HSA SPEED CHAMPIONSHIP REPORT ARCHIVE

Mugglestone champion as Rowan takes FTD

Alan Mugglestone became the 2013 SBD HSA Speed Champion (based on the provisional results) at Curborough on Saturday October 12th as Ray Rowan took FTD sharing Will Hall's Force.

Going into the event Alan Mugglestone had a small lead over his nearest challengers who, with dropped scroes to take into account, needed record breaking runs to make the top spot. However, the damp conditions made this an almost impossible task so it was left to Andrew Cottrill, in sixth place, 12 points behind the leader and crucially not dropping scores to mount the final challenge. The rain eased over lunch and there was a chance the 4WD Impreza could pull off a remarkable result. But despite putting in two good runs the rain had increased and it wasn't to be. Nevertheless 9 points were enough to deliver a satisfying third place in the Championship behind Mugglestone (RAW Fulcrum) and Colin Satchell (Peugeot 205).

Meanwhile, 1989 British Hillclimb Champion, Ray Rowan, rolled back the years, making a rare speed event appearance in Will Hall's Force Nissan to take FTD in some very treacherous conditions which saw more than a few 'off's', including Will himself, although fortunately without any serious damage.

It was also good to see 2010 Champion, Tony Thomas, helping out at the event, after his recent hospitalisation.

Results here and a full report in the next issue of Speedscene magazine.

Jones from Graves and Tregoning at HSA Shelsley

Despite the presence of some quick bike engined single seaters it was the more traditional car engined squad that took the honours at MAC's Sunday part of their Autumn Speed Finale with John Jones' Pilbeam MP88 taking FTD with a 26.24s run ahead of the Gould GR37 of Terry Graves (26.47s) and another MP88 in the hands of Mike Tregoning (26.78s). Also in the 26s bracket were Toby Moody's Empire DS1000 (26.88s) and Gary Thomas' Force PT (26.91s).

Although it was cloudy for most of the day it remained very warm and the track was in fine condition throughout.

With the SBD HSA Speed Championship rapidly approaching its conclusion only Chris Howard-Harris (Caterham) out of the leading 5 was present (leader Alan Mugglestone non starting, Colin Satchell & Paul Drowne not entering their Peugeot and Stu Hill withdrawing having blown his first choice engine and also suffering minor damage the previous week-end at Thoresby). Chris had his eye on Mike Gale's 31.63s HSA class record but a moment of his first run made his task even more difficult. A good second run of 31.74s was close and earned good points but a fantastic second run from Tim Pennigton's Westfield of 30.67s took the Class win (and move him up the HSA Championship table). John Bradshaw also went well with his Striker posting a 31.61s in the combined B1 & B2 class.

Eslewhere Adam Pemble was going well in his Toyota finishing just 5 hundreths outside his own record although Andrew Cottrill destroyed it in his Impreza with a 31.71s run! Thomas Grantham-Wright posted a 31.87s with his 600cc Jedi MK4 for the Class win (ahead of Henry Grantham-Wright) while Richard Arrowsmith found the commitment to get under 30s in his Force PC. Steve Loadsman was happy to get under 31s in his OMS after a couple of week-end dramas with his entry and starting problems.

The handicapped pre '75 Racing Car Class saw Jeremy Smithson take the Class win in his smart Merlyn MK11 just edging out his fellow Formula Fordster, Mike Broome on scratch. Fyrth Crosse couldn't emulate his sub 30s run of the previous day with a pair of consistent low 30s runs.

Results here.

Everall's turn at Thoresby

On the Sunday part of the Nottingham Sports Car Club's Thoresby Park double header there were again 4 competition runs and Terry Everall in his 1 litre Westfield Megablade took BTD on 49.40s by 0.04s from Peter Goulding's larger engined Westfield and of the 13 HSA competitors only Bob Ridge-Stream was able to beat his class record. Obviously, for the purposes of the HSA championship only the first 2 runs counted for points but all the runs did count for the final event results.

Tony Thomas was unable to attend due to medical problems and we all wish him a speedy return to the track.

Results here.

Slingsby's day at Thoresby

The SBD/HSA championship visited Thoresby Park on the weekend of the 14th and 15th of September, two separate events on this challenging sprint course which uses some of the estate roads at this picturesque location. Both days started cool and damp and whilst temperatures did not rise significantly the track did dry enough for reasonable times on both days.

There were 4 competition runs on Saturday and Barry Slingsby took BTD in his 2 litre Westfield on 46.59s. from fellow Westfield driver Peter Goulding a scant 0.4s behind. Of the 16 HSA competitors there were several new HSA records, Jamie Yapp (Nova SR), Jon Plowe (Fiat X19),  Andrew Cottrill (Impreza) and Bob Ridge-Stearn (Van Diemen FF).

Results here.

Dickerson takes FTD at 3 Sisters marathon!

With some competitors taking as many as ten timed runs (is this a record?) on the Three Sisters Number 1 Circuit on September 8th it was left to Bradley Dickerson to take FTD in his Jedi MK4 and break John Chacksfield's long standing record with a 40.13s run.

A handful of SBD HSA Speed Championship competitors made the trip to this compact and challenging venue with Geoff Ward (Swift SC93), Ivan Russell (Ford Anglia) and Michael Tindale (Mazda MX5) all scoring well.

The small kit car class saw an interesting battle of the Strikers with Emma Bennison winning out over Richard Abraham and Mike Smith's similar cars.

Results here.

Dobson's Choice at Aintree

Andrew Dobson in his Megapin 31-07 took FTD at Aintree on Saturday 7th of September in what turned out to be a close battle for top honours. Andrew beat Eve Whitehead's RBS 7B by just a matter of 10ths (thus somewhat spoiling my "Its all about Eve" headline) with Clive Wooster's Radical SR4 close behind for 3rd FTD.

Although a truncated version of the full GP track of the 50's, Aintree still presents a challenge with some high speed corners and the chance to drive in the wheel tracks of Fangio, Moss and Collins. Known as the "Goodwood of the North" running alongside the fences of  Beechers Brook and Valentines, drivers need a sense of awareness as well as history...

Liverpool Motor Club put on a superb event with 2 practices, 4 timed runs and then additional runs for those who wanted them. It didn't look promising early on as rain had left the track damp but a strong breeze and sunny spells dried things completely.

A round of not only HSA/SBD championship, but also  Chester and Liverpool, ANWCC, Lancashire and Cheshire, Longton and District, LAC, and BARC/SBD, speed championships, competitors were delighted with the friendly and efficient organisation and the value for money track time. 

