It doesn’t matter how many times David
Cameron tells us that things are improving, the fact is that they are not. The
cost of living is higher than ever. A loaf of bread now costs £400. People are
homeless and jobless and more importantly, motor racing is really expensive. I
have written several stern letters to the PM asking him to address this
critical issue, but still it remains elusive from the House of Common’s agenda.
Fortunately, one company has seen fit to take matters into their own hands.
Just outside of Brighton and within
spitting distance of the A23 is where Q Leisure are starting their revolution.
Their outdoor karting facility has been providing cost-effective corporate
entertainment for an age now, alongside paintball, archery and various other
outdoor activities on the Q Leisure roster.
Recently Q Leisure began its Junior Karting
Club. The aim was –and still is- to get kids into motorsport without mum or dad
having to break the bank. The club was successful, evolving into a junior
championship. The kids got older and needed to make way for the next generation
of karters. A senior championship was created to compliment the juniors and
accommodate the older drivers.
Now those original karters are older still,
requiring Q Leisure to open a further championship. With Junior and Senior
already catered for, the staff at Q Leisure are running out of words. “Senior
Citizen Championship” and “Old Gits Championship” have been bandied about. “The
Bus-pass Cup” has also been suggested.
Whatever name they decide on, Q Leisure
bringing their organising expertise to the world of arrive-and-drive karting
has been a good thing for the sport.
The family run business operates out of the
village of Albourne, about six miles from the sunny seaside town of Brighton
and Hove. The track is 800 meters long and has several characteristics that
make it a unique driving experience.
The start-line points you towards a
right-hand hairpin that goes by the intimidating name of Gurkha’s Revenge. The corner is tight but, surprisingly, provides
very few first lap incidents from kamikaze last row starters. The exit lines
you up for a left-hand hairpin, the slightly less intimidating Carl’s Bend. Who Carl is, or why he
decided that the name Carl’s Bend is
a suitable follow up to Gurkha’s Revenge
remains a mystery. What we do know is that the two corners are so close
together, they can be treated as an “S” bend using one line to link the two
apexes.
You exit Carl’s Bend into a subtle left and right, downhill into Hell’s Drop. This very fast right hander
turns you slightly over ninety degrees and straight into Rattle Snake a flat out left kink that sets you up for the dodgily
titled William’s Pit Entrance. This
is a long 180 degree turn that exits into a tunnel.
After the tunnel, it is uphill into a hairpin
that goes by the unimaginative handle of The
Hairpin. It’s unfortunate that this corner drew a short straw in the name
stakes. It is a tricky little number and
worthy of a more valiant alias. It has a slippery curb on the exit and a
surprisingly hard wall to catch out the unwary. Hairpin of impending doom may have been a more suitable moniker.
Should you survive the hairpin, you are
treated to a fast right-hander over a bridge. Keep the throttle nailed as the
track curves left around the pits into Mansell-not
the moustachioed British driver who complains about everything. Mansell is actually a very fast
right-hander that is enormously satisfying to drive through. A short straight
delivers you at Sand Pit a fast left
that sets you up for the suitably named Overdrive
hairpin. This corner joins the fastest part of the track to the longest
straight on the track- the straight you started from- so it is important not to
overdrive this corner. See what they did there?
I hate using the word picturesque, but when
you arrive at Q Leisure, it is a bit like walking into one of those beautifully
photoshopped holiday postcards. Through the big iron gates you are greeted by
the main building, which is a quite stunning converted barn. The barn houses a
function room, restaurant area and a licenced bar. The barn, with its oak beams
and wood floors, gives the feel of an old English pub restaurant. This would
actually be a nice place to come, even if you were not racing.
The barn sets a standard for all the
facilities at Q Leisure. Outside there is a neat fishpond complete with a
waterfall and a convincing rubber herring. There is computerised signing on,
electronic timing, a briefing room, toilets and a viewing gantry all above the
standard you would expect of an NKA affiliated track.
The karts used in the Q Leisure
Championships are from their fleet of arrive-and-drive Biz Pro-Karts. Each is
armed with one Honda GX200 engine and has adjustable pedals and seat inserts to
fit drivers of all sizes.
So there you have it. One company
singlehandedly changing both the face of British motor sport and the way our
country is run. Ok, so they are not actually doing that, but they are offering
the chance to race in a cheap, well organised, competitive championship in the
beautiful Sussex countryside.
If you find yourself near Brighton, pop in
and give them your support.
As Mr Cameron himself says, we are all in
this together.
Written by Kelvin Hassell www.kelvin-hassell.co.uk
