35 drivers entered the Isle of Wight Car Club 3rd round and the second sealed surface event of 2016, held at BAE Systems in Northwood.

This venue is a favourite among members and spectators alike. This huge open area has plenty of run off, which allows drivers to push their cars and driving abilities to the limit and beyond in a safe environment. Spectacular drifting and smoking tyres are the order of the day.

Drivers are required to memorize a simple course set out using traffic cones. Each driver has six attempts to produce their perfect run, however, there are no natural features at this venue, so many drivers use their first run as a sighting lap to help memorize the course.

They then take it in turn to drive the course and better their time. Touching a cone incurs a time penalty, so in this case, points don’t mean prizes.

There was a fantastic turn out of lady drivers at this event. It was great to see new member Leanne Arnold and the return of Zoe Henry who was over 5 seconds faster than Mark Henry in their shared MX5. Marion Brett and Sue Mitchell are both experienced drivers at the club but had no answer for the domination of Vicky Cox in her Peugeot 205. With 2 sealed surface event wins in a row, Vicky has her sights firmly fixed on retaking the ladies’ trophy at the end of the year.

During round 1 Ryan Munt threw down the gauntlet with a devastating time of 47:79 seconds, all other drivers were posting times of 50 seconds or more, all except Dan Morgan who retorted with a time of 48:87. Ricky Sheppard was the 3rd fastest driver and this is where he stayed for the rest of the day finishing on the 3rd step of the podium.

Dan Morgan struggled to improve his times as the day progressed and eventually Steve Wells stole second place from him in round 3 and refused to allow any other driver to stand on the second step of the podium.

During round 3 Ryan Munt’s car caught fire. The bad news was that his car had to be retired but the good news was his 2nd run of the day was so fast that it was unbeaten by the rest of the field and was the overall fastest time of the day, allowing him to remain on the top step of the podium.

Does anyone have what it takes to stop Ryan from winning 2 championships in a row? This man is on fire……..literally  🙂

32 drivers competed at the Isle of Wight Car Club’s first unsealed surface event of 2016, held at Knighton sand pit

This is grass roots motor sports at its best. Drivers are required to memorize a simple course set out using traffic cones and the natural features of the venue. They then take it in turn to drive the course and better their time. Touching a cone incurs a time penalty, so it is just as much a test of driving skill as speed.

This venue twists its way through giant piles of broken tarmac left over from the island’s road resurfacing and multi coloured cliffs of quarried sand.  This not only creates a spectacular backdrop for the event but also provides a mix of challenging surfaces for the drivers to contend with. Gravel, grit, deep soft sand and even a water splash have to be mastered to stand on the podium at the end of the day.

Each driver has six attempts to produce their perfect run. Round one proved difficult for many. Remembering the course was the first challenge and the second was that the loose stones on the surface of the track acted like little marbles. The reduced grip was not conducive of a fast time but produced some dramatic drifting on the corners.

The cars used are varied and in this environment one would assume that four wheel drive would be the weapon of choice and indeed 7 competitors were driving 4wd Subaru Imprezas, however, these cars are heavy and initially Steve Brett led the field in his front wheel drive classic mini, proving power to weight ratio coupled with driving skill cannot be underestimated.

By the mid day point, the small stones were being swept away as each car passed, providing traction for the more powerful cars. Now the lightweight rear wheel drive cars of Will Thomas and Chris Wilson were trading places at the top of the leader board.

You don’t need a performance car to compete at one of these events and a lot of enjoyment can be had from using a normal road car. Ian Jones and Joe Booth experienced a great day of motor sport in their shared MGF, as well as Joshua Jacobs in his MG ZR180 and Dean Long as always drove his standard MX5 with amazing skill to obtain 7th place overall.

 

The ladies of the Isle of Wight Car Club are very competitive and often show the chaps how it is done. At this event Jill Broomfield drove behind the wheel of the mk1 Ford Escort rally car of John and Dan Cheek as her normal car was out of action. On that note, Sue Mitchell was faster than John Cheek  in her Fiat Punto and Marion Brett was the fastest lady of the day in her classic mini, achieving 18th place overall.

