Thursday 16th July, Daytona Go-Kart Track, Milton Keynes
The signs around the track were numerous and clear for all to see:
‘WARNING
Motor sport can be dangerous’
None of the kids I was watching seemed to take the slightest bit of notice today as the MotorV8 project culminated with the final day of racing at Daytona track, Milton Keynes. The track attendants were certainly kept busy throughout with pileups, skids, power slides and daring overtaking manoeuvres as the young drivers on show flew around the course at breakneck speed to try and gain that extra half a second!
These future Lewis Hamiltons (some as young as 13) have been taking part in the MotorV8 6 week course, in conjunction with Mercedes, a project that works with disadvantaged young people. The course mixes mechanics and karting with discussion groups that address social issues in order to promote teamwork and broaden their skills at the same time. The competitors on the final day came from schools in the Oxford area as well as one group from the local Bangladeshi youth club. Of these racers, very few had driven a go-kart before this course but you would never have guessed from their final day performances. Every competitor was given his individual best lap time and photos of them in action were available as they raced in groups all morning. All kitted out in their racing overalls, gloves and individually numbered helmets, most of them seemed to want to race all day and I overheard one youngster telling his classmates that a go-kart was now very much at the top of his Christmas wish list!
The kids have also spent time dissembling and reassembling karts every week at the ‘Trax’ centre in town. It’s clear that the kids have enjoyed working with their hands while gaining an insight into the mechanics of a Go-Kart and these new engineering skills were put to the test during the teambuilding exercises that also took place on the final day. Each team of 3 was attempting to build a catapult using only a few bamboo sticks, some string and elastic bands. All of the inventions were creative and the winning entry, a simple yet effective design, was a perfect demonstration of these newly acquired skills in action as we dodged the steady stream of eggs that their catapult sent our way!
After lunch we all drove in the minibuses to the Mercedes Centre nearby where a tour of the showrooms had been set up as well as an interactive quiz for the youngsters. This was another highlight of the day for them all as they were allowed to sit in the driving seat of a whole range of Mercedes cars. Many a photo was taken of each other as they sat in sports cars, jeeps and even giant lorries while the team of experts on hand answered their every query. The day was concluded with prize giving as the fastest laps were rewarded for both the juniors and seniors. Jack (13) and Ahsan (15) made off with the first prize: a replica McLaren Mercedes F1 car with other prizes handed out for every competitor who had made the final day.
These courses help up to 300 young people a year including drug users, young offenders, the physically disabled and those who find integration difficult such as recent immigrants. Quite apart from the obvious social and educational lessons that these kids have taken from the 6 weeks, the healthy sense of competition and the pure enjoyment of a day out go-kart racing is something that they all are looking repeat some time soon.
Charlie Talbot-Smith, writing for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation
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