Thank you to all the members who have submitted items to be discussed at the 2024 AGM. There was one overwhelming theme – the Youth Championship! Concerns have been raised about how once a member passes their test they are able to drive a car which is prohibited for unlicenced drivers.
It’s important to have a starting point for any discussion, so I would propose the following be defined in the 2024 IOWCC Autotest Championship Regulations:
Youth Championship Eligibility: All entrants must hold a Junior membership of the Isle Of Wight Car Club and compete in a vehicle eligible under GR M.17
Junior memberships are available to anybody who is under 18 at the start of the membership year. For those of you who haven’t memorised the Blue Book, General Regulation M.17 reads:
Entries may be accepted from Drivers who are aged 14 years and over who do not have a valid, full RTA Licence, subject to: (a) The vehicle must by definition be a ‘’Touring Car’’; (b) The vehicle engine capacity must not exceed 2000cc including forced induction; (c) A passenger must be carried who holds a valid, full RTA licence and be experienced in Autotests or AutoSOLOs.
This means the Youth Championship remains open to newly licenced drivers who may not have had the luxury of competing with us since they were 14, but they will have to compete on a level footing in terms of their car.
It’s great that the Youth Championship has been so popular and we hope it continues to be!
One other suggestion received was to mix up the event format a little, perhaps with multiple tests or using cumulative times. While this is difficult to do within the championship, perhaps we could make use of Motorsport UK’s new “Evening Autotest” permit which offers a reduced fee (and therefore reduced entry fees!) to hold some non-championship events during the summer months. Ideas welcome!
Round 4 of the Isle of Wight Car Club’s Forward only Autotest season was held at Westridge Leisure Centre. The twisting course around islands and traffic cones proved a real driving challenge.
To help keep this grass roots motorsport as accessible and as cheap as possible the club runs 2 different classes for completely standard cars – basic road tyres, no upgraded brakes, no sports or decat exhausts – this may sound boring to some, however, the competition can be fierce.
Class 1 is for unmodified cars under 1400cc and Robin Perkins who was looking to challenge for the class win unfortunately clipped one of the unforgiving curbed islands damaging his rear wheel and putting him out of the event after run 3. Rob Highmore and Darren Phillips in their shared Ford KA were leading the field at the end of the day and it was Darren who delivered the fastest time, giving him the class 1 win.
Class 2 is for unmodified cars over 1400cc – Jacques Ridett and Steve Ridett had such a close battle driving their shared Toyota Corolla and for a standard car it has some get up and go and it was a joy to see them nail some of the challenging handbrake turns. Jacques earned the bracing rights as he was the fastest of the two by only 0.9 of a second.
Wayne Hole, also in class 2, is a very experienced and talented driver of his MX5. He struggled to improve on his time in the closing runs of the day, however, he took the class 2 win and claimed the 3rd step of the podium.
If you own or like to modify your car then the modified classes will be just your cup of tea – there are restrictions as the car must resemble a road legal car.
Class 3 is for modified cars under 1400cc and this is where you find the souped up hot hatches such as Micras, Fiestas, MGZRs, classic minis and the fantastic Citroen C1 of James Robbins.
Dave Goodwin in his classic mini and James traded fastest overall times throughout the day and James took the class and overall win by 0.08 seconds. This is making for an exciting battle as both Dave and James are on equal points in the class 3 championship.
Class 4 is for modified cars over 1400cc – one of the questions at the beginning of the day was what sort of car would be best suited to this course. Well ,the top 3 class 4 cars finished one behind the other with only 1 second between them all. Kevin Richardson in his front wheel drive MINI Cooper S finished 3rd in class, Jon Barrett finished 2nd in class in his all wheel drive Subaru Impreza but it was Dean Long in his rear wheel drive MX5 that took the class win. It is amazing that 3 completely different cars and different driving styles can produce such a close result.
If you want to compete in something extreme, then class 5 is home to heavily modified saloons, non-production cars and specials.
Robbie Cooper in his ex grass track classic mini put in a fantastic effort and finished in 13th place overall and the class 5 win.
