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Inter-Uni Round 3, Teesside

Sunday, 20 June 2010 22:40 Josh Overhill

The final round of this year’s Inter-Uni series took us back to old favourite Teesside Autodrome, the round picked by York. We had of course already visited the track this year, courtesy of Durham being stupid enough to pick York’s favourite track when they had another, Warden Law, virtually on their doorstep. The race was also held rather late on, in accordance with the whims of Durham. Quite why this was done raises eyebrows, especially after they messed us about with last leg, feebly whining that PPIK would “reduce the standard of competition” and nearly costing us a fair chunk of cash.

But anyway, onto this race, and with the race taking place during the height of Hull’s exam period, and just as York and Durham were winding down for theirs, the grid was looking unsurprisingly sparse. But out of those who were present, the sign-up list was looking strong. York had president of last year and Teesside ace Daniel Maddox, up from a placement year in the wonderful city that is Cambridge, Durham claimed to have their “big guns” and Hull had their first choice A Team trio, that were cruelly denied a big victory in the cold and damp back in November by a faulty engine. Leeds were expected to be in the mix as well, but for reasons still unknown, failed to show on the day despite saying they definitely would be.

Hull were down on numbers, largely due to the exam period being in full swing, and as such would only be able to field 3 teams. Imran Khan, Josh Overhill and Mark Foley made up the A Team, Marcus Stuttard, out-going president Sam Jackson and incoming president Tom Smith, would form the B, whilst the C contained Paul Greenbaum, Sam Firth and Kev Gambles.

QUALIFYING

The long straights of Teesside mean that the difference in speed of karts is noticeable, and with the mechanic deciding to bugger off home early, the karts would not be in the best shape, so the choice of karts would be a bit of a lottery. As the 10 karts headed out on track, following a delay seemingly longer than the latest DFS sale, Josh did 1 lap in a kart with non-existent straight-line speed before getting it changed, while the B Team required 2 kart changes over the course of the 30-minute session. With there being no timing screen, who was where sparked more confusion than Fathers Day in Liverpool. However, this confusion was resolved when the karts lined up on the grid at the end of the session, with York A on pole, Durham A 2^nd, with Hull’s A Team only 5^th.

RACE

As is the case at Teesside, the Union Jack was waved, although a half-finished gantry on the straight suggests that the track may move into the 21^st century soon and have starting lights, and the 10 karts streamed into the first corner. As far as Hull were concerned, when describing the start the words “tits” and “up” spring to mind, though the former may have already been on the minds of some, especially as there was a Nuts magazine in Josh’s car, which featured a countdown of the world’s finest (how the hell was Lucy Pinder only number 4?!). Anyway back to more relevant matters, Sam Jackson got a good start, only to clip Mark, which caused them both to lose time. But it didn’t quite stop there, a spin for York A’s first driver (Jamie Garside) caused mayhem which disadvantaged Hull’s top 2 teams further (with Sam hitting him), and meant that Kev in Hull C was Hull’s top placed team. At the front, Durham A (Kart 9) lead, followed by York drivers Sam Welch (Kart 11) and Alex Maunders (Kart 7).

Mark was on a charge, and was soon up into 5^th place, having dispatched Kev, another York driver, and another Durham driver. Sam was battling with York’s Jamie, with him showing displeasure to Sam’s driving. But out in front, Durham A held a commanding lead, and maybe the warnings about their “big guns” should have actually been taken seriously by some. As Mark attempted to climb further up the field, it was evident Hull A’s kart 10 was at a disadvantage down the straight, as he would gain ground in the few corners that lay around the circuit, only to lose it again down the straights. But he was eventually able to make the superiority through the corners work, and was up into 3^rd place. As it things got better for one Hull team, it got worse for another, as for no apparent reason, Kev was called into the pits to get his kart changed, dropping Hull C to last place.

