By Brighton University Motorsports Team
On the 20th March, 24 University of Brighton students made the journey to Esher in Surrey for the final round of this seasons’ Brighton University Drivers Championship at Daytona Sandown Park.
With the weather looking worse and worse, you could cut the tension in the paddock with a knife – was it going to rain? We’d driven through a hailstorm on the way up, and were sincerely hoping it wasn’t heading in our direction. The karts we were using run slick tyres in all weather – so in wet conditions it makes for fun (and somewhat slidey!) racing.
Our friends from the injured servicemen charity Kartforce came along to add some extra excitement to the event. We’ve been fundraising for them for two years now so it seemed fitting that they came along to make the final round of this season a really special occasion.
A mechanical failure for Joel Fothergill in the previous round meant that the battle for the championship came down to this race – both Joel and Alex Fautley were tied on points going into this round, with Ollie Morris-Jones hot on their heels just with just a three point deficit to make up. Further down the table it was all to play for, with 5 drivers in the running for the wooden spoon 4th place.
The race itself was spectacular. A gruelling 30 minute endurance race with 28 karts on track made for some close and exciting racing, especially as the race had been run on a reverse grid; meaning all the championship leaders started at the back of the field to make it extra challenging. Luckily the inclement weather held off and it was dry (yet freezing!) for the duration of the race.
At the chequered flag, the results looked like this:
(K = Kartforce driver)
After an ‘eventful’ first lap, an intense battle for victory in the final race of the season between Hywel Rees and Joel saw them pull a massive 20 second gap on the remainder of the field. Pipping Hywel to victory by 0.5 seconds, the win meant Joel managed to retain the Drivers Championship for the second year running.
The final results were extremely close, with just 6 points separating the top 3. Congratulations to Joel Fothergill, Alex Fautley and Ollie Morris-Jones!
We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who competed this year and made it such a fantastic championship, and we’re all looking forward to next season.
Our next major event is the Varsity Gatecrash race – as we’re missing out on Varsity against Sussex (who sadly no longer have a Motorsport team) we’ve gatecrashed the London varsity race between Kingston and UCL at Buckmore Park on the 17th April. It should be a brilliant race!