Hull take the honours in Karting battle
Picture: UYKC
York’s karting team were left ruing faulty equipment and some devious driving techniques as rivals Hull University took the honours in the final instalment of a very competitive three-race series held at Pole Position Indoor Karting in Leeds recently.
The £500,000, 580-metre circuit, replete with tight corners, bridges and tunnels, presented a real challenge for each team, consisting of four drivers, in this two-hour endurance race. York entered three teams of four, having found themselves slightly depleted, against Hull’s five teams, with the top three teams from each university earning the points.
Following a rolling start, the respective ‘A’ teams, as expected, separated themselves from the pack, with York maintaining a strategic position on the coattails of their counterparts throughout the opening 30 minute stint. Behind them, York’s ‘B’ team were involved in jostling for position with a number of the lower-ranked Hull teams, regularly gaining and then conceding positions.
Frustratingly, with about 30 minutes gone, York’s ‘A’ team kart encountered difficulties with the seat inserts working loose, necessitating a black flag from the stewards and attention from the pit lane. While the problems were resolved, Hull engineered a sizeable advantage prior to the first driver exchanges.
Club President Daniel Maddox assumed the controls for the second stint but immediately identified faults with the accelerator, almost stalling the engine, and making a pursuit of Hull’s flying ‘A’ team impossible. Indeed, York’s ‘B’ team sailed by moments later as though they were the more experienced drivers. Following a series of frantic cut-throat signals to the pit lane, Maddox was permitted to switch karts, resurrecting York’s slim chances of victory. Mercifully, the track officials agreed to replace the lost laps, allowing the ‘A’ team to return to second place, ahead of the ‘B’ team but still some way behind Hull.
However, James Viszkok’s lightning-fast lap times marked a York resurgence in the third quarter, narrowing the gap to the point that they could have assumed the lead entering the final round of driver exchanges. Sensing the danger, Hull’s ‘B’ team, shielding their teammates despite occupying a back marker position, adopted some infuriatingly defensive driving techniques to keep Viszkok’s charge at bay.
Meanwhile, York’s ‘B’ team, maintaining third position, were being tested by Hull’s ‘C’ quartet, led by star driver Pip Hammond, and eventually succumbed. Hull’s ‘C’ team would finish second overall, working their way through the field with Hammond’s exhibition of driving skill.
Growing increasingly frustrated by Hull’s negative driving style, York’s ‘A’ team picked up a late penalty for contact as they tried to express annoyance at their opponent’s lack of karting etiquette. The resultant pit lane time penalty gave Hull enough breathing space to take the chequered flag, but some satisfaction was gained in York ‘B’ team’s own defensive tactics halting the charge of their counterparts. However, in an indication of how fortune wasn’t smiling on York, an impatient barge in a Hull overtaking manoeuvre wasn’t spotted by the marshals, allowing their ‘B’ team to enter the top three.
In the slightly confused final standings, Hull locked out the top three positions (their ‘C’ team edging the ‘B’ squad to the runners-up spot) with York’s highest finish in fourth. The two universities look forward to renewing their rivalry during the next academic year.
With thanks to Daniel Maddox, UYKC President
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