The Isle of Wight Car Club always try to run a non championship event before the season starts so that club members can get back into the groove and use it as a shake down for their cars.

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The original plan was to organise a team style event, but in the end due to so many club members car sharing we oped to try out something we have always wanted to do – A start stop box.

The event ran as any normal event would, however, half way through the course, drivers would stop in a box very similar to the stop box, however, instead of breaking the beam to finish it would start an electronic timer that after 10 seconds would activate a green arrow indicating the driver may continue.

This tested drivers reaction times and provided much entertainment for the onlookers, but, the main reason for this stop box was effectively a feasibility study into how we could use this to slow cars down in a controlled manor and in doing so, allow the club to access other venues such as Ventnor Botanic Gardens. The conclusion? A success and thank you to Ryan Munt for creating such a great gizmo. You may see a start stop box in the 2018 calendar soon.

Despite this being a fun day, competitors were being competitive and pushing their cars and their driving skills to the limit. The curbs at the Isle of Wight college are very unforgiving and Mark Hill found this out the hard way when he drifted his Subaru Impreza sideways into a curb, bending a wheel and rear suspension in the process.

On a high point, the club are pleased to welcome many new members, almost all opting to take advantage of the PCA option and driving with a passenger.

With the top 3 positions being traded throughout the day, in the end Garry Wetherick stood on the 3rd step of the podium driving his Suzuki Cappuccino, John Barrett took 2nd in his Subaru Impreza and after a very shaky start Chris Wilson dominated the day in his class 5 special.

The Podium has a new sponsor with Dan Young Plumbing and presented each diver with a bottle of bubbly with a special sponsors label highlighting their finishing position. The three driver were so excited that they prematurely sprayed their bubbly all over each other before an official photo could be taken.

Lets hope they can control themselves at the up and coming AGM dinner and prize giving on Friday the 2nd of March.

The last Isle of Wight Car Club event of 2017 was a sealed surface event held at Fort Street Car park in Sandown.

This car park is a real Marmite venue. The fine covering of loose stones makes the first few runs similar to driving on marbles, however, once these have been swept away, the abrasive underlying surface will reward smooth driving and decimate the rubber of drivers who like to drive more aggressively and light up their tires.

Two very smooth drivers included Dave Goodwin driving his classic Mini and James Robbins in his Clio, both posted a very good identical time of 59:26 in round 1.

However, Barny Lower amazed everyone who watched by driving his huge BMW saloon sideways through every gate with pin point accuracy and posted the fastest first run of the day in a time of 58.69.

As the day progressed, times tumbled but many struggled to remember the course or pushed too hard and incurred penalties by striking cones.

The only unmodified car at this event was the MX5 driven by John Cooper and Wayne Hole, with Wayne stamping his authority over John by posting a time of 54:93 and placing him 12th overall.

Class 3 is for modified cars under 1300cc and there were 10 drivers in this class. The turbo Cappuccino of Garry Wetherick seemed not to suit this course and it was a long awaited return to the podium for Dave Goodwin in his classic Mini and placed 3rd over all at the day’s close and Marion Brett was the fastest lady of the day in her classic mini.

James Robbins was rewarded with 5th place over all for his smooth driving but the modified Subaru Imprezas that also live in class 4 have much more traction and power.

Class 5 is for cars that don’t fit into any of the other classes. Chris Wilson in his single seater special was struggling, however, he cannot be too disappointed as he did not only secure the sealed surface championship but also the the overall championship.

Steve Wells claimed the fastest class 5 place with a time of 51:38 and the second step of the podium.

The highlight of the day was with a very popular driver who is fairly new to the club and has also encouraged many new members to take part in this grass roots motor sport by inviting them to drive his own Subaru Impreza. Jon Barrett’s results have been constantly improving throughout the year and it was a fantastic conclusion to the 2017 season to see Jon stand on the top step of the podium at Fort Street with a winning time of 51:23.

It has also become a tradition to have a team prize at the final event of the year, where drivers’ names are randomly paired up with a fellow driver and the team with the fastest combined time of the day are awarded a prize. This year the team of Steve Wells and Toby Allen claimed the prize of free membership for the following year.

The club would like to thank everyone who helps make these events happen and in particular the land owners who allow us to partake in this fun accessible motor sport for the masses. This very successful and eventful season will be celebrated at the club’s AGM in the new year where trophies will be awarded. Keep an eye on the club’s website for more information, www.iowcc.co.uk.

This years Christmas bash will be at the Bargman’s Rest at Newport quay on the 9th of December at 7pm. You will be able to order from the menu. If you would like to come please let a committee member know at the next event so that we reserve a large enough table.

Healey weekend report

15 members of the Isle of Wight Car Club joined the Farnborough and District  Motor Club at the at their Sprint Royale on the 8th of October.

The connection between the FDMC and the IOWCC started back in the summer of 2017 when the island hosted a round of the Southern County Autocross Championship.

So they could compete at this island event, many members of the IOWCC joined the MSA and obtained their class B licence, purchased the regulation helmet, overalls and gloves.

