Mark Durrant Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 Yesterday saw a novice compete in their first sprint at Aintree, not a venue for the faint hearted. Kate Sankey, who is in her early twenties, is the daughter of Mike Sankey, a founder member of the Saga Se7ens 😬. I met Kate for the first time the night before and she was understandably a little apprehensive but looking forward to her first event. Having walked the course with her that evening and learnt that she had only shared her Dad’s car on a couple track days and driven it on the road for a total of 3-4 hours. I should also point out that Kate’s current cat is a diesel Focus having previously owned a Fiat Panda and a Fiat Punto Sporting, none of which can be classified as performance cars. I decided to set Kate a couple of targets, firstly, to get under 70 seconds and secondly to get within 5mph of her Dads speed over the line with the reward of a cocktail for beating each target. I thought the first was likely to be achieved, the Class 2 record was just under 52 seconds, the second I thought would to be a stiffer challenge. Oh how wrong I was and now have a lighter wallet to prove it. The first practice run arrived and Kate strapped herself into Dad’s Crossflow and queued up for her first run. I was waiting for my turn and could see the clocks that would display her time. Kate set off get off the line smoothly and disappeared around the first corner, what seemed like an age passed with the clock eventually clicking past 70 seconds, but not for long, as she finished on 71 seconds dead with a speed across the line of 109mph. Dad managed 114mph so both counts the bets looked like being paid out very early in the day. For a novice that was an excellent first run on a fast course where you need to be committed . On speaking to Kate in the paddock she was confident that she could better her time, but more importantly was really enjoying herself. The second run quickly came round with Kate again getting off the line smoothly recording a bet beating time of 59.55 seconds with a speed across the line of 115mph, a speed that Dad could not match until later in the day. So both bets won and we still had the timed runs to come. I did for a while think about setting another target but thought better of it as I did not want to put any pressure on Kate or more importantly have to pay out any more money Well I was not surprised that on her first timed run Kate recorded 56.57seconds with a speed across the line of 114mph. Lunch was taken before the second timed run and plenty of other competitors came not only to congratulate and encourage Kate, but also to exchange lighter hearted banter with Mike about how many runs would it be before Kate would be beating the ‘Old Man’ . To give you some indication of Kate’s performance Mike was only 2.6 seconds quicker than his inexperienced but fast learning daughter. Kate was smiling broadly and joined in with the light hearted banter telling Dad that she wanted some input into the cars set up and thought a change of colour for the car was long over due 😬. The second time run came and Kate recorded a 56.96 and just to prove that it was not a lucky run she recorded a 56.94 on her next run. Kate was pleased but a little disappointed that she had not been able to improve on her best time. At this point I showed Kate some in car video taken of my third run and she immediately identified that she was taking the wrong line into the scond corner, turning in too early thath was compromising her speed and delaying the point at which she could apply the power. Armed with this knowledge she duly went out and recorded a 56.05 and as a result recorded a championship score of 15.8 points, the best score by any women at a club event this year. Well done Kate . Kate has now caught the sprinting bug and is looking to enter more club events next year. I suspect it will not be long before Mike will be joining Stephen Herring and Andrew Jenkins in watching their offspring drive their cars faster than they can. Mike puts Kate’s performance down to his expert tuition but having seen him at a driving school recently I think it is more of a case of ‘do what I say not as I do’ 😬. So there you have it, if you thought about competing come along and give it a try. You will get loads of encouragement with the spirit and camaraderie of the paddock helping to make it a great day out Mark D Su77on Se7ens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickaddison Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 Well done Kate As I said to the many that asked me at Curborough "maybe next year" 😬 Blue Light 05 DVD available NOW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSL Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 Excellent effort Kate, keep up the good work *thumbup* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Perry Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 Did she beat you Mark ? 😳 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Durrant Posted September 4, 2005 Author Share Posted September 4, 2005 Graham She is good, but not that good yet, but given time who knows 😬 Mark D Su77on Se7ens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Perry Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 Good news then. The more competition the better One day I will have to go to Aintree, sounds good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Durrant Posted September 4, 2005 Author Share Posted September 4, 2005 Graham Given your speed at MIRA your car will be very competitive at Aintree Mark D Su77on Se7ens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Kipper Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 Many congratulations to Kate 😬 Look forward to her beating the old man next year 😬 Mike, the pain soon goes away and is replaced by the admiration and pride for your offspring 😬 Kipper Fun is not a straight line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikes Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 Thanks for putting this up Mark - she did really well and is very pleased with herself *biggrin* I think we probably all start off with feelings of great apprehension at our first event, but it was great the way everybody was so ready to help and encourage her( Oh yes, and take the pi$$ out of me 😬 😬) and that helped a lot. I wouldn't expect anything else from the Club as I know what a great bunch you all are, but it was also true of the Liverpool Motor Club lot as well. We had a great weekend. As Mark says, if you have ever wondered what it would be like to have a go - do it! I knew from the trackday a few years ago that she learnt quickly and drove well, but I didn't expect her to get so close to my time -must be having such a talented father that make it possible 😬. The good thing was that her target (apart from taking money off Mark - good girl!!) was mainly to better her previous run each time and it really paid off. It was a teriffic success and thanks to all of you that made it so enjoyable. So now, apart from exposing me to even more banter from my fellow competitors, looks like I will have to work even harder for the points in future - now, where can I buy a remote control adjustable rev limiter.....? Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tam Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 Fantastic Well done Kate. It always good to see some new lady sprinters 😬 Tam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
se7enmad Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 Kate - well done *thumbup* The boys think the ability to race is all in the Y chromosome How wrong they are Antonella 1998 Caterham Classic my NEW site here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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