The heart of the BUKC. It's where teams and drivers go to race against and beat the best.
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 a qualifiers weekend and 4 further double header race meetings held between November & April the following year.
The Premier Class Championship takes place over 5 days between November 2021 and early April 2022. Please note the dates below may change.
The qualifiers count as the first round of the 9 round championship, with the best 7 results counting toward the team's overall championship position at the end of the season.
The top 54 teams from the qualifiers will be considered Premier & Clubman class teams (top 26 Prems, next 28 Clubmans).
Each subsequent race day after the qualifiers will consist of two rounds with the formats running as follows:
Each team must consist of 4 drivers exactly for each round. Exceptions to this rule are detailed in the BUKC Rules & Regulations.
Every driver racing in the Premier Class must obtain BOTH a Motorsport UK K-X Licence Licence AND a BUKC Race Licence
The price of the qualifiers is £510 per team. Each subsequent Prems / Clubmans round is also £550 inc VAT per team.
Please download and read the BUKC Rules & Regulations.
There are 2 bespoke formats used in the BUKC titled the Sprint Format and the Endurance 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.
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.
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 starts arriving 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).
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!
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 have a few drinks with your team mates.
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