World Exclusive!!!

PBIC to get new co-ordinator!

That’s right folks, you heard it here first apparently former racer Dave Brooke has volunteered to act as co-ordinator in place of that other bloke who didn’t do a great deal also known as Dave Brooke, what a coincidence!

The new Dave Brooke has wasted no time in updating the race scores and has already implemented a new rule namely 1.3.4 which no one has ever heard of.

Although not published I can reveal that this rule applies to all drivers and may be quite difficult for some to comply with.

Dave has decided to introduce a minimum hair length to be in force by the next race meeting. Dave is determined to bring back the Yeti look and has decreed that from now on any driver with head hair less than 18 inches long will be excluded from the points…..Mr Walpole will have his work cut out.

Donington Qualifying.

A total of 18 cars took to the track with 10 of them being in good old Class A “The Friendly Class”, which was swelled by the late addition of Lord Thompson who continues to move and drive in mysterious ways.

Lord Thompson declared himself to be feeling generally disillusioned with racing, mainly due to his failure to identify an intermittent fault on his car. He does even less maintenance than me so it is hardly surprising. Despite this problem he still found time to examine every other car for rule infringements and declared them all illegal except his own one of course.

New to racing (well I think Joe has done one race in the dim and distant past) was Joe Phillips in his not trick but very trick car. This has got all the toys on it that’s for sure but if it also had the bits it was supposed to have then maybe it would have reached the correct weight limit as well!

Alistair “ding-dong” Bell doubled the Class B entry when he appeared in the old Pat Fenn V8.

Class C managed four entrants with the addition of a bright green Sprite driven by Mike Robinson, and an immaculate FIA spec MGA driven by Martin Doherty. I could be wrong but these guys may only be guesting with us to get their licences signed up.

A more permanent addition could be that of  Ashley “Exocet” Woodward in his MG ZS, so called because of his poor aim around Redgate Corner.

Anyhow back to qualy:  I expected this to be a pretty tame affair but the green track caught out several drivers - first Exocet Woodward in car 17 who launched his ZS into the kitty litter on Redgate on lap 2!

I am pretty  sure Dave Brown had an off, and was that Primrose too?

The grid finished up with Dan Ludlow on pole with Carrot Cruncher James Walpole next to him and Dave Brown third …. This unusual formation mainly due to the lack of entries in Class C.

I managed a lowly sixth….. my excuse?…scrubbing in new tyres following the flat spotting incident at Thruxton.

Race One

With heavy skies we lined up for race one all happy to be back at this cracking track, all happy except Thompson who was still disillusioned.

A good start saw me up into third having passed Primrose hot on the heels of Darby and Walpole.

John Binczyk was in the mix with his F as was Nick Arden in his slightly smoky Maestro, looking to continue his winning streak.

Mike Robinson was going well in car 10 but this was not to last as we had the strange phenomenon of heavy rain on one part of the track and dry bits on others. This would see the slick shod cars struggle for grip and fall back.

Dan Ludlow had got off to a good start but suffered some sort of gear problem and being unable to get any gear other than 4th combined with the rain he decided to call it a day after 4 laps.

Joe “Tricky Dicky” Phillips was going well but rued his decision not to include an oil warning light in his list of toys and also a fuel cap would have helped as he dumped most of his aviation grade fuel over the track. He retired with suspected oil pump failure.

Frank Thompson retired with disillusionment.

Kev Hewer and the Grey Pig were making a fight of it with Piggott relinquishing  his favoured last place. Hewer was delighted as he had his first spin!

I was holding back Primrose but out braked myself into the chicane and saw Simon sail past. He then tactically fed me a couple of back markers and relegated me to fourth.

With Ludlow out, the win went to  Ashley Woodward who was flying round it has to be said.

James Walpole held back Darby to take second with the blue streak in third.

Quite a tricky race in the end but still great fun!

Race 2

This time the weather was more favourable and a dry race ensued.

I made a cracking start and was up into third by Redgate hot on the heels of Darby.

A trademark spin by James D put me up into second…WOW this could be it I thought and focussed on keeping up with James Walpole. Things were looking promising as the Darby spin had put a little distance between the front runners  ( I was one of them !!!) and the following pack when s*** b*****s argggh the bloody safety car was deployed after an errant MGF had parked on  the old hairpin…..I was absolutely gutted as the pack closed up again…….bloody bloody safety car!!!!!!!!

As we restarted I managed to stay in second for a while but was constantly bullied by “on a mission Darby” who was driving like a  man possessed.

As we headed towards the chicane he was flat out having already tried to pass me round the outside on the previous corner….out of the left hand window I saw him launch his car over the gravel trap before the start line…..well I guess he must be out this time I thought.

But no!!!! he went even faster and hacked back through the field to scream past us, on he went up to and past Walpole, on and on going faster and faster….I just couldn’t believe it.

Meanwhile Tinkler was now on my tail and as I tried to defend down the back straight he got on the inside as we approached the hairpin and I locked up and hurtled straight into the gravel trap.

Oh dear, I muttered quietly….no I didn’t…. I floored it through the gravel as I saw Nick Arden  nick  a place from me….but this was not for long as I took a leaf out of Darby’s book and went for it,  regaining the place on the exit of Redgate.

I made some ground on Tinkler but he fed me the slow moving MGA costing me another few yards as he retained third and pushed me back to 4th.

I don’t think I have ever been so close only for a podium place to gradually escape me I was well p****d off I can tell you!

So the race ended up with Dan Ludlow making short work of taking the victory without the mechanical problems of race one.

Ashley Woodward second and a good third on track and first in class B for Dave Brown who managed to pick up his usual panel damage for good measure.

First in Class A was the demon James Darby who also got driver of the race for his formation spinning, and fastest lap to boot!!

John Binczyk got  1st in class F and also fastest lap, but then as he was the only car in the class this wasn’t too difficult.

In fact I am thinking of buying an MOT failure Metro off Ebay and bringing back class E on my own, this must be a sure fire option for my championship bid!!

I should also thank the Silver Fox for giving a bit of ground so as  not to impede my rather futile attempts  to keep up with the two James’s.

So all in all another great weekend for the Peter Best Series.

Moving on to other  matters, I am drawing up  menus for the Xmas Do which will be circulated via e-mail by either our new co-ordinator or Club Secretary, or both to make sure you get them.

We have got a good deal price-wise this year as  a 3-course meal & ½ bottle of wine per head is just £35. The rooms are only £39 and we also have one hour of half price bar drinks…..it would be rude not to be there!

The Do is on Saturday 26th November at the Staverton Park Hotel Daventry and is open to ALL, even the occasional Silverstone drivers and those just doing a few meetings this year.

Don’t miss this chance to join your fellow drivers over a convivial beer or two.

You can book the hotel rooms now by calling the hotel on 01327 310283….use the banquet/function option not the reservations one and quote MGCC PBIC for the special deal on the rooms.

Please send your cheques and completed menus to Richard Tinkler, full details will be in your e-mails shortly.

Also Dan Neaves still needs any video you have taken over the year so he can compile the end of year DVD. Please get these to him (see link to TNR website) or bring them to Snetterton.

That’s all for now folks, as we gear up for the Grande Finale at Snetterton.

Jonesey

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?

Yes that’s right, the piggy bank just couldn’t meet the high cost of Silverstone so I was relegated to the sidelines.