In terms of HSA competitors, 14 started the event. Mike Smith in his Sylva Striker won Kit cars up 1700cc a touch cautious after a close inspection of the Grand National fences on a past event. Chris Howard Harris took the Caterham Superlight to victory in over 1700cc which was a particularlyhard fought class. Paul Webb's MG Metro took Mod Prod up to 1400cc awards, with Clive Wooster taking the Libre Class in the Radical.

Darren Gumbley Forces FTD at Loton Park

Darren Gumbley, in his 1000cc Force PT, took FTD at Hagley and District LCC’s Loton Park hillclimb on 7 September, winning the 1100cc racing car class in the process, and beating Chris Green in his 1137 cc OMS to second FTD.  The weather forecast in the days building up to the weekend had been pretty dire, but the expected rain turned out to be no more than light drizzle during practice, and by lunchtime the sun came out and the morning chill eased off.

The event marked round 28 of the 2013 SBD HSA Speed Championship, as well as being a round of the Speed Hydraulics, Nottingham Sports CC, Westfield SCC/Northampton Motorsport and TTC Automotive Loton championships. Some 22 HSA contenders had entered the event, but front runner Tony Thomas was unfortunately a non-starter.  

Peter Hodson won the up to 1400cc roadgoing production class in his Smart Roadster. Andrew Cottrill in his Subaru Impreza was second in the over 2000cc division, with a new HSA class A3 record, behind a hard-charging Simon Hutchinson (BMW 1M). There was a very large (unlimited) roadgoing specialist production car class, (won by Barry Slingsby) but Tim Pennington came third, in a new HSA class B2 record, with Stu Hill was fourth in their respective Westfields.

Martin Depper won the up to 1400cc modified series production class, with Mike Gallery second and Ivan Russell third. In the 1400 to 2000cc division, a very hard fought battle saw Stewart Stelling just edge out Adrian Crawley for the win, both getting into the 59s on their second runs.

Jim Spencer in his 1000cc Reynard 883 had an unfortunate excursion from Cedar Straight on his first competition run, but was able to repair his car sufficiently to take part in Sunday’s follow-up event. Les Buck won the Formula Ford class, edging out Bob Ridge-Stearn and Nick Tart, and fractionally lowered the HSA class X record in the process. Gary Thomas went well in the 1100 to 1600cc racing car class, coming a close second to the aforementioned Chris Green.

John Graham's Anglesey International

David Brady’s Clio Cup car won the up to 2-litre road-going production car class by nearly 3 secs. Keith and David Minshull’s shared Peogeot 306 Rallye topped the class for modified production cars upto 2 litres, just 0.6 secs apart.  The Mazda MX5 of Anthony Cartwright was the fastest of the production sports cars.

Andrew Lowe was pushing hard in his 2-litre Westfield SE, too hard in “Peel” and spun onto the inside of the track and then across to the outside. No red flag was shown, and he was overtaken by the following competitor. Perhaps he was psyched into trying too hard as he was quite some way from class winner John Hoyle in the over 1700cc road-going “Westfield” class, who was quickest of all the road-going cars.

Tim Harrison’s 2.3L Morgan 4/4 (99.41 seconds) was the fastest of the Malvern products and also beat all the modified production cars. Gary Bunn (2-litre Westfield Sei type R) repeated his previous day’s performance by winning the car-engined space-frame class in a rapid 86.65 whereas Terry Everall won the motorcycle-engined class with only a 1-litre engine against a pair of 1340cc Sylva Riots and a 1400cc Westfield Megabusa.  Eve Whitehead again won the 1100cc single-seater class with “The Rev” in second place.

Bill Hutchins’ 2.8-litre Pilbeam MP58 was under-geared for the very fast part of the course closest to the sea, where speeds of 150 mph and more have been achieved in the past. Bill had some taller tyres but they were old and had less grip than the smaller used the previous day to get FTD. Even with the taller tyres, the car was on the rev-limiter for 300 yards or so before the hard braking for “Rocket”, and two spins prevented a really competitive time.  John Graham (Dallara T397) had a three and a half second advantage to take FTD in 81.00) from Matt Carter’s Radical, pushing Hutchins down to 3^rd overall.

Richard Watkinson was again the quickest MG driver (1380 Midget) in 103.07 with again the MGA of Terry Drinkwater just one second behind and ahead of all the modern MGs.

Results here.

Photos courtesy of Neil Lambert.

Bill Hutchins' Anglesey FTD

Eighteen HSA competitors and sixteen MG Car Club drivers contributed to a total of 95 starters. There were thirty classes, so several had but a single entrant, whereas Mod Prod Saloons (1.4 to 2 litres) boasted 11 starters with Ford, VW, Peugeot, Honda, Renault, Mazda and Toyota all in there.  Practice started on time and was a single run of the 1.9 laps, so prudence was necessary to ensure a full lap was completed under practice conditions. Nevertheless, several drivers exceeded their car’s limit of adhesion, and a couple of cars broke down.  For the event, the first of three timed runs was taken before lunch.

Fastest Time of Day went to Bill Hutchins' 2.8-litre Pilbeam MP58, just 0.8 seconds in front of John Graham’s 2-litre Dallara T397.with Matt Carter’s well driven 1340cc Radical PR6, third (and the fastest HSA man), just two-tenths ahead of Hutchin’s co-driver, Tony Luxton.  There was a diverse entry ranging from a 750cc Austin 7 of 1929 (186 seconds) to 4600cc MGB (129 seconds), but the fastest MG was the 1380cc Midget of Richard Watkinson in 127.19 s, with Terry Drinkwater’s MGA Coupe doing a remarkable 128.82, much quicker than all the modern MGs! 

Of course there were saloons, sports cars and nine single-seaters.  Peugeot 306 Rallye cars won the first two saloon car classes. Westfields won six classes, the quickest being Gary Bunn’s 2-litre Sei Type R in a rapid 108.67 seconds. The large Mod Prod saloon car class was won by Phil Caza (Fiesta) from Christian Evan’s Golf. In the modified sports car class, Matthew Eady’s Ginetta was less than a second behind class winner Elen Worthington’s Lotus Elise. Eve Whitehead’s home-grown 1-litre Suzuki GSX-R (K8) powered RBS7 overcame electrical problems to win the class in a very creditable 112.3, quicker than all the other single-seaters except for the2-litre Dallara and the 2.8L Pilbeam MP58.  One of the best performances must have been Mike Manning who took only a single run in his Ford Puma to also record 112 secs, - eighth overall!

Results here.

Photos courtesy of Neil Lambert.