Cathy True was using her rally mini and is getting more confident and is very excited to compete in the Island Stages on the 30th of September – Cathy was awarded the fastest lady of the day prize and finished 16th overall.
You can compete at one of our events from the age of 14 as part of the Jake Ellis Sunglasses Youth Championship – Joel Gilby was our fastest youth of the day and is no longer the apprentice and on his way to being the master as he finished in 10th place overall, an astonishing 16 places ahead of his father Boo Gilby.
Thank you to Pro-Tek for sponsoring the podium.
An amazing addition to the event was the inclusion of Wight Karting who are based at Westridge and provide Karting Action all year round whatever the weather – but what was on offer was a Kart Racing simulator for IOWCC club members to try and discover who was the fastest virtual racer. The queue to take part was a testament to how much fun it was and Wight Karting also presented medals to the fastest 3 drivers of the day.
Again the results were super close and it was a pleasure to see Jake Jarrold stand on the top step of the podium. Thank you so much to Wight Karting www.wightkarting.co.uk and we hope to collaborate again in the future.
There is going to be a summer break from the sealed surface events as the club takes advantage of the dry conditions to run their unsealed surface events.
If you would like more information about the different classes of cars or how to take part please head to our website www.iowcc.co.uk.
If you want to get close to the action at the Sandown Sprint there’s no better way than by being a paddock or track marshal at the event. Simply download the form and return it to marshal co-ordinator Tony Cole.
No previous experience necessary – we are happy to train enthusiastic people, find you an appropriate role and pair you with an experienced motorsport marshal.
Cheverton chalk pit saw the first unsealed round of the 2019 championship. A tough venue with smooth chalk, deep ruts and loose gravel sections, not to mention the ramp that joins the upper and lower areas.
Straight away it was clear the battle for the top step of the podium would be between Joe Moore in his Subaru Impreza and Dan Young in his stripped out classic Mini. The pair were keeping a nervous eye on Michael Marrison in his Puma engined Ford Fiesta – he was on typical fast form but struggling to put a clean time on the board.
Class 1 was hotly contested, with Louise Wren and Shane Parry bringing the fight to Steve Glass. In the end, Steve managed to take the class win and even beat Steve and Marion Brett’s class 3 Mini.
Hannah Thompson took fastest lady of the day in Michael’s Fiesta whilst leaving bits of car strewn all over the course. In the end, the entire exhaust, one arch liner and a subframe mount met their demise.
By the end of the final run the podium was Michael Marrison in 3rd, Dan Young in 2nd and Joe Moore in 1st.
Our next unsealed event is at Knighton Sandpit on 26th May.
The Isle of Wight Car Club made a welcome return to the grounds of the Ventnor Botanic Garden.
The Ventnor Botanic Gardens is a picturesque venue on the south side of the Island sheltered form the cold northerly wind by the Ventnor downs. It contains many tropical trees and plants and is not the normal place that you would expect to see motor racing, however, the owner kindly allowed a large section of the garden to be closed, so that the Isle of Wight Car Club could run an autotest.
This unique event encouraged current members to bring some exciting cars out of storage and entice new members to join the club and have a go.
The slight down side to this event is, that, if you were to push a little too hard and leave the course due to being over enthusiastic, the penalty is, that the flora and fauna and not to mention a scattering of rocks are very unforgiving.
Class one cars are unmodified cars under 1400cc. Steve Glass drove his MGZR to this class win pipping Hanna Thomson by only a few seconds.
Hanna, however, was awarded fastest lady of the day and it must be noted she was also faster than Brian Robbins and Dan Young who were also driving her car.
Class 2 is for unmodified cars over 1400cc and Dean Long in his MX5 was a joy to watch proving slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
Dean Long was unable to accept his class winner’s award at the podium celebration as he went home to kindly lend his van and trailer to the Lower family as their car had suffered irreparable damage during the last run and as they had made the trip to the Isle of Wight from the mainland in the car they were competing in were rather stuck with no way of getting home.
So I would like to say a big thank you on behalf of the club to Dean and Tony for helping the Lower family in their hour of need.
