SEF GO KART CHALLENGE 2005

Indoor GO KARTING

CRAWLEY

Sunday 16th January

It wasn't raining and it wasn't cold but to hedge our bets as it was the middle of January we headed for the indoor Go Karting centre at Crawley. When we originally booked it was Go Karting for Fun - when we got there it was Team Sport - such is the pace of Go Karting business . 

A good selection of Fs ventured out of the garages  - notably TimJ's new addition  - a nice TF160 - to replace the one, you've no doubt read all about on the Medway Meander. Good to see you back in the MGF fold Tim. Neil brought along his recent acquisition cruelly nicknamed the "chavmobile" by certain SEFers thanks to it's large boot spoiler and air intake on the bonnet - he assures us that he sticks firmly to all rules and regulations of the road in the Scooby Doo. Unfortunately we don't believe him. 

Twenty one people turned up at Crawley which meant a little re calculation on the team arrangements - TomK pointed out that it would make more sense to have seven teams of three as that was easily divisible - With teams of two already on the sheet and instantly disbanded - names went into a hat and were drawn at random but some of the old team names were retained. Dave Stonehouse managed to keep his "Queen Vic" tag but with Rob and Emily joining him and Michael kept "The Italian Job" but I'm not sure how Italian Michelle and DaveM actually are.  With the other five teams selected we headed off to find the race suit that most closely resembled our respective sizes and the helmets that almost fit our heads. Suitably attired and after the brief briefing the first round of drivers were prepared to take to the track. 

This was a "Team Challenge 45" which meant 45 minutes on the track with NO practice laps - we were all in the same boat (or Kart as it happens) so the first few laps were about finding our feet apart from the odd professional amongst us who just shot off (step forward TomR). With a wide variety of experience and skills the track seemed pretty full with just seven karts on it - there are two straights on the track at Crawley - one is so narrow that you are not allowed to overtake but you do emerge on to a wide bend with a short straight and big corner at the end. Part of the track is raised so at one point there is double decker racing. With tyres squealing and engines revving the laps shot away with most people putting in pretty respective times. The racing was stopped on numerous occasions after Karts became entangled or broke down or seats needed boosting (Emily !). Only two people got black flagged meaning they had to take a 30 second penalty in the pits  - one for going too fast under amber lights and the other for "bumping" - I won't name the sinners for sake of shame !.

Drivers changed every 15 minutes and the race leaders continually changed as fastest laps were racked up one after the other. The race board was hotly studied as the race reached it's climax and it was becoming clear one team was consistently getting to the top. All too soon the chequered flag was racing and all the drivers gathered to find out who had won the first SEF Go Kart Challenge. 

On to the winners podium amongst tumultuous applause stepped the inappropriately named "Safety Slow" team  - Roy, Tony PJ and Simon (only one of whom actually owns a TF it has to be said !). Well done - they were clear winners unlike the hotly fought third position which actually had three teams on the same number of laps and was measured in fractions of seconds. You can find the full results and teams in the table below.

It was good to see some supporters particularly Bob n Jacquie who had driven over from Worthing to see the last few laps but who seemed to have become adrift en route to the pub afterwards - hope you're not still looking for the Fox Revived ! 

Most of us did end up at the pub in Norwood Hill but we took them by surprise and the Rochester contingent had to seek lunch at another pub just around the corner. 

Nonetheless it was a good morning and a great start to the new SEF season.

SEF GO KART CHALLENGE

RESULTS