Refusing on principle to include midgets, children or ringers in its team, Bankstone was never really in with a realistic chance of winning last month’s Insurance Endurance Karting challenge at Daytona Milton Keynes (see previous articles).

A cunning plan, however, held out the alluring prospect of a place on the podium by another route. Fielding one of the largest teams on the day (nine people in all), Bankstone was confident of scooping the Pitstop Challenge prize by being the fastest to jack up and change all four wheels on a trackside F1 Jordan.

For a time everything was going well. As planned, Team Bankstone was plummeting down the rankings in the main event, artfully conserving energy for its pit lane exertions. But then calamity struck. When the pitstop call came, two team members were filling their faces with lunch and two others were flat out on the grass asleep in the sun.

The remaining team members fought on manfully, but victory escaped them by the narrowest of margins. Securing second place was a bitter consolation. But when the going gets tough, as they say, the tough go back for a second helping of lunch or quick kip.

Meanwhile in the main event, the competition was fiercer than ever. The winners came within a gnat’s whisker of breaking the all-time lap record and the team that won the last two years’ events managed only third place.

Team Bankstone finished ninth overall, three places down on a surprisingly creditable 6th last year. But a great day out was had by all; and now after finishing second two years running, surely nothing – literally nothing – can prevent Bankstone clinching the Pitstop Challenge crown in 2010.


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