With the sand section becoming deeply rutted at the end of the day, the 4wd cars came charging up the leader board and displacing the lighter 2wd cars, all except Chris Wilson who stood on the top step of the podium at the events close to be crowned the event winner. Dan Morgan claimed 2nd place by producing his best time of the day on his final run in the car he shares with his brother Ben Morgan who came 3rd.

 

Another day of successful and enjoyable motorsport on the Isle of Wight. The next event will be a tarmac event at BAE systems in Northwood on the 24th of April. If you would like to see a full list of results and information on how to compete at a future event please visit the relevant sections of this website for more details.

Event report by Adam Weller – Motorsport Journalist & Commentator

For the second year in a row the Isle of Wight Car Club competitors took over the Ventnor Botanic Garden last Sunday. For one weekend every year, the often quiet and relaxing crown jewel of Ventnor plays home to one of the most challenging and picturesque Autotest venues in Britain.
History often repeats itself in motorsport, and this event was no different, with Ryan Munt scoring his second consecutive overall and class five win at this wonderful venue with a time of 67.00 seconds behind the wheel of his Locost. The former 750MC Locost Championship competitor and 2015 Isle of Wight Car Club champion only completed three runs over the course of the day, showing pace and confidence that could be tough to beat in 2016.
Ricky Shepard was second overall in his Locost, over three seconds behind Ryan with a time of 70.61 seconds. Expect to see Ricky challenge for wins throughout 2016 as he learns the ins and outs of his relatively new machine.
Matthew Price, the winner in Class Four, took third overall in his Mazda MX5 with an impressive time of 71.31. He was followed by Chris Greenen, who took fourth overall and Class Three honours in his Mini with a 72.89.
Daryl Turner rounded out the overall top five and took Class Two honours in his spare Mazda MX5 after the car he regularly shares with Dean and Tony Long blew a differential early in the day. His time was a 73.49, an incredibly strong performance for a standard car.
Nick Morter took the Class One victory in his Mini, while Vicky Cox beat Sue Mitchell to the honours for fastest lady of the day.
A venue as challenging as Ventnor Botanic Garden often creates drama for even the most experienced competitors. Dan Morgan learnt this after a mistake left his Sub Zero kit car damaged beyond repair after the second run, and Steve Wells also ended his day early after his Locost began to leak oil.
The team of Charlie and Kevin Lower from Brighton wowed spectators and fellow competitors by threading their R33 Nissan Skyline around the narrow course. As this event grows in prestige, we can expect more competitors from further afield to take on the unique venue.
The Isle of Wight Car Club’s second round of the season, also the first Unsealed Surface event of 2016, takes place at Knighton Sandpit on the 3rd of April. To learn more, go to our events page.

 

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.

But with a Twist….

Supplimentary Regulations 14th Feb 2016

Two things will be different at this event, firstly once everyone had completed 3 runs we will either change the course or run it in the opposite direction for the remaining 3 runs. Secondly the final results will be based on the total time of all 6 runs combined together, so consistency is key throughout the day!

Format will be much the same as any regular championship event, 9-9:30 sign on, safety briefing 9:30-9:45, first car away 10am.

Membership runs from AGM-AGM so while we are happy to take 2016 membership subscriptions, your 2015 membership still stands.

Event fee’s remain at £10 in advance and £12 on the day. For this event but will change from the start of the 2016 season to 12 in advance and 14 on the day.

Finally our AGM / Awards evening has been set for Saturday the 5th March at the Chequers in Rookley. There will be a 2 course carvery meal as per last year, which can be paid for in advance under the payments tab on the website or at the event on Saturday!

See you next Sunday!

Toby Allen

Club Sec

Next Sunday 29th November see’s us returning to the council car park on Fort street Sandown (adjacent to the old Bogeys night club).

