Ahoy there Race Fans,

Yes that’s right shipmates you will see (or is that sea) this report has a distinctly nautical feel.
The main reason for this is the boat like characteristics of my car for most of its time at Thruxton.
But more of that later, first here goes with the round up of our visit to the quickest track in the UK, none other than good old Thruxton.

After qualifying the top three on the grid were none other than Dan Ludlow and a super fast Class B effort by Lofty Cripps, who pipped young Ollie into third….. a traditionally engined four pot giving the newer version a run for its money.

It was nice to see Pete Bramble back out with us in his concourse version of his B roadster, he had his fingers crossed that his head gasket issues were finally resolved.

Another shock was in store for the Class A racers as (told you to watch this guy in my last report) Nick Arden really got his Maestro dialled in and out qualified Carrot Cruncher James Walpole by almost a second.

This high speed track was looking to provide some high octane racing.

On my part I managed to put in one of my worst grid positions ever, giving the Grey Pig car 60 a worry as I vied for last position but actually managed 3rd from last due to John Wreghitt suffering a loss of spark.

It wasn’t for lack of effort, but no matter how hard I tried I just could not keep the B off the grass, as she lurched violently round each corner, making me feel distinctly sea-sick. I naturally put this down to my lack of ability.

Race 1
A frantic start ensued as cars swerved all over the place in turn one to avoid Crippo who lost drive in his Class B roadster.  From the back of the grid I was immediately overtaken by “On-a-mission” Wreghitt who had nipped out to buy a set of Ford Fiesta HT leads from Halfords after qualy and was making full use of them in the race.

I also had to fight off Max Whitehouse in his midget who wouldn’t give me an inch of track but sadly he retired 8 laps in.

My handling issues continued as my car lurched from one side to the other round the corners frequently tasting the cool grass off track for good measure.

This spurred on young Piggott in car 60 who decided to relinquish his favoured last position and make a race of it blatting past me with a cheery grin.
This was short lived as I managed to wrestle my car past him fully expecting him to return the favour at the next corner, but my mirrors were clear, where had he gone? Apparently a bit of over-exuberance meant the grey pig was eating some grass following a spin.

In the distance I could see the rest of the pack dwindling away with only the occasional glimpse of Wilson in his white roadster ahead.
A couple of laps before the end the front runners zapped past in the shape of Ludlow, Rob Spencer…blimey he was going well, Dan Neaves and Ollie, which was quite a feat since I briefly overtook Ollie  early in the race as he spun at Club Corner.

So the top 5 places all went to class C guys as you would expect, with Terry Holmes the last of these taking 5th place.  Brother Barry (Vic) now preferring to race with classes B & A followed a few places behind.

First for Class B was Alex Smith in car 54 which he is sharing presumably with a relation David?

Nick Arden in his Maestro car 36 trounced the rest of class A with a popular victory followed by James Darby and then James Walpole who had been hanging on with a burnt out clutch.

Race 2
During the break much discussion took place about the cause of my poor performance, when following a suggestion from Blaine Neaves an inspection of my car revealed that I had broken the n/s anti-roll bar drop link.

Naturally I did not have a spare so it looked like I would have to call it a day when James Walpole, who was loading up his trailer having retired with clutch failure, immediately offered to remove a part from his car for me to use.

This is why I like this series so much….despite being out of the race himself James sprang to my assistance without hesitation. Beers are on me JW!

He wouldn’t even let me crawl under his car to remove the part, insisting on doing this himself!!!!

With a superior Walpole part on my car I surely couldn’t fail. I was a bit surprised that it seemed to be made from platted straw but no matter I would give it a try.

A relatively long hold on the lights saw a bit of creeping going on, but I didn’t let that get on my pip. I floored it off the line and was delighted to find the Walpole drop-link had restored my B to its normal performance, as I nipped past Primrose car 18 things were looking good.

Sadly in my excitement I overcooked it and Tinkler nipped back ahead, but at least I was making a bit of ground this time out.
Wilson was closing behind me in car 50 but this time I was able to keep my trusty B on track looking to catch up with Darby and Arden.
In one of my famous last of the late braking manoeuvres I came close to getting past Darby on the complex but he soon closed the door.
On we went and by this time Burchill and Brown the two Vulcaneers were vying for position ahead of me.

 Tinkler went for the overtake and lost it just missing Darby and making me glad I had replaced my brake pads as he slewed across the track.
All this excitement meant I was up to third and so I pressed on fearing that Tinkler would soon catch me up…I had good reason to be worried as he got fastest lap in the class.

Then disaster, despite having a superior Walpole drop-link installed this was not the case on the other side which let go with a loud twang!! Here we go again….back to those stormy seas…

Well it was too late now, I just had to hang on and make the best of it.

Fortunately for me, but not so for Simon, Primrose’s high compression engine blew another head gasket and he retired.
Also out was Wilson who may have missed a gear and “buzzed” his recently repaired engine. This left Wreghitt & Piggott behind me, but I managed to hang on until the chequered flag.

The final result was a double whammy for Dan Ludlow , Ollie second and Crippo this time nabbed third on track and 1st in class B  having fixed the faults from race 1.
Blaine managed 4th on track, but am I right in saying Dan was actually quicker in the old man’s car….well he’s at a funny age bless him.

Class A was that Maestro again…. He was really flying.

Overall a very eventful weekend, but what a cracking track!!

Please, please  MGCC can we come back next year????

I have been asked to mention that the Christmas Do is booked and there is no need to delay in buying your  tickets. Richard Tinkler will accept all known forms of payment  and I think you can also reserve rooms at the hotel now.
It’s the same place as last year, I understand the bar will be doing half price drinks for the first hour…well that should be enough for most of us!

I have repeated the link to the Video provided by Team Neaves here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnon_82LemY
Apparently the first race was also recorded but Blaine left the lens cap on…..this also reminds me that Dan Neaves is compiling the Xmas DVD so get that footage in to him.

So to end, a cracking days racing and I understand Vic Reeves car 77 has asked if he takes four sparkplugs out does that make him eligible to run in class A?…
PS
I have been given some photos by the Vulcan team which I will add to the Photo Gallery at the weekend - many thanks to Jamie Peters-Evans who took them…and what has happened to Alan F?