SATCHELL STRETCHES HIS LEAD

Colin Satchell was one of five HSA class record breakers at Gurston Down’s British hillclimb round on Bank Holiday Sunday, extending his Championship lead in the rapid Peugeot 205 to five points over absent co-driver Paul Drowne. In the dedicated class for HSA ‘B’ licence holders, Chris Howard-Harris was first to break Simon Braithwaite’s 10-year-old record and also earned the 12 extra HSA points, but Satchell’s Peugeot 205 ran almost a second faster than the Caterham Superlight and, like Howard-Harris, improved on the Gurston class record on each run as they duelled for supremacy.

            Among the ‘A’ licence entry, Fyrth Crosse moved up into third place on the Championship table, bagging HSA Class J record points as he snatched a last run victory over Chris Cannell’s iconic St Bruno Roughcutter Clubmans car in Gurston’s unique Historically Interesting class. In the same class, Mike Broome also scored HSA Class X record points in his Elden, only to be out-run by Les Buck. Running in Gurston’s dedicated Formula Ford class, the HSA chairman’s immaculate Lotus 61 gave Andrew Henson a good run for his money before being finally put in his place by the class record-holder’s Van Diemen RF91!

            Elsewhere, Neil Duncanson led the over 2-litre Production class after the damp first runs, but despite Tony Bunker’s burly Nissan GT-R overhauling him for the win as the track dried in the afternoon, the Quattro driver hung on for second place. Back in the ‘B’ licence class, Peter Ayres’ newly built Ford Model A ‘Flathead was fastest of the three crowd pleasing Class Z runners, Roy Underhill also running well in his Model T Roadster alongside Clark Devey’s sinister black Ford Coupe. Lynn Gilbert chased hard in the Howard-Harris Caterham for third place in the 11-strong class, just clear of Rob Pallett’s Ginetta G33.

Results here.

Sketchley does it again!

Glyn Sketchley scored another FTD at Olivers Mount of Saturday August 18th and moves a step closer to a major milestone of FTDs - watch this space! His Force PT went sub 40s on both timed runs and although some drivers took 4 runs Glyn's 39.42s remained the fastest of the day.

Only a handful of SBD HSA Speed Championship competitors entered the event and one of these, Peter Hubbard, was a non starter. It was left to Chris Howard-Harris to be the fastest over two timed runs in the small Kit Car class in his Caterham from Michael Bellerby, Emma Bennison and fellow HSA competitor, Richard Abraham, in his RAW Striker.

Results here.

Dunbar delivers!

After a day of “weather watching” at Llandow, which delivered eventually dry runs, the more hardy HSA members continued the sortie into deepest Wales arriving at Llys-y-fran on Saturday evening with time to put up the tents and get the barbie started. The good luck did not look like continuing however with Sunday morning starting showery and quickly turning to torrential! Quick tyre changes were the order of the day with most moving to “wets” and settling in for a not unusual day of slippery runs up this excellent hill. But....

By the time first practice was called, the hill was drying quickly and the panic to move to dry weather tyres was evident, with some managing to at least get one pair of decent tyres on in time! First practice was therefore a bit of a mixed bag with fasted time falling to Mike Manning in the Puma (rain means nothing to the man) but Andy Dunbar showing the promise which was to follow and last year’s FTD, Adam Phelps, falling outside the top 10 on wet tyres.

By second practice the hill was practically dry and the form at the top was settling down with Dunbar, Manning and Phelps Jnr the top 3 and HSA members Colin Satchell and Paul Drowne setting times not far behind in their rapid Peugeot 205.

As at Llandow the previous day, the organisers decided to crack on and get the first timed run in before lunch, and Andy Dunbar certainly got things off to a fine start with a 44.50s, beating Adam Phelps’ FTD of last year by 3 tenths. Mike Manning was still on the pace but the Locaterfields of Stu Hill and Chris Howard-Harris were now mixing it up as the hill continued to dry.

The dry weather continued after lunch for the second timed run but an uncharacteristic error by Dunbar at the Texaco hairpin allowed Adam Phelps the honours with a 44.94s followed by Manning, Hill, Drowne, Satchell, Howard-Harris, Pennington and even Phelps Snr making an uncharacteristic foray into the top 10! However, Andy’s 44.50s proved unbeatable to give him FTD for the day (although the “Fun Run” which followed the official timed runs allowed opportunity for unofficial improvements – none came!). Class wins were taken by HSA members in Standard Production (Andrew Till – Clio), 1B (Ben Burggraff – Elise), 1C (Adam Pemble – Celica), 2A (Stu Hill – Westfield), 2B (Chris Howard-Harris – Caterham), 3B (Paul Drowne – 205), 3D (Adam Phelps – Locost) and 5A (Paul Knapp – Jedi) showing the trip to be well worthwhile from a points perspective.

Piece of (Welsh) Cake for Pillinger

All eyes were on the Welsh sky at Llandow, awaiting the forecasted heavy rain on Saturday 27th July. It never came and Scott Pillinger, in the family built DSP SBD, took a fine FTD to beat the Sims Ralt RT33/34. Son David Sims was only 0.83 behind Scott with Andy Potter's Jedi Mk4 taking third spot. Dad, Roy Sims, took 4th with Clive Wooster's Radical SR4 sneaking into 5th spot. 

27 HSA contenders travelled to the challenging South Wales track where weather was the key concern, with heavy rain forecasted to come in around lunch time. The Clerk of the Course took the wise decision to run 1st Timed runs immediately after practice although in the end, both runs were dry.

In the classes Andrew Till's Clio unusually had to make do with 2nd place to Robert James' Focus RS but still clutched some handy points. In the fraught MX5 section, Nigel Hodson came out as highest scorer from the HSA group with Andrew Cottrell's Impreza winning his class in the next group.

Amongst the Road-going Specialists John Bradshaw's Sylva Striker had to give best to John Loudon's Westfield but Chris Howard-Harris in the Caterham Superlight took a fine win in the Specialist Production over 1700cc.

Richard Jones ran on his own in Mod Prod up to 1400cc but Colin Satchell took another stron win in Mod Prod 1400 to 2000cc besting co-driver Paul Drowne by just 0.82.

Adam Phelps had to make do with 3rd place in Kit Replica in a very competitive class. Sports Libre lost one of its main contenders, Andy Lawrence's ADR, after practice, with chain tensioning woes which allowed Clive Wooster's Radical a clear run at the class which he took good advantage of.

Paul Knapp's Jedi ran on its Jack Jones for a class win to round off the day for HSA contenders. The prize giving in Race Control saw competitors full of praise for the running of the event and grateful wet tyres and galoshes were still safely packed in the trailers.

A repeat at Blyton

The second day of the WSCC Blyton Park Sprint week-end was a near repeat of the first day with Adrian Clinton-Watkins again taking FTD with a 64.15s run from the Westfields of Gary Bunn and Derek Hodder who outpaced Barry Slingsby on this occasion. Fastest single seater was Richard Vaughan's OMS PR in seventh overall.