The Isle of Wight Autocross was a complete success and it looks like the island will become a destination in the years to come for future events.

Now armed with the necessary licence and safety equipment to compete in MSA speed events, the IOWCC became an invited club at the FDMC Sprint Royale.

The up take for this event by IOWCC members exceeded all expectations and the range of cars that members competed in were varied and included everything from  standard unmodified MX5s to highly modified production cars, stage rally cars and a smattering of LoCost circuit racing specials.

Many members had never competed in such an event before and the FDMC made every effort to ensure all that took part had a positive first experience of sprinting.

The IOWCC also produced some pleasing results at this event.

Mike Hughes placed 10th overall and 2nd in class 8 in his Lotus elise. Toby Allan placed 9th overall driving his highly modified MX5 and won class 5 with a substantial lead and finally Steve Wells in his Locost won his class and came 5th overall. This was a fantastic achievement and he was only stopped from placing higher by much more powerful machinery that included 2 Radicals, a Nissan GTR and a monster of a Mitsubishi EVO 6.

With the seeds now firmly sowed and the interest in speed events growing within the IOWCC, I can guarantee there will be many members campaigning at sprints and hill climbs throughout the country in 2018 and the IOWCC are continuing to look into the feasibility of running their own speed event on the Isle of Wight.

The Isle of Wight Car Club would like to thank the Farnborough and District Car Club for all their support in 2017 and look forward to further motor sport links together in the future.

Mud, mud, glorious mud

Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood

So follow me, follow, down to Knighton

And there let us wallow in glorious mud

Round 10 being an USS event was originally scheduled to be at the ever popular Atherfield, however, due to a very wet start to autumn the flat grass field became flooded and a last minute venue change was required. Thankfully the owners of Knighton sandpit are always accommodating and the day was saved.

With the bad weather and change of venue, the number of competitors was a little disappointing but the competition and action was still fierce.

Josh Finch was the only car in class 2 and was driving his MGF, gaining 50 class points and 42 overall points. Josh not only enjoyed a day of grass roots motor sport but also went home with plenty of points towards his championship total.

Marion Brett and Steve Brett were also the only competitors in class 3, however not the only classic mini, as Dan Young was campaigning his newly acquired class 5 autocross classic mini.

Steve Glass should have also been in class 5 in his highly anticipated rear engine Fiat Cinquecento, however, quite wisely chose not to perform its initial shake down at Knighton. Instead he used his trusty Toyota Corolla, he was joined in class 4 by Steve Wells sharing Ricky Sheppard’s 205, with the latter claiming class honours.

Chris Lee struggled to master the twisty course in his class 5 special and incurred quite a few wrong tests for not driving around the course in the right order. He went, however, not as spectacularly wrong as Dan Young who after queuing up and watching (or apparently not) each car start ahead of him turn left, he turned right. As funny as this was for the spectators Dan soon mastered the course and was challenging Andy Williams in his class 5 special for the overall lead of the event.

Not a single competitor finished the day without either a wrong test, time penalty or a DNF and every point was hard earned in these challenging conditions.

After the final run, Steve Brett took possession of the 3rd step of the podium with Andy Williams in 2nd. Dan Young wowed his peers by taking his first event win with an astonishing 1.43 second lead and celebrated by drinking his Champagne from his wellington boot.

The next event is also the final Unsealed Surface event of the year and will also be held at Knighton Sand pit on the 22nd of October.

The Isle of Wight College has always been a challenging venue, the combination of wide open spaces, narrow passages and curb lined flower beds were made even more tricky with the sky producing a constant deluge of rain throughout the day.

The wet conditions prompted a change of vehicle for Andy Williams, leaving his Special at home and driving his AWD Subaru Impreza (this had nothing to do what so ever with the fact Josh Finch had broken it at the Autocross event).

We would also like to welcome new member Shane Parry who was campaigning his Form Puma, and the return of James Ensor in his MX5.

MX5s has been the weapon of choice for many club members in the past, their simplicity and handling cannot be matched, well that is until now. Dean Masterton and Gary Wetherick have been campaigning their little turbo charged 3-cylinder 657cc engine Suzuki cappuccino with great effect and it was Garry who took advantage of the nimbleness of this car to allow him to stand on the 3^rd step of the podium at the days close.

Andy Williams found the additional traction of the Subaru in the wet conditions to his liking and he claimed the 2^nd step. Chris Wilson was also driving Andy’s Subaru as he had to retire his special due to an alternator problem, however, Chris was pushing a little too hard and consistently slid out of the stop box at the end of each run, incurring a 10 second penalty for doing so. Chris finished in 6^th place.

Ricky Sheppard has been spending a lot of time behind the wheel of his locost, competing in sprints and hill climbs this summer and it shows as he is in the zone, taking the top step with over a 4 second lead and taking the lead of the sealed surface championship from Chris Wilson by 1 point.

The next event is a non championship event on the 17^th of September in the form of the much anticipated treasure hunt organised by Brian Robbins. Please see our website for more details.