The sun was beating down on the gallant Peter Besters who made it out, a lower grid this year though , even with the one –hit wonders, resulting in the need to join forces with the Cock-shooters which would really throw the cat amongst the pigeons come race time.

Amongst the new faces to the PBIC, was the familiar one of occasional racer James “Penelope-Pit-Stop Pitt in his gherkin green roadster.  Apparently he chose the colour after completing  shelf-stacking duty at his local Sainsbury. They say there is no “epicure” for this problem.

A surprise late entry was the Silver Fox John Binczyk, who has just lost the plot to be honest.

Kevin Hewer was back in Black Bess looking to make some ground after shedding 40 kilos of weight from his car… well those rubber bumpers are quite heavy it has to be said.

Other than that the usual suspects lined up in the baking heat ready to do battle.

Race 1

The race itself was relatively well behaved until the “Silverstone Effect” took hold.

This resulted in Dane Neaves car 3, failing to complete a single lap when the failure of his solar powered battery charger left him without any current.
Out went James Darby who suffered a massive smash into an errant Cock-shoot car which was taking evasive action to avoid some oil on the track.
Simon Tinkler blew a head gasket and retired early leaving an easy class A win to James Walpole who was back on form once more. A good 2nd went to Nick Arden in his Maestro who is quietly racking up the points and third to John Wreckitt, who recovered well after taking the scenic route around the circuit. Legs of Doom in the Grey Pig returned to his favoured position of last in class A unable to catch car 27 Kev Hewer who drove a consistent race. (Did I mention that car 27 gave me some tickets?? What a nice chap)

Class B honours went to Crippo who had been hassling Rob Spencer’s V8 for the entire race, but just didn’t have the straight line speed to take him in his four pot roadster.

Dan Ludlow who made a  good start to the race pretty well coasted round to take the class C  & race win never being threatened by the frantic  Ollie Neaves who despite wringing the neck of his k-powered roadster could only manage second place, with Rob Spencer taking third.

Vic Reeves in car 77 was lucky to make 4th after a very close shave with car 30 Terry Holmes (is he really his brother??)  who executed a flamboyant reversing manoeuvre sending cars in all directions as they tried to avoid him.

Not to be out-done despite there only being one other class F competitor out there JB in car 71 felt he ought to spin it too, much to the delight of the crowd.

In the interval between the next race some frantic work went on to car 38 as Never –say-die Darby  ripped his car apart in a desperate attempt to get out for race 2. Sadly a bent chassis leg was to prove just too much for a trackside repair and he retired.

Simon Tinkler meanwhile was replacing his head gasket on Primrose car 18 in the hope that it would hold together for the second race….

Race 2

The slightly reduced grid lined up for race two and the crowd were treated to  an absolute master class in sandbagging , by the one and only Dan Ludlow in car 70. He played Ollie Neaves like a cat plays a mouse allowing Ollie to drive the nuts off his car and gain a short lead, all the while Ludlow was waiting, waiting,… never too close - never too far behind as Ollie tried to make a break for it. Lap after lap went by until the inevitable, the alarm clock in Ludlow’s car went off reminding him that only 5 minutes racing remained so he chucked the sandbag out and sailed past Ollie without even breaking a sweat and strolled to an easy second victory.

Meanwhile the “Silverstone Effect” had hit Ollie’s brother Dan hard in car 3. He had spun off in the first lap resulting in a very hard contact with the wall and his race was run, and I am sorry to say most probably his season too.

Simon Tinkler in class A was unable to make full distance either as surprise surprise the head gasket gave out again. A good effort but no doubt the combination of the scorching heat and the pace of the race proved too much, many drivers saying that the temperature gauges were in the red towards the end.

This left the way open for the Carrot Cruncher James Walpole to make it a double class A win, closely followed by the pair of Maestros…you had better watch these guys they are making a fight of it, and it’s nice to see the variety of cars that the PBIC is renowned for.

Class B victory went once again to Crippo in a repeat of his race 1 antics with Rob Spencer.

I should mention that the new regs for car and driver weights do not come in until next year but this has not stopped Pete Burchill in car 13 starting early. With no weight left to shed off his car he’s on the special K diet..no hang on  a minute that’s another class isn’t it? Anyhow he has shed a load of weight which seems to be working for him as he notched up two 2nd in class results this time out.

Class C and overall win as mentioned earlier went to Mr Travis Perkins himself Dan Ludlow in car 70.

Class F in their caring sharing way swapped round with  the Silver Fox beating a Gout ridden Paul Rigg into 2nd in this race.

An early bid for the Crank of the Year award was made by Dave Brown in car 26 as he took out the marker board flat out down the back straight with a resounding boom that scared the bejeezers out of the spectators I can tell you.

It was nice to see gentlemen racer Lew Bergonzi had turned up to watch…and it just shows how hot the weather was as he only had one jumper on!
Lew has not been out this year as (I am sure he won’t mind me saying) he has been a bit under the weather for a while. I understand he is due to have an Op in July and I am sure you will all join me in wishing him a speedy recovery from this, and look forward to seeing him back on track soon.

Now I will end this report with an appeal for assistance:

While at the track I came across this individual who was either suffering from heat-stroke or may well have escaped from a care-in –the –community programme.
He appears to be suffering from some form of delusions as he believes himself to be the Technical Eligibility Rep for the PBIC series.  I tried to convince him this couldn’t be right because as we all know the series doesn’t have an Eligibility Rep!!!!

If you know who he is and can help  identify him or know where he should be returned to please get in touch.

All replies in strictest confidence!

See you at Thruxton!
Jonesey

I have wasted no time in compiling this race report as there is so much to tell you all, and also as it seems the official site has given up on writing them. (Dig dig!!)

So we all trekked up to Oulton and although we had a slightly reduced grid (only 17 cars but more of this later) we had three brand new drivers to welcome to the series, namely Rob Hedley in the Vulcan MGF Kevin “The Biscuit” Hewer  with his demonic black GT car … and Sarah “Busby”  Budby who was out in the lean green Dave Brown machine car 26. Eh, basically she was sharing a car with Dave Brown, not sure if that makes her brave or……..anyway, it was good to see them all out on track.

Despite the optimistic weather forecast I made in my pre-race report the heavens opened over Oulton overnight and also continued on for our early morning practice.

Does anyone know why we have to sign on soooo early??

Anyhow 17 took to the damp and rainy track to qualify and a very slippy affair it was too.

Fortunately no incidents to report other than I noticed a disturbing clonking noise from the rear of my car and the tendency to induce a bit of rear wheel steer round the corners.

Post-practice this was diagnosed by the Yeti Co-ordinator as loose shackles on the rear axle, clearly another downside to my minimalistic approach to race preparation.

This was swiftly bodged with copious amounts of washers to cover the large areas of stripped thread on the U-bolts and I was ready to race once more. Thanks to Church Lane Racing for the donation of nuts/washers etc.

Race 1

So we all trooped up to the rain sodden collecting area where we were held for about 25 minutes to ensure a nice level of water had filled the foot wells of our cars, or was that just mine? Who knows?

As we lined up on the grid the rain began in earnest and I made a very ropey start and immediately got stuck behind a slimline Blagger Burchill in car 13 and Dave Brown who both got to turn 1 first and made sure there was no room to overtake either of them.

The spray was horrific and worse still my car immediately steamed up on the inside making visibility like driving through the proverbial pea-souper!

