In June 2008 a very dark cloud lay over Fast Track as it closed its doors for what was seemingly the last time. The track was doomed, and drowning in debt, was there ever going to be any way back? Months passed, and soon people took to racing pushbikes around a track that was once graced by HUGS’s finest, and Andrew Pitts’s mini. But there proved to be a silver lining on the cloud that overlooked the squalors of East Hull. The track was purchased by the council, and they set about restoring it to it’s former glory. The pushbike racers were furious.
Just a few days after its re-opening, HUGS took 21 drivers, almost all of whom had never raced there before, to Hull’s “other track.” Everyone nervously locked their car doors as they ventured over the river, into the zone which almost certainly gives Hull a bad name, bringing the pleasant West Hull down with it. But most importantly, there were no leopards in sight. They headed past the home ground of Hull Kingston Rovers (who?), into the car park of .... East Hull Wheels???? What?!? What the hell was wrong with Fast Track??? Oh well, we will still call it Fast Track.
The 21 drivers were split into 7 teams of 3, with a 10 minute qualifying session followed by a 75 minute endurance.
KART ONE
Liam Lau
Paul Greenbaum
Antione Torres
KART TWO
Keith Herbert
Mike Miller
Aron Singh
KART FOUR
Mark Foley
Kevin Gambles
Tom Oliver
KART FIVE
Josh Overhill
Paul Hutton
Jackie Giagnacovo
KART SEVEN
Sam Jackson
Phil Skop
Richard Glossop
KART EIGHT
Tom Smith
Marcus Stuttard
Tom Newbould
KART NINE
Will Russell
Rob Stephenson
James Hancox
The 10-minute qualifying would see 1 driver from each team get used to the circuit and attempt to put their kart on pole. Each team put out an experienced driver, though not necessarily the captain. The track was very slippery, owing to a splash of rain earlier on in the day, and saw a handful of spins. Mark Foley would go on to put Kart 4 on pole, with Josh not far behind in Kart 5. At the end of the session, the karts returned to the pits to hand over to a team-mate, though Keith stayed in Kart 2. Putting the drivers in the right order on the grid in accordance to where they qualified seemed to be too much for the mardy marshals, and Kart 5, despite qualifying second, was forced to start from the back, now with Paul Hutton at the helm. Before the race could start, Antoine, one of the new drivers, crashed into the pit wall whilst leaving the pits, in a crash which would have done Frank Spencer proud. He had seemed to turn left, whilst the track went right.
The flag fell and the race was underway, and Kevin took advantage of his pole position slot to lead into Turn 1, as the rest of the field jostled for position. Once again, anyone hoping for an epic crash at Turn 1 was to be left disappointed, though they didn’t have to wait long for the first incident, as inexperienced drivers Antoine, Tom Newbould and Richard struggled with the slippery conditions, with spins which persistently brought out the yellow flags. But other drivers newcomers to HUGS this season, Kevin and James Hancox, were driving superbly, with Kevin keeping Keith and Paul Hutton, 2 drivers with previous Fast Track experience, behind him, whilst James held onto the coat tails of the front three. Paul was however, struggling through the re-profiled Turn 3, spinning there several times, only for yellow flags from another incident to allow to catch up to the back of Kevin and Keith.
But then came a very controversial moment, as the marshals, who were already doing a rather substandard job, had decided they had seen enough of Antoine’s driving, and told him his race was over in somewhat aggressive and uncalled for fashion, to the fury of the onlooking Exec. Liam took over for Kart 1, but by this time they were already several laps behind on the top 4.
Kevin had kept Keith behind him for the whole stint, as they handed over to their second drivers, newcomer Tom Oliver taking over in Kart 4 and the accident-prone Aron assuming control of Kart 2. Aron soon lived up to his reputation by crashing heavily, with the karts front wheels on top of the tyre barrier. Tom drove solidly, allowing Kart 4 to stretch their lead, whilst Marcus in Kart 8 was hauling the team back into contention, and Rob was also driving solidly, and profiting from mistakes from those in front, had put Kart 9 into the lead. The remainder of the inexperienced drivers were out at this point, and there were also yellow flags galore at this point of the race, with the marshals waving them for the slightest incidents. It is rather questionable as to whether a full course yellow was required, given it was a 50+ second lap.
The final stint saw all 5 of the execs out on track, joined by Will and Paul Greenbaum, and again, with there not being a great amount of difference between the 7 drivers in terms of speed, the race descended into a bit of lull. But Mark was soon on a charge, lapping much quicker than the others, as he looked to consolidate Kart 4’s position at the front. He would easily dispatch Josh, who was struggling through the incredibly narrow (and pointless) chicane, and the 2 would then catch up to the back of a train in front which involved Tom, Sam, Paul and Mike, whilst Will was completely out on his own elsewhere round the track. Mark and Josh would soon pass Mike, but were struggling with the rest, as overtaking was proving tricky round the circuit. Mark would pass Paul and Sam as the race entered the final lap, with Josh still stuck behind Paul. When it became apparent the race was about to come to a conclusion, Mark was still battling hard with Tom, with Sam right behind, as they entered the chicane for the last time when BANG!!!! Sam smashed into the back of Mark and Kart 4 was buried in the barriers. This would give the win to Will, Rob and James in Kart 9, all of whom had put in stellar efforts which had gone virtually unnoticed. But it got worse for Mark’s team, as Tom was to snatch second place for Kart 8, and an angry Mark was forced to settle for third. Sam’s driving had caused his team to be docked a lap, which dropped Kart 7 from fifth to sixth.
RESULTS:
- Kart 9 – 71 laps
- Kart 8 – 70 laps
- Kart 4 – 69 laps
- Kart 5 – 69 laps
- Kart 2 – 68 laps
- Kart 7 – 67 laps
- Kart 1
Normally, there would be a list of everyone’s best times, but the lack of a printer meant that it is not possible to post them this time round. However, it is known that Mark was by far the quickest, setting a 51-dead, with Josh the only other driver in the 51’s.
Overall, a good race upon HUGS’s return to Fast Track (yes Fast Track, not East Hull Wheels!), and looks to be a regular venue in the second semester and subsequent years, though lets hope for a better performance from the marshals in future.
Sorry this report is a bit patchy in places, and with no sheets at all from the race, everything here was done from memory. We did have team names, but I can only remember a couple of them. If people want to refresh my memory of the team names, then by all means do so.