Every year Jemmac have a team building day to give all the staff the opportunity to spend some time with their colleges outside the work environment.
Following the success of this year’s Team Building Day in May and subsequent additions to the Jemmac team this year it was felt that a “Mini Team Building Day” was in order. So it was down to the local Karting track at Daytona Raceway in Milton Keynes for a morning of adrenaline pumping racing.
The weather on the days preceding the Karting had been rather wet and there was slight concern amongst the team that we may be racing in Spa Francorchamps ’98 conditions, but as it turned out we were gifted with a cool but dry morning with only a few patches of damp remaining on the leeward side of the track.
The day started out with a leisurely morning for all with an arrival time at the circuit of 10 A.M. After signing our lives away at reception everyone was donned with a full racing suit and a drink of their choice for those that can’t function without a tea/coffee in the morning. Cue shocking revelation of the day – Lauren drinks coffee, who would have known!
The pause for refreshements gave the keener drivers (i.e. Greg and James S) a chance to study the track map and the rest to take bets on “Who’s going to do best”…
Relaxing prior to the off
Once we were all ready it was into the briefing room to watch a video on the do’s and don’ts before being issued with Helmet and Gloves and heading out to the pits and jump into the 200cc 6.5hp Karts waiting for us.
Without delay we were given permission to head out onto the 1150m long ‘International Circuit’. The first two or three laps were a little hairy with cold tyres but this didn’t stop Greg and James S from getting right to it and attempting to settle the bet… but the slightly greasy track was going to teach those pair a lesson and put them together in turn twelve.
No more than 5 minutes after the start Greg and James S were being shown the ‘Calm Down’ warning board on the start/finish straight. Top effort lads!
There was plenty of action elsewhere on the track with the enthusiastic drivers passing the more cautious only to spin out and have to catch them up again.
But as the tyres warmed and the track dried and everyone built confidence we started getting quicker.
They say time flies when you’re having fun, this must be true as the end of the session very quickly came around.
After all the excitement the Jemmac team, in a steady convoy, went into Milton Keynes for a bite to eat at a local Italian restaurant. With plenty of bread, pasta and pizza to go around came the end of another excellent team building morning which was enjoyed by all.
James S
Quotes from the day:
Lauren : “A brilliant day out despite losing control at practically every other corner… backwards is definitely the way forward!”
Al : “I was happily negotiating the bottom chicane, and got the fright of my life when a Virgin trains Pendolo hove into view far too close for comfort! That aside, a very enjoyable morning was had and it was possibly a bonus that identifying the people you were racing against was almost impossible due to the helmets and overalls!”
Sally : “I drove onto the track with some trepidation, but soon forgot my nerves after a few circuits. I even managed to lap a couple of drivers which must be a first on any driving event I致e attended!. One driver in particular, mentioning no names Chris, seemed to think he was in a bumper car. Had a great time and looking forward to the next visit.”
Matt : “Despite the warnings about cold tyres, cold brakes and a damp track I still managed to spin out on the first corner – still this gave me the goal of catching up with my fellow Jemmacers as they disappeared into the distance”.
