st BUMPS Race of the Season! Keith got our Minibus lost, whilst Andrew proved that his driving and navigational skills has lost none of their force by arriving a good 3 minutes before Keith!!!

As the newbies went for their Inductions (all 17 of them), myself and the other experienced Karters went to the Gym to a) Play some football and b) draw the first group's for the evenings racing. Which is more important is anyone's guess.

After a while all that was done and we all suited up and waited for the rest to arrive back...we sent out the 1st group and settled in to watch the days' action unfold. It was soon clear that experience was going to be a factor here, as the cool evening meant tyres were not as grippy as many would have hoped for...indeed it was impressive to note that there were no major incidents in the 1st group whatsoever! What was surprising here was that former BUMPS master Keith Herbert set only the 3rd fastest time in his group...behind Chewy and new boy Mark Foley, who really showed us all what he could do in these conditions! Indeed it was an impressively quick 1st session with 5 drivers getting into the sub 30 second laps times, possibly 6, though we will never know, as all data for Sam Jackson was unfortunately wiped out of existence due to a timing screen bug.

Now, I am sure many people will be unsurprised to learn that in my session, session 2, there were considerably more incidents...but I feel somewhat vindicated in that none of them actually involved me, whether my fellow drivers were confused by the lack of crashes and spins with me on track and so endeavored to fill the gap with their own shenanigans is a mystery to me! But I was generally satisfied with my 1st outing as I set the Fastest Lap of the day so far...

Session 3 saw Andrew and Colin dominate...but as no-one had got within 3 tenths of my best lap I was feeling pretty confident as I drew up the groups for runs 4-6, but I was to be undone, as Mick The Marshall joined the fray and set a 26:32 to beat my best lap by 5 hundredths of a second...the word 'Gutted' is just not quite enough sometimes. And things went from bad to worse for me as a miscalculation by someone on the pit wall saw my stint last just 6 laps (the shortest of anyone all day) and meant that I was also slower than Chewy in that session.

Session 5 had Mick in again, now really setting the lap-times he was capable of, with a 26:17 to his credit there...but in session 6 a hero emerged for HUGS, as Keith Herbert, former President and current Treasurer of our beloved society, managed to set both a better average and a better overall faster lap than Mick The Marshall in the process (and myself...but hey what's a few hundredths between friends, eh?) and earned himself the Driver of the Day award in the process!

And so to the finals...we had decided to judge who would go into A, B and C purely on lap times...but the Timing Sheets were so mixed up that deciphering them seemed like a far too time-consuming job, so we simply asked those we didn't know how well they felt they had raced, which actually gave us a fairly accurate picture overall...despite my Vice President's initial skepticism...

The C Final took to the track, and managed the 1st lap without incident...including a phenomenal start from Lucy Wharton, much to the delight of the pit wall, who rocketed up the inside into turn 1 to lead Thomas Singh around. However pandemonium soon set in, as some of the less experienced/gifted racers began to push too hard...some ending up facing the wrong way, others embedded in the gravel, and all in all meaning that a Red Flag was necessary. A joint mistake by the Marshalls and us on the pit wall gifted the race to Lucy, who we sent round one more time than everyone else...meaning that Singh's celebrations as he went through the Checkered Flag caused wry smiles in the Paddock as we discussed who would have to tell him the news that he only managed 2nd place...

The B Final was always going to be a more heated affair, with 8 guys all at around the same level vying for not much space on the twisty and tight BUMPS circuit...the top 2 got away quickest...Skinner and Mohammed both making the most of their starting slots and the mayhem behind them to round out the top 2 places, Overhill and Russel both also impressed with some cool-headed driving on a night where others seemed to be losing their heads more often than not!

And so to the A Final...as with the first 2 a random grid was drawn, and I was gutted to find myself in last place, with only Mick The Marshall (a late entrant) behind me on the starting grid...as the race was about to begin I steeled myself and looked ahead up the track, 'Mark in front of me shouldn't be too tough...and Nick will probably be held up by Paul at first, meaning Keith, Andrew, Phil and Colin would be able to get away.' I sighed, and readied myself for a charge up to 5th place...and the challenge of keeping Mick behind me for an entire race distance...

The race began as I had expected...but I was happy to dispatch Mark as Nick put the moves on Paul...I followed him through, but the entire pack was so tight that braking distances were mistimed and WHACK! I got a nudge from one Mr Hutton that sent me facing the opposite direction, I rejoined in last but managed to catch said offender (who has been claiming ever since that Nick hit him...sadly we have no video evidence to verify or refute these claims though....) and Mark too. Mick was now my next target, and I believe that Keith and was doing a sterling job of staying in front and pressuring the leaders, but it would all come apart soon, as his Drive Chain let go and his Kart slowly ran out of pace on the circuit.

A quick fix later, a few laps down and a red flag also, he rejoined in last place and the race was set for an enthralling last few laps...with Andrew and Phil's private battle now not quite so private, as they only had Colin as a buffer between themselves and Mick and myself, Nick was also looking feisty in 6th place behind me. As the race got underway again I am annoyed to say that I failed to pass Mick when I had a golden opportunity to, as Colin made him break late at the 2nd corner, I could, and probably should, have overtaken him there and then...but the cold evening must have frosted my brain as the chance was gone. Mick soon took Colin and set about chasing Andrew and Phil, but both had far too much pace that day to allow that to happen, and so it was down to me to take Colin, which I did...just! A 'last of the late brakers' episode down the inside at the Hairpin, which could have gone oh so wrong came off, mainly due to what a gentleman Colin was to give me space ensured me 4th place after an exciting 1st BUMPS Practice Race.

We all got changed and headed back to Uni, some came down to Sanctuary for Karaoke, where we laughed at Andrew's audacity in overtaking Keith's minibus with his own on the way home with a highly illegal move at some traffic lights, we shared favourite F1 moments and batted about suggestions for this years' Championship Winner + our favourite drivers of all time, and not least we got up to sing 'Born To Be Wild' as only Hull University Go-Karting Society can!

All in all, a pretty good day's racing if you ask me...

Jon Beagles