The first round of Hull vs York vs Durham had been eagerly anticipated by all concerned since this year’s series was first confirmed. Hull took the crown for the first time last year, with a win on the ice rink at Grimsby (the first race win for Hull) followed by the now famous 1-2-3 at Leeds, though these victories were separated by York winning in an epic iron man at Teesside Autodrome. This year, Durham joined in the fun, with the 3 teams each selecting a track to host a round over the curse of the academic year. Durham were first to choose a track, and both surprised and confused people by selecting Teesside, the spiritual home of Inter-University racing for those in Yorkshire and the North East. This meant that York were the favourites, but could Hull rip the form book up into shreds the size of a wasp’s whisker?

Early indications suggested a wet race, but as the race neared, Met Office and BBC Weather both suggested the weather for Middlesbrough would stay dry. But very heavy overnight rain (in Hull at least) followed by several outbreaks of rain on the way to the track condemned the drivers to a wet and slippery race. But whose advantage was that going to be?

Hull’s sign-up list was looking strong, with 16 of the invited 21 able to attend, but despite some frantic rootling around for reserves on the last couple of days before the race, only 1 extra driver was added to the list, giving 17. Despite much being made of York’s advantage in terms of experience, 12 of Hull’s 17 drivers had raced there previously. Imran, Mark and Josh led the way, the 3 making up the A team, with each member of the B and C teams having Teesside experience. The D team, however, contained the society’s 3 quickest available newcomers, Kevin, Marcus and Pete, though Paul “le soutenuer” Greenbaum would have almost certainly been there had he not been sunning himself in Miami (alright for some).

York fielded 6 teams, with 1 being a team of Old Boys who were ineligible for points, whilst Durham fielded 4. There was also a team containing 2 drivers from Durham and 1 from York, meaning 17 teams in all.

TEAMS:

Hull A: Mark Foley, Imran Khan, Josh Overhill

Hull B : Sam Jackson, Liam Lau, Tom Smith

Hull C : Mike Miller, Will Russell, Phil Skop

Hull D : Kevin Gambles, Pete Szedlak, Marcus Stuttard

Hull E : Tom Buxton, Sam Firth, Roger Palmer

Hull F : Adam Hibberd, Rob Stephenson

York 1: Andy Carpenter, Jamie Garside, Michael O’Neill

York 2: Andrew Gimore, Jamie Malkinson, Anuar Sultashev

York 3: Phedias Christodoulides, Goncalo Magalhaes, Dan Ryan

York 4: Sophie Cockman, Bleddyn Raw-Rees, Sam Welch

York 5: Kris Kilsby, Josh Pover, James Taylor

York Old Boys: John Emerson, Matt Grum , Christian Wood

York/Durham Mixed Team : Sam Hutson, 2 Durham drivers

Durham 1 : 3 drivers from Durham

Durham 2 : 3 more drivers from Durham

Durham 3 : Another 3 drivers from Durham

Durham 4 : Yet another 3 drivers from Durham

QUALIFYING

Setting a quick lap during qualifying proved to be very difficult, as it turned out to be a lot more slippy than what met the eye from the side of the track, not helped by the fact it was dark, the flood-light at 1 hairpin was out, meaning drivers were in almost complete darkness as they negotiated one of the toughest and most crucial points of the circuit. A large puddle sat on the inside line going into the first corner, meaning anyone who went straight through it would end up soaked. But maybe York’s experience was to show, as they locked the front row of the 3-abreast grid, with the Old Boys team over a second quicker than the team in 2^nd. Hull’s A Team were 4^th on the grid, just 2 tenths slower than 2^nd place and 2 hundredths slower than 3^rd, with the  lap set by Imran. Hull C qualified an impressive 5^th, the lap believed to have been set by Mike, the B team were 8^th, the D team 11^th, E 13^th and F 14^th.

