PREMIER CLASS

The Premier Class is the BUKC at its most intense. Teams of 4 drivers from each uni come together to battle it out over the course of 4 double header race meetings and a qualifying race day held between November & April the following year.

The Qualifiers

Every team wishing to take part in the Premier Class must take part in one of two qualifiers.

The top 54 teams from the qualifiers will qualify through to the Premier Class starting in early February. Any teams that don't qualify through to the Premier Class will instead by invited back to compete in the Intermediate Class Championship.

The format of the qualifiers is now the following:

4 x 10 minute qualifying sessions
4 x 20 minute races
4 x 20 minute races

The qualifying sessions will determine the grids for the first 4 races. The grid for last 4 races will be determined by the finishing positions of the first 4 races. The best 6 race results will count towards the day's final scores. The cost is £480 per team (£120 per driver)

The two qualifiers will take place on the weekend of Sat 16th & Sun 18th November 2019 at Whilton Mill (Zulu layout).

The Championship

The 8 round Premier Class Championship takes place over 4 days between the start of February 2020 and the start of April 2020. Please note the dates below may change.

Tues 11th Feb - PFI, Lincolnshire
Wed 4th March - Buckmore Park, Kent
Fri 13th March - GYG, North Wales
Fri 3rd April - Clay Pigeon, Dorset

Each race day will consist of 2 rounds with the formats as follows:

PFI: Rounds 1: Sprint Format, Round 2: Endurance Format
Buckmore: Round 3 & 4: Sprint Format
GYG: Rounds 5 & 6: Sprint Format
Clay: Round 7: Sprint Format, Round 8: Endurance Format

Each team must consist of 4 drivers exactly for each round. Exceptions to this rule are detailed in the BUKC Rules & Regulations.

The price of entry is £260 inc VAT per team per round (£520 per race day). Your team can save roughly 6% by paying for all 8 rounds of the championship up front at £245 per round (£490 per race day). Payments for the 6% discount must be made by 16th December.

THE FORMATS

There are 2 bespoke formats used in the BUKC titled the Sprint Format and the Endurance Format.

SPRINT FORMAT

The Sprint Format is where every driver in the team gets to race in their own individual 25 minute race. No fuel stops, no driver changes. Just a 25 minute sprint to the flag with 3 to 5 laps practice prior.

The teams finishing score for the round is determined by adding up the best 3 results from the 4 sprint races.

NEW FOR 2020
In each Sprint Format round, there will be 2 weight categories. Lightweights will run at a minimum weight of 75kg. Heavyweights will run at a minimum weight of 82kg. Drivers who do not meet the minimum weight threshold will be able add ballast to their kart and / or seat insert.

3 of the 6 races will be designated as LW races and the other 3 will be designated as HW races.

ENDURANCE FORMAT

The Endurance Format is where the team (of 4 drivers) is split into 2 teams of 2. Each mini-team of 2 drivers races in a one-hour race.

2 fuel stops must be made, and at least one driver change must be made.

The teams finishing score for the round is determined by adding up the points from both the 2 one-hour races.

The minimum weight threshold will be 75kg for all drivers.

A TYPICAL RACE DAY

A typical race day starts arrving at the track at 7.30am when around 220 student drivers turn up for signing on. Teams travelling a fair distance tend to stay at nearby hotels or campsites the night before. The briefing is generally an hour later at 8.30. Racing usually gets underway at 9.30ish.

The 6 x 25 minute sprint races (each team only does 4 of them), continue until around 2pm after which we have a short break for the triple A team of mechanics to do a once over on the karts and to do the presentations for the morning's racing. Once the lunch break is out of the way, we start the 3 x 1hr endurance races (each team only does 2 of them). After the afternoon's racing, which usually finishes around 6pm, we do the final presentations for the day and everyone heads home knackered and buzzing (it's a peculiar combination).

For 2020: we will be alternating the race day's format with some race days running 2 sprint rounds, whilst at other race days we will be running the sprint format in the morning and endurance in the afternoon.

Something special in the Premier Class Championship is that every race winner will receive a very special Gold race winner medals. These coveted items and only ever collected by race winners in the Premier Class!

THE PARTY

At the end of the season, we finish off the BUKC with a huge party and awards ceremony in a marquee at the final race track. It’s the time to celebrate your successes on the race track, let your hair down and get twatted with your team mates.

THE TEAMS

HOW TO ENTER

To take part in the BUKC you need to get in touch with your university's karting team captain.

If your university is not listed above then get in touch with the organisers of the BUKC

join your uni's team

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