A trio of teenage students has won the fifth annual British Schools Karting Championship (BSKC) from the Altrincham Grammar School for Boys (AGSB) in Bowdon, Cheshire.
Just hours after Sebastian Vettel swept to victory at the Formula One season opener in Australia, Altrincham team-mates Max McGuire (17), Alex Wilson (14) and Zubair Hoque (14) fended off competition from more than 30 rival schools and colleges from around the UK to clinch the Go Motorsport supported BSKC title at the series finale at Daytona Milton Keynes.
The victorious students will be rewarded with a VIP factory tour of Red Bull Racing’s state-of-the-art Milton Keynes facility – where Vettel’s Grand Prix-winning car is built – and also with a day of professional driver training in Arden International Motorsport’s cutting edge racing simulator.
At the end of Sunday’s 10 races Winterbourne International Academy from Bristol finished as the runners up, just three points behind the winning squad from AGSB with last year’s BSKC champions, Hutchesons’ Grammar School from Glasgow taking the last podium position.
Sunday’s event marked the culmination of a championship which has been contested by in excess of 1,350 students from over 450 teams, with schools from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all vying to become the British Schools Karting Champions of 2011. Teams battled through regional finals – 10 of which were hosted at venues across Britain – to win a place in the National Final, which was held on Daytona’s challenging 1360m circuit.
Max McGuire, driver and team captain of Altrincham Grammar School, said: “It’s been a fantastic day. We didn’t get off to the best of starts, but we pulled it back at the end with some strong performances. The BSKC is an absolutely brilliant championship. It’s great fun, it’s competitive and it’s extremely cost-effective. I know several people who started off karting in this championship and are now looking to start racing professionally.”
Eddie Hall, Deputy Head at Altrincham Grammar School, said: “I’m really pleased for Max, Alex and Zubair because they’ve worked hard for this and they were up against some very tough opposition. What I particularly like about the BSKC is that it’s a departure from the kind of sports that schools traditionally take part in. There are often kids on the periphery who don’t get the chance to shine in those sports, so karting introduces something new and gives them a fantastic opportunity to share the limelight or discover a new talent.”
2011 British Schools Karting Championship – Final positions
1. Altrincham Grammar School for Boys – Bowdon, Cheshire 88 2. Winterbourne International Academy – Bristol 85 3. Hutchesons' Grammar School – Glasgow 84 4. Robert Smyth – Newcastle 79 5. Richmond School – North Yorshire 78 6. Sawtry Community College – Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire 76 7. Colchester 6th Form College – Essex 76 8. The Bishops Stortford High School – Hertfordshire 73 9. Bosworth Community & Sports College – Leicestershire 73 10. Caterham School – Surrey 71