Overall results:    

                              (difference between pole position)

1. York Old Boys – 60.61
2. York 4 – 61.76, +1.15
3. York 2 – 61.94, +1.33
4. Hull A – 61.96, +1.35
5. Hull C – 62.38, +1.77
6. Durham 1 -62.39, +1.78
7. York 1 – 62.45, +1.84
8. Hull B – 62.58, +1.97
9. Durham 2 – 63.36, +2.75
10. York 3 – 63.88, +3.27
11. Hull D – 64.31, +3.70
12. York 5 – 65.59, +4.98
13. Hull E – 65.72, +5.11
14. Hull F – 66.03, +5.42
15. York/Durham team – 67.57, +6.96
16. Durham 3 – 71.07, +10.46
17. Durham 4 – 71.24, +10.63

RACE

The drivers who finished qualifying would start the race, and as the Union Jack flag fell those standing on the sidelines were caught in two minds as to whether they should stand by the starting grid, or go down to the first corner in order to get a first-hand view of the inevitable first corner incident. The vast majority selected the latter.

The engine revs rose, the flag was dropped, and the 17 karts hurtled down to the first corner, but to everyone’s surprise, they all behaved themselves going into the first corner, emerging through the Esses all unscathed, though if memory serves one of the backmarker Durham teams spun at the left-hand hairpin. Mark made an excellent start for Hull A, rising from 4^th to 2^nd by the end of the first lap, with York 4 (Kart 28) taking the lead, as the pole-sitting York Old Boys dropped back to 3^rd, with Durham’s A Team in 4^th. Mike had dropped back for the C team, whilst Sam, by contrast, had gained a couple of spots. The front-running teams would change positions regularly, though York 4 was just about able to hang on to the lead, whilst Sam found himself on the back of this group, running strongly in 5^th. But with just a few laps gone, the rain started again, to say it was hammering it down was probably an understatement. There may have been fears as to whether it was safe to continue the race before someone had a massive accident, but any worries over this proved unrealised, and the rain soon eased off.

With the front-runners still separated by very little, Mark was able to catch and pass the leading York team, who would subsequently lose second to Durham A. Sam had dropped to 6^th behind York’s Fresher Team (York 2, Kart 32), with  York’s Wet Weather Team (York 1, Kart 13) also running handily. But York’s Old Boys team were soon in trouble, as they were forced to return to the pits with kart issues, which would subsequently drop them well down the order. Durham A would also suffer, and with 2 of Hull A’s closest challengers out the way, and with Mark now having a commanding lead over York 4, it was looking quite promising, especially with renowned wet-weather drivers Imran and Josh being the other 2 members of Hull’s A Team. Mark would hold a lead of about 20 seconds going into the first round of pit-stops. What could possibly go wrong?

A tempremental engine, that’s what.

Mark handed over to Imran, but as Imran went to accelerate away the kart seemed rather reluctant to move off, and it soon transpired one of the engines had cut out. With no marshals manning that part of the pit lane (why, I don’t know), Imran was forced to do a whole lap with just 1 engine before returning to the pits to have engine re-started, which would lose the team a lot of time, a 20 second lead before the driver changes became a 35 second deficit . But the net drop was more than 55 seconds, as the team that was in second going into the driver change phase, York 4, suffered similar problems at their driver change, which would see them drop down the order. York’s Fresher Team would take the lead, a very impressive effort for them seeing as their drivers were driving in only their second race at Teesside, whilst York’s Wet Weather Team ran in close proximity in 2^nd, with Imran bearing down on them both in 3^rd.

As far as the other HUGS teams were concerned, Sam had handed over to Liam for Hull B, though Liam was running a shorter stint than most following a misunderstanding in qualifying, and they would rise as high as 4^th. Hull C had previously held 4^th, but they too were suffering from kart engine issues, and Will was forced to return to the pits to have the engine restarted, and further problems had dropped than down the order. Hull D, all 3 drivers new to Teesside and had little experience of driving in wet and slippery conditions, were running solidly. Kev’s opening stint saw them run comfortably in the Top 10, and Pete would pick up where Kev left off, as they ran as high as 6^th. Sam Firth was in control for Hull E, having taken over from Tom Buxton, and Rob handed over to Adam, in his first outing for some time. At the time, an away win for Hull was looking very much on the cards, but there was no doubt that Hull C’s engine trouble was a real kick in the teeth. It certainly wasn’t a shot in the arm.

