Once a year the whole Myakka team leave the warehouse, shop and office to take part in the annual Myakka day out. We all got ready to race as we made our way to South West Karting in Cheddar to take part in a little ‘friendly’ racing!
Unfortunately Wednesday was the first day of the Glastonbury Festival so we took some very scenic diversions through the beautiful Somerset countryside to make it to the race track in Cheddar, however no road closures or festival goers were going to stop us…finally we made it!
As soon as we arrived, there was no time to waste and quickly dressed in some very attractive navy overalls, it was time to take a seat ready for our safety briefing. After a list of dos and don’ts which ranged from different light signals to going slow in the pits; we were now prepped and ready to hit the track for some practice laps.
We had a few timid drivers in the team so they were first out on the track ready to give the Karts a spin. Cherry and Bryony (from our Warehouse Shop) were both a little nervous but after their five practice laps they were hooked and ready for more!
Once everyone had a practice it was time for the real competition to begin, it was time to RACE! We all had five heats and the aim was to win each heat. Who knew everyone was going to be so competitive? The real competition was coming from the Warehouse – they had been building themselves up to this for a while with a lot of big talk about their driving prowess and now it was their opportunity to show off.
After a number of rounds, quarter finals and semi-finals it was time for the big one – it was the final! Unfortunately none of the female members of the team made it into the final but Elaine (Accounts) did very well and was the best of the bunch. The final included Simon W (Director), Peter (Accounts), Lawrence (Warehouse), Rich K (IT) and Simon M (Warehouse). The race was a brutal eight laps and, as all finals should be, the most competitive race of them all. After a couple of collisions and bumps the race was slowed down to make sure everyone was back on course – Peter (who obviously hadn’t listened in the safety briefing) thought his kart was broken so he made his way back into the pits – a massive error, as you can’t go back out onto the track and race! So it was between four of them – Lawrence and Simon W were having a fierce battle for first place with Simon M and Rich K fighting it out for third.
The race ended with a podium position for Simon M- 3rd, Simon W- 2nd and Lawrence was our champion. We had an official award ceremony with the guys taking their place on the podium and being awarded medals. It was clear from the podium that not only did you need a bit of skill – but the lighter you were the faster you went!
After all that racing it was time for lunch at a local pub, the Rodney Stoke Inn made us feel very welcome and served us a delicious lunch, followed by pretty tea stands full of little cakes and treats outside on the patio.
We all had a lovely day out in the sunshine, our team days allow us all to relax and chat to people that we might not normally spend much time with. A big thank you goes to the team at South West Karting and at the Rodney Stoke Inn for making our day the most fun it could be.