With excellent track conditions and fast times many records were broken and good championship scores achieved.

In the SBD HSA Speed Championship standings 2011 Champion Tony Thomas in his Mazda MX5 leads from Fyrth Crosse and Colin Satchell.

Hot Blyton!

18 HSA competitors were on hand at Blton Park for the Westfield Sports Car Club's summer sprint week-end but it was WSCC member and competitor Adrian Clinton-Watkins who took FTD with a 64.80s run ahead of Barry Slingsby, Terry Everall and the modest contingent of single seaters which included Alan Mugglestone who was having a run in Bob Ridge-Stearn's Van Diemen RF87 and saw off the other 4 Formula Fords present by a wide margin.

In fact Alan also took maximum HSA points in the RAW Fulcrum, now going much better and becoming a force in the over 1700cc Roadgoing Specialist Class. Stu Hill (Westfield), Nick Mugglestone (Fulcrum),  Matt Hillam (westfield) and Mark Paterson (Jamun M91) also scored well.

HSA RECORDS FALL AT HAREWOOD

An 11-strong HSA contingent moved north to Harewood as a supporting act to what turned out to be a momentous British Hillclimb Championship event (see separate report). The two Championship front runners strengthened their hold on the series by breaking their respective HSA records, Tony Thomas running in the separate ‘B’ licence class with the MX5 to maintain his overall Championship lead ahead of Fyrth Crosse. Despite a gravelly moment at Orchard in practice the Ensign driver, although outgunned in the 1600cc racing class by the motorcycle powered British Championship hotshots, stretched his HSA series advantage over the third placed Colin Satchell, who had not entered the event.

            Jonathan Plowe and his Fiat X19 were up against local driver Vic Lord’s rapid Elise in the opening class of the day while Bob Ridge-Stearn’s Van Diemen had stern opposition in the form of the Harewood Formula Ford regulars, notably Ben Tranter’s Swift.

            After replacing a drive doughnut on his turbocharged Clan in practice and despite having his first run competition run disallowed after crossing the white line over the finish, Eric Morrey and the Clan and ran third in the dedicated HSA ‘B’ class behind Chris Howard-Harris, who was also inside his HSA record with the Caterham-Rover K, as was Matthew Eady in his Ginetta-Zetec. Mike Hawley was unfortunate to damage his Honda S2000 after spinning over the finish and sat out the second runs. Of the other two MX5s in the class, Ken Morris had the edge over Michael Tindale. Setting the outright pace in both the ‘B’ licence class and the overall HSA entry was Paul Knapp, the screaming engine note of his tiny ex.Robert and Colin Way Jedi-Yamaha almost rivalling that of British Championship front-runner Wallace Menzies’ Cosworth powered DJ Firestorm!

            Full results here.

Prescott Purple Patch

Prescott was the venue on 28^th and 29^th June for the latest rounds of the TTC Midland Hill Climb Championship, the AVON/B.M.T.R Top Ten Challenge, and the SBD/HSA and Service Hydraulics Speed Speed Championships. For once the weather was excellent all weekend long, and track conditions were excellent, at least until Saturday lunchtime when the Britnell/Stevens Force blew a seal and deposited a large quantity of oil between the start and the crossover. But the marshals did a splendid job with the chalk dust and by the time practice had ended and the B licence drivers took their competition runs, the effect of the oil was more psychological than physical.

Undeterred, Rob Stephens returned on the Sunday with the car repaired and promptly broke Martin Bolsover’s over 2 litre sports libre record, which had stood since September 1984! Notably, Sue Young also beat her own ladies record on the Sunday afternoon. The overall FTD fell to Trevor Willis, in his OMS 28. He also won both top ten runoffs, followed closely into second on both occasions by Will Hall.

The event was also marked by a challenge between a team of three Australians from the Rob Roy Hillclimb near Melbourne, competing against three Brits in two factory-loaned Morgans. Prescott and Rob Roy are “twinned” and there are plans for a return match at some future date, when the Aussies will no doubt seek revenge for their defeat at Prescott.

Within the HSA championship class structure, there were some strong performances, with both Jonathan Plowe and Mike Hawley under the old A2 HSA record, and Mike taking the win. Ken Morris came out on top of the MX5 pile, and Alan Mugglestone won the B2 contest in his very rapid Raw Fulcrum. Keith Murray set a new HSA record in class C2 in the Audi 80 and was only two tenths away from the hill record, as did Les Buck in class X with his Lotus 61.  Adam Phelps was the top HSA runner in class D, and Nick Stephens came out on top of the HSA class V runners. Graham Williamson in his Imp was unopposed in class N, as was Mark Ranger in the Nota Arnold MkIV who established a class Z record.

Adam Phelps’ Aries Locost couldn’t quite match Debbie Dunbar’s time in the family Westfield which took the top two places in Mod Specialist Prod with Father Andy taking the win. The very competitive kit car class saw 7 cars under 46secs with Dave Wilson taking the win on 44.49s (which was still half a second shy of Darren Luke’s record) from Ken Evans and Steve Garner.

In the large and fiercely fought1000cc Racing Car Class Adam Steel’s Martlet was the only runner under 40secs with not one but two 39.53s efforts.Simon Fidoe’s Empire was next up from Darren Gumbley’s Force PT a scant 0.06s ahead of Chris Aspinall.

In the pre ’71 Racing Cars class Neil Haughton made a welcome return in his immaculate Lotus 51 after 5 years of restoration (driver that is – knees and hips!) with Geoff Hunt’s Lotus 22 twin cam posting the fastest time of 46.48s.

Hats off to the Bugatti Owners Club for running through the programme on Sunday without a lunch break, the marshals working in shifts to allow continuous running. This allowed time lost in the morning due to "offs" to be caught up and the meeting to end at a decent hour.

Official results here.

Another Pair for Willis

A delightfully warm and sunny two days graced Prescott’s mid summer speed fest which hosted the Midland Hillclimb championship together with the SBD HSA, Service Hydraulics, Paul Matty and other championships.

Trevor Willis took a brace of MHC Top 12 run off wins in his OMS CF28 along the FTD of 36.71s. Will Hall and Deryk Young filled the remaining top three positions on both run offs.

Alan Mugglestone took the HSA B licence holders class from son, Nick, in their shared RAW Fulcrum which is beginning to show its potential. In Roadgoing Series Production Jon Plowe was giving his smart little FIAT X1/9 another outing but a blown intercooler put him at some disadvantage while Roy Standley’s familiar EVO was a comfortable winner in the large capacity group with a 47.40s. In Mod Prod Keith Murray’s A4 was unchallenged and only two tenths away from the hill class record. Adam Phelps’ Aries Locost couldn’t quite match Debbie Dunbar’s time in the family Westfield which took the top two places in Mod Specialist Prod with Father Andy taking the win.