Then came the first round of driver changes. Josh took over for Hull A, and crucially, jumped ahead of York’s kart 11 and climbed into 2^nd place, and also made up time on the leaders. Marcus was now at the wheel for the B team, and Paul for the C. York had their teams holding 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th, with their A team, now in the hands of their president-elect Michael O’Neill, recovering to the latter position. Michael was definitely on it, catching and passing his fellow York competitors and now up into 3^rd place, set about closing down Josh. This meant that the three A Teams held the top 3 positions. But Josh was not about to give up 2^nd place without a fight, but hanging onto it was never going to be easy with a kart which had poor straight-line speed. Several laps of Webber and Vettel-esque argy-bargy (as Michael later put it) and David Coulthard 2000 French Grand Prix finger-pointing from 2 very competitive drivers followed before 2^nd place was well and truly that of York A. Durham A were out of sight, with their second driver proving that weight is a massive factor round here. Marcus had been lapping solidly, before Hull B experienced yet another kart failure, this time a snapped chain. As for Paul, well I assume he did alright.

Hull and Durham both gambled not to re-fuel their karts at the next driver change, whilst York did do so. This was after the marshals decided to keep us guessing as to whether the kart’s fuel tanks would last the 2 hours or not. Despite a delay in the pits, Hull A with Imran were back up into 2^nd, with York A back into 3^rd. Tom and Sam Firth were the other Hull drivers on track. York A’s Daniel Maddox was lapping much quicker than everyone else, and it would be close as to whether Imran could hold onto 2^nd. Further kart issues for Hull B saw them in 7^th place, and Hull C in 9^th. From then on, the excitement petered out, and the only notable incident was that of York A re-taking 2^nd place. In answer to those wondering whether the fuel tanks last 2 hours, the answer is yes. Durham A took the chequered flag after leading the entire race, a full lap ahead of York A, with Hull A just 9 seconds behind.

RESULTS

Durham Kart 9
York Kart 18
Hull Kart 10
York Kart 7
York Kart 11
Durham Kart 8 then 15
Hull Kart 4, 6 and probably a couple more in there as well
York Kart 1
Hull Kart 13
Durham Kart 19

POINTS

The points system was a linear scale of 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 for each of the uni’s 3 best teams, so only York’s last team were discounted. So:

York: 8+6+5 = 19

Durham: 9+4+1 = 14

Hull: 7+3+2 = 12

Hence York take not only the victory, but the series win as well, with a scoreline of York 5, Hull 3 and Durham 1.

Hull will be seeking to take the crown in 2010/11 when things hot up more, with the permanent addition of Leeds, possibly even more teams, and more rounds.

The drive home for Hull saw McDonald’s wrappers, paper, water, returned assignments and socks being launched at Marcus and Josh’s cars from the passengers inside those cars down the A19. Josh ended up driving home with a piece of paper stuck to the front grill of his car, while Marcus took a wrong turn and got lost.

Asylum later that night wasn’t too bad either....

And finally, 18 races this year, 18 reports, 17 from me and 1 from Mark. I do hope you’ve enjoyed reading them, whoever you may be. It’s been a great year, notable off-track moments and nights out including President Sam Jackson shaking a girls hand in Asylum on the first night of Fresher’s Week, before leaving the building to avoid Sci-Fi girl just days later, the infamous topless social, the Superhero Social a week later, Mike getting out-drunk by his missus, myself getting extremely hammered on the Foam Party night, and my antics on the dancefloor ending up on camera, French Paul and Magic Kev chasing anything with a pulse, Pub Golf, Pub Tennis, I could go on.... And then of course everything that went down in Salou.

As for on-track, while some of the race attendances were rather disappointing, there were some absolutely awesome races. The Pontefract races just before Christmas were brilliant, as was the one just after (which included me lapping the entire field), a fantastic Inter-Uni win at PPIK in February, myself and Liam’s tremendous battle at Warden Law, the amateur dramatics from the newbies at BUMPS (which probably isn’t so great now in hindsight, but was funny at the time), Sam Jackson’s multiple accidents, but best of all was the brilliant Old Boys Race at Teesside.

Well, that’s it for this year, but HUGS will be back and back with a bang in October, with plenty to get excited about. For all involved, what an absolute shot in the arm.