Our final round of the 2015 season will decide who’s crowned the Sealed Surface 2015 champion, its extremely close at the top of the leader board!

Sign on will be open from 9am, closing at 9:30, drivers briefing 9:30 and first car away at 10am! If trailering to the event please arrive in good time to unload and move your trailer as directed on the day.

Finally we have a table booked for 40 people at the Bargeman’s on Saturday the 12th December 7:30pm, there are about 20 places left so if you want to come for the meal please let me know. No Deposit required, and we will just order off the menu on the night.

Toby Allen
Club Sec

The MSA (Motor Sports Association) has unfortunately said that we are no longer allowed to offer day membership to competitors at our events. From now on only full members can compete at car club events, this comes as a bit of a blow so near the end of the season, however, with 4 more events left, it is still more cost effective to become a full member to compete in the remaining events – also the forthcoming Healey weekend has only ever been available to competitors with a full membership.

If you are a day member who has competed at an event this season we can upgrade your membership for £17.

Otherwise you can apply for full membership on line on the payment tab.

After a rather wet visit to Haslett Farm last month, the Isle of Wight Car Club competitors were pleased to be greeted by a far drier and less muddy course last weekend. The course proved to be one of the fastest unsealed surface events of the year so far, much to the delight of the drivers.

Dan Morgan thrived on the layout, which was substantially altered between rounds, and took victory in his Subaru Impreza with a time of 61.89 seconds. However, he was far from unchallenged, as Chris Wilson delivered his best performance of the year in his single seater Special, coming second overall and first in Class Five in the process. Wilson’s machine had broken earlier in the day while Andy Williams was behind the wheel, but this did not stop Chris from setting a 62.98 on his fourth run. Unfortunately, he was unable to set a faster time in his last two runs, losing his best chance of a win so far this season.
Ryan Munt came third overall in his rally-prepped Impreza, followed by Adam and Ben Morgan, who finished fourth and fifth respectively in their Subaru which they also share with their brother Dan.

Steve Brett came home ninth overall to take Class Three honours in his Mini, while Dean Long took Class Two victory in his Mazda MX5. Class One made a welcome return with Ricky Sheppard winning in his newly bought £80 Rover, while Vicky Cox was the fastest lady of the day by a mere three one hundredths of a second after Jill Broomfield almost stole the win on her final run of the day.
There was drama late in the day as Steve Glass rolled his Suzuki Swift on his final run. Fortunately, he was unharmed, even announcing that he ‘saw it coming’ to a nearby marshal in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

 

Adam Greenen led the charge of the Minis at the Isle of Wight College on July 12th. The Greenen family were on form throughout the day, and it was Adam who found the time required to beat the rest of the Class Three field as well as the fastest of the ‘Seven-esque’ Locost machines, piloted by Ricky Sheppard, who was Class Five victor. Chris Greenen recorded the third fastest time of the day, six hundredths of a second behind Sheppard and a further six hundredths of a second clear of Dan Morgan in his Sub Zero Locost.

Dave Goodwin was next in his Mini, followed by Class Four winner Toby Allen, who pulled out a very good performance in his Lotus Elise. Daniel Kozakewycz took Class Two honours in his Mazda MX5, beating the recently dominant Dean Long in the process. Daryl Turner rounded out the Class Three podium.

Kevin Richardson took the wheel of his daily driver, a Toyota Yaris, in order to take Class One honours, while Vicky Cox was the fastest lady of the day ahead of Jill Broomfield, who had a big moment in her Volkswagen Golf on her fourth run. Her car was badly damaged, so Vicky Cox shared her the 205 for the rest of the day. Sue Mitchell rounded out the Ladies top three in her MX5, which she shared with Steve Glass.

Next time out, the Isle of Wight Car Club visits Haslett Farm, located on Sandy Lane, near Shorwell.

Round 7 this coming weekend is now being held at a brand new venue – Haslett Farm, Sandy Lane near Shorwell

This is a large stubble feild reported to be smoother than Atherfield.