A rare occasion presents itself to us this coming Sunday the 20^th! We are being given the opportunity to run at a brand new SS venue; IOW pearl car park.

As with all of our venues making best use of space is imperative to the success of the event. Fortunately we have managed to secure additional parking on Chilton Farm Lane, (30 yards west of the entrance to IOW Pearl on the opposite side of the road.) Any non-competing car will be asked to park here.

Anyone bringing a non-road legal car to the event will need to drive into the pearl car park to unload before parking their trailer and tow car over on the lane. It should go without saying that if the car is not road legal it cannot be driven across the public highway between the competition and parking areas! Please when parking on the side of the lane, ensure you are not blocking access to any of the gates or impeding access down the lane.

The event will run like we do at St Georges Park, with doors to the car park closing at 9:25 so if you have anyone coming to watch please can you ask them to park on Chilton farm lane or the parking area immediately after the entrance to the pearl on the same side of the road.

Scruitineering at events.

As you know we scrutineer every car before an event, this is something we feel very passionate about having found and then mitigated many potential hazards over the years!

It is starting to take up to 2 hours at some events, partly due to drivers leaving their cars locked or on trailers un accessible to be checked. Please can you ensure that you leave your car open and unloaded ready to be checked by 9:30 so our scruitineer (and time keepers) can have completed this activity before the safety briefing.

Finally as ever please remember you can subscribe as a 2014 member and sign on for the event online through the website!

Isle of Wight Car Club 2014: Round One Event Report

After a long wait for the ladies and gents of the Isle of Wight Car Club, the 2014 season finally got underway with the first round of the season, which received an entry of 32 drivers. A relatively free flowing course at the Isle of Wight College played host to the event, which initially looked more like a duck race rather than a motorsports event. The heavens had opened overnight, and they were threatening to do so once again as everyone made their way onto track for their opening runs. However, the drivers did a good job of staying on the track in the adverse weather conditions, and they were rewarded with a course that dried throughout the day.

The compact nature of the original Mini lends itself to this type of event no matter what weather conditions they are faced with, so it was unsurprising to see several of those at the front. For a while, it looked as if the father-son pairing of Chris and Adam Greenen were untouchable out front, with the two exchanging fastest times in their shared Mini. Their dominance was then interrupted by Dan Morgan in his borrowed Caterham, who set a stunning time of 1:03.24 on his fifth run. At that point, only Chris Greenen had got into the 1:03 range with a 1:03.55.

Sure enough, Dan went out on his sixth and last run and set another fastest time, a 1:02.97, which looked to be enough to secure overall victory. Kevin Richardson took to the course next. Kevin had been struggling to find pace to match the Greenens in his Mini, and after five runs he had been unable to break the mid-1:05 barrier. However, his sixth run was almost perfect, and he crossed the line to claim a 1:02.68, putting him on top.

Next it was the turn of Chris Greenen in the Mini which had shown such great pace throughout the event. His fastest time of the day so far was a 1:03.55; he would be looking to beat that and reclaim the lead in his last run of the day. As he set off, it was clear that he was on maximum attack. His lines were neat and he avoided any cone contact, and he crossed the line to set a 1:02.23. That time would not be beaten, so Chris had secured the overall win as well as Class Three victory on his final run.

Class Five honours went the way of Dan Morgan in the Caterham, while Subaru Impreza campaigner David Bizzill came out on top in Class Four. Daniel Kozakewycz was the first Class Two runner in his Mazda MX5, while Darren Cole set the pace in Class One driving his Seat Ibiza.

The next round of the championship sees the Isle of Wight Car Club travelling along the Military Road to the Isle of Wight Pearl on the 20th of April.