For longer than anyone can remember, members of the Austin Healey Club have made an annual pilgrimage to the Isle Of Wight. A weekend of fun and motorsport currently featuring two days of sealed surface autotesting in a bid to win the coveted Turbine Trophy which is awarded to the driver with the fastest combined time for the two events. This year is comprised of round 12 and round 13 of the Isle Of Wight Car Club Autotest Championship. We are opening this event up to other clubs on the Island and on the mainland, to not only try and capture the Turbine trophy but also to see who is the quickest in their club – Club organisers are more than welcome to supply and present trophy’s for their club members at the awards presentation immediately after the close of the Sunday event You enter each day individually as normal and if you compete in both days we will work the rest out.
Entries close Midnight on the Wednesday before the event
Ventnor Botanic Garden hosted round 9 of the Isle of Wight Car Club’s forward only autotest championship. Despite only the top car park being usedm a fast flowing yet challenging course was created. 27 drivers enjoyed a sunny day of motorsport and the competition at the top could not have been tighter. Class 1 is for unmodified cars under 1400cc. Junior drivers Tyler Hayes and Chloe Dawson along with Nigel Dawson had a great time trading placed in their shared Ford Fiesta, however, it was James Robbins who took the class win in his Citroen C1 and finished 9th place overall. Class 2 is for unmodified cars over 1400cc. Sue Mitchel and Steve Glass managed to scrape the passenger door of their Ford KA on a rock flower bed, however, neither of them are admitting, or know who cut the corner a little too tight as the damage was only noticed later in the day. Laura Gates and Emma Hobbs were not only competing in class two but in contention for the fastest lady of the day award, however, Louise Wren took that title in her class 2 Puma. Wayne Hole knew he had to put in a good performance as he will not be able to make the Healey Weekend. The IOWCC championship allow competitors to drop their 2 lowest event scores in both sealed and unsealed events, this means even if you miss a few events, you can still be in with a chance of a trophy at the end of the season. Wayne certainly did put in a good performance and wowed the spectators as he posted the fastest time of the day, deservedly taking maximum class and championship points. Shane Parry also in class 2 was only 0.1 of a second behind Wayne in his Class 2 Ford KA. If that was not tight enough Class 3 was even closer. Class 3 is for modified cars under 1400cc. Chris Greenen always struggles to get his classic mini 1275GT started in the morning and today was no different. Club members were enthusiastically trying to push start the little mini up and down the pits. Thanks to an extra push from Steve Glass the mini sprung into life. Chris and Dave Goodwin in his classic mini again traded places but Chris pipped Dave to the class win and the third step of the podium buy only 0.05 of a second and Chris was only 0.09 of a second behind Shane. So, the top 4 places were within 0.24 of a second of each other. Class 4 is for modified cars over 1400cc, and this battle was just as tight. James McEnery piped Cathy True to the class win by 0.34 of a second and finished 7th place overall. Class 5 is for specials or limited production cars, Robbie Cooper was campaigning his ex-grass track mini and despite using old standard road tyres finished 14th overall. Thank you so much to Ventnor Botanic Garden for the use of their stunning carpark and offering some amazing food from the Plantation Room Café. The next event is a double header unsealed surface event at Knighton Sand Pit on the 23rd of October, please see our website for more information www.iowcc.co.uk.
An amazing 27 drivers competed at round 9 held at the dramatic Knighton Sand Pit.
Despite not being able to enter the deep sand section, the simple course proved popular and produced some tight competition.
Class 1 is for unmodified cars under 1400cc (a sump guard and rear 4-point cage are permitted). Nissan Micras are a popular choice in this class.
Keith Thomas led the flock of Micras, finishing 13th place overall, however, it was James Robbins in his class1 Citroen C1 who took the class 1 award and finished 9th place overall.
Class 2 is for unmodified cars over 1400cc (a sump guard and rear 4-point cage are permitted).
Steve Glass and Sue Mitchell were left to battle it out for class honours in their Ford KA after father and son duo of Barry and Kevin Richardson’s Suzuki Ignis broke down.
Steve and Sue offered to let them continue in their car demonstrating the true clubman spirit of our club.
Sue was rewarded and super happy with her first ever class win.
Class 3 is for modified cars under 1400cc (must look like a road going car).
Home of the stripped out hot hatch, this class is very competitive.
Charles Gilby just managed to stay ahead of his son Joel Gilby, who was also competing in the Youth championship sponsored by Jake Ellis sunglasses. Finishing in 11th place overall in his class 3 car and taking the Youth award was Vinnie Whittington, but class 3 honours and 5th place overall went to James Mcenry is his rapid Ford Fiesta.
