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.

Haslett Farm has given us mixed results in the past, our first outing in 2015 was in a field that turned to mush when it rained and the second field in 2016 was a fast flat dust bowl. This inconsistency may have contributed to the low numbers of competitors that turned out for round 8. However, the 16 drivers that did turn up were treated to an amazing venue that had some of the most extreme elevation changes ever seen.

From the start line the course twisted its way up the stubble field in what one competitor (Dan Morgan) described as an off road version of Eau Rouge from Spa. On top of this scenic plateau, drivers had to navigate a challenging series of loops and tight turns before a slow technical twisty section as they descended to the finish box.

Of the 16 competitors only 5 performed a correct test on the initial run. Dan Morgan made a return to the club after a short absence and had no problems remembering the course in his brutal Subaru Impreza, posting the fastest initial run by 3 seconds in a time of 1:05.14

But it was in round 2 that Chris Wilson showed everyone why he is so dominant at USS events this year by posting a time teetering on breaking the 1 minute barrier by .8 of a second.

With no drivers in class 1, the battle of the unmodified cars was between Barry Richardson in his MX5 and Josh Finch in his MGF, with the latter winning the honour of fastest class 2 car at the day’s close.

Class 3 consisted of Chris Lee who returned with his daughter Lorna Lee, Marion Brett who was presented with the flowers for being the fastest lady of the day and Steve Brett who only performed one correct test during the entire day but his single correct run was quick enough to place him in 4th overall, just missing out on the podium.

Class 4 is for modified cars over 1400cc. Sue Mitchell and Steve Glass were campaigning their Toyota Corrola and almost did not make the start line as Steve managed to drive into a hole on his way to scrutineering, luckily with no damage done. John Cooper and Wayne Hole were driving their Autocross prepared Ford Focus but had no answer for Dan Morgan in his Subaru.

Class 5 is for cars that do not fit into any of the other classes. Kevin Richardson was driving his ex Autograss mini but suffered mechanical issues and chose to drive his father’s MX5 for the second half of the day and the remaining class 5 cars were the single seater specials of Andy Williams and Chris Wilson.

With a successful event and big championship points for those that attended it was Dan Morgan who claimed the 3rd step of the podium and Andy Williams who stood on the second step. However, Chris Wilson did break that 1 minute barrier in round 4 with a blistering time of 0:58.14 and with no other driver anywhere close to this time he did not compete in rounds 4 and 5 and won the event with a 3 and a half second lead.

The next round is a Sealed Surface event on the 3rd of September at the Isle of Wight College. However, there is a lot of excitement with regards the Syd Taylor IOWCC Autocross on the 12th and 13th of August. More details can be found on our web site.

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 10^th 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 3^rd 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

_{20 competitors and many spectators enjoyed a day of grassroots motorsport at one of the nicest venues on the calendar – Atherfield.}

 _{This large flat open grass field is smooth and suitable for road cars. As always the first few runs are slow because of the lack of traction on the lush green grass.}

_{Initially many drivers struggled to remember the course and that’s not surprising when Andy Williams who designed the course had to lead the walk round holding a map because he was not sure himself. However, under a glorious July sky, the grass soon gave way to dust and revealed the course for all to follow.}

_{Again, with no drivers in class 1 the battle of the unmodified cars was in class 2. Barry Richardson initially struggled to remember the course but was pleased to see his times improve during the afternoon. Josh Finch was campaigning his MGF and Collin Kill along with Ross Davidson drove their Mazda 323 with the latter producing the fastest class 2 time of the day.}

_{The only class 3 cars were the classic minis driven by Marion Brett, who was presented with the fastest lady of the day flowers at the podium celebrations, Steve Brett who suffered a broken driveshaft in round 3 but managed to replace it with a spare so he could continue and Dan Young who pushed his car to the limits and rolled his mini on the final round in a last-ditch attempt to gain a podium place. Luckily Dan stepped away from this incident with only a bruised elbow. This is a testament to the club’s safety rules that are above and beyond the requirements of the motorsport governing body.}

_{Class 4 currently seems the popular choice for competitors with 9 drivers competing in modified cars over 1400cc. Wayne Hole and John Cooper were campaigning their new Ford Focus with the intention of using it for the up and coming Autocross. This seemed like a savvy choice as the only class 4 car ahead was that of Dean Long in his rally prepared Subaru Impreza.}

_{Class 5 is for cars that don’t fit into any of the other classes and is the domain of ex auto grass cars. Andy Williams missed out on a podium position by only 1/100ths of a second.}

_{At the podium celebrations, Steve Brett was rewarded with 3}^rd _{place overall and Dean Long claimed the 2}^nd _{step. However, ahead by 2.12 seconds and a spare run in hand Chris Wilson took the top step.}

_{The next event is at Duxmore Farm on the 16}^th _{of July. This is also the venue for the greatly anticipated Autocross and drivers can have their cars looked over by the Autocross scrutineer to see if their car will meet the safety requirements for this event.}