Late driver replacement gives DMU Karting strong results

By Michal Okonski

First-time university championship kart racer Joe Shade enjoyed the thrill of success in the final rounds at Clay Pigeon after replacing Harry Jones. 

Joe, who has never raced a Club100 kart before, started last in his debut race in the British Universities Karting Championship (BUKC) last Friday(APR28) but was delighted to pick up six positions during the race. 

Afterwards, he said: “I think my favourite moment was getting out of the kart and seeing how happy everyone was.

“I had no idea where I finished, so I was really pleased to see that I made up six positions.”

Jacob Wardle, captain of the team, finished 1^st in class and said: “It was great seeing Joe pull a great result. Joe has limited experience in Club100 karts and BUKC races, let alone the mains championship, so the result was great to see.”

Whilst Joe’s sprint race went well, the endurance race was not ideal. A slew of penalties forced the directors to stop the race, which stopped Joe’s stint in 25^th place. 

“Round 8 was problematic owing to a red flag, so I lack first person experience, but I feel we gave away some positions due to some incidents,” he said. 

The 60mph karts are not easy to handle, with Joe saying his favourite moment was “probably flying down the straight and feeling the wind on my face through the visor.”

Looking ahead, Jacob said: “The team should now focus on moving up in the university table, as many of the drivers next season should have BUKC experience.”

Joe added that the team should: “Get more drivers their KX licence and pull together not only a competitive A team, but also a strong B team.”

Dan Ferguson and Michal Okonski, other drivers in the team, finished 23^rd and 9^th in their sprint races.

The team now looks ahead to the formidable 24-hour race in June at Teesside Autodrome.

For more information on DMU’s Karting team: check out their Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.