Class 4 is for modified cars over 1400cc (must look like a road going car).
There was some serious Subaru machinery on display in class 4 and with their advantage of all wheel drive they were all fighting for the top spot. Podium sponsor Luke from Pro-Tek just missed out on presenting himself with a prize by finishing 4th place overall and Wayne Hole in his front wheel drive rally Ford Focus tried to ruin the Subaru party but finished in a very respectable 3rd place overall. However, it was Jon Barrett who not only took the class win but also stood on the top step of the podium with a dominating display of power and car control in his rally Subaru – Clubby.
Fastest lady of the day was Cathy True in her class 4 BMW mini cooper S.
Class 5 is for single seater specials, limited production vehicles or cars that don’t fit in the other classes.
Ben Ash competed in a special that the club had not seen for years and was originally built by Terry Steel, however, his day was cut short when his MR2 powered single seater developed engine problems and had to retire.
On his final run of the day Andy Williams in his motorbike powered special was trying hard to catch Jon in his Subaru, but a slight mistake found himself off the racing line and on the marbles. Andy still took the class win and finished 2nd place overall.
Thank you so much to everyone who helps make these events happen, especially to the club members who help set up and pack away all the equipment.
The next event is a sealed surface event, held in the top carpark of the Ventnor Botanic Garden.
Here are some amazing images of today’s action from Allan Marsh
This Sunday’s event is cancelled We have received new guidance from Motorsport UK regarding events today and that we are still awaiting further guidance for events in the near future the committee feel it is better to cancel now rather than nearer to the event and as a mark of respect to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Thank you to all those who turned out to make the return of the Island Stages a success! This time last year, stage rallying on the Isle of Wight was little more than a pipe dream but now we have a fantastic base to build on.
Congratulations to our overall winners, Andy Rowe and Cat Lund in their Mitsubishi Evo 2.
Congratulations also to Fastest IOWCC crew Wayne Hole and Chris Wilson. Worthy winners of the Jon Dyer Memorial Trophy for best clubman were Kevin Richardson and Katrin Herold.
Our thanks to Tim Rogers for the use of Palmers Farm; Bournemouth & District Car Club for their officials, equipment and patient instruction; and the numerous officials and marshals from the island and various mainland motor clubs.
Thank you as well to the island’s rally fans who stayed away from the venue and instead tuned in to the live stream to follow the action. We really do hope to run spectator friendly stages in the future but for this first running it was important to have a manageable and safe event. You can re-watch the action on Rally Replay‘s Facebook page: Part 1 and Part 2.
You can find the results on the Rally Tab of this website.
The Isle Of Wight Car Club are pleased to announce the return of the Island Stages, over 30 years since stage rallying last took place on the island. We are grateful to Tim Rogers of Palmers Farm for his support and the use of his land. The event is held in memory of Jon Dyer, a long time member of the Isle Of Wight Car Club who passed away recently.
The stages are predominantly grass and gravel tracks through both woodland and grassland. Although not a forestry event, it should prove challenging and gives the opportunity to drive stages which have never been driven before.
Spectators
This is a non-spectator event.
PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO ACCESS THE VENUE UNLESS YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED
How to follow the action
The event will be live streamed thanks to our sponsors Rally Replay.
Richard Weaver was due to be competing at this event, however, due to car issues he had to pull his entry – it’s a shame, it would have been great to see him in action. But the good news is, Richard has stepped up to the mark and is now going to be interviewing teams in the service area and I cannot think of a better person to be taking on this task. Richard’s knowledge of rallying, the history of the Isle of Wight stages and many of the competitors is second to none – I genuinely believe he is going to be able to deliver some quality entertainment for us all. Thank you Richard.
Images and stories will be posted on our club Facebook, instagram and TiKTOK Accounts
Atherfield has always been a popular venue for unsealed surface events, so as expected there was a great turn out of competitors and helpers for round 7.
With little rain for the past few weeks the field was super dry and the last few runs of the day were reminiscent of Palmers Farm with huge plumes of brown dust obscuring the drivers, marshals and spectators’ view.
Despite this, the competition was close and the social aspect of spectating club level motorsport in the summer sun made for a great day out for all.
Class 1 is for unmodified cars under 1400cc. So much fun can be had in these standard classes and in the right hands can be very competitive. James Robbins proved the point by not only winning his class but finishing in 5th place overall.
