Isle of Wight Car Club

With mixed surfaces, elevation changes and a dramatic backdrop Knighton never disappoints to create a memorable event.

The risk of rain hung in the air, but, for the most of the day the track stayed dry and improved with each passing car, letting the times tumble towards a dramatic finale.

26 drivers enjoyed a day of friendly competition where they tries to be the fastest in their class or even to obtain the title of faster driver of the day.

Class 1 is for unmodified cars under 1400cc and class 2 is for unmodified cars over 1400cc. Both classes are limited to basic road tyres, you are allowed to fit a rear 4 point safety cage to protect the participants and a sump guard to protect the car, other than this, the cars need to be standard.

Class 1 – New members Simon Johnstone and Michael Jolliffe from Wight Karting were competing in their 1000cc Nissan Micra and their skills in karting transferred well to the loose surface with them finishing 15th and 13th overall. Rob Highmore finished 12th overall and Darren Phillips demonstrated that the standard classes can be very competitive in the overall rankings by not only taking the class 1 win but finishing in 7th place overall in the Ford KA he shares with Rob.

Class 2 – Steve and Jacques Ridett had a close battle all day in their standard Toyota Corolla and in the end Steve took the class win by only 0.17 of a second.

Class 3 is for modified cars under 1400cc and class 4 is for cars over 1400cc, both cars must resemble a road going car in appearance and have the same engine/ transmission layout. These cars are permitted to use knobbly tyres.

Class 3 – Alfie and Adam Froment were competing in a modified Nissan Micra. Keith Thomas and Courtney Mullen were in their Clio and Joel Gilby and Charles (Boo) Gilby were competing in their MG ZR. It was fantastic to see Courtney take the award for the fastest lady of the day and Boo take the class 3 win and finishing 8th overall.

You can drive and compete from the age of 14 and Joel Gilby took the award of the fastest youth of the day sponsored by Jake Ellis Sunglasses.

Class 4 – 13 drivers competing during the day were in class 4 cars and the top 5 overall positions were made up of class 4 drivers.

James McEnery was on form for a podium finish but after a rare mistake he damaged his Fiesta and had to settle for 5th in class and 5th overall.

Kevin Richardson in his Suzuki Ignis and Steve Glass in his Bini Cooper S were in a tight battle for the 3rd step of the podium and on his last run Steve put in a fantastic time half a second quicker than Kevin to take 3rd in class and enjoy the podium bubbly supplied by podium sponsors Pro-Tek.

1st and 2nd place in both class 4 and overall was just as tight between Wayne Hole in his rally Ford Focus and Jon Barrett in his rally Subaru. In the end, Jon to the class 4 win and overall top spot of the day, 0.27 seconds ahead of Wayne.

Class 5 is for highly modified cars, limited production cars and specials such as Martin Goddard’s ex-autograss single seater. Martin would have been on track for the event win as his times were blisteringly quick, however, a few mistakes incurred penalty points for hitting cones, knocking him down to 6th place overall but he still went home with the class 5 award.

Wight Karting were not only on the track in their Micra, they also had their amazing kart simulator van, so that there could be some virtual off track competition.

Jacques Ridett took the 3rd place medal, Jakey Jarrold showed that sim racing is not just for the youths by finishing 2nd, but showing he has skills in both events was Joel Gilby with the fastest kart time around the very challenging Willow Springs circuit.

Thank you so much to Wight Karting for adding this very exciting addition to our events.

Thank you also to everyone who helps make these events happen, we genuinely need volunteers to help set up and run the event, so that we can all enjoy this fun, cheap and accessible motorsport. 

The next event is also an Unsealed surface event, this time back at Atherfield on the 3rd of September.

Entries for the Island Stages 2023 have now closed and unfortunately we did not reach the minimum number of entrants. The Isle Of Wight Car Club committee have taken the decision to cancel this year’s event.

We appreciate this is disappointing for all involved, however, we cannot run the event at a financial loss.

Despite this the IOWCC are looking to the future and are exploring the possibility of a TARMAC rallysprint format in 2024. 

All competitors, officials, land owners and sponsors have been informed – thank you all for your support.2023

Disappointed that the IOWCC event had been cancelled this weekend? Well the nice people at Wight Karting have offered a 20% discount on this Sunday morning time trial sessions.