The pack was pretty bunched up because of the conditions and I was soon on the receiving end of large amounts of hassle from returning driver Wilson in the clockwork albino…car 50 (I’ll think of a better name soon but how did I know he was painting his car white?) and Nick Arden in car 36 the Blue Maestro.

I should also mention that car 5 John Wreghitt had made a great start and was up the front of class A mixing it with the best of them.

Of course this was not to last and soon the adverse weather began to take its toll…perhaps if I had been a little more patient…arggh that hindsight thing again.

Anyway off off off went the clockwork albino at the first chicane having suffered a broken valve spring…off off off went John Wreghitt having suffered a lack of driving ability as he careered across the grass at turn two. Where he then spent several minutes entertaining the crowd in his pathetic attempts to re-join the circuit, culminating in him reversing for several hundred yards, but nonetheless successfully re-joining.

Off Off Off went…oh it was me as I missed the turn into the first chicane but rather than take the escape road like any sensible person I continued my turn and took to the grass where I performed several  pas-de-deux (spins to you lot) later voted as  a 9.5 by the marshals.

I think this, combined with my useless start was the beginning of my downfall, as I may have dislodged the rear, or maybe all of my exhaust brackets.

Never say die I thought , so I soldiered on and really wrung the trusty B’s neck as I tried to get back with the front runners.

This was helped when off off… (all right enough of the Murray Walkers) James Darby spun off at the carousel I am told it is called, or the Shell Oils Corner to the rest of us.

This allowed me to get up into third behind James The Mekon Carrot Cruncher Walpole (are these nicknames getting too long?) who was hunting down class A leader Simon Tinkler.

More do-or-die pills taken, I went for it and got alongside Walpole only for him to nip back in front of me. All the while I was being hassled by  the Blue Maestro who was clearly revelling in the wet conditions.

As we barrelled across the start/finish line I went for it again… looking to take Walpole on the outside of turn one , which I am pleased to say I was able to do. If only I had stayed on the track rather than completing the two full 360 spins on the grass. Still at least as I went round for the second time, waiting for the familiar Armco crunch, I was able to enjoy the sight of my entire exhaust system chasing Walpole down the track, if only I had been able to go with it!

So that was it for me as on returning to the paddock a full examination of the car showed my nearside suspension had also been ripped from its mountings and despite the gallant efforts of my fellow competitors and also Team Neaves, who were spectating, we were unable to locate anyone with welding gear in order to get my car back out on track.

Those who managed to make it to the end did not include me, or Rob Hedley who ripped his gear stick off, Wilson as mentioned, and Simon Cripps. He had a hell of a day - despite entering numerous races he suffered mechanical maladies throughout, probably damp related and failed to finish in either PBIC race and also most of the others he entered.

Results:

Dan Ludlow swept to victory in race one followed by Rob Spencer and Barry Holmes…is this right ??? Vic Reeves car 77 in 3rd ??…crikey what a turn up!
Pete Burchill took class B honours and Simon Tinkler took class A…. a massive “respect” is due to  Nick Arden in car 36 for taking 2nd in class A in his Maestro, well done!
Also the Grey Pig car 60 was going well on his spare engine which didn’t miss a beat all weekend even if it did smoke a little.

Race 2

An even smaller grid of just 15 took to the track for race two and this was soon down to just 14 as Crippo conked out before completing a single lap.

By now I had been relegated to the spectator banking where I enjoyed a great race, which was also dry too!
Rob Spencer in car 55 was the real show stopper showing a clean pair of V8 heels to Dan the Sandbag Ludlow who left his charge just a couple of laps too late.

And what’s this Vic Reeves 3rd again in car 77??? This is getting serious!

In class A, a really cracking race ensued with James Darby driving the race of his life against Simon Tinkler. Tinkler had the lead for a good few laps until Darby wore him down and executed a text book overtake at the chicane which Simon was unable to take back.

Walpole was once again relegated to third, and hasn’t won a race since…when was it last year?…, could the worm be turning?

Burchill took class B honours but in fairness he had little opposition from his fellow class B’ers as  Sarah Budby was the only other finisher. Much stronger competition was meted out by car 36 Nick Arden his Maestro really sounding on song for the whole race.

Rob Hedley retired once again DNF’ing but the writing was on the wall for him from the start as he did a crowd pleasing spin on the green flag lap with his over exuberant tyre warming antics!!

The two newbies had  a good time at the back of the race with Sarah coming out on top of Kevin Hewer (can I say that??)

Kevin certainly seemed to have enjoyed his day and said he was looking to shed around 50 kilos off his BGT which had started out life as a track day car but ended up as a full blown race car.

So, an interesting and eventful day for one and all.

Other Stuff:

Moving on in this mammoth report dear reader, now for the return of an occasional column I like to call “My ten pence worth”.

Surely the MGCC must have noticed the sudden reduction in the grid sizes this year which no doubt is due to the general economy and is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

What can be done to help improve things?

Well in my view rather than have a few drivers paying a lot of money to race  why not try to encourage people back by reducing the entry fees?

The idea being fuller grids with a larger financial return overall but with less cost to the individual?

I mention this because I do feel, and this is borne out by looking at the entry costs to other series, many of whom attend the same meetings as us, I do feel we are now paying too much per race.

The majority of us are feeling the financial strain and it is about time the regular drivers to the series are given a bit of credit for regular attendance.

Does anyone actually negotiate the race entry fees for us?

I know at Brands last time out the non MGCC races were paying roughly £60 per race less than we did for almost the same amount of track time.

Secondly, with Silverstone coming up,  I understand the response for views regarding the 40 minute endurance race is roughly 50/50  for and against.

Some cars are running small fuel tanks and cannot actually complete the full race distance, some do not want to do endurance - & this is not an endurance series. Whilst some would like to do the full 40 minutes.

Personally I feel we are once again being pushed about as I hear that we have the possibility of splitting the race  into two 20 minute ones but this is not a favoured option of Mr Gammons, and we all know which series he looks after.

Further to this we all know that Silverstone attracts the once a year “I’ve raced on the Grand Prix Track” types who don’t support the series for the rest of the year but are happy to pitch up, nick our race points with cars that may or may not comply with our rules.

I also hear that very few of them actually pay their dues to take part (i.e. the race registration fee).
Is anything being done to tackle those drivers who promise to pay but then don’t? Not difficult in my view, no money no race, end of.

Also with regard to championship points, should the one race wonders be allowed to have an adverse effect on the championship hopes of the regular drivers who support the series all year?

Rant over!!

And finally, I hear that Miss Daisy has  a new engine installed and won’t need too much coaxing to return. I mention this as a few misguided people have actually asked me when she is coming back.
I understand  (fact is stranger than fiction) some Maestro drivers were inspired to join the series after seeing Miss D out on track….crazy but true.

I also hear that there could be another 15 or so Maestros able to race just lying about gathering dust.
Each to their own, but a full grid is a full grid in my book, and if race fees were more reasonable perhaps we could encourage more drivers to join us….

At present due to the cost & race length I have not entered for Silverstone so the pre-race report may be a little scant.

However, if I do miss this round out I suppose there will be more time to do the race report instead!

Cheers!

Jonesey

Summer came early to Brands Hatch and for a change instead of the usual gale force winds we were treated to tropical heat for the first race of the year.

