Insurance Endurance 2011 – Team Go-Karting Competition

Sunday, September 25 2011

Recently the Bike Insurer team took part in an industry Go-Karting event down at Daytona in Milton Keynes and despite some pre-race confidence, and nerves, it turned out to be a day of highs (such as John climbing eight places in a matter of minutes) and lows (Mike mounting the kerbs and subsequently breaking the kart!).

Whilst the kart was in the garage for repair we lost 10 minutes and therefore numerous laps on the competition, meaning we only managed to finished 2^nd (from last).  Well done Mike!

Here is a quick summary of each member of the teams’ (sometimes lack of) effort:

• John Pearson – It turned out to be a very expensive day out for the pre-race favourite having had a (losing) £50 bet that he was faster than Phil. Some would say it was Karma for knocking Phil’s dog down only weeks before.




• Phil Wilding – Jesus brought his very own helmet cam to film his laps, which subsequently came in handy once back at the office as it meant we could all laugh at him bottling the final hair-pin again… and again… and again….




• Geoffrey Bibby – Mr Competitive was just that, even choosing to drive straight through the back of another kart at high speed, costing him both valuable seconds and a few ribs too.




• Lester Short – The big winner of the day; not only did Lester clock the fastest lap time of the team overall but also claimed £50 from Phil in the process.




• Jess Scallion – Jess had an excellent first stint in the car thanks to her ‘no fear’ driving style. The only driver to bring her own airbags to the track.




• Russell Davis – The team captain arrived full of promise (having come 2^nd in the trials a few weeks before) but never quite delivered on the big stage. Will struggle to keep the captain’s proverbial armband on this form.




• Kieran Tierney – Having not driven a go-kart for 15 years, the rookie of the team was very consistent on his lap times… consistently slow that is. Kieran is living proof that slow and steady doesn’t always win the race.




• Mike Szabo – Clocked some very impressive lap times but will no doubt be remembered for breaking the kart. Poor Mike.




• Neil Hodgson – Two words sum up Neil’s stint – ‘quick’ and ‘sweaty’. Looked like he had been sat in a bath for 20 minutes rather than a go-kart but managed to clock some good times nonetheless.




• Stefan Pantiru – The only driver of the team not to actually drive a ‘real’ car, but that didn’t stop Mr Consistent from clocking some decent lap times.

And let’s not forget to mention our two pit girls Hilary Hodgson and Madalina Apostolache who were responsible for everything from organising the drivers to refuelling strategy. Oh, and making rude messages from the pit-stop signage.

Nice work team – here’s to 2012’s Insurance Endurance!