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The Two Fat Submariners
Formula Fast Go Karting
Race Report 2010
Saturday August 21st saw
a gathering of Europe’s finest drivers at the Monza Saloon car racing championships in Italy. However, the rest of the sports driving community made its way to the Formula Fast Indoor Karting Centre in Banbury, Oxfordshire, to participate in the eagerly awaited Two Fat Submariners Karting Bonanza. A 3 hour Le Mon style event which brought drivers from across Europe to battle for the coveted trophies and prizes and to show their support for the Two Fat Submariner’s charity year.
The event, organised by Two Fat Submariners Barry Bishop and Steve Mills in cooperation with Formula Fast indoor karting and sponsored by Virgin Wines, brought together 7 exciting teams of drivers all looking to win. It was clear from the start that raising money for the 3 charities of the Two Fat Submariners would be the by product of an intensively fought battle to be crowned TFS GP champions.
The teams were;
After a very warm welcome from the wonderful staff at Formula Fast, the teams quickly registered and were kitted out in their safety kit. The “kit” consisted of very fetching driving suits, a balaclava, helmet and some fashionable driving gloves. Kitted out we were all ready to be briefed by Hannah and Phil from Formula Fast. Hannah took the teams through flags, safety, and general driving rules whilst Phil ran us through techniques, more rules, more safety and pit stops.
Qualification
 Briefings out of the way we were up for qualifying or “quali” to those in the know. Quali was a quick fire 15 minute affair where every driver from each team had to get out on to the track in their team car and deliver the best time possible in the hope of pole position glory. With all the drivers also having to complete a driver change within the 15 minutes quali had to be planned by each team to get the best result. Once the first driver from each team was settled in their car, the start marshal waved the drivers on and quail was underway. The first few laps could be described as stop ‘n’ start as the first drivers were each teams least experience driver, however, the drivers soon got the hang of the very responsive, low down and powerful karts and started to whack in some impressive times.
The nervousness of the first few laps was replaced with excitement as the first driver changes started to happen. There was a real buzz at the control centre which over looked the pit lane. The control centre is an area where teams can view their own progress and the progress of other teams and was a vital aid during quali and the main event.
The teams had driven their socks off in quali but there could only be one on pole and this was taken by Team Sheppard. The order was Team Sheppard, Team Oxford Sea Cadets, Team GRC2, Team Essex, Team Charm, Team GRC1 and Team Bishop.
The Race
The start
Three hours is a lot of racing to report on, so we have condensed our report considerably to just include the highlights.
The karts all came round on to the grid for the start and the tension at the control centre was huge, the considerable crowd of friends, family and supporters watched on eagerly from the viewing area each rooting for their team to make the dream start.
Finally it was time and the lights went from red to green and the track burst into life with the sound of karts buzzing around the track with tyres screeching as karts went tight around the bends.
An early lead was held by Team Bishop and they gained a very quick 10 lap lead on the rest of the field...... a little too quickly, Team Bishop had been awarded 10 laps taking in to consideration that the all girl team were novices at karting. The girls we followed by The Oxford Sea Cadets and GRC 2.
The Vomit
With the first changes came the drive of Fat Submariner Steve, who quickly got to grips with the tight track, twisting turns and high speed of the karts. However, Steve suffers from motion sickness and soon began to feel unwell. An emergency team driver change was required for team Essex. Steve got out of the car swiftly and made a dash for it, reaching the emergency fire escape in considerable style as he forced open the door and took his helmet off at the same time in order to do a diving starfish vomit out of the door. The manoeuvre earned him a staggering 5.9 from the judges for speed, skill and target approach. Sadly though, Steve spent the rest of the three hours in the bar flat out on the carpet.... it was another TFS first, Steve on the floor without so much as a glass of wine!
More Race and lap record
The race was fierce, with 3 teams fighting for second place with this spot team changing many times as teams changed drivers or put out their faster team members. The Sea Cadets put in a very strong start with Isaac coming with just a second off the official course record time (Isaac‘s lap was the fasted of the evening from all the teams). Team Sheppard, GRC 2 followed the Sea Cadets putting in healthy lap times and not letting the girls of Team Bishop extend their lead. The girls however, had other plans and were driving very well, much better than even they expected and at the half way stage still had a lead of over 6 laps on their closest rivals, the Sea Cadets
The Final Stages
 With the race in its last 30 minutes all the focus was on the control centre, number of driver changes and Teams Bishop, Sheppard, GRC2 and the Sea Cadets. The trailing teams, Charm, GRC1 and Essex were probably out of contention for the trophy but were still putting in impressive times. Each of the teams over the duration of the race had improved their times and driving skills. Team Sheppard’s star driver Adam was closing the gap on the girls but the team had an additional driver stop to complete. Finally, Adam managed to take the lead for the first time and once he had built up a lead of 2 laps over Team Bishop, he came in for a dramatic driver change. Adam came into the pit lane, got out of the kart and back in to it and rejoined the race half a lap up.
The girls were driving well and at this point the Sea Cadets were in 3rd and GRC2 4th. With all the other teams having now completed 9 changes Team Sheppard had one more to go in order to remain within the agreed rules of the race. The final change was done when Team Sheppard were 4 laps up with 8 minutes remaining. Fat Submariner Barry took the Kart for the remaining time and completed the famous victory for Team Sheppard, pushing the Girls into a fantastic second place and the Sea Cadets with all their ringer drivers into a credible third.
The Results, awards and prizes
All of the teams were fantastic and each of them helped to raise over £730 for the charity year. However, there has to be a winner and the results are below. Each of the first three teams were given trophies, kindly supplied by Formula Fast Karting, and wine sponsored by Virgin Wines. The Winning team, team Sheppard also received a wonderful Champagne and wine presentation pack again kindly sponsored by Virgin Wines.
| 1st Place - Team Sheppard |
| 3rd Place - Team Oxford Sea Cadets |
The full results were:
1. Team Sheppard
2. Team Bishop
3. Oxford Sea Cadets
4. Team GRC2
5. Team Essex
6. Team Charm
7. Team GRC1
The Fastest lap went to Isaac of the Oxford Sea Cadets
The Thanks
This event was a wonderful success and without the help and support of the following we would not have had such a wonderful event.
Hannah and Phil from Formula Fast Karting – www.formulafast.co.uk
GRC – www.grcltd.net
Virgin Wines – www.virginwines.co.uk
Charm – www.charm.nl
Adam Sheppard Racing – www.adamsheppardracing.webs.com/
The Bishop and Mills families and all those who made the effort to travel to take part in the event... we thank you all and look forward to the rematch.
If you wish to take part in a future Two Fat Submariner event as either a corporate sponsor or individual please keep an eye on our website (www.twofatsubmariners.com) as more events are coming up....... Golf next... watch this space....
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