The very competitive kit car class saw 7 cars under 46secs with Dave Wilson taking the win on 44.49s (which was still half a second shy of Darren Luke’s record) from Ken Evans and Steve Garner.

In the large Libre Class Rob Stevens’ Force SR4 brok Marin Bolsover’s very long standing hill class record with a 39.48s run. In the large and competitive 1000cc Racing Car Class Adam Steel’s Martlet was the only runner under 40secs with not one but two 39.53s efforts.Simon Fidoe’s Empire was next up form Darren Gumbley’s Force PT a scant 0.06s ahead of Chris Aspinall.

In the pre ’71 Racing Cars class Neil Haughton made a welcome return in his immaculate Lotus 51 after 5 years of restoration (driver that is – knees and hips!) with Geoff Hunt’s Lotus 22 twin cam posting the fastest time of 46.48s.

Times here

Graham Hill Trophy Sprint

Conditions were superb for the Owen Motoring Club’s 50^th annual Curborough Sprint on 9 June, and drivers enjoyed three practice runs and two competition runs of the single lap course, the weather getting better and better as the day wore on. The event marked the halfway point of the SBD HSA Speed Championship, it being the 17^th out of 34 rounds being held in 2013.

Top honours for FTD, and the superb Graham Hill Trophy, were closely fought over by father and son Lindsay and Alasdair Mercer in their Force LM sports libre, together with Gary Thomas in his Force PC and Nick Skidmore in his Tatuus Formula Renault 2.0 litre. In the first timed runs, both Lindsay and Alasdair broke the under 1700cc sports libre class record, with Alasdair lowering it to 28.54. Gary Thomas was very close behind on 28.73, followed by Lindsay and Nick. On the second runs, Alasdair and Lindsay were slightly slower, but Gary put in a very strong effort, determined to take the trophy home again. However, he suffered a dramatic failure of his front brake disc, which shattered on the approach to the molehill, and his challenge came to an abrupt end. Nick Skidmore improved significantly and ended up third fastest on 29.67, behind FTD man Alasdair Mercer and the unfortunate Gary Thomas.

HSA members featured prominently among the class winners, led by Mike Hawley in his Honda 2000GT in the 1400 to 2000cc roadgoing sports and saloons while Andrew Cottrill was a clear winner in the over 2000cc division. Tim Pennington was a strong second in the over 1700cc Locaterfield class, beaten only by the incredibly fast Curborough regular, Simon Thornley. Peter Ayres won the closely fought Flatheads class in his Ford Model A.

Given the excellent weather conditions, a number of new HSA records were set, with Mike Hawley and Jonathan Plowe both under the old A2 mark. Andrew Cottrill smashed the old A3 record, Tim Pennington did the same in B2, and Ben Hamer established a C1 benchmark. Gary Thomas took a big chunk out of the old J2 category record and Les Buck reduced the class X mark.

Even more records tumble at Pembrey

On the Sunday of BARC Wales' Summer Sprint week-end things continued much as the day before but there were some exceptions. Paul Drowne was happy to close to within 0.26s of Colin Satchell, especially after a fail on the first run and similarly Adam Phelps closed to 0.33s of Ian Parr’s Sylva Riot. The 1100cc Racing Car class saw Martin Pickles and Andy Potter reverse their Saturday positions with Richard Arrowsmith’s Force much closer to the two Jedis – three if you count Grahame Harden’s winning example.

Gary Thomas was pushed hard my a much more on form Glyn Sketchley for 1600cc Racing Car honours with just over half a second separating them at the finish. Plenty of new HSA class records were set including those by Bob Adams, Terry Graves, Steve Miles, Clive Wooster and Adam Pemble.

The performances of Satchell, Graves and Drowne moved them onto the top 3 positions of the SBD HSA Speed Championship.

Records galore at Pembrey

BARC Wales ran their traditional Summer Sprint over 1 ¾ laps of the demanding and fast Pembrey circuit on June 1 & 2. A strong turn out of HSA competitors (27) joined a large contingent of British Sprint competitors along with those competing in the Service Hydraulics and BARC Speed championship and all were welcomed with plenty of sunshine and warm weather.

The track was well rubbered in – although off the racing line! There had been a drift event taking place the week-end before and it was strange to see the racing line surrounded by black strips. Even so the warm weather saw 9 class new records set on each day.

On Saturday the Mod Prod class saw Paul Drowne trying hard to close the gap on Colin Satchell with whom he shares a very rapid Peugeot 205 but had to be content with second, some 3.5s behind. With current HSA Champion, Matt Hillam not so much in evidence this year Mod Specialist Prod is closer than before and Ian Parr’s interesting Sylva Riot just beat Adam Phelps’ Aires Locost by 0.33s. Clive Wooster had things pretty much his own way in the up to 2000cc Libre class with the new rear wing on Colin Early’s Darrian T90 not working as expected.

Kurt Ramsdon was pleased to get within a second of Jim Belt’s mighty Juno TR400 in his Radical SP in practice but following a massive blow up in the Juno was unopposed in the timed runs. Nick Mugglestone was the best of the Mazda MX5s and was also out in the family’s new RAW Fulcrum which has seen extensive modifications following testing. Race engineer, Alan Mugglestone managed third place in the Fulcrum in the large specialist production class just behind Tim Pennington’s Westfield and winner, John Hoyle’s Westfield.

Garahame Harden just took the 1100cc Racing Car class from Martin Pickles and Andy Potter’s similar Jedis with Richard Arowsmith’s Force a little further back. Chris Bennett was being pushed by an ever improving Mark Paterson in the Jamun M91 Formula Ford which he shares with fellow Ginetta owner Rob Pallett but the Van Diemen driver managed to stay ahead. Gary Thomas finished well ahead of an out of sorts Glyn Sketchley in their Forces (PC vs PT) for 1600cc Racing Car class honours while Steve Miles (Van Diemen RF96) and Martin Webb (Dallara F399) both set new HSA class records

MAC May MIRA

A brief spell of high pressure, blue skies and a slight northerly breeze led to almost perfect conditions for MAC’s MIRA meeting on 25^th May. Three practice runs and two competition runs were on offer, the track was as grippy as ever, and records were there to be broken.

Practice was eventful for some. Poor Nick Stephens was turned away at the startline, having offended the noise meter with his Ginetta G4, despite having run it at three meetings this year without an issue. Geoff Kershaw, after much work in rebuilding the Sierra after Mallory, had gearchange problems which led to over-revving the motor, and he was unable to take part in the competition runs. Jonathan Plowe was suffering lurid handling in his Fiat X19 – it had terminal understeer on the left hand bends. Happily the problem was traced to a loose hub connection and was cured for the afternoon runs.

