Hull FC players made a pit-stop from pre-season as they took to the wheels in a thrilling go-karting day.
Organised by coach Lee Radford, the idea was to bring the squad closer together at PCS Go-Karting on Sutton Fields as part of a relaxing week for Hull.
Thirty players and coaching staff members took part, and there were nerves and banter aplenty as everyone pulled on their uniforms and jumped into their karts.
Emerging victorious at the end of the session was Jay Pitts, who was quickest out of the blocks, ending the day with the fastest lap time of 13.65 seconds – only secured on his penultimate lap.
FC academy prospect Reece Dean came second with a speedy time of 13.98 seconds.
And showing the beginners how it is done was FC football manager Motu Tony, who ended up third in 14.08 seconds.
But finishing dead last was Hull assistant Andy Last, in homage to his surname.
First up saw Joe Westerman fly around the track and set the pace for his team-mates.
Danny Houghton won the second race, and the highlight was seeing Josh Bowden bounce Jacob Miller out of sight.
The next race saw Pitts giving Jason Crookes plenty of stick after he broke down, lapping and laughing at him in the process.
Poor old Jordan Thompson was true to his word when he said his driving was all over the place – but put his loss down to the kart.
Tony then took the spoils as the old-timers and coaching staff got their turn on the track.
Dean put Tom Lineham and Jamie Shaul to shame as he beat the FC stars in under 14 seconds.
Last but not least, Richard Whiting won the final race of the day with a safe 14.12 seconds.
Pitts was surprised to be fastest out of the blocks, beating his team-mates with ease.
"It's been really nice to get out of training and do something different," Pitts told the Mail.
"It felt really good to beat the boys, but I had to wait a long time for it to be confirmed. I didn't expect it but it's nice to be on top.
"The banter has been spot on, but no-one dare say they were better than anyone as they would probably have been shown up.
"But we are all competitive because we are rugby players, and we're just as competitive here as we are on the field.
"Training has been really tough so far and we've worked really hard.
"But it has been nice to get the rewards from it now, and this is an example of what we are getting.
"We have training sessions at the end of the week, but Radders has let us have a bit of down-time after a tough few weeks.
"We've also got plans to go to for a few meals together, and it's obviously brought all of the boys together a bit more.
"It's really hard getting through pre-season, but when it comes to February, you've just got to make sure that all your hard work has been worth it."
Some players already had experience of putting the pedal to the metal.
Richard Horne revealed he had some practice years ago, but refused to share his track tips.
"I've done it before with the Great Britain squad back when we were based in Manchester," Horne said.
"It's such a laugh and brings all the boys together for a day.
"It's been great doing it with the Hull lads."
Coach Radford thanked the go-karting staff and said: "It's always good to do something like this for a bit of team bonding.
"The lads have worked really hard over the last few weeks, so we have let them have a bit of time for them to relax.
"I didn't have chance to breathe though, as the rest of the coaching staff were up my backside all race.
"It's been great for the players and this is a reward they have deserved."
