Not So Grumpies Go Racing
In late July some fourteen wannabe F1 drivers descended upon the Lockwell Hill Karting circuit near Farnsfield. After a safety briefing, getting dressed in one-piece overalls (the most demanding of physical contortions for some) and fitting of gloves and crash helmets we were ready to start racing.
No Le Mans start for us, as some would probably still be walking to their karts as the leaders came round. No, we lined up in orderly fashion, our carts were started for us and off we went. Well surely the first away would win! Despite some deniers this is the twenty-first century and all our lap times were recorded automatically to the nearest one thousandth of a second. Mind you a calendar would have done the job just as well for some!
The target when racing was who could set the fastest lap-time and who had the fastest average lap-time. They would be the overall race leader/winner. We had two fifteen minute sessions, which is quite enough as the ride is bumpy and the steering is incredibly heavy. As is always the case, when put into unfamiliar situations some people thrive and others just cope. John “Red Mist” Saunders put in the fastest lap, carving through much of the field at will, but he couldn’t maintain his flying lap throughout the course of the race and Mark Jackson recorded the fastest average lap time – it’s all that practice in his BMW round the roads in Linby!
Afterwards we retired to the Corporate Hospitality Suite, better known as White Farm PH, where we swapped endless tales of how we’d all been cut up by John and Mark whilst pursuing their bitter rivalry.
Thanks to Greg and Barrie for making it all possible.