Isle of Wight Car Club 
21 drivers made the epic journey down what must be the bumpiest gravel trail to compete at a gem of a new venue, Duxmore Farm.
The land owner is very keen to allow us to use his land, so much so, it will be the location for the much anticipated Autocross in August.
The field used for round 7 was a secluded flat grass paddock and provided a great day of grassroots motorsport.
As with any grass venue the first round is super slippery and the first drivers out had no chance of putting in a respectable time, however, those who waited for the top layer of grass to be brushed aside had a nice path to follow with improved grip.
If it was not for striking a cone, Dean Long would have placed the fastest time in round one in his AWD Subaru Impreza, however, Chris Wilson took that honour in his class 5 special.
In round 2 the classic mini of Marion and Steve Brett broke an inner CV joint putting them out of action for the rest of the day. Marion kindly volunteered to sit in the race control trailer to help with event results and timing.
In round 3 it was Chris who struck a cone incurring a 5 second penalty and handing the fastest time over to Dean Long. However, during the next run Dean’s Subaru suffered from an electrical fault, which resulted in a DNF. Both Dean and Tony were left franticly spannering in the pits to get their car back in action.
The Longs were not the only competitors driving a Subaru at this event. Jon Barret had kindly offered members of the Isle of Wight Subaru Owners Club to drive his Impreza. Ben Franklin, Ben Condon and Dave Arnold all seemed to enjoy themselves with the latter producing the highest position on the day’s result within their group.
As promised, officials from the Southsea Motor Club made themselves available to answer any questions about the upcoming Autocross event in August. They also gave advice on what modifications, if any, were needed to competitors’ cars to meet the event’s safety requirements.
For those of you who now have your MSA licence and access to the required helmet and overalls, you have pretty much everything you need to join the Isle of Wight Car Club, who have been invited back to Gurston Down on the 10th of September to compete at their hill climb in our own class. If you would like to compete or come and spectate visit their website for more information.
By round 6 the course was defined with little grass left and even at this stage drivers wanting to produce a quick time were stalling to be the last car out on track. In this round, Andy Williams produced the provisional fastest time of the day and as Chris Wilson lined up for his run the pressure was on. Unfortunately for him he struck a cone and with this incurred a 5 second penalty. With their car now fixed, Dean and Tony Long lined up to perform their runs. Tony, like many other drivers during the day, rolled his near side front tyre off its rim halfway round the course and Dean over cooked it into the stop box, narrowly missing the timing gear, and incurred a 10 second penalty for doing so.
Once Marion and Brian had worked out the results for the day, Sue Mitchel was awarded the flowers for being the fastest lady, Dean claimed the 3rd step of the podium, Chris Wilson was the highest placed looser of the day but it was Andy Williams who was crowned as the day’s champion.
The next event is on the 30th of July at Haslett Farm