The BUKC is 21 years and going strong!
We have been running the British Universities Karting Championship (BUKC) since 2001 so this year marks our 21st season! Over that time we estimate that we've introduced more than 12,000 students to 2-stroke kart racing through Club100.
This is a concept that Will Tew introduced back in 2001. He set up a meeting with me, as manager of Club100 in those days, to discuss a nationwide championship purely for university students to race on Club100 2-stroke karts at a subsidised rate (student discount). With the idea that when they graduate and get a job, they then come and race with Club100 in our main senior championships; which has proven successful!
Typically, the BUKC season starts in October and ends before Easter. We begin promotion around August when students are preparing to start a new academic year. The university captain will receive posters and flyers from us for them to display around the campus and promote at the 'freshers fair'. In case you are not sure “freshers” are 1st year students. The captains then recruit them to come along to a BUKC test day to be evaluated by Club100. If they pass their evaluation then the captain can consider if he/she wishes to include the driver in one of their teams for the championship. The Championships end before or around Easter time as this is when they start their exams.
The first event that all students will enter into is a BUKC test day in October and November, and much like the Cadet Academy days, they are there for drivers to get used to the Rotax powered Club100 karts as the vast majority of BUKC students have never been in a 2-stroke kart before. The four test days are also used as an opportunity for us to evaluate the drivers to make sure they are quick enough and safe enough to race in the BUKC.
In 2021, 581 rookies entered a test day, together with 322 experienced drivers – so a total of 873 drivers. Mid-November was when we hosted the Qualifying Rounds, seeing there is not have enough space in the BUKC to cater for the demand. A two-day event which saw a record 126 teams of 4 drivers each entered from 70 universities (some of the larger unis enter multiple teams) including Oxford, Cambridge, Oxford Brookes, Loughborough, etc.
From the Qualifying Rounds, the top 54 teams across both days form the main (top level) championship, with the next 54 teams forming the Intermediate (lower level) Championship. The remaining 18 teams unfortunately don't make it, but are placed on the reserve/waiting list in case of cancellations.
The championship then starts in early February where these categories each compete over four double-header race days, with a round of the Intermediate Champs on the second day, during the Easter term (roughly once every 2 weeks) until the start of April. The finals are hosted over a 3 day weekend of racing with an awards ceremony and big party to celebrate the season. 1113 unique drivers either tested and/or raced in this year’s championship, while 731 drivers actually competed.
The finals of the BUKC were held from April 1-3 at the Llandow Circuit, where an extremely close battle between the leading teams for points determined the 2022 winners.
BUKC Premier / Clubman 2022 Championship
1st Oxford Brookes A 408
2nd Exeter A 406
3rd Manchester A 398
BUKC Intermediate 2022 Championship
1st Coventry B 237
2nd Coventry C 227
3rd Loughborough C 226
BUKC Drivers Champ 2022 – Super Final
1st Matthew Taylor
2nd Kyle Morby *Best lap
3rd Sam Pooley