Fast Track 19/05/10

Sunday, 23 May 2010 13:23 Josh Overhill

The last club event of the year was held at East Hull Wheels/Fast Track. But with a difference. After the loss of BUMPS, a deal had been agreed which would see us race at Fast Track at a very competitive price, in fact for little more than what we were originally paying at BUMPS. It was initially intended to start from next October (the start of the next academic year), but we decided to try and give the format a test run this year. And so, gone were the high prices we had paid to race here on our first 2 visits.

The race was dependant on a good turnout, something which has not happened very often this year. Realistically, we would need 15 drivers in order to make this work, and for a long time it looked like this would not be happening. But with some hardcore recruiting, we had an unthinkable 19 on the day. For the second race running (the first being the Old Boys Race), the amount of drivers had actually exceeded expected expectations. Conversely, the last time before the Old Boys Race where we had a sign-up listed that wouldn’t be regarded as disappointing was the first Inter-Uni race in November.

The format was relatively simple, but also sounded like a very good one on the surface. The drivers were split into 2 even groups (one of 10, the other of 9) in terms of ability. The top 5 from each race would go into the A Final, with the rest making up the B Final. Each of the 4 races would entail 5 minutes qualification followed by a 15 minute race. That was the plan anyway.

And thankfully, the stupid chicane on the start/finish straight had been re-profiled in such a way it was now possible to go flat out through it. Thank god for that. The track was now a lot better.

HEAT 1

The first heat would see Mark, Tom S, Sam Firth, Mike and Tom B joined by newcomers Dan, Ben, Roaul and Phil. Those not taking part looked on with great interest, could there be an upset, or would the expected 5 make it through to the A Final? As expected Mark took pole, but Sam Firth and Tom Buxton put in great performances to qualify 2^nd and 3^rd. Tom S could only manage 4^th, but the big shock was Mike languishing in 8^th, behind 3 of the newcomers.

The green flag fell and Mark quickly stole a march on the rest of the field and scampered off into the distance. Behind him, a very exciting 3-way battle between Sam, Tom S and Tom B ensued, with Tom B taking 2^nd from Sam, although Tom S would eventually pass them both to take 2^nd. But even so, he was made to work. When Tom S overtook Tom B going into Turn 7, a piece of opportunistic driving from Sam saw him nearly re-pass both of them, and only just failing to do so.

Further back, Dan and Ben both put in sterling performances on their first HUGS outing, initially keeping close to the battle for 2^nd which raged in front of them, and for a long time it looked as if a recovering Mike would have to make do with a place in the B Final. Mike did eventually pass both of them, but nonetheless it was an impressive start. Roaul and Phil also did well, keeping the kart facing the right direction and not in the barriers. As such, yellow flags were relatively minimal.

Sam did eventually find a way past Tom B into 3^rd place, but it was Mark who took a dominant win ahead of Tom S, with Mike completing the Top 5.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the sheet with the race/laptimes from this race. If someone has got it, do let me know

Mark Foley
Tom Smith
Sam Firth
Tom Buxton
Mike Miller
Dan Reynolds
Ben Rea
Roaul Louw
Phil Shelley

HEAT 2

The second heat saw Josh, Jon, Marcus and Liam take to the track. They would be joined by Paul, Adam and Roger, who are all capable of making the A Final, and newcomers Gaz, Tom W and Laurel. Qualifying proved to be tricky, especially due to Laurel’s kart picking up a puncture at Turn 3, and the marshals taking their sweet time to remove the stricken kart. In fact, some drivers probably didn’t get a clear lap in, as the yellow flags waved persistently. The karts waited to be gridded up, but were instead told to return to the pits, so the kart could be fully removed. After what seemed to be an age, the karts lined up on the grid, with Marcus on pole, Liam 2^nd, Josh 3^rd (despite being initially told he was on pole) and Jon 4^th. I can’t remember what it was after that. But as everyone prepared for the start, Tom W’s kart also picked up a puncture. With no other spare karts, everyone was forced to wait for the kart to have the tyre replaced. Which took 3 of them an absolute age. Never mind how many (insert whatever here) does it take to change a light bulb, how about how many Fast Track marshals does it take to change a wheel? And how long?