As a small compensation Zach Lower managed to claim class 4 honours and 3rd place on the podium before the car was damaged and we are assured the car along with the Lowers will make a return.
Class 3 went to Adam Greenen in his classic Mini.
Class 5 is the domain of the specials and Lowcost cars, however, Michael Marrison in his class 5 Puma powered Fiesta again wowed onlookers by out-performing other more performance orientated cars and finishing in 5th place over all. Chris Wilson took the 2nd step of the podium in his special but with a huge lead taking the class and overall win as Ryan Munt.
Thanks to the success and generosity of the Ventnor Botanic Garden the Isle of Wight Car Club hope to return to this venue for its final round of the year.
On the club’s AGM and award evening on Friday drivers were presented with trophies for their achievements in the 2018 season, however, competitors had no chance to rest on their laurels as on the Sunday the first round of the Isle of Wight Car Club’s 2019 championship was held at the Isle of Wight College car park in Newport.
Those wanting to win a trophy at the next awards evening knew that every point in the championship counts and were keen to get a good result at this event. With high winds and heavy showers forecast competitors were going to have to work for every point.
The course was a mix of open sweeping sections suitable for the more powerful cars but finished with a fiendish super tight slalom towards the stop box where the smaller more agile cars could make back time.
Michael Marrison in his stripped out Fiesta made a great impression by posting some very competitive times early in the day, as well as new member Liam Wildish in his amazing classic VW Beetle hiding a Subaru Impreza engine. Driving a more traditional Subaru were Andy Williams, John Barrett and Joe Moore, however, despite the showers they could not take advantage of their all-wheel drive systems to get onto the podium.
In the damp conditions, sliding your car around the tarmac can be great fun and many drivers span or performed a few doughnuts resulting in nothing more than a slow time and a large smile. Adam Greenen on the other hand clouted a curb in his classic Mini but despite a little damage to his indicator was good to carry on. However, Steve Wells left the track in the damp conditions and ended his day of competition by completely re-arranging the custom front suspension of his class 5 car.
Despite the damp conditions and the occasional off, this was a fantastic start to the season and great to see so many competitors and spectators.
At the podium celebrations, fastest lady of the day went to Louise Wren driving her Ford Puma, our class 2 winner was Wayne Hole in his MX5 and our class 4 winner who just missed out on the podium was Joe Moore.
Despite his minor off, class 3 winner and claiming the 3rd step of the podium was Adam Greenen in his classic Mini. The second step went to Chris Wilson in his single seater special, but class 5 winner and on the top step of the podium with a 3 second lead was Ryan Munt who was driving his Locost.
The next event is on the 24th of March and will be held within the grounds of the Ventnor Botanic Gardens.
Every year we hold a non-championship autotest before the start of the season. This is a great event that lets members shake down their vehicles or just have a go for the first time and find out what this grass roots motorsport is all about.
This year was no exception, with John Cooper bringing his newly prepared mk2 Escort out to play and Matthew Griffin letting loose in his RX7. There were new members – and new drivers – testing their skills against the course; not least Oliver Nolan in his Fiat Panda and Kyah Wells in a borrowed Renault Clio. Both were taking full advantage of the advice offered by more experienced members on the day and showed great improvement. It just shows you don’t need to have been driving for years or even have passed your test to compete at our events. Well done to Oliver for taking the Class 1 win on the day.
Class 2 was claimed by Brian Robbins – usually found in the timekeeper’s chair or wielding a spanner but once again enjoying being behind the wheel. Charlie Lower was the only entrant in class 3 with his autotest prepared classic Mini. As well as the class win he looked set to take the overall top spot, but had to settle for second in the end.
MX5s and Imprezas dominated Class 4 and the majority put on a great show of sideways action for the spectators. After the final run it was Joe Moore who took the class and overall event win, beating Charlie Lower by just 8 hundredths of a second. Zach Lower rounded off the overall podium by hustling his BMW compact into a very credible third place.
Three IOWCC crews are competing at the South Downs Stages at the legendary Goodwood motor circuit this Saturday 9th February.