York were still running 1^st and 2^nd, but Imran was constantly lapping over 2 seconds a lap quicker than both of them, it was soon only a matter of time before he caught and passed them both. He did so, with both the York drivers holding very little resistance, and Imran set about building a comfortable margin over them and the rest of the field. York’s Old Boys team were hit by more kart problems, whilst Durham A were making their way up the field following their earlier kart troubles.

“How the mighty have fallen” said one of York’s Old Boys after the race, and he was right. Durham’s B Team (or Durham 2, Kart 16) were barely clinging onto the coat-tails of the D Teams of Hull and York, whilst their 3 remaining teams all floundered in position nowhere. But could their A Team potentially interfere with the result?

Imran had restored the 20-second or so lead Mark had held prior to the first driver change for Hull A, as the second round of pit-stops began. Imran handed over to Josh, but almost unbelievably, the niggling right engine cut out again, and with there still no marshals at the far end of the pit lane, despite a number of karts suffering from engine trouble due to the cold weather and the wet conditions. Just like Imran had had to, Josh was forced to a lap with half-power before returning to the pits, and the marshal took a long time to restart the engine. The 20 second lead had dissolved into a disadvantage of about 45 seconds.  But there was plenty of time to claw the gap back. However York’s Freshers had also suffered the same fate, meaning Hull A were comfortably in second place, with only York’s Wet Weather in front.

Elsewhere for Hull, Tom had assumed control of Hull B, running an extended 40-minute stint, and was 4^th, with the recovering Durham A close behind in 5^th. Marcus and Phil drove the final phases of the D and C teams respectively, with Marcus challenging York 3 (Kart 5) for 6^th, whilst Phil soon passed York 4 for 9^th, the team having dropped far back after running right at the front in the early stages of the race. Durham B would be the next target for Phil. With it being so close between Hull and York at this point, the 1 gain or loss in position on track could be all that was required to change the overall result.

Josh was on a charge, in the knowledge he had nothing to lose, as he dived passed backmarkers inside and outside. Only Tom would prove difficult to pass, as Josh passed him at the final left-hand hairpin, only for Tom to briefly get back past at the first corner of the next lap (though Josh would then overtake him at the following hairpin). Josh’s charge was also hindered by him being punted by a York driver at the first hairpin after he had cleanly passed him round the outside, which cost valuable time.

Despite it having stopped raining earlier on in the race, it was still very wet and slippery. Drivers causes were not helped by their visors either fogging up or being covered in rainwater, and lifting visors was only an option when the nearest kart in front was a long way ahead, due to the spray being kicked up. As previously mentioned, the floodlight at the right-hand hairpin before the back straight was out, and there were a number of large puddles on the circuit, and these would only make the conditions even tougher than they already were.

However, late on the race there were a handful of developments that could potentially affect the outcome of the race between Hull and York. Durham’s A Team were now in 4^th, with Tom in Hull B very close behind in 5^th, Phil had passed Durham B for 8^th, and Josh was closing in on the leading York team at 2.5-3 seconds, which provided a tense finish for those watching on the sidelines. But, to the relief of those at York, the chequered flag fell and Hull A missed out on the coveted 1^st place by just 3.5 seconds, and an epic comeback was denied, though to be 3.5 seconds behind the winner having lost about 2 minutes due to the engine problems was a pretty decent effort. Hull B were 5^th, just 4 seconds behind Durham A, and on the same lap as York’s fresher team, who had faded away over the last stint. The D team drove to an impressive 7^th, whilst the C team took 8^th, with their kart issues preventing from being any higher up. Further back, Adam and Rob were 14^th, and Tom Buxton, Sam Firth and Roger were 16^th.