Problems solved, the race finally got underway. Josh made a poor start and dropped to 4^th, as Marcus held onto the lead, with Jon looking to find a way past Liam in 2^nd. He did manage it, and set about catching Marcus, whilst Josh also attempted to pass Liam. When Liam ran into the back of the lapped Gaz at the exit of the hairpin, Josh dived up the inside going into Turn 9.

There were more yellow flags in this heat, but were being caused by the more experienced drivers, as Jon’s attempt to race Marcus into the single-file chicane was never a good idea, and he ended up facing the wrong way on the exit, elevating Josh up into 2^nd place. Paul also found himself buried in the tyres on the exit of Turn 9, bringing out another yellow.

Jon was racing his way back through the field, in order to avoid ending up in the B Final. He passed Roger and Adam, getting back into 4^th, setting the fastest lap of the day in the process, but would run out of time, and that was where he would stay. Marcus won (despite the timing screen telling otherwise), from Josh, from Liam, from Jon, from Adam, who would make the A Final.

Marcus Stuttard
Josh Overhill
Liam Lau
Jon Beagles
Adam Hibberd
Roger Palmer
Paul Hutton
Gaz Lockwood
Tom Wilkinson
Laurel Deegan

With it now known who would be in the A Final and who would be in the B Final, we could now proceed with those races. Well, that was the theory. The extortionate amount of time lost was not given back, in what was a major black mark against the marshals. It meant that the finals would be reduced to a 7-minute or so dash to the flag. They also made a hash of who was meant to be in each final, with Marcus down for the B (though this was due to a bug in the timing), and Roger and Paul would also start in the wrong places – Roger should have been 2^nd and Paul 4^th, not the other way round as was the case.

B FINAL

Dan made a good start to hold the lead into the first corner, but was soon under attack from Paul, who took a somewhat bizarre wide line going into Turn 3. Everyone filtered through the first few corners facing the right way. Paul took the lead on Lap 2, whilst the yellows were deployed as Ben found himself buried in the tyres on the exit of Turn 9.

Paul’s lead did not last for long, as he slammed into the wall going into Turn 1 on the 3^rd lap, and the closely following Dan clattered into him, but was able to recover before Paul could and re-took the lead. Paul held onto 2^nd, and stayed in close proximity but with the race so short, did not get a chance to attempt to re-take the lead. Victory was Dan’s, with Paul 2^nd, and Roger 3^rd.

Dan Reynolds
Paul Hutton
Roger Palmer
Roaul Louw
Gaz Lockwood
Ben Rea
Tom Wilkinson
Laurel Deegan
Phil Shelley

A FINAL

The drivers were lined up in accordance with where they finished in their heat, so the two winners filled the front row, with Mark in front of Marcus, due to the former having set a quicker lap in the heat. Josh took 3^rd ahead of Tom S and Liam. Did the drivers get a sense of déjà vu on the grid? If not, they probably should have done. This was exactly the same top 5 that lined up in the iron man here in February, in exactly the same order.

The green flag waved, and just like that race in February, Josh got off to an absolute flyer to beat Marcus off the line and take 2^nd going into the first corner. But Josh’s kart’s brakes decided this would be an apt time to give out, and would soon have major problems slowing into the hairpin in Turn 8. As Mark sneaked away, Josh had his work cut out defending from Marcus. Marcus dived through going into Turn 8, but slid wide allowing Josh to re-take the place. Marcus was at it again a couple of laps later, but just as it looked as if he had 2^nd nailed on, Josh dived up the inside going into Turn 10, and Tom took the same line and was also past. Marcus then subsequently spun at the chicane, dropping to the back.

Further back, Jon was recovering from his lowly grid position to run 5^th after Marcus’s spin, his attempt to pass Liam went awry, and a piece of excellent opportunistic driving from Sam saw him grab the place instead. Marcus would recover to 8^th, having overtaken Mike and Adam.