Unlike a lot of rallies, spectators are actively encouraged and entry is free. You can view the action from the top of the pitlane buildings, the spectator banking around the circuit or just stroll through the paddock admiring the machinery.
This year the car club’s annual event where club members can voice their opinion on how the club is run, the election of committee members and presentation of awards from the previous year of motor sport just happened to fall on the current sealed surface champion and overall champion Ryan Munt’s birthday.
The Chequers Inn was host to the event and provided an all you can eat carvery and desert before the proceedings started. Dean Long must have been hungry or he has taken up competitive eating as his plate was stacked particularly high.
The club secretary – Toby Allen took to the stage to explain to members that the club was in good form with growing membership and that we have a few plans for 2016. These include another joint event with the Motion Status Group (formerly IOW Stance) and that the club would like to begin an annual mainland motor sport away day where the club will introduce an opportunity to try a different type of motor sport each year, for example sprinting, drag racing, hill climbing etc. Suggestions for this year’s event are welcome. If you have any suggestions please contact the club via email. The club are also always on the look out for venues for sealed and unsealed events, again if you have any ideas for new locations please let us know.
Club treasurer – Steve Wells announced that the club has made a very small profit last year, however, expenditure has been high with having to buy 4 new marshal radios totaling just over £500, 3 new crash helmets for club members to use, cones and fence spikes etc. Due to the MSA no longer allowing us to provide day membership we have had to create a new entry fee system. Membership stays at £25 per year and event fees will now be £12 if you pay in advance via pay pal on the web site or £14 if you enter on the day. This is still one of the cheapest forms of motor sport available with many other mainland clubs charging £60 – £80 entry for the same type of event. If you know anyone who would like to take part in a car club event who has never done so before, all they need is to pay their year’s membership and their first event will be free.
The awards started with trophies and shields being presented to winners by club president Terry Weaver.
The trophy allocation system is a little complicated but effectively there are awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd for each class in sealed surface and unsealed surface, plus nice big trophies for sealed surface champion, unsealed surface champion and overall champion.
There were a few people who were surprised to have won an award including John Cooper for 3rd place in class 2 unsealed surface and Ricky Sheppard for best up and coming driver for giving many top drivers a run for their money at the top of the leader board.
Adam Morgan came home with the highest placed rookie award, James Robbins was presented with the marshals award for all the hard work and dedication he puts into the timing in the race control trailer during events and Kevin Richardson was awarded with the Ray Bell shield for his contribution to the club in the form of the video event reports.
Highest placed lady of the year was presented to Jill Broomfield and Marion Brett achieved 2nd place in class 3 USS. We have a fantastic group of ladies competing at car club and the option of a ladies championship was dismissed by our female competitors in favor of more acknowledgment of their achievements. From now on you will hear a lot more about our ladies and Jill defending her title in 2016.
The unsealed surface champion trophy went to a well deserved Dan Morgan, who along with his brothers dominated the dirt in their Subaru.
Ryan Munt’s table was already groaning under the weight of trophies and a birthday cake but he had to make even more room when he stepped up to collect the sealed surface trophy and the coveted overall champion trophy.
2nd place overall went to Dan Morgan and full respect has to go to Chris Wilson for coming 3rd overall in his class 5 special that he used in both sealed and unsealed events.
2015 event winners were presented with trophies created from the new car club grill badges mounted on wooden plinths. These badges have been faithfully recreated from the original sand cast badges available to club members back in the 1960s.
If you would like one of these new grill badges for the front of your pride and joy you can purchase these for a bargain price of £10.
All in all, a great evening out and a fantastic opportunity to celebrate members’ success in 2015. Lets look forward to 2016.
Round one of the car club’s 2016 championship will be sealed surface, held at the Ventnor Botanic Garden on the 20th of March. This was the highlight of 2015 and this year the garden are opening up the grounds for free, so that spectators can enjoy a day’s motor sport within the beautiful gardens. All they ask in return is a donation to help maintain their amazing collection of plants and trees.
Thank you to Allan Marsh for his images and continuous commitment.
Isle of Wight Car Club 