RESULT

Team – Kart – Behind winner – Fastest lap

1. York 1 – Kart 13 – 78 laps – (63.44 on Lap 68)
2. Hull A – Kart 31 - +3.6s – (62.37 on Lap 78)
3. York 2 – Kart 32 - +2 laps 8s – (62.86 on Lap 69)
4. Durham 1 – Kart 24 then 27 - +2 laps 49s – (63.45 on Lap 26)
5. Hull B – Kart 25 - +2 laps 53s – (63.47 on Lap 2)
6. York 3 – Kart 5 - +3 laps 17s – (63.65 on Lap 74)
7. Hull D – Kart 35 - +3 laps 47s – (64.58 on Lap 2)
8. Hull C – Kart 30 - +4 laps 43s – (62.52 on Lap 72)
9. Durham 2 – Kart 16 - +4 laps 47s – (63.93 on Lap 74)
10. York 4 – Kart 28 - +5 laps 21s – (63.25 on Lap 72)
11. York 5 – Kart 34 - +6 laps 21s – (62.64 on Lap 44)
12. York Old Boys – Kart 22 - +7 laps 55s – (62.36 on Lap 48)
13. Durham 3 – Kart 4 - +8 laps 3s – (64.63 on Lap 69)
14. Hull F – Kart 33 - +10 laps 23s – (65.27 on Lap 32)
15. York/Durham Mixed Team – Kart 23 - +14 laps 13s – (64.95 on Lap 3)
16. Hull E – Kart 29 - +15 laps 44s – (66.52 on Lap 61)
17. Durham 4 – Kart 7 - +18 laps 71s – (63.19 on Lap 41)

Josh was gutted when he looked at the timing screen at the end of the race and found that Hull A had lost out by 3.5 seconds, but at least he’d set the fastest lap of the race. On the last lap of the race as well! Oh wait, no he hadn’t, one of York’s Old Boys was quicker. By 6 thousandths of a second! This is becoming all too familiar. But actually, it was agreed they would be ineligible for points and their results wouldn’t count, so yeh... But well done to Phil Skop, who set the 3rd fastest lap of the race. Interestingly, a handful of teams set their fastest lap on either Laps 2 or 3, before the heavens opened in biblical fashion on Lap 4 (though the track was still very wet before). A number of other teams set their fastest lap right at the end of the race, with 3 teams doing so on their final lap of the race, and another 3 on their penultimate lap, but again the track was still very wet at this point.

But it was now time to work out the all-important overall standings. With York and Durham’s mixed team not counting, only the top 4 teams of Hull and York would count, as Durham only had 4 eligible teams. The formula was simple, 12 points-scoring teams, with the system being worked out as 12 for 1^st, 11 for 2^nd and so on.

York’s 4 point-scoring teams were 1^st, 3^rd, 6^th and 10^th, whilst Hull’s were 2^nd, 5^th, 7^th and 8^th. (It was established at this point that Durham were a very distant 3^rd overall). This gave York 32 points (12+10+7+3) and Hull 30 points (11+8+6+5), whilst Durham could only manage 16 points, with their points scoring teams 4^th, 9^th, 13^th and 17^th, with their latter 2 teams bumped up to 11^th and 12^th following the removal of the non-points scoring teams. Ironically, York’s Old Boys team, who raced under the agreement of them being ineligible for points, could only manage 12^th, and wouldn’t have scored points for York anyway.

But the bottom line was, York were the winners, as was probably expected at the start.

The overall standings after Round 1 are:

1. YORK    2
2. HULL     1
3. DURHAM    0

An interesting point though, what if Hull A didn’t have the kart problems? They would have won the race by a country mile, and had they done so, it would have given a 2-point flip with York, so instead of it being 32-30, it would have become 31-31. No provision had been made for a tie, so it probably would have been 1.5 points each in the overall standings. The 2 arguable tie-breakers would have been whoever won the race outright, in which case Hull would have won, or whose 5^th team came higher, in which case York would have won (York’s were 11^th, Hull’s 14^th). Moreover, with Hull B just missing out on 4^th by 4 seconds, had they finished ahead of Durham A it would have given Hull an extra point, making it 32-31 to Hull. It just goes to show how close we were.

York would have also won had Durham’s 5^th team counted, even though 1 of the drivers was from York.

So congratulations to all at York, the general concensus is that the next round is at Leeds. Another Hull 1-2-3 anyone?