We started off with a smaller grid then we are used to albeit with a few new faces in the shape of two Maestros driven by Steve Tyler & Nick Arden.

Peter Brice was due to take part in his MGF but missed the first race due to puncture on the way to the circuit.

An old face returned in the infamous MGC piloted by Andy Young but as correctly predicted by James Darby, no sign of the Technical Scrutineer accompanying him!

Jones Junior of Miss daisy fame was seen briefly in the paddock chatting to his old Fiat mates (all four of them) but left soon after to spend more time with his family.

Nigel Pratt is new to our series in his Midget and looks to give Tripod a run for his money when he returns.

Paul Rigg was due to race but pulled out at the last minute as his ongoing gout problem continues to haunt him.

Paul Luti was driving the Blaggers car as Mr Burchill was unable to attend due to a family illness. Apparently his wife is sick of him racing.

21 cars took to the track for practice which was largely uneventful save for the Grey Pig developing a whine or was that a squeal from the diff.

The Carrot Crunchers meticulous preparation was a little lacking this time out as he completed practice with only one rear shock absorber attached, although this didn’t adversely affect his times.

RACE 1

A clean start followed by a clean race was the order of the day for the season opener.

I made a poor start and tucked in behind Primrose who was in hot pursuit of the two James’s.

The Blue Streak was immediately in contention with yet another new engine but would this prove to be just a flash in the pan?

The front was dominated by Team Neaves with Neaves senior and young Ollie tussling with Dan the Sandbag Ludlow’s latest creation his super-quick ZR.

Simon Cripps had selected his roadster from the Crippo fleet and set about launching his bid for the Championship with his Class B car.

The Class A battle was closely fought with only a couple of hundredth of a second between the first four finishers.

For once I was up with the leaders closing down on Simon Tinkler in car 18. As the clock ticked on I stuck to Primrose’s tail like glue all the while in the distance I could see the two James’s swapping places for the Class A lead.

Simon was driving Primrose like a demon and getting a little ragged on some of the corners. Finally as we exited Clearways I managed to hold a tighter line and get alongside, as we thundered towards Paddock Hill there was no way I was going to brake before Primrose and as we approached the end of the straight I held on for grim death and nipped ahead to take 3rd.

Simon continued to hassle me for the remainder of the race but I managed to hold him off. He later mentioned he had a leaky head gasket and was down on power…..so now he knows how it feels for the rest of us!!

Meanwhile James Darby had trounced James Walpole giving the Carrot Cruncher something to think about for race two.

Dan Ludlow had managed to lap all of Class A as he took the overall win closely followed by Ollie and Blaine. It later transpired that Ollie had lost fourth gear, very careless if you ask me,  and he  would have to make do without it for the rest of the day.

Nigel Pratt was fourth overall in his midget and looks to be a contender for the rest of the season.

Simon Cripps strategy was paying off as he took the Class B win followed by an amazing performance by Pete Burchill!!!…oh alright it was actually driven by Paul “The Trophy” Luti.

Once again John Binczyk was all alone in Class F but it is hoped that a few more will make it out as the season progresses.

Dan Neaves managed 15 laps on his return but was shown as a DNF….he probably told me what happened but no doubt it will be in greater detail on his own site…happy with that plug Dan???

The squeal like a pig,  er, grey Pig car 60 which had promised so much with its high powered engine retired after 11 laps with a suspected con-rod failure.

Frank “Lord God” Thompson discovered that Divine Intervention is one thing, but if you do even less prep on your car than me and then put no fuel in it you won’t get very far. One lap to be precise.

RACE 2

More of the same followed for Race Two as I made a poor start and was stunned by the Silver Fox as car 71 went past me at warp speed.

I also allowed Kevin Swann (or should that be Albatross) in car 53 and Peter Brice in car 73 to separate me from the Class A front runners.

The Albatross and Brice then set off in a major tussle for most of the race with my little B behind them.

Brice got that F sideways on most of the corners, maybe that tyre was going down again?Meanwhile the Albatross flapped gracefully round the corners and then unleashed the full 1950cc’s on the straights to leave me in his wake.

I managed to get past the F on the last lap and he must have suffered some technical failure as he pulled off but still managed to record a finish from the pit lane.

The front runners in Class A were never going to be caught by me and the Blue Streak struck again pushing Walpole back to second and Tinkler into third.

The race two result mirrored race one as Dan Ludlow held off Ollie to 2nd and Blaine to 3rd.
Paul Luti in the Vulcan ZS won Class B honours and scuppered Cripps this time out.
Dan Neaves held it together to achieve a respectable 5th overall and 4th in class.
The Silver Fox beat his other competitor in Class F.

Sadly Frank Thompson was unable to lord it over us as he only managed 3 laps this time out before calling it a day.

Andy Young has only himself to blame as exploiting a loop-hole in the rules he decided to drive in open-toed sandals to keep his feet cool. Sadly he wedged his big toe between the pedals and had to hot-foot it back to the pits having completed his sole lap.

So folks, a good start to the season with what looks to be very close racing for the rest of the year.

Long-haired Dave is continuing in the role of co-ordinator and has pressed brother Alan into service as his race-reporter.

Amazingly the Official site was updated soon after the race and I fully expect to see the Official race report on there in double quick time.

Thanks to you all for a great start with clean racing, a point that was picked up by the commentator.

Also as a footnote I though it was very generous of Dan Ludlow to dedicate his race wins to the late Peter Andrews.

PS. A reminder for Andy Young - don’t forget to send that donation to the Motorsports Safety Fund….as promised!

See you all at Oulton.

Jonesey.

PBIC defies recession with 12 races for 2011

There is a lot to cover & this site is in danger of becoming as serious as the official one if I’m not careful….but I’m sure I can intersperse the facts with a bit of fiction.

Welcome one and all to a packed report this time out.

I’ll deal with the driver’s meeting first and this is a bit serious but I’ll try to lighten (this word will feature heavily) things up as the report goes on.

OK,  in their infinite wisdom those who attended the driver’s meeting voted to up the race count to 12 for next year and the proposed dates are shown below.

I have to say this looks a bit optimistic to the financially challenged drivers of whom I am one, and in my view to only have 8 races counting (i.e. drop 4 worst scores) is likely to mean that drivers will be more selective about which meetings they attend.

Also for some reason which escapes me, and much as I like Donington we have decided rather than have a double header there, instead, we will double the costs and go there twice…or at least some people will as I will certainly be dropping at least one of those rounds.

On the plus side we have a once in a lifetime chance to race at the quickest circuit in the UK namely Thruxton.

This really is quite a coup as due to various local restrictions this circuit only stages about half a dozen meetings per year and pretty much nothing else…so well done for getting this!