MAC had attracted a large entry, boosted no doubt by some 28 SBD HSA championship contenders, as well as strong contingents from the Westfield and Morgan speed championships.

FTD, the 1600 cc racing car class win, and a new Class J2 HSA record, went to Gary Thomas in his Force PC, now repaired after its Snetterton spin, in 43.35 seconds. He was just ahead of Chris Green and Keith Green in the family OMS, who recorded 44.91 and 45.27 respectively. David Owen won the 600/1100cc category in 46.03 and was fourth fastest overall.  Gary recorded 136mph in the speed trap just before the control tower corner. (You don’t see that in the Autocar road tests!)

In the HSA championship classes, all three A2 runners, Andrew Till, Jonathan Plowe and Michael Hawley ran under the old record, with the latter coming out on top. Nick Mugglestone eclipsed Tony Thomas’ old MX5 record. Andrew Cottrill won his over 2 litre saloon class in his Subaru and took nearly 3 seconds off the previous A3 record. The Muggestones were out in force again and Alan took the opportunity to a class win and also to lower the B2 mark in his RAW Fulcrum. Les Buck won the Pre 1975 racing car class and lowered the Class X record in the process.

Results here. No photos are available due to the MIRA policy.

Super Snetterton

The ten or so HSA competitors who decided on the trek to Norfolk were rewarded with a spendid double event weekend of high class sprinting. Even the weather played ball, being dull and overcast on Saturday but sunny and warm for Sunday.

This was the first time that the HSA had attended the new'ish 100 sprint circuit. ALL of those attending considered the track superb, the race spec tarmac proving excellent grip with some very interesting high speed corners and all run on a counter-clockwise 1 3/4 circuit sprint. The weekend also hosted two rounds of the Championship.

Whilst Saturday started damp and slippery the day ended with lots of new HSA records being set. Top runner was Martin Webb in the Dallara with an 87.01s whilst Tony Jarvis recorded 89.13s in the same car. Richard Arrowsmith, driving the Force, topped the HSA class with 92.42s.

There were 54 entries from the Caterham Academy series on Saturday, led by Henry Heaton at 103.60s. 

Sunday saw a higher track temperature, superb grip and most of Saturday's HSA records improved upon. Tony Thomas in his MX5, achieved a 112.57 closely followed by Peter Hubbard, Marcos, with a 114.91. Unfortunately Keith Murray in the Audi dropped a valve on his first run so could not improve on his blistering 93.19s Saturday time.

Fyrth Crosse decimated his Saturday time with 96.03s, Mark Patterson, at 101.91s, got the better of his driving partner Robert Pallet at 107.19s in their Jamun FF.

Jonathan Plowe attended on Sunday and found his delightful Fiat X19 suffering dramatic understeer and reluctant to go round corners, but achieved a creditable 124.65s

Overall, an event definitely for the 2014 calendar.

Splendid Shelsley

After a disappointingly wet start to Saturday practice, Sunday proved to be a perfect day with many of the 25 or so HSA competitors setting PBs .

However Simon Andrews had a BIG off after crossing, cartwheeling the OMS and losing two wheels. Pleased to report I saw him walking across the paddock as I left showing no signs of damage, only to his bank balance.

Geoff Stallard was out in his newly finished Elan and recorded 34.49 for 2nd in Class P1, Johnathan Plowe had his newly aquired Fiat X19 running very well for a 39.52. Hugh Whitcomb was out again in the Mini Cooper S after a years sabbatical and quickly got down to a 39.54, beating Peter Hubbard's Marcos time of 40.26 in Class O for Classics.

A great show of 10 Flatheads in Class Z saw Neil Bennett's last run of 39.55 top the class with Mark Brett close behind at 39.73.

Trevor Willis won both of the Avon/BMTR run-offs with a best of 24.21 - wow, that is quick!

WHOOPEE FOR A WARM WERRINGTON WEEKEND

Another weekend and competitors in the 2013 SBD/HSA speed championship were heading west, either to Worcestershire or to North Cornwall. Both weekend affairs, Rounds 9 and 10 were held at Werrington, two separate ‘B’ club events, held on a private estate available only one weekend every year. There was a modest and enthusiastic HSA entry and it was good have a numbner of West Country residents competing.

It was raining Saturday morning and despite voices of doom in the paddock the track was dry by P2 and remained so for the remainder of the weekend. With the top half of the track resurfaced, completing the work started in 2012, quick times were expected and the good crowd of spectators on both days were not disappointed.

Fastest driver on both days was SBD/HSA championship contender and local resident Terry Graves in his sparkling Gould GR37, 34.14s and 32.61s, the latter a new hill record. On both days he was chased home by another SBD/HSA championship contender, Andy Dinner in his Pilbeam MP82, again a local resident!

There were plenty of other class records whilst SBD/HSA contenders were breaking the championship records in profusion.

Hollier wins again!

Sunday the 28^th was cooler and overcast, the weather forecast suggesting rain later although it in fact remained dry. The FTD again went to Ed Hollier on 36.18s, this time from Mike Lee in his 1600cc OMS with 37.93s.

16 cars represented the SBD/HSA Speed championship. Peter Hodson was alone in his interesting Smart Roadster in HSA class A1, 54.92s and 9pts. Just one MX5 and Nigel Hodson secured 11pts whilst in A3 Adam Pemble battled with Brian Marshall, the former’s Celica on an impressive 46.19s resetting Saturday’s record. Records then seemed slightly more difficult, Stu Hill’s Westy in B1, Chris Howard-Harris with his Caterham in B2 fresh from Goodwood the day before, messrs Satchell and Drowne in C2 with their interestingly fast 205 and Geoff Kershaw in B3 with his Sierra, all just short of their class records but good points scores all the same. Clive Worcester broke this pattern with a very quick 41.93s in his Radical resetting the HSA record.

Richard Arrowsmith again held a lead over Stephen Loadsman in class I, this time the Force around 1s ahead. The Crosse Ensign reset the class J record on 41.95s whilst Bob Ridge-Stearn missed a new class J1 record by a frustrating 0.05s. Class W2 and both drivers of their shared Ralt broke the class record, John Burton on 40.69s ahead by 0.23s from John Opie.

Results here.

Hollier Wins at Wiscombe

On the first busy weekend of the 2013 speed event calendar there were hillclimbs at Wiscombe and Prescott and a sprint at Goodwood. Apart from visiting Goodwood the SBD/HSA Speed Championship was also invited by Woolbridge Motor Club to both days of their spring weekend at Wiscombe, for many years a regular feature of the HSA programme.