As Mark had the race won, Josh was hanging onto 2^nd by a string, as the brakes were causing trouble going into the hairpin, but despite a couple of hairy moments and some aggressive defensive driving (I admit), would just hold onto 2^nd. Liam was 4^th, and Sam Firth in 5^th after the 6^th-placed Jon was unable to find a way back through. Tom Buxton finished 7^th after a very strong days work.

Mark Foley
Josh Overhill
Tom Smith
Liam Lau
Sam Firth
Jon Beagles
Tom Buxton
Marcus Stuttard
Adam Hibberd
Mike Miller

Despite the loss of track time, all in all, a successful way to end the year’s club programme, with just the Inter-Uni race at Teesside left. This deal with Fast Track will be great for next year, so it was great to try it out this year. What an absolute shot in the arm for next year’s exec.

Fastest laps are on the track guide page (East Hull Wheels). I know some of you may have gone quicker, but these times are from the sheets I have.

HUGS Old Boys Race 2010

Wednesday, 12 May 2010 17:27 Josh Overhill

The Hull University Go-Karting Society Old Boys Race had been eagerly anticipated by all concerned since it has been first mooted, and even more so when it was confirmed. The sign-up list was looking strong, with Old Boys that included last year’s executive quartet, and the reigning Stock Hatch Class B champion Pip Hammond, as they joined current members which included all 7 of those that were on the executive team this year or will be next year. If there was anything that was disappointing about the list, as Keith had pointed out, it was that there were no drivers from the very early years of HUGS. Indeed, no driver involved had raced in the first 3 years of HUGS, from 2002-2005, though there were several drivers who raced in the academic year of 2005-06. Of the 18 people that had been (or in Sam Firth and Marcus’s case, will be) on the executive team in the society’s history, 12 were on show. Nonetheless, there was a full grid of 25, even if a couple had never actually been at the university. Not that we had ever thought this was possible, even on the morning of the race. On the Monday before the race we had 18, when the preview was written on Thursday, it was written with the belief that there would be 20. But thanks to some late sign-ups, and people realising they could race after all after initially stating they weren’t, we reached the maximum. As I’m sure you all know, usually it’s the other way round! (i.e. losing drivers at the last minute instead of gaining them)

The 2 hot topics going into the race were who would win, with many believing it to be a 3-way battle between Pip, Imran and Jon, and, just like every F1 race this season (maybe apart from Bahrain!) the weather. Weather forecasts had been contradicting each other all week, with them ranging from it staying dry, to a 90% chance of rain. But as we arrived at the track, it was overcast, and although it was dry, there was a lingering prospect of rain.

ENTRY LIST

1. Jon Beagles

2. Jon Whitwell

3. Jane Cummings

4. Brock Hayes

5. Pete Szedlak

6. Keith Herbert

7. Tom Smith

8. Paul Hutton

10. Matt Batten

12. Tom Buxton

13. Ben Best

14. Marcus Stuttard

16. Dan Naylor

17. Lawson Whiting

18. Rich Towers

19. Josh Overhill

20. Phil Blanchard

21. Mark Foley

22. Imran Khan

23. Graham Reeds

24. Pip Hammond

26. Sam Jackson

27. Nick Drewett

28. Mike Miller

29. Sam Firth

Several drivers chose the numbers that they bore on HUGS shirts (Tom, Nick, Josh and Keith). Pip chose 24, the number that his favourite NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon is synonymous with. I have no idea why Jon chose kart 1....