The Proposed Fixtures:

 9/10 April – Brands DH
7 May – Oulton Park DH
28/29 May – Donington SR (not sure which day yet)
24/25/26 June – Silverstone DH
30 July – Thruxton DH
28 August – Donington SR
1/2 October – Snetterton DH  
DH – Double Header
SR – Single Round

Drivers Meeting:

To go through the points as listed on this illustrious website’s last post: I have listed what I think happened but as I nodded off after 90 minutes I will stand corrected by the Official Side if I get any of these wrong:

1. Class A is too fast: much debate but no changes agreed
2. Seed the top 20, 30 or 40 race numbers: motion not passed
3. Incorporate PBIC logo on race numerals: motion not passed
4. Registered drivers to do minimum of 3 races before qualifying for championship points: I think this has been accepted
5. Make Silverstone a non-championship round: motion not passed
6. Allow TF 4-pot front brakes in class F (as per Trophy regs): motion not passed
7. Allow standard MG ZR160 in class A or F.: further consultation on this?
8. Allow K series engine in Midgets for class C.: motion not passed although may still be allowed under existing rule admitting any car for evaluation
9. Ban K series altogether or only permit to use carbs & no mapping: motion not passed
10. Team Trophy for teams of 3+ cars (no surprise who suggested that one): motion not passed but may be re-visited (don’t you have enough trophies Ollie?)
11. Car weights to include driver: PASSED
12. Clarification of regs regarding tyres sizes / flywheels etc.: fell asleep but believed no action agreed
13. Driver’s meeting limited to 2 hours (beer permitted during meeting) ACHIEVED WITH 2 MINUTES TO SPARE
14. Create a completely standard class…motion not passed ??
15. Re-classify the rules regarding V8’s.: no change to current position

It was also suggested that any proposed rule changes be submitted well in advance of the drivers meeting for consideration during the year.

It was agreed that we retain our current Technical Scrutineer but it would be desirable if he actually attended the odd race!!!!!!!

The Social Bit

The Dinner and Dance was held at a new venue this year and it was good to see a marked improvement in the numbers of long suffering wives and girlfriends in attendance.

This naturally resulted in much improved behaviour by the majority of drivers.

Those of us who were looking forward to the witty japes of the After-Dinner speaker were to be bitterly disappointed as the mystical Phil Thompson proved to be exactly that and never showed up…

I also checked the bar repeatedly but there was no sign of the Loony Photographer either….worrying!

Still at least we could look forward to Lofty beguiling us with his unique banter ?…but no, he ran out of puff after a strenuous effort at the drivers meeting and failed to muster any of his usual jibes….what an anticlimax.

So gallantly once more into the breach stepped our resident Yeti - Long Haired Dave, who fortunately had memorised the whole years results and doing his best Dickie Davies impression presented all the trophies including one to himself which was nice!

It really was a star spangled affair with Pete Bramble sporting a new streamlined haircut and long haired Dave looking like Gandoplh with his even longer trusses.

You all know the results so I will skirt around these but there were some particularly memorable awards much deserved by the Drivers concerned.

Peter Andrews was unanimously voted to receive the Driver’s Driver award….well deserved and another pot for one of the beardies.

Lou Bergonzi received the Spirit of the Championship Award, not because of his penchant for Single Malts but because his ghostly presence is with us always…

Vic Reeves the former London Bus Driver received the Biggest Balls Up for his fine demonstration of parallel parking at Cadwell.

Legs of  Doom  (Piggott to you & me) received Crank of the Year…just because he is one, and of course he had already gone home before  the presentations to start work on his new engine.

From what I could see the rest of the trophies were shared out between Simon Tinkler for being the best in just about everything and Ollie Neaves for snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and clinching the championship by a whisker.

Next year there will be an award for Disco Diva following the Ann Widdicombe-like moves displayed by Kevin Stibbards. He easily spent more time on the dance-floor than he has on track for the whole year.

In light of the new weight rules to include driver & car which will be known as the “Chubby Charter”, the Carrot Cruncher has abandoned his 2 calorie per day starvation diet and was spotted eating extra portions of Christmas Pudding in protest.

Incidentally- I presume that all the proposals will not come into force until 2012 is that right Dave?????

I feel I am waffling on a bit so I will sum up with a few thank you’s and a riddle.

The Do itself seems to have been generally well received , certainly the food was not only edible but actually recognisable too. There will be improvements that can be made I am sure, but of course this process would be greatly enhanced if anyone actually bothers to tell the committee what they would like to be included next year!

But a few guys merit praise for their efforts without which our races would not actually happen.

Dave does a lot of work behind the scenes and although he doesn’t like to tell us what he is doing, without him devoting a lot of his own time to meeting with the Living Dead that are the MGCC we would all be spectators. He also very kindly stepped in as co-ordinator at the last minute forgoing his chance to race so a big thank you there.

Richard Tinkler has been quietly sorting out lots of the administration and also organised 90% of the Christmas Do including table plans, getting the money in and the lovely table decorations made by the long suffering Mrs Tinkler. Well done!

Pete the Pie-eater Burchill, when he is not trying to get the rules changed for his Vulcan buddies has got our financial accounts in order and put the Championship on an even keel, he is also an excellent ambassador for the series and is working hard to raise our profile which will benefit us all in the future.

Dan Dan the Video man from Team Neaves has been appointed official end of year film producer and spent a lot of time with hardly any material putting together the end of year video.

He is currently compiling a Director’s Cut Version which he will sell to you at £5 each, all profits to go to the Championship Coffers (that’s ours not the MGCC).

I have no doubt missed out loads of people who also do their bit (driver’s reps being one lot) but I know what slow readers you all are so I will save up a bit for my NEW YEAR’S PREDICTIONS REPORT which will have a few shocking revelations in it I can guarantee!

Suffice to say another year over and a new one soon to begin…etc, etc.

I have had a great if largely pot free time and learnt a lot more  about how to repair my car.

I look forward to attending as many meetings as I can next year  and wish you all a Merry Christmas and healthy and Prosperous New Year.

To end up then…answers on a postcard please if you can spot this celebrity who I understand hopes to be competing next year.

If only you had paid the small bribe as I asked, then your secret would have been safe !!!

Bye for now folks!

Greetings Race Fans,

The final race of the season was approached with some trepidation by the Peter Besters as the Norfolk Circuit threatened to be a washout on the weather front.

Qualifying on the Saturday was a little damp but the rain held off allowing 27 eager drivers to safely grab their place on the grid.

The Championship Title was up for grabs too with the Young Pretender Ollie Neaves vying against the Old Lag James Walpole who has won so often the engravers normally send the trophy to him direct.

Man of few words Lofty Cripps took pole keen to show that last year’s off track excursion was just a blip in his bid for world domination.

Ollie took second on the grid 2 seconds behind Lofty, but his real threat was still Carrot Cruncher Walpole who was slightly un-nerved by the recent meteoric improvements in Primrose car 18’s performance piloted by Simon Tinkler.

Simon out qualified the carrot by a good second to take pole for class A.

Ewart Kitson was back in car 20 for a shake-down after having big reliability problems this season.

Ex karter Sam Smith swelled the class F ranks in his yellow Ebay special - car 63 and put down a firm marker with an easy pole in that class.

Last place on the grid was more hotly contested than first this time out, with no less than 3 drivers making a bid for Sandbagger of the Year in the absence of Dan Ludlow.

Vic Reeves in car 77 has finally realised that he much prefers racing with those nice Class A chaps and choosing economy over speed managed last in class C.

He was soon to be outdone by the last place expert in the shape of the grey pig car 60. In a desperate attempt to qualify last Legs of Doom parked up after a few laps to enjoy a Woodbine…. but it was not to be as his Lordship howling mad Frank Murdoch-Thomson (23) trying out his new variable timing technique of securing his distributor with an elastic band easily managed to snatch last place.

The Race

The weather fooled everyone as the skies cleared and a dry race was on the cards.

