Pre-Race Report Brands Hatch April 2010

Eyes down and look in, here we go again. Yes that’s right folks the Peter Best Insurance Challenge is back in town.

We are going out with all guns blazing with a double –header season opener at Brands to blow away the winter blues on Sunday 11th April 2010.

Quite a few changes for 2010 with several new drivers to our series and a few strategic changes for some existing ones.

Not only that, even the MGCC are getting in on the act, announcing the departure of Maggie Yeadon as our co-ordinator only for her return to be announced this week by the official site….looks like Maggie just couldn’t bear to leave us and who can blame her?

The PBIC goes from strength to strength in spite of the recession and spiralling fuel prices for 2010.

Rumour has it that 2009 Champion James –the-carrot cruncher-Walpole is working on a new fertiliser based fuel additive.

Also a return to more traditional power plants emerges in the shape of Wilson, who has taken on the Clockwork Orange for this year’s series.

Although I have it on good authority that the clockwork part of his nickname is really more appropriate for Legs of Doom Piggott who drives the grey pig. I hear he has been agonising over whether to continue with his dynamo based electrics or not, his big worry is that those new fangled alternators may not provide enough power for his cigarette lighter.

Class A welcomes Wilson and bids farewell to Alan Brooke junior who has taken a leaf out of sandbag’s book and has gone down the K series route….(don’t start all that again) and has moved his Metro into class C although the engine is shown as 1396….an early sandbag attempt methinks.

The rest of Class A are the usual suspects in the form of James Darby with  his new homebuilt engine, Simon Tinkler in Primrose who’s engine is  a closely guarded secret, yours truly in the great unwashed B….which hopefully will sit a little higher off the ground this year following the purchase of some taller springs.

Miss Daisy is back and we eagerly anticipate her new performance following the relaxation of the Montego rules at the drivers meeting.

No sign of Lord God Thompson….but it’s not too late for him yet.

Class B has it’s regulars joined by some new faces in the form of the following:
Car 27 P. Adam Entwistle with an MGB GT …(WHO are you…we really want to know ooh ooh…etc etc)
Car 34 Roland Gray & Phillip Simpson in their  MGB Roadster 1950cc, not sure if this a shared drive here.
Car 53 Kevin Swann in a  MGB Roadster
Car 59 Simon Polley in his  Midget , now is he new? ..his name seems familiar..I am sure the bearded one will correct me in due course.

No Burchill this time out…instead the lean green loony machine will be piloted by good old Sandbag Ludlow…who true to form was claiming some very unusual lap times at a recent testing session at Rockingham.

Class C  looks to be an all action packed group with the Return of Beaker in “Tripod” the amazing midget.

Lofty Cripps still smarting after his off-road moment at Snett is back with a vengeance and just to be sure has two cars entered on the books…but promises to drive just one at a time.

New guy 78 Jonathan Wills  in an MG ZR 160 joins the merry band, but where is Vic Reeves lookalike Barry Holmes I hear you ask, surely he’s not going to let that young whippersnapper Ollie Neaves repeat his last race victory???

Last and of course least we have the three musketeers in class F, namely three wheels on my wagon Stibbards, the Silver Fox and Kermit.

Still a few gaps here and there with some of the regular faces missing but still some time left yet before the closing date for entries….

Now as promised the much maligned and never to be repeated ( unless I get really short of material) yes it’s the good old caption competition results.

Thanks to all of you who did enter…naturally I cannot publish many of them due to the …eh how can I put it…colourful answers you provided.

Nonetheless with the names removed to protect the guilty , in no particular order, here  are some of the better ones…

Invisible lollies makes you go faster
Where’s my ice-cream?
Police warn ice-cream thefts on the increase.
Decline of NHS dentists hit pensioners hard.
Race driver fined for using International Drivers Signal.

And the winner is………

“Being Lew’d”………..the lucky driver is actually not going to be on track for the first half of the season as he wishes to spend more time away from his family, it’s none other than Desperate Dan Neaves.

Well done Dan - I will bring the glittering no expense spent prize to Brands and present it to you or one of the Neaves Clan there.

Well that’s all for now folks……all that remains is for me to say-

Gentlemen, start your engines….

See you there!!

Jonesey