A really good day at Harewood today in a competitive class of 7 cars. I set a personal best time of 60.81 which was good enough for third behind Colin Birkbeck in 2nd (60.37) and David Spaull in 1st (60.17).
The video below is of my 1st timed run of 61.26.
Saturday 30th August 2008
Auto66 Elvington sprint. 2 practice and 5 timed runs today.
The clip below is of my final timed run - 73.71 seconds. My fastest time of the day was 72.79
Sunday 10th August 2008
Auto66 Teesside 1 lap sprint. We got 2 practice and 4 timed runs today. Amazingly we were all packed up and ready to leave by 12.15pm.
This clip is of my fastest run of the day - 45.26. That was 0.09 off FTD set by an OMS 2000M - grrr!
Thursday 7th August 2008
Another video from earlier in the year at Teesside (21/3/2008). The weather was very changeable and the track was wet for this run, resulting in a little excursion.
Wednesday 6th August 2008
I've finally found a small amount of motivation (and time) to update this site.
Here's a YouTube video of one of my runs from the weekend at Harewood (03/08/2008) where I managed a best of 62.62. This is about one second down on my best time.
Look out for the handbrake cover falling off!!!!
Thursday 4th January 2007
Long time no update! Today I've added the last three events of the season to the diary. And...............
I won!
Well, class M2 anyway, and 5th overall. See the Wigton MC site for the final tables.
Kames II Sprint. This is it. It's down to this event to decide who wins the class between Colin Birkbeck and myself.
The nerves must really have got to me, because I haven't taken a single photo or recorded a single time. All I know is I managed to beat Colin, which means I've won class M2.
Saturday 16th September 2006
Harewood Sprint. Walked the course as usual and first impressions were "what a long course". In fact it's the longest permanent hillclimb course on the UK mainland.
This is a great venue from a spectator's point of view as almost the whole course can be seen and there are large displays showing split times, speed trap mph, and overall times.
More importantly this is also a great venue from a competitors point of view. The course is very rapid, with the corners coming up in quick succession. The run is over before you know it. There are very sophisticated timing screens allowing you to compare your 60ft time and split and overall times with the other competitors in your class or any other individual competitor. Great fun! No more hanging around for scruffy bits of paper!
Best time 61.69 for a first in class (WMC).
Sunday 2nd July 2006
Forrestburn sprint today. Did the last run in the pouring rain on slicks - very scary. 1st in class and 9th in the championship with a best time of 56 seconds dead.
Saturday 17th June 2006
What a great day out at Barbon! The track may be short, but what a buzz and what an atmosphere. This has to be the best sprint event I've done so far. The track is set in beautiful Cumbrian countryside. No support vehicles or trailers are allowed in the paddock, which adds to the atmosphere with all competitors being close together. It also makes the paddock very photogenic - almost like a car show.
The day was topped off with another class win in a time of 27.13 - some way off Mark Hemingway's record of 25.64. Colin Birkbeck had problems with his fuel pump and was 3rd in class (2nd in class for the WNSC). Top marks to Colin for persevering with his problem pump. I would have probably packed up and gone home with zero points.
Barbon is a great place to watch sprinting. The whole cource can be seen from the top of the hill. If you ever get a chance to go I can thoroughly recommend it.
Saturday 10th June 2006
It was the Elvington sprint today and I won class 11 with a time of 72.17. Colin Birkbeck wasn't far behind with 72.79. My time was also 3rd fastest of the day. Just shows what upgrading to 7" and 8.2" Avon slicks on 7" and 8.5" Compomotive CXR's can do for you!
Sunday 28th May 2006
Kames. At first look you might think this track is a bit "Mickey Mouse". But it's actually quite a challenge and very pleasurable to drive. The day ran like clockwork, with each run following on from the previous in quick succession. NOT like Knockhill.
I managed second in class today, just behind Colin Birkbeck.
Saturday 6th May 2006
Knockhill Sprint today. We only managed one practice run in the morning due to numerous cars ending up in the gravel traps. It also seemed that the cars entered in the British Sprint Championship were the most unreliable cars in attendance. In the afternoon we got two timed runs, but the first was on a wet track.
I managed to get 3rd in class out of 11 entrants with a 122.67, behind Colin Birkbeck on 119.27 and Adam Young on 115.15.
Having never driven Knockhill (or any of the other tracks this season for that matter) I was very impressed. It's a really interesting track, with plenty of variation in elevation. I'd love to do some trackdays there.
Oh, and I must remember my MOT certificate when entering as a road registered car.
Tuesday 18th April 2006
I competed in my first ever Sprint (and my first competitve event) on Good Friday and managed to come 2nd in class and 9th overall. I even got a trophy!!
The gates at the Teesside Autodrome were set to open at 8.00am so I set the alarm early and set off at 6.15am. This is the closest venue in this year's sprint calendar, so there are plenty more early mornings to come.
I arrived at the track just before 8.00 amongst a small convoy of other competitors. Once we had "interpretted" the paddock plan, it was time to unload the Caterham.
The order of the day was:
08.00 - Arrive at track
08.45 - Scrutineering begins
09.45 - Drivers's briefing and signing on closes
10.00 - One lap convoy to familiarise yourself with the track
10.15 - Practice sessions begin
13.00 - Timed sessions begin
In fact, I spent most of the time following unloading and signing on by mooching about trying to work out what to do next. Judging by the amount of activity in the paddock, there were a few people who hadn't layed a finger on their cars since last year.
By the time the driver's briefing started mine and a number of other cars still hadn't been scrutineered. Aparently this was normal, so we went off to the briefing.
The briefing was immediately followed by the familiarisation convoy. So it was a rush back to the paddock to don my race suit, gloves, and helmet. I'll be better prepared next time and use some of the hour I spent mooching about to change into my race gear.