A clean start saw Vic Reeves forget himself and rejoin his class C buddies as he floored his red GT down the revvet straight.

Cripps had stormed into an early lead with Ollie snapping at his heels….but Lofty would come to regret his “few-words” strategy as he forgot to ask for someone to re-fuel his car and after getting fastest lap he would soon discover that MG’s are not as economical as he thought.

I made a good start and got past the blue-streak James Darby and slotted in behind Walpole in third place.

I held up Darby as long as possible but he sailed past me after a few laps and gradually pulled away into the distance.

Tinkler meanwhile was off at a cracking pace and is starting to make a habit of winning as once again he pipped James Walpole.

With Lofty out  this left the door open for Ollie to take the overall win. This was soon followed by some frantic calculations requiring all of Team Neaves to  help with the counting as Ollie tried to work out if he would beat Walpole to the Championship title.

Unfortunately no-one was able to count past ten which proved a bit confusing.

Race Two

In normal fashion, our privileged status in the MGCC counted for nothing and we were all back bleary eyed to greet the dawn as the opening race on Sunday.

The track was lovely and damp with the promise of rain to come. GREAT!!!

It would soon become clear that not everyone is as keen on the wet weather as myself.

Starting from 4th I managed to avoid the wheel spinning Carrot who as a local boy should have known better and zoomed past him and also the blue flash James 2 for good measure.

The blue flash went into a bit of a spin trying to catch up and after going off for the second time just to add insult to injury, he was called in for a drive through penalty ….. ahem…for too much spinning!

By turn one I was past Pete Andrews in Robb Huffs charger…hmm this is all a bit odd.

Turn two and I was on Tinkler’s tail and up with the V8’s and by the end of lap one with wipers at full speed I was past Tinkler and hot on the heels of Pat Fenn as he fish tailed out of Russell bend.

Hang on a minute….that means there are no class A cars in front of me….OOOEER!.

Of course it was not to last and he of the “grande cajones” Tinkler was soon back into 1st as I battled my way round.

I gave James Walpole a run for his money for a while but before I knew it I was down to 3rd.

The rain was to prove challenging for many a driver though as Ollie with the championship in his sights over-cooked it early on and spun off to finish a lowly (for him) 5th in class and 8th overall.

Class A wannabee Barry Holmes decided to do his victory doughnuts during the race instead of at the end….hmm… bit like the premature celebrations at Cadwell do you say?

So much so that he ended up racing with the class A guys and finished one place ahead of me on track but one lap down!

Another face I don’t often see is that of manual labourer Blaine Neaves who I overtook two or three times as I recall…. Funny old game this racing!

Anyhow, Cripps took the race win followed by Tripod in car 43 - running very well considering it had a full rebuild overnight.

Sam Smith proved that there is such a thing as an Ebay bargain and finished a blistering third overall and of course first in class in his yellow F……an amazing drive!

Shane Terry picked up class B honours with that Tinkler bloke winning class A again!

Thomson and Piggott were denied last place which was nabbed by Brian Ratcliff car 61 due to a puncture.

A cracking race with no damage remarkably considering the track conditions.

Then in true Carol Vordermann fashion the countdown began as Long Haired Dave got his abacus out and tried to work out who the 2010 Champion was.

First it was Walpole then it was Ollie…..at one point even Piggott was in the running!

Finally it was agreed that both Ollie and James had tied for points, but someone must have won surely?

James Walpole was the first to realise that it was just like 2005 all over again, when he missed out on the trophy due to class wins.

He was the first person to congratulate Ollie on an amazing win!

Let’s not forget young Neaves is still (supposedly) a rookie and has absolutely blown away the opposition with his driving.

He made hard work of the overall win in the end but nevertheless in my book he is a very worthy winner and to his credit the mild mannered schoolboy who fitted in his driving around school trips and homework is really in a class of his own!

Well done!!!!!!!

Well folks, that’s another year over…..well almost as we still have the Xmas Do to look forward to, in fact I think I enjoy that more than the driving.

I am pleased to say menus and cheques are slowly being received and I note that some of the long suffering wives and girlfriends are also on the guest list!

If you want to book a room at the hotel call between 9am and 5pm and select the option for CONFERENCES  and not reservations. Just tell ‘em it’s the MG Xmas Do and you’ll get a room for £39.

All outstanding menus and cheques to Richard Tinkler please.

Look forward to seeing you there and as ever I still drink Guinness.

Cheers!

Jonesey.

PS…Can’t wait to hear Ollie’s speech!

Primrose blossoms while Fenn finds his form

Greetings race fans!

The remote Lincolnshire Circuit of Cadwell Park played host to a weekend of thrills and spills as the PBIC hit town. It really was a race of two halves but no prizes for guessing who would end up as sick as a parrot.

The drivers did their best to confuse your intrepid reporter by changing the entry list at the last minute.

Knowing how long it takes me to type her name, Margaret Farqhuar etc etc failed to appear as did Wilson in car 50, although I am sure I spotted him wandering around the collecting area on the Sunday.

Ewart Kitson was out too, as was newly installed co-ordinator Long Haired Dave due to MSA regulations about not scoring points….come to think of it perhaps I would be the ideal co-ordinator as I rarely score points either?

In was the Silver Fox JB in car 71 looking forward to racing some class F drivers at last, only to discover Stibbards car 51 had blown up in testing on Friday and MFR car 34 was no-where to be seen….what’s the common denominator here John? Even his pit crew had deserted him!

In class A the Grey Pig car 60 replaced Wilson, but not for long.

Qualifying

The grids were a bit thin as we were split into the fast guys and the “rest of us” as they like to refer to us.

First out were groups A F & T, with the T types doing their usual spreading of oil and water as they went round.

Walpole took pole for race 1 and Tinkler for the Sunday race.

In the fast classes Cripps was back in his V8 Exocet closely followed by Sandbag Ludlow sharing car 13 with Pete Burchill.

SATURDAY RACE 1 CLASSES A F &T

With the classes reduced I was able to keep up with the front runners as we set off for race one, with Gentlemen Racer Bergonzi falling asleep on the start line.

I cheerfully followed on behind Darby and Tinkler and Walpole although they gradually eased away.

Nevertheless with the front runners in my sights I pressed on and shaved 3 seconds off my mediocre qualification times.

It was not to last though, and as I tried to make up ground while the leaders gradually pulled away I suffered the well known ailment of “lead-foot”, whereby my hefty application of the throttle round the woodlands hairpin caused me to spin and shove the nose into the Armco.

This pushed back the bonnet and ripped off the spoiler, all except for one plucky screw which allowed the spoiler to twist up in the air like the Sword of Damocles in front of me.

My race was run and I crept back to the paddock area and held my head in shame.

I was not the only casualty of this race as Darby car 38 got a rear wheel on the grass and spun off also having a chat with Mr Armco and ripping his exhaust pipe off in the process.

This allowed Lew Bergonzi to recover from his uncharacteristicly bad start and make it up to third. Can I also say now that here is no truth in the rumour that Lew fell asleep at the lights due to someone repeatedly shining a torch through his car window during the night…..I don’t even have a torch……anyway, moving on…

Piggott expired mid-race as his newly fitted core-plugs turned out to be not that well fitted and drained all the Pig’s coolant (I am referring to the car not the driver here). Legs decided not to attempt a repair for the following race and went home to spend more time with his packet of Marlboro.