The available sessions are a 9:25am arrival and 9:40am arrival on the 13th This would get anyone 2×15 min sessions, Moke has also said he would record the times set by IOWCC members and would award medals on the podium for the fastest times.

The promo code they have set up for this is IOWCC20% and this would be put into the ‘‘ADD PROMO OF DISCOUNT CODE’’ section on our booking screen.

Find the link to the available session times here:

9:25am: https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/wightkarting/items/236649/availability/1247906808/book/?full-items=yes

9.40: https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/wightkarting/items/236649/availability/1247906809/book/?full-items=yes

A minimum of 2 drivers must be booked for the sessions to open.

Support the people who support the IOWCC and get some track racing in at the same time.

Again thank you Wight Karting for your support

Due to the weather we have been having we are unable to run the event on Sunday. We have tried to access a different venue with out success. We are all very disappointed. Everyone that has entered will be honoured for the next event.

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Atherfield never fails to produce a great day of grass roots motorsport and round 6 of the Isle of Wight Car Club calendar had it all from super tight zigzags to fast sweeping sections.

This large flat field is popular with car club members as, if competitors want to try an unsealed surface event in their daily driver, there is little chance of damaging your vehicle.

The only modification permitted in the unmodified classes are a sum-guard to protect the car and a rear 4 point roll cage to protect the occupants. 

Class 1 is for unmodified cars under 1400cc.

Rob Highmore and Darren Phillips were sharing their Ford KA and were pushing each other throughout the day – proving you don’t need a big engined bodied car to have fun and friendly competition. Rob not only took the bragging rights being the fastest of the duo but also took the class 1 title.

Class 2 is for unmodified cars over 1400cc. 

There was an identical battle in class 2 between Jacques and Steve Riddett in their amazing Toyota Corolla. This time Jacques was putting in the fastest time and being awarded with the class 2 win.

Modifications permitted in the modified classes are limited and the car must look like a car that would be legal for the road, for example they must retain windows, bumpers and light lenses.

Class 3 is for modified cars under 1400cc. 

The small nimble cars were making light work of the zig zags and Steve Staff in his “No Money Micra” proved to be fast over the entire course giving him the class 3 win.

Class 4 is for modified cars over 1400cc.

Wayne Hole driving his Ford Focus was in a tight battle with Dean Long in his MX5 and Shane Parry in his Ford Puma, however, this is how the podium was due to finish, with Wayne taking the top step with the fastest time of the day, Dean on the 2nd step only 0.09 of a second behind and Shane in 3rd place overall.

Class 5 is for heavily modified cars, specials and limited production cars.

Colin Attrill in his fantastically prepared Classic mini Autograss pickup took some time to figure out how to navigate the tight zig zag sections in a front wheel drive car without a hand brake but by the closing runs of the day was nailing it and not only took the class 5 win he also finished 8th overall.

Fastest lady of the day was awarded to Louise Wren. Louise has been competing in many other motorsport events on the mainland and the time behind the wheel is paying off with some fantastic results.

Fastest youth of the day is sponsored by Jake Ellis Sunglasses. 

Members can drive in an autotest from the age of 14 provided their car has a roof, back seats and no more than a 2 litre engine. They have to have an experienced competitor sitting in with them to offer help and advice – a great way to get experience with car control before they learn to drive on the road.

Alfie Froment, at only his second car club event and in a borrowed car achieved the honours of the fastest youth of the day – a fantastic achievement and one to watch as he is only going to improve.

Running alongside the action on track, Wight Karting had their amazing Kart simulator. 

James Robbins was the 3rd fastest of the day with Jacques Riddett coming 2nd. Danny Grist, who proved to be a much better at the karting simulator than as a passenger on track, he repeatedly told his driver the wrong way to go round the course, claimed the top spot of the podium.

A big thank you to everyone who make these events happen, help set up and pack away at the end of the day.

The next event is at Knighton Sand Pit on the 6th of August.

We are looking for marshals to help at the Island Stages Rally on the 30th of September – 1st of October. 

If you are interested please head to our website www.iowcc.co.uk.