The weather was dry on both days and the track in excellent order following resurfacing in 2012. Saturday saw Ed Hollier starring, following his two BTDs at Gurston the previous weekend. His 1600cc Pilbeam MP62 took BTD on 36.57s, chased home by Adam Steele in the 1000cc Martlet AS1 on 36.79s.

Nigel Hodson and Chris Falcon shared the MX5 class, Nigel on 52.48s securing 11pts to Chris’s 7. Neil Duncanson had overheating issues with his Audi, the thermostat not receiving the right messages; nonetheless he secured class A3 from Brian Marshall’s 944t with a new class record of 46.40s, Brian also breaking the record, 16 and 15 points respectively. This pattern continued, Stu Hill’s Westy in B1, Colin Satchell and Paul Drowne in their shared 205 in B2, Geoff Kershaw and his bright Sierra in B3 and Clive Wooster’s Radical in F, all setting new HSA class records on what was obviously a pleasant day on track.

Richard Arrowsmith ad Stephen Loadsman closely contested class I, Richard on 43..32s just 0.43s ahead, 9 and 7 points respectively, Stephen harassed having lost the seal from his smart new tyre pressure gauge, despite a comprehensive examination of the paddock. The Ensign of Fyrth Crosse established a new standard in class J whilst Bob Ridge-Stearn stroked his Van Dieman FF to 47.62s, a new class record and 15pts. The regular Burton/Opie Ralt RT3 battle was settled in favour of John Burton on 42.27s. The day finished in good time with the prizegiving in the paddock.

Results here.

A funny old day at Goodwood

The Bognor Regis Motor Club had the unenviable task of running this event on a day when the entry and ambient conditions conspired to make the local noise restrictions a serious problem. Lengthy delays and numerous exclusions culminated in a rather strange outcome for FTD. After the first runs Bill Gouldthorpe in his OMS CF08 was sitting at the top of the times but received a warning of excessive noise levels. On a ‘two stikes and you’re out’ basis if he elected to take his second timed run and exceeded the noise limits he would have been excluded from the results so he elected to sit out the second run in order to preserve his time. On the second runs Malcolm Boorman in his OMS 2000M just shaded Bill’s time of 149.21s with a 148.51s to take FTD. An unsatisfactory situation but that is how it was.

Other likely contenders for FTD ran into mechanical problems with Glynn Sketchley’s Force sidelined with a broken starter and the SBD OMS 25 of Steve Broughton, still trying to get in some early season track time, had a piece of spark plug fall into a cylinder and destroy a piston. Also looking possible for FTD Steve Miles’ Van Diemen managed to trigger all five ‘drive by’ noise meters and so was excluded along with John Bradshaw (Striker) and the Phelps’ (Aries). Mike Smith (Striker) lost a head gasket, Chris Bennett (Van Diemen) had a misfire and Caroline Pashley had problems with her Jedi.

Third FTD went to Ian Catt is the very smart ‘new’ Wealden Engineering/Empire replacing the similarly liveried OMS SF2 he had previously campaigned. Father, Frank, spent a year re-engineering the Empire chassis (the third to be produced) and updating the bodywork and aero. For the first time out Ian was very pleased with the result.

Chris Fulke-Greville and Andrew Till finished one two in the 2000cc Roadgoing Production class and the MXs finished in the order Tony Thomas, Pedro Moriyon and Stephen Dally. In the well supported large ‘kit car’ class it was all Caterhams with Chris Howard-Harris and Lynn Gilbert finishing one three in their shared Superlight, seperated by Michael Sankey’s similar car and ahead of a horde of SELOC Elises.

Chris Bennett and Dennis Pickett enjoyed a close and private battle in their Formula Fords, which just went the former’s way on this occasion.

The BRMC used a different format to the usual Goodwood Sprints this year with the start taking place at the end of the pit lane and the return to the paddock just after the chicane. This shortened the distance a little to 1.8 laps and meant the chicane was used just once. Overall, competitors seemed happy with the arrangement.

Results here.

FIVE HSA WINNERS AT GURSTON

BARC(SW)’s opening meeting of the year at the Wiltshire hillclimb staged a tense duel between Ed Hollier’s Pilbeam-Hayabusa and James Blackmore’s similarly powered OMS 25. After Blackmore had taken a narrow first run lead, a mistake at Karousel let the hard charging Hollier through to take his first ever Gurston FTD in his immaculate and highly developed, now fuel injected, MP62.

A seventeen-strong HSA entry were on hand to contest round five of the Championship, with five drivers scoring Gurston class wins. Neil Duncanson, Colin Satchell, Fyrth Crosse and Steve Boother all topped their respective timesheets, first time hillclimber Boother’s OMS-Kawasaki emerging with a fine 1100cc racing class victory on aggregate after matching times with regular Gurston front-runner Euan Kemp’s similar machine.

In the dedicated five-car SBD/HSA Speed Championship saloon and sports car class, Stuart Hill finally demolished Simon Braithwaite’s ten-year-old Gurston record in his Westfield as he held off Mike Smith’s Sylva Striker. The battle between Andrew Till and Chris Fulke-Greville also changed the order at the sharp end of the HSA table, Till's time in the Clio giving him the series lead with C F-G and the Integra promoted to second equal, level with Duncanson, who had romped home in his big Quattro to a two and threequarter second 2-litre roadgoing win over Shaun Fudge’s Impreza. Satchell moved into ninth and with co-driver Paul Drowne made it a 2-litre ModProd one-two in their rapid Peugeot 205.

Crosse enjoyed his usual duel with fellow Historic class regular Geoff Hunt, the Ensign-Twincam keeping clear of Hunt’s immaculate Lotus 22 by sixteen hundredths in a class which also saw the first appearance of Nick Stephens’ Ginetta G4 with 1700 crossflow, which he’d wheeled out of storage to replace his familiar G12-Zetec.

Elsewhere, HSA contender Tim Pennington’s Westfield SE squeezed past Mike Williams’ SEiW, moving up to fifth equal on the HSA table, level with the absent Steve Miles. Clive Wooster battled hard in his sports libre Radical-Suzuki to trail rapid Gurston regulars Jonathan Gates (third FTD in his Force-Hayabusa) Keith Diggle’s WEV with Cosworth BDG power and Gates’ co-driver Peter Sexton.

Results here.

Hall takes it easy

After seeing snow at the first three rounds of the SBD HSA Championship, competitors were greeted with gazebo and awning destroying gales during the morning practice runs. Heavy rain over the lunch period ceased leaving a drying track which was almost dry for most of the second runs.