I missed the delight of car 5 John Wreghitt going agricultural at the mountain and then taking a quick sight-seeing tour round the grassy knoll. Cheered on by the crowd and marshals he finally realised that he would never drive up the grass and turned round before rejoining.

The final  result here was Walpole Tinkler and Bergonzi in that particular order.

Race 1 classes B&C

The split race allowed me the pleasure of watching  a Cripps master-class in driving excellence.

He led the race from start to finish in his gleaming V8 and just romped away from the rest of the field really in a class of his own.

Further down the field a frantic race was taking place for third between Neaves Senior car 7, Barry Holmes car 77,  Terry Holmes car 30 and Shane Terry car 29.

It really was nail-biting stuff which sadly ended up with some contact near barn ending the race for Terry (Holmes) and (Shane) Terry following a collision.

This put Blaine into 3rd place but following a meeting with the clerk of the course he was removed from the score sheet.

I did not see this incident and I am sure each driver will have his own view, but it does strike me as a little harsh that in Club Racing we are having drivers disqualified…we all pay our money and I would like to think that no-one would merit this type of punishment in our series. Nuff said.

Meanwhile back in class B Pat Fenn car  22 was having a blistering race, at last he has got his V8 going like it should which rewarded him with a well deserved class win. Well done Pat.

Pete Andrews out in Rob Huffs car was going exceedingly well,  getting fastest lap in class which proved too much for him and he decided to rest the car after 10 laps for the following days racing.

Barry Holmes in a desperate bid to win over the crowd spent most of his time waving…or was it gesturing, I couldn’t be sure as he went on to snatch third in the amended results.

A really cracking race to watch with Ollie Neaves hanging on to second, a country mile behind Cripps.

SUNDAY RACE 1 CLASSES A F &T

With most of the cars patched up following their bruising the day before an even smaller grid lined up for the early doors race on Sunday morning.

The grid was down to single figures but this was still going to be Tinkler’s day.

A swift start saw Wreghitt scorch off the line from 6th place to second by turn one….he really surprised everyone including himself , so much so that while he paused to collect his thoughts he found the rest of the field catching him up to put him back down into 6th again by turn  four!

I was squeezed by Darby as we tried to get three cars round turn one, but it was never going to work and I soon found myself falling behind with Wreghitt bearing down on me.

The 25 minutes really took their toll on both driver and car as I managed to cook the n/s front tyre with my traditional harsh steering, resulting in Wreghitt, the quicker of us,  snapping at my heels while Tinkler and the rest stormed ahead.

A close call with a slow moving T Type nearly ended my race as I passed him at the goose neck only to lock up at the bottom of the hill.

Wreghitt made a couple of lunges but I had left him no room and we both settled for 5th & 6th respectively, a good race but with little to show for it at the end.

But today really belonged to Simon Tinkler in car 18….he has put in the hard work over the season and has been finally rewarded with a well deserved win – a popular result with all the drivers - Well Done!!!!

James Darby and Lew B scored a well run 2nd & 3rd relegating Walpole to an unlikely 4th…although he did set a new lap record in the process.

Has Tinkler put the carrot cruncher out to grass?  We will have to see at Snett!

SUNDAY RACE TWO CLASSES B&C

The start line drama was well under way as even before the lights went on Terry Holmes in car 30 disappeared in a cloud of smoke and steam and dived into the pits seconds before the race began.

As the lights went out Ollie got off the line first determined to put Cripps behind him.

Ollie held him off for a while but then had to concede once more as Cripps powered past.

This time out Cripps decided to have a bit of fun at Ollie’s expense and looked to make a race of it.

They diced for a while but Cripps soon pulled away drifting the V8 round the track in his unique style.

Once again the battle for third was edge of the seat stuff, with Blaine doing his best to hold back the rest of the pack to allow Ollie to make a break for it.

The first casualty was at the mountain when Shane Terry lost it under acceleration and spun into the Armco.

He recovered and rejoined well down the field.

This allowed Barry Holmes in his bus-driver style of driving to take on Blaine Neaves with Dan Ludlow in the mix in the Vulcan Racing ZS.

On the penultimate lap Blaine barrelled onto the mountain to lose it under braking with a graceful sideways slide onto the grass.

This gifted third to Barry Holmes, who taken by surprise, forgot to stop waving to the crowd and drove straight off the track at the hairpin stuffing it into the fence.

This passed the parcel to Dan Ludlow giving him 3rd overall and 1st in class and returned 3rd in class to Blaine.

Andrew Barker in car 87 had been limping his misfiring B around the track in both races but it finally expired on lap 11.

So the final result was Cripps, Neaves (junior) & Ludlow.

A few die-hards had a crack at the end of the day Allcomers race including Long Haired Dave who managed 2 laps before suffering fuel pump problems.

Cadwell really took its toll on the cars and this race was no exception with no less than 8 DNF’s.

Only Burchill and Ludlow managed to save the PBIC good name with a 4th place overall.

So folks an  interesting weekend all round with some surprise results, spectacle, controversy and a bit of panel beating as well.

All thoughts are now focussed on the Grand Finale at Snetterton in October.

I am packing my wellies and waterproofs already.

Last but not least, I know many of you don’t want to think about the Christmas Do yet, but if you get a chance it would help as so far I have been handed just the one menu and payment.

As we are all at Snett this would be the ideal time to bring along your menus and your chequebooks…you know it makes sense!!

That will really be the last time I have to collect them but of course you could always post them off now to Richard Tinkler.

Cheers

Jonesey

Mallory Race Report July 2010

A slightly reduced field of Peter Besters took to the track as guests of the Morgan Sports Car Club at Mallory.

The Morgan drivers consisting of several Tarquins and Ponsonby-Smythes were a little taken aback as the Peter Besters consisted of Browns and Joneses.

Nevertheless they let us race anyway.

As predicted of the 24 who turned up to race, bringing up the rear with their late entries were the V8 brigade consisting of Spencer, Reeves and V8 wannabee Weasley Beasley.

Although you had to feel sorry for Reeves as he wandered forlornly about the paddock on his own, missing his pal and spiritual leader Cripps.

What few of us knew but I can now exclusively reveal about Lofty was that his enforced absence was due to undergoing an urgent medical procedure.

Due to the presence of the gigantis gene in his body, which is hereditary, Cripps’ head is too far away from the ground. His excessive height means that unlike us normal folk, gravity has an increased effect on him and this has resulted in Lofty’s upper teeth gradually falling out. He has tried to mask this with a set of false ones but this was only a temporary measure hence his recent absence to have a new set fitted.

I digress…back to the race stuff!

24 eager Besters took to the field for practice, although Wilson of Clockwork Orange fame was spending more time with his panel-beater, the Wilson Clan were well represented in the shape of long-lost cousin Simon Wilson. Sadly he was driving a Metro but you can’t have everything I suppose. At least his driving skills seem somewhat more developed than that of his older cousin, er.. Wilson.

He took his smoking Metro out for a good thrashing, the fault which later turned out to be no more than too much oil exiting via the dipstick.

Nice stickers on his car too,  thoughtfully provided by his pit crew.

Dave Brown was re-in-car- nated (see what I did there?-priceless!) in a slightly worse for wear Sprite which he had dragged back into service following his prang at Silverstone.

Unfortunately it was not to survive practice and he retired,  but 10 out of 10 for effort in coming back though.