Middlesbrough may have been voted the number 1 worst place to live in the UK, but it does have one thing going for it; an awesome kart track, as everyone was aware. The drivers had 20 minutes to familiarise themselves with the track and set a quick lap to ensure a strong grid position. While it is somewhat easier to overtake here than other tracks we visit, a high grid position was just as important. While there were no major incidents to report during qualifying, everyone was in for a surprise as the karts lined up on the grid as Mike took a rather unexpected pole position. It certainly led to confusion from those behind him. Later, it emerged what had happened; Mike had spun going into the hairpin at the end of the back straight, and re-joined the track having missed a part of it. Despite waiting in order to avoid this from happening, he still crossed the line having posted a time nearly 3 seconds quicker than the next. Surely the marshals must have noticed this? Nonetheless, he was on pole (for the record, Mike would have been 11^th otherwise), with Jon 2^nd, and Pip 3^rd. Execs of this year Mark, Tom and Josh locked row 2, having been separated by just 6 hundredths of a second. Nick was 8^th, sandwiched by the social sec elects of Marcus and Sam Firth, who was a brilliant 9^th. Imran could only manage 10^th, but was clearly a victim of a poor kart.

QUALIFYING

Mike Miller –
Jon Beagles – 50.212
Pip Hammond – 50.351
Mark Foley – 50.718
Tom Smith – 50.728
Josh Overhill – 50.772
Marcus Stuttard – 51.052
Nick Drewett – 51.062
Sam Firth – 51.064
Imran Khan – 51.135
Sam Jackson – 51.172
Phil Blanchard – 51.397
Keith Herbert – 51.406
Paul Hutton – 51.806
Lawson Whiting – 51.863
Rich Towers – 51.879
Ben Best – 51.964
Matt Batten – 51.986
Pete Szedlak – 52.033
Jane Cummings – 52.528
Brock Hayes – 53.083
Jon Whitwell – 53.268
Graham Reeds – 53.483
Tom Buxton – 53.738
Dan Naylor – 53.786

RACE

Once everyone was lined up on the grid, the Union Jack was waved and the race was underway. Mike got a decent start, but not enough to hold the lead into the first corner, with Jon taking that honour, whilst Pip’s was not so great as everyone dived into the first corner, but all 25 karts emerged facing the right way. Contact and confusion going into the right-hand hairpin before the back straight saw Mark into 2^nd and Josh into 3^rd, proving that a good start from the outside row was possible. The top 3 stayed that way at the end of the first lap, but it was still very close as Pip was now back into 4^th. It was still the same order at the front at the end of the 2^nd lap, but as the karts streamed into the left-hand hairpin at the end of the back straight on lap 3 Tom’s rather ambitious move failed to come off, and clipped the side of Josh’s kart before spinning into the path of oncoming gaggle of karts. The resulting melee saw several karts facing the wrong way, including Marcus, who whacked Tom’s stricken kart, and others taking avoiding action. Tom himself lost only a handful of spaces, and was soon on a charge through the pack, as was Marcus, who had dropped to about 20^th. The contact saw Josh lose momentum going into the next corner, and Pip was past and up into 3^rd, and set about closing down the front two, whilst Nick found himself up into 5^th and a quick starting Sam Jackson into 6^th.

Tom and Marcus were doing well in recovering from their earlier collision, and they climbed back up to 7^th and 8^th respectively, passing drivers such as Mike, Imran and Keith in the process. Josh was for a long time clinging onto the coat-tails of the front 3, without making any inroads, whilst maintaining a relatively safe gap between Nick, who was having to defend a spirited drive from Sam. Further back, Keith was running consistently, whilst Rich and Graham were fighting their way through the field from their respective lower grid positions.

Jon, Mark and Pip were now running nose-to-tail, but back-markers were beginning to become a factor, even though it is, as previously mentioned, easier to pass here than any other circuit we visit. They overcame a massive group of lapped karts without the positions changing, but the same could not be said for the following karts. As Josh came to lap Brock and Jane, the only way past was going in between them as the 3 karts moved onto the back straight. While it looked as if that was going to work at first, Brock moved off his line, and pushed Josh into Jane, spinning her round at high speed. It got worse, the loss of speed from the contact allowed Nick through into 4^th. Josh wasn’t the only one to lose places by Brock’s erratic driving, as he then tipped Sam into a spin at the end of the back straight 2 laps later, demoting him to 9^th. This saw Tom into 6^th, Marcus in 7^th and Imran in 8^th. Mike was another one to lose places, as he fell behind Keith and Rich. Meanwhile, pre-race favourite Pip passed Mark and moved into 2^nd.