After the convoy I returned to the paddock to get my car and race gear scrutineered. The MSA scrutineer couldn't pick up on anything of any significance, so that was a big relief.
The rest of the day consisted of 2 timed practice runs in the morning and 3 timed runs in the afternoon. The day passed remarkably quickly and smoothly, with the competitors being called to the start line in race number order by the paddock marshal.
All in all I had an excellent day and am already looking forward to the next event at Knockhill.
See the 14th April diary entry for the full result.
Friday 14th April 2006
Wigton M.C.
Teesside Sprint
Pos
No.
Driver
Car
Class
P1
P2
R1
R2
R3
Best
1
27
Mark Hemingway
Force HC
S1
94.08
90.91
89.44
90.54
89.92
89.44
2
30
Chris Pritchard
Force 15
S1
93.69
91.81
91.66
90.25
89.92
89.92
3
31
Jim MacDiarmid
OMS CF
S1
97.33
95.35
93.81
93.34
93.01
93.01
4
28
Douglas Anderson
Hawke DL22
S1
102.38
99.18
97.78
96.82
96.15
96.15
5
24
Chris Boyd
Westfield
M3
100.56
98.79
98.56
NT
97.23
97.23
6
23
Malcolm MacKay
Locost
M3
102.91
99.55
99.37
110.61
101.26
99.37
7
15
Colin Birkbeck
Caterham 7
M2
114.75
104.04
101.85
102.29
119.73
101.85
8
132
Andrew Dobson
OMS ZZR
S1
115.53
105.96
101.92
132.08
108.30
101.92
9
19
James Cummings
Caterham 7
M2
109.11
107.36
103.54
103.69
102.06
102.06
10
29
Angus Buchan
Radical Clubsport
S1
113.43
106.00
105.11
103.13
103.04
103.04
11
17
Paul Norris
Talbot Sunbeam
M2
107.42
105.47
105.24
103.88
103.55
103.55
12
16
Terry Coleman
Sylva Striker
M2
108.50
124.03
105.35
105.21
104.96
104.96
13
18
Mark Dempster
RAW Striker
M2
114.46
110.88
109.63
110.28
107.08
107.08
14
21
Steve Hinde
Caterham 7
M2
117.32
113.85
112.27
110.63
110.80
110.63
15
26
Steve Fishwick
Locost ZX9
M3
118.55
114.16
113.42
113.23
111.59
111.59
16
732
Jeanette Hunton
OMS ZZR
S1
119.31
114.57
114.80
NT
111.79
111.79
17
9
Peter Garforth
Alpine Renault
R2
116.05
116.90
113.69
113.39
113.24
113.24
18
712
Tony Jameson Allen
Renault 5 Turbo
R2
116.96
116.43
126.10
114.85
113.43
113.43
19
1
Jim Evans
MG Midget
C1
118.84
115.33
114.46
114.37
114.34
114.34
20
3
Robert MacGillivray
MG Midget
H1
120.44
124.15
118.56
116.73
117.96
116.73
21
10
Tim Oliver
Rover 200
R2
115.24
113.39
117.66
123.42
NT
117.66
22
11
Martin Peacock
Nissan Sunny Gti
R2
121.44
NT
119.89
120.16
119.41
119.41
23
22
Ben Clark
Ginetta G27
M2
124.47
119.70
120.85
119.75
121.10
119.75
24
112
Paul Taylor
Renault 5 Turbo
R2
124.36
120.54
120.08
Rtd
166.58
120.08
25
8
Antony Lomas
Peugeot 106
R1
128.19
124.62
121.91
122.34
122.02
121.91
26
5
Paul Brooks
MG B
H2
133.57
129.32
125.80
125.68
122.17
122.17
27
20
Les Golding
M2
130.39
122.17
124.41
125.09
123.52
123.52
28
6
Charles Graves
Jaguar XK150
H2
125.28
126.63
127.06
124.38
125.17
124.38
29
2
Simon Down
Lancia Fulvia
C1
128.16
125.38
126.21
126.34
124.81
124.81
30
114
Peter Keen
Ginetta G32
R2
134.94
127.71
128.32
127.10
126.11
126.11
31
714
Rebecca Keen
Ginetta G32
R2
140.51
135.85
130.71
128.85
128.90
128.85
32
33
Mike Smailes
BMW 2002
C2
133.97
132.91
133.22
131.90
131.63
131.63
33
4
Colin Sutherland
Triumph Spitfire
H1
Non
Starter
34
7
David Barnett
Jaguar E type
H2
Non
Starter
35
25
Paul Bowness
MK ZX12
M3
Retired
36
34
Ian Scott
Megapin
S1
Retired
Retired
Monday 13th March 2006
Made some additions to the Seven ready for sprinting.
Number backgrounds
Ignition On/Off decal
Battery master switch On/Off decal
Battery master switch "Blue Triangle"
"Tow" decals
Battery negative marked with yellow tape
Battery positive terminal covered
Saturday 4th February 2006
Revised dates for the Wigton MC Clark Mactavish Speed Chamionship:
Signed up for the Wigton Motor Club Speed Championship. Let's see if I compete in any events this year.
The dates are:
Mon 17th April 2006
Croft Sprint Sat 22nd April 2006
Knockhill Sprint Mon 29th May 2006
Teesside Sprint Sat 10th June 2006
Elvington Sprint Sat 17th June 2006
Barbon Hillclimb Sat 1st July 2006
Forrestburn Mon 28th August 2006
Teesside Sprint Sat 16th September 2006
Harewood Speed Hillclimb Sun 1st October 2006
Kames Classic Sprint
