Karting Corner

1 - Sandown Fun

Almost ninety drivers in 14 teams turned out on the 17th of September in glorious weather for the Duckhams Oils sponsored Southern Car Club Sandown Karting Team Challenge.

As soon as everyone was signed in and the driver briefing was complete we were straight into 30 hectic minutes of practice which would also determine the grid positions for the race.

While the dust settled and the karts were refuelled a couple of the teams had adjustments made and the grid order was announced. The Wheelbarrows were just in front of BP Oil, followed on the second row by the under strength BT and Sable Design, Chalfont Green Racing and Windsor Warriors would make up the third row ahead of Southern Car Club (Nick Jenkinson, Neil Cloughley, Graham Davey, Kevin Griffiths, Simon Griffiths, Nick Lunn) and Online Technology. On row five were Machine Shop and Sutton Alliance with the final two rows being filled by Computer Associates and Skidmarks, M. M. Cox & Co and a suspiciously slow Bullwinkle 6.

The organisers decided to reverse the qualifying order and put the fastest teams at the back. The grid was then quickly formed up and just before 11:15 the lights went green and the race was on.

Bullwinkle 6 shot off the front row, showing considerably more pace than their qualifying form suggested and by the end of the first lap held a comfortable lead, which lasted until the driver got car sick ! Everyone successfully negotiated the opening laps and the field began to string out into smaller groups.

After 30 minutes, BP Oil had pushed to the front and held a 17 second advantage over Southern, running six seconds up on Online Technology who in their turn had a 17 second lead on the battling Sable Design and Windsor, separated by only 0.1 of a second. The early leaders, Bullwinkle 6, had dropped to eighth, and fastest qualifiers The Wheelbarrows were back in eleventh after being penalised for their driver being 'incorrectly dressed' - his trouser leg was blowing up in the draft. I didn't see the offending leg myself but I was told it could well have put other drivers off.

Just on an hour, after four warnings and two trips to the 'Sin Bin', the only black flag of the race went to M. M. Cox & Co. for continually driving over the kerbs. By this time, BP Oil had extended its lead over Southern to 36 seconds. Less than two seconds behind Southern were The Wheelbarrows, climbing back up the order after their earlier penalty. Windsor in fourth had managed to pull 25 seconds clear of Sable Design and Chalfont Green Racing were up to sixth. Computer Associates, up to ninth, had begun a long climb up the order. Machine Shop were still tenth but BT were beginning to suffer terminal understeer and had dropped to eleventh.

Quarter distance, and the race was entering a critical stage - lunch was being served from the Southern Car Club Hospitality Unit. Meanwhile, The Wheelbarrows had pulled themselves into a nine second lead over BP Oil - setting the fastest lap of the race so far on the way. Southern were now back in third followed by Windsor, Sable Design and Bullwinkle 6. Computer Associates had improved again to seventh with Machine Shop up in eighth. Online Technology, Chalfont Green Racing and Sutton Alliance had dropped to eighth, ninth and tenth respectively. BT, Skidmarks and M. M. Cox & Co. were slowly beginning to drift back from the rest.

Things were so close that positions were changing with every fuel stop or driver change. With all 14 karts being refuelled every 40 minutes and each team needing to complete at least 15 driver changes, the pits were a constant scene of activity.

With nearly two and a half hours on the clock, The Wheelbarrows had a 30 second lead over BP Oil who had posted the first sub 52 second lap of the race. Southern were still ahead of Windsor with Sable Design, Bullwinkle 6 and Computer Associates in fifth, sixth and seventh.

By half distance, BP Oil had pushed back into the lead and held a one lap advantage over the Wheelbarrows, these two teams were now beginning to stretch away from Southern and Windsor. Bullwinkle 6 were now up into fifth at the expense of Sable Design with Computer Associates, who had pulled out almost a lap on Chalfont Green Racing, still holding seventh. Then there was a three lap gap back to Sutton Alliance and Machine Shop with Online Technology and BT each a lap further adrift.

After four hours, The Wheelbarrows were back in front, chased by BP Oil. Southern, Windsor, Bullwinkle 6, Sable Design and Computer Associates were all covered by only two laps. Then there was a slight gap back to Chalfont Green Racing, Sutton Alliance, Machine Shop, BT and Online Technology with Skidmarks and M. M. Cox & Co. falling further and further behind.

Just before three quarters distance, the engine in Windsor's second kart let go, their first machine had died earlier on and the replacement had been suffering from increasing vibration as the race progressed. In both cases, they were compensated for lost time and retained their fourth place on the road.

As the race entered its final quarter, Computer Associates finally managed to get past Sable Design to take sixth and Windsor - happy with their new kart started to reel in Southern Car Club.

With 20 minutes to go, The Wheelbarrows were holding on to a two lap lead from BP Oil (Gavin Edmiston, Colin Early, Jeremy White, Phil Gardner, Andy Moule, Mark (2) Wyatt) and Windsor had pulled past Southern to take third.

Over the final 20 minutes Mark (2) of BP Oil put in some very quick laps with a best of 51.10 seconds, a mere 0.01 seconds better than Peter Noble of The Wheelbarrows to set a new track record. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough and the best team won when the circuit wouldn't impose a ten lap penalty on The Wheelbarrows for blatant overtaking of the organisers.

The Wheelbarrows (Peter Noble, Richard Bryant, Lennie Temple, Geoff O'Conner, Andrew, Darren) took the chequered flag with two laps in hand over BP Oil (the winning kart covered 330 Km (206 miles) at an average speed of 55 Kph (34 mph)). After their troubles, Windsor Warriors really deserved their third place ahead of Southern Car Club. Bullwinkle 6 ran out fifth despite their poor qualifying and after a slow start Computer Associates had improved steadily throughout the race to come sixth. Lynda Venner of Computer Associates actually cancelled her hen night to compete ! Sable Design remained in seventh but Chalfont Green Racing overhauled Sutton Alliance in the last few minutes for eighth. Machine shop in tenth were comfortably ahead of BT with Online Technology, Skidmarks and M. M. Cox & Co. bringing up the rear.

The results were quickly finalised and Darren Barnard of Karting at Sandown presented the trophies alongside Duckhams Lubricants for first and second and Duckhams T-shirts for third. The prizes provided by Duckhams Oils actually weighed 65 Kg which means that they were heavier than me !

Many thanks to Andrew Crighton, Darren and the marshals of Karting at Sandown for an excellent event, George Telfer and Anne Manners of Duckhams Oils for once again supporting us, Geoff Underhill and Lesley Stapleton for providing the catering in sweltering heat (the Southern Car Club hospitality unit served up nearly 100 meals throughout the day), Chris Dymond for the video - yes video and Adrian Grinsted for moving the hospitality unit for us. Thanks also to Colin Early, Neil Cloughley, Nick Jenkinson and many others who I've forgotten to mention for their help and support in organising the event.

Everyone went away tired but happy, Sandown Park will be a hard act to follow - but we'll manage.

Slipstream 24 Hrs.