With Trevor Willis not making an appearance it was left to Will Hall to take FTD (47.97s and the only driver under 50s) and get in some early season practice ahead of his British Hillclimb Championship campaign.

Elsewhere Mark Laws went well in the large Series Production class to keep ahead of Brian Marshall’s Porsche and Adam Pemble’s Celica which posted a fail on its second run. Things were tight in the Roadgoing kit car class where Chris Howard-Harris’ Caterham just edged out Tim Pennington’s Westfield by 0.09s after being behind on the first run.

Andy Dunbar took a comfortable win in the Mod Prod kit cars in the Westfield he shares with Daughter Debbie who finished just ahead of Adam Phelps’ Ariel Locost. In the same class Michael Andrews, having forsaken his Peugeot, was having his first competitive run in a MK Indy which he had driven to the track arriving a little damp while Father Simon (OMS 2000M), had to give second best to Alex Summers’ Force PT in the 1100cc Racing Car class. Gordon Hick had to retire with a bent suspension after the first run.

Giving up their respective Ginettas (at least temporarily), Rob Pallett and Mark Patterson were having their first ever runs in the ex Cox family Jamun M91 Formula Ford and  both were enjoying the experience immensely and Mark was very pleased to finish only 0.35s behind winner Bob Ridge-Stearn.

Paul Jarrett took the 1600cc Racing Car class in his OMS 2000M (after Jos Goodyear non started the GWS Raptor following practice) from Mark Goodyear in the OMS Hornet and Fyrth Crosse’s venerable Ensign LNF3 which was going well after a change of jets in the carbs.

Results here.

Green Shoots at Lydden

After lots of prayers, the day dawned dry but damned cold. Even with snow flurries during scrutineering a dry track was promised.

22 different Championships were invited, including the British sprinters, and about 75 competitors assembled. Therefore the 13 or so from the HSA formed a good contingent.

With a race meeting scheduled for the afternoon, the sprint's tight schedule (excluding the British run-off) was accomplished by 12.30. But allowing only two timed runs, it was not helped by various excursions to the grass and 360 degree turns on the track.

James Pile in the Mini Cooper was just pipped by a Honda Civic in Class 1 and John Brookes in the Porsche 996 got the better of the three Marcos GTs. Neil Dunkerson entertained in the Audi Quattro, as did Ivan Russell in the Ford Anglia.

HSA newcomers Daniel and Dennis Pickett in their Quest FF86 ran just 0.09seconds apart.

Overall a great day, very well organised. Roll on the next meeting!

Results here.

Winter continues at Castle Combe

The weather was no kinder to competitors at Castle Combe for Round 2 of the SBD HSA Speed Championship than it had been at Mallory Park the week before. Freezing temperatures, snow and a biting wind greeted those brave enough to make the trip. With a damp and greasy (after oil went down early in practice) track times were slow and cars were twitchy with many tales of offs and no traction.

Although it stopped snowing mid morning and a drier line emerged in the afternoon times remained off the pace with FTD going to Terry Holmes in his Lola Tegra Judd on 134.51s which he later improved to a 121.13s during the Bristish Sprint Run Off.

Plenty of SBD HSA competitors were present with Keith Murray's impressive mod prod Audi being the fastest non single seater with a 151.15s run. In the big series production class Toby Harris' Ford Puma put in a fine perfomance with a 159.03s run while former Champion Nick Mugglestone saw off the rest of the MX5s.

As usual the competitive small kit car class saw close competition and a good story to boot. Mike Smith with a new exhaust cam in his well known Striker (now the engine is to the same spec as the other familiar Puma Zetec engined cars) not only saw his friend Bob Bellerby beat him by nearly a second in Mike's own Sylva Riot but they both lost out by another second to Paul Barker who was sharing Mike's Striker!

Father and son, John and Adam Phelps were seperated by four seconds (Adam coming out on top) with their Aries Locost although they would maybe have gone quicker if they had chosen slicks for their second runs as other competitors were doing.

In the single seater classes mention must be made of seventy something Bill Gouldthorpe in the SBD OMS CF08 who won the 1600cc class and came 6th in the Top 12 Run Off. Carole Torkington sharing the same car also made the Top 12 Run Off after very little seat time in the car.

Bob and Anne Adams managed to get in some decent runs in their Royale RP30 after being troubled by a misfire during practice.

Steve Broughton in the new SBD OMS 25 (with fly by wire throttle and much else besides) took the competitive 2000cc class from a charging Scott Pillinger in the DSP OMS.

Results here.

Snow, snow, sleet sleet, snow at Mallory Park

About 115 competitors braved the elements at Mallory Park on 17 March for BARC’s season–opener. This featured rounds of no fewer than ten 2013 speed championships, with the majority of runners coming from the SBD HSA, BARC SBD, Service Hydraulics and MGCC-Luffield contests.

The event was dominated by the weather. Early morning rain turned to sleet and then snow, which caused some problems with the timing gear and so after a number of delays, there was time for only one practice run.  Fortunately, the snow turned back to rain at lunchtime, and two competition runs were then taken, the first in very wet conditions, the second after the rain had stopped. The track never dried, however, and this was not a day for setting new records.

Gary Thomas set FTD in his newly acquired Force PC, at 65.53 seconds, followed closely by Malcolm Boorman (OMS 2000M) at 66.31 and David Tilley (Toleman T9280R) at 67.48. Mention must also be made of Colin Satchell in his Peugeot 205, who had been second fastest after T1, but was fourth fastest at the end of the day with 67.79 – a superb achievement by a saloon-based car, albeit significantly modified.

In addition to Gary Thomas, Colin Satchell and David Tilley, a number of HSA championship contenders were also event class winners, including

Andrew Till, Renault Clio Cup, 1400 to 2000cc standard saloon and sports cars

 John Brookes , Porsche 911, over 2000cc standard saloon and sports cars

John Bradshaw, Sylva Striker, up to 1700 cc road going kit/replica cars

Alan Mugglestone, Raw-Fulcrum, over 1700cc road going kit/replica cars

Ivan Russell, Ford Anglia 105E, up to 1400cc modified limited production cars

Geoff Kershaw, Ford Sierra T/C, over 2000cc modified ltd production cars

Clive Wooster, Radical SR4, up to 1700cc sports libre cars

Richard Arrowsmith, Force PC, up to 1100cc single seat racing cars

Steve Miles, Van Diemen RF, 1601 to 2000cc single seat racing cars

Peter Caiado-Gillett, Van Diemen RF84, pre 96 FF1600, F First & Club B cars

Congratulations to all the organisers at BARC, marshals and timekeepers for running the event through very difficult circumstances.

There is a good video of the event on GoodwoodRRC Channel's YouTube section here.

Official results here.