The battle between the top 3 was raging, as Pip was challenging Jon for the lead with Mark too close for comfort. There was now a bit of a gap between the chasing pack, with Nick holding off Josh. In truth, although Josh got alongside Nick a couple of times down the back straight, that was as good as it would get. However, Nick may have been fortunate to even finish the race, as a plume of smoke blew from the back of one of the engines, but that would prove to be only a scare (though Nick was unaware of it until he was told about it after the race). Tom and Marcus held onto 6^th and 7^th respectively, but with them running at virtually identical pace to Nick and Josh, neither would close in. Meanwhile, Jon fell foul of lapping backmarkers, and Mark briefly held the lead, but not before Pip’s do or die attempt to take the lead when awry, resulting in a spin, dropping him down to 3^rd and out of contention for the win. Only rain could save Pip and Josh now...

But it didn’t rain. And that was how it stayed until the chequered flag was waved, in what certainly didn’t feel like 40 minutes. Jon had won, and was the first winner of a HUGS Iron Man at Teesside, in what will hopefully be the first of many. Mark was 2^nd, and Pip completed the podium in 3^rd. Nick held off Josh by just 3 tenths of a second, next up was Tom, Marcus, Imran and Sam, showing the supreme strength of the current members. Keith completed the top 10. However, Keith, and the marshal waving the chequered flag, had a hairy moment, as he was forced to slam on the brakes to avoid the slowing Jane, and came close to running said marshal over as he dived for cover. Nonetheless, the high standard of the race showed; 11 drivers finished on the lead lap, no-one was 3 or more laps down in the end, and 11 drivers posted times of less than 51 seconds.

RESULTS

Jon Beagles – 42 laps in 39:04.279 – 50.272 ( lap 4)
Mark Foley - +0.384 – 50.445 (lap 8)
Pip Hammond - +6.190 – 50.287 (lap 4)
Nick Drewett - +13.505 – 50.619 (lap 20)
Josh Overhill - +13.891 – 50.556 (lap 7)
Tom Smith - +18.803 – 50.541 (lap 37)
Marcus Stuttard - +23.034 – 50.510 (lap 4)
Imran Khan - +30.516 – 50.761 (lap 12)
Sam Jackson - +30.700 – 50.482 (lap 40)
Keith Herbert - +49.245 – 51.226 (lap 16)
Rich Towers - +56.414 – 50.995 (lap 3)
Mike Miller - +1 lap – 50.865 (lap 10)
Graham Reeds - +1 lap – 51.554 (lap 31)
Paul Hutton - +1 lap - 51.351 (lap 29)
Pete Szedlak - +1 lap – 51.508 (lap 31)
Phil Blanchard - +1 lap – 51.284 (lap 3)
Matt Batten - +1 lap – 51.745 (lap 3)
Sam Firth - +1 lap – 51.081 (lap 6)
Lawson Whiting - +1 lap – 51.584 (lap 15)
Ben Best - +1 lap – 51.486 (lap 31)
Brock Hayes - +1 lap – 51.348 (lap 40)
Jon Whitwell – +2 laps – 53.089 (lap 27)
Dan Naylor - +2 laps – 52.846 (lap 39)
Tom Buxton - +2 laps – 53.065 (lap 39)
Jane Cummings - +2 laps – 51.542 (lap 15)

For the second race running, the marshals commented on how good the racing was. Kind of makes a mockery of the complaints against us at the start of the year, doesn’t it?

But on a serious note, thanks to everyone for racing, really was a great race and such good fun. We are thinking of making this an annual thing, so if we don’t see you all before, we will hopefully see you at HUGS Old Boys Race 2011. Who will win that one?

I leave you all with a random but useless fact:

This was the 2^nd year running we had been to Teesside on the 8^th May.

Last Updated on Sunday, 16 May 2010 16:18

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