Round 5 of the Isle of Wight Car Club’s 2023 Forward only Autotest season was an unsealed surface event held at one of the locations of this year’s Island Stages rally – Palmers Farm in Wootton.

This venue had everything from wide open land with nothing to hit, stunning views over the Solent and an undulating track that evolved as the day went on, producing quicker and quicker times.

The only modifications permitted in the unmodified classes are a rear 4 point roll cage for safety, a sump guard to protect the car and strict rules with regards to tyres.

This is fantastic for those on a budget or want to use their standard road car and compete with others on a level playing field.

Class 1 is for unmodified cars under 1400cc. Rob Highmore and Darren Phillips in their Ford Ka were consistently quick and there was next to nothing separating their times. On the final run Rob took the class win over Darren by a fraction of a second.

Class 2 is for unmodified cars over 1400cc. Jacques Ridett in his shared Toyota Corolla put in a fantastic time to take this class win.

If modifying cars is your game, then you will love competing in class 3 and 4.

Class 3 is for modified cars under 1400cc and Steve Staff in his “no money Micra” is proving that modifying cars can be cheap. Today Steve competed alongside his dad Gary Staff. Steve took the class win but has plans to dip his toe into class 4 with a new car later in the year.

Class 4 is for modified cars over 1400cc and Wayne Hole in his rally Ford Focus not only took the class win but finished on the top step of the podium with the fastest time of the day.

Class 5 is for extremely modified cars and specials. This award went to Martin Goddard in his ex autocross motorbike powered special. This was Martin’s first outing in his new car and he is still finding his feet, however, it won’t be long before he is challenging for a podium spot.

Thank you to our podium Sponsors Pro-Tek for their support and awards . The battle for the podium was fought until the closing runs of the day.

During run 6 the slippery grass had worn away and what was left was a rough, grippy, yet dusty path to follow, however, any competitor who dipped a wheel off this well trodden path back onto the tall grass could loose valuable time. Jon Barrett in his rally Subaru Impreza and Wayne Hole were trading places for the top step all day and as we know Wayne secured that place and Jon had to settle for second overall. 

Third place on the podium was owned for a very long time by our eventual fastest lady of the day, Cathy True in her rally prepared MINI Cooper. Cathy is also entering the Island Stages rally in September and it looked as if all top 3 places were going to be taken by 3 rally drivers in their rally cars who have entered the Island Stages rally on the very land where one of the stages are due to be held. However, this was not to be. On the final run Kevin Richardson in his class 4 Suzuki Ignis Sport put in a time 3 tenths of a second faster knocking Cathy off the podium but the next car on track was Steve Glass in his class 4 MINI Cooper S and he knocked Kevin off the podium giving him the well deserved 3rd fastest time of the day.

Drivers can drive and compete at IOWCC from the age of 14 years old as part of the Youth Championship sponsored by Jake Ellis Sunglasses. Millie Blake, Alicia Perkins, Sam Wood, Alfie Froment, Kaiden Reed and Joel Glibly are proof that the Youth Championship is a success and making motorsport a family sport. Each youth driver is developing not only their driving skills years before hitting the road, they are the future of our club. Joel Gilby has been a youth driver for many years and is now driving to such a high standard it won’t be long before he is standing on the podium, so it was no surprise that today he was our Youth champion.

Mixed in with the action on track there was some serious competition taking part in the Kart Simulator organised by Wight Karting. We would like to thank Wight Karting for their support and allowing club members to try their simulator and organise medals for the 3 fastest sim drivers of the day. It may come as no surprise that the top 3 SIM drivers were all youth drivers. 3rd place went to Sam Wood, 2nd place went to Joel Gilby and our SIM podium winner was Kaiden Reed.

Again Thank you so much to Wight Karting for their support. 

The next event is also an unsealed surface event on the 23rd of July and is planned to take place at the iconic venue of Atherfield. This flat open field is always a popular venue with competitors as its super flat open space is very forgiving and if you have ever wanted to drive your road car on grass this is the event to try.

If you would like to enter the Island Stages rally as a competitor or see the action up close as a rally marshal please head to our club website for more details.

WWW.IOWCC.CO.UK