Class 2 is for unmodified cars over 1400cc. Lewis Whittington in his rear wheel drive MX5 was trading times for the class win with Kevin Richardson in his front wheel drive Suzuki Ignis Sport. At close of play Kevin just pipped Lewis to the top of the class table by 2 tenths of a second.
Class 3 is for modified cars over 1400cc. Charles Gilby and Joel Gilby have made the jump from class 1 to 3 and it has made a huge difference, their car is noticeably quicker and with Joel developing and improving his driving, he was awarded the Fastest Youth of the Day award and finished 8th place overall. However, Steven Staff put in such a good time during run 4 in his Nissan Micra that he finished fastest in class 3 and got to stand on the 3rd step of the podium.
Class 4 is for modified cars over 1400cc. Early in the day Kathy True put in such a good time she almost had one foot on the podium, however, in the afternoon a few mistakes resulted in her tumbling down the leaderboard to 9th place overall. Louise Wren in her class 4 KA finished 7th overall and taking home the Fastest Lady of the Day award. Luke Everson consistently improved during the day finishing 6th overall in his Corolla and Shane Parry finished 4th overall in his KA. But is was Wayne Hole in his rally Ford Focus who took the class 4 title and was crowned our event winner.
Class 5 is for non mass production cars and specials and Robbie Cooper finally managed to finish an event without breaking down or anything falling off his ex grass track mini, finishing in 14th place overall. Andy Williams in his single seater special finished 1st in class and 2nd overall just 3 tenths of a second behind Wayne.
The club is back at Atherfield for round 8 on the 11th of September and as mentioned Atherfield is so popular as an unsealed surface venue because the flat grass and lots of run off makes it a great opportunity to use your road car and experience what it must be like to go rallying.
Talking of rallying, this Sunday the 21st, sees the return of the Isle of Wight Rally Stages in the form of the Jon Dyer Memorial Island Stages. This is an exciting time for the club. You can follow the event online as it is being streamed live via the even sponsors Rally Replay and expect lots of updates on our social media channels – please visit our club website www.iowcc.co.uk for more details.
Palmers Farm in Wootton is a new venue for the IOWCC and the venue for the Jon Dyer Memorial Island Stages Rally.
However, an adjacent field was the location for round 6 of the 2022 forward only autotest calendar.
This large and flat looking stubble field hid bumps and ruts but provided so much entertainment and tight competition for the 32 competitors that entered this event.
If you are 14 years old or above you can drive and compete in the IOWCC Youth Championship and it was amazing to see so many young people safely enjoying themselves behind the wheel.
Joel Gilby’s time in his MGZR slowly improved despite the track deteriorating as the day progressed. He and his fellow youth drivers are now challenging the old guard. Joel took the title of the fastest youth of the day and finished 16th place overall.
Motorsport is one of only a few sports were women and men compete in true equality, however, the club has a tradition of promoting and celebrating women in motorsport with the fastest lady of the day award. Today Cathy True took this title with a fantastic drive in her Mini Cooper S finishing 7th overall.
James Robbins in his Citroen C1 took the class 1 title finishing 10th place overall and Lewis Whittington claimed the class 2 award in his MX5 finishing 18th place overall.
Steven Staff in his Nissan Micra is consistently at the top of his class in 2022 and today was no different, taking class 3 and finishing 9th overall.
The dust at this event proved to be a challenge for drivers and marshals alike. Tyres were digging into the soft soil, kicking up clouds of fine powder and not so fine lumps of rock and gravel.
This resulted in cars struggling on the ever changing surface, often striking cones and incurring a 5 second penalty for doing so and marshals not being able to see the fallen cones due to the huge plumes of dust.
The more specialised cars had no such issues and so the podium was a battle of the rally cars versus Andy Williams in his single seater special.
Wayne Hole in his rally Ford Focus had one foot on the podium in the morning but the all wheel drive rally Subaru Imprezas of Dean Long and Jon Barrett had the edge. Dean finished 3rd place overall and Jon Barrett with its freshly logbooked Clubby claimed the class 4 win and stood on the second step of the podium. Andy Williams did not have it all his own way today though, after an unheard wrong test on his first run, having to fix his mud guard with duct tape on his second run and worrying he might loose his lead in the closing runs, he claimed a well deserved event win standing on the top step of the podium.
Thank you so much to ProTek for being our podium sponsors supplying the awards, Jake Ellis for sponsoring our Youth Championship and the owners of Palmers Farm for an amazing venue.
Our next autotest event will be back at Atherfield on the 14th of August.
Isle of Wight Car Club 