Beasley was another casualty and was seen tinkering away at the end of practice but to no avail.

Tripod also suffered some sort of catastrophe involving a  head replacement, Beaker did tell me what the problem was but it was of a technical nature so I naturally forgot what he said.

Long haired Dave offered up his usual “mis-fire” excuse but we all know it was really that his head-lamp bulbs had blown.

The shock departure of the day was the Blue Streak James Darby. He suffered a suspected exploding piston and was not able to join the race proper. He denies that his compression testing programme was to blame and vows to return with the Blue Steak Mk2 development engine at Cadwell.

Blaine Neaves suffered from an anti-rollbar wrenching itself free from the chassis but he did not discover this until after the race!

The Race

So a slightly reduced grid went out for the race proper on this small track which seemed to be a bit of a car breaker.

As the Green flag lap began, Tripod erupted in a cloud of steam and was pushed off the track…..Primrose piloted by  Simon Tinkler decided she didn’t want to start and was relegated to the back of the grid after receiving a hefty shove from the marshals.

Same goes for Rob Spencer who also could’nt start and joined Primrose at the back of the  grid too!

That left me at an advantage, but with both Pat Fenn and Blagger Burchill in front of me I needed a good start to make the most of it.

Red lights on then in true Murray Walker fashion…GO GO GO!!!

I made a cracking start, squeezing in between Fenn and Burchill, but Fenn was having none of it as he mysteriously drifted towards the right  sandwiching me between the two cars….this was to end in disaster though as soon after he ended up beached in the grit on Gerards bend.

But more drama was to unfold before the first lap was over….in the distance the front runners were fighting tooth and nail for position when OFF OFF OFF!!!

Alan Brooke in his souped up dog kennel had taken a packet of “brave pills” swigged down with Redbull.

He overtook Blaine Neaves round the outside of Gerards when CONTACT! (I do miss Murray Walker).

Brooke went into a massive slide and struck the Armco head-on.

His race was run and his car pretty well written off….OUCH!

In true Judge Judy fashion, here are the videos - first Alan’s Video-

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=-OrbRhKWyEM&playnext=1&videos=9ny8qjB0ucY&feature=sub

 and heres Blaine’s-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT78syXLYdY

…you decide!

Blaine continued and finished 3rd overall and 2nd in class behind returning to form sprog, Ollie.

But streets ahead was James Wheeler to take the  race and class win in his yellow roadster.

Meanwhile, back at class A my advantage was being eroded as Primrose on a recovery drive once again was closing in and filling my mirrors.

I was in an unfamiliar position close on the heels of none other than Mr Immac himself James Walpole.

He was engaged in an almighty tussle with class B car 53, Kevin Swann.

Walpole was quicker in the corners but just wasn’t able to out-drag Swann on the little Leicester circuit.

Sadly neither was I!

This allowed veteran racer Lew Bergonzi to steam ahead in his sky-blue roadster to take the class A win.

The action wasn’t over though, as on the last lap Rob Spencer was happily lapping the rest of the grid when he over cooked it into Gerards and buried his V8 in the kitty litter.

There was one other DNF in the shape of Adam Entwhistle car 72…although the reason for his demise escapes me.

So there it is folks, a reduced grid but no reduction in thrills and spills as we once again put on an action packed show for the Mallory crowd.

As I close this report I must just take time to congratulate Silver Fox John Binczyk, for not only achieving the fastest lap for class F but also an emphatic class win! Well done. Shame  there were no other class effers out at the time!

Just one last bit of pitlane gossip regarding Cadwell. As I understand it we are at the moment spread over the whole weekend for this double-header.

The consensus of opinion at Mallory was that if possible most drivers would prefer to race on just the one day, as this made life easier in relation to work commitments  etc. Long Haired Dave is looking into the options and will no doubt keep us posted.

TTFN

Jonesey

YOU KNOW WHEN YOU’VE BEEN TANGOED.

Greetings Race Fans….well where do I begin?

To say Silverstone was full of thrills and spills would be the understatement of the year!!!

As predicted the PBIC fielded a massive 36 cars for the Race over the Historic Grand Prix Circuit, with many of the drivers taking advantage of the Friday practice session.

For some reason I thought we had 42 on the grid but maths never was my strong point.

There are loads of drivers who attended this event, none of whom are known to me so not much I can say about them really.

One familiar face returning to the fold however, was James Pitt car 39, in his gleaming B Roadster. He informs me the colour was a special purchase from none other than the former Phoenix Participant and MG Trader Jeremy Rogers, who it was nice to see Spectating following his recovery from a serious road accident earlier this year.

Qualifying on Sunday was relatively uneventful with many of the driver’s attempting to learn the track and also put in good times.

The return of Weasley did not go according to plan as his little yellow midget decided to have a tantrum and throw a wheel off after four laps.

Simon Cripps took pole although this was in his Roadster and not the V8 as shown on the entry list.

The shock qualifier had to be Alan Brooke in his upgraded Metro taking second….WOW!!!! Even beating back his bearded brother to third!

Other than Beaker in car 43 it was clear the long track was going to suit the V8’s as they littered the front rows.

As for  good old class A all the hard practice by Darby on Friday was of no use as the man-machine Walpole was there again, but if pole is part of your name what would you expect.

THE RACE

With the race fast approaching we all trooped off for our beasting, sorry I meant briefing by Ron Gammons, who may be able to say “I told you so” with some conviction next time we meet.

The atmosphere was electric as testosterone mixed with Castrol R and saw the PBIC drivers in a state of high excitement and perhaps a bit over-excited in some cases.

The revs rose to a crescendo as the lights went out and 36 gas peddles were floored simultaneously, the grid hurtling to the first corner as one.

This was clearly a recipe for disaster and Mr Bump-and-Grind Bergonzi wasted no time as he nosed along some slower drivers in his path. I believe this is called “finding a space”.

Round the first corner we all went, smoke dust and fumes filled the air. So far so good, a few cars wobbled a little bit but we all kept going, approaching the left kink, few more wobbles, brake lights , think it will be ok….is that someone on the grass?

Then it happened….Clockwork Orange was on the grass flat out and suddenly he was back on the track, only this time at a 90 degree angle cutting across the rest of the pack!

WALLOP!  Straight into poor Old the Moons a Balloon, er… John Moon….shoving him across the track instantly , right into the path of Dave Brown – WALLOP! again… followed by KERBOOM! (too many Batman comics) as Moon went up in flames….cars went  all over the place trying to avoid the crash as smoke and debris flew above us.

No surprises, the race was red flagged immediately, not something we are used to fortunately in this series.

I am not sure if car 14 Barry Proud got caught up in this but he certainly did not return for the restart.

Nevertheless many of us did and with a slightly depleted field we went and had another go at it.

ORANGE SQUASH

We got away a little more safely this time  but unfortunately for me, the Clockwork Orange still had the pip between his teeth and as I tried to nip through on the inside  at a left hand corner he shut the door on me….HARD!

Contact!!! … and that will be another new headlamp and a trip down to Wings-r-Us for me then.

It was a little surreal though, as I felt the impact and then saw Wilson scrape past the front of my car as he spun round. Then he finished off by scraping the new wing I had just put on the passenger side, following the damage I suffered when Mr Tinkler and I got too friendly last time out.

Racing doesn’t get tougher than this!!!

Still I thought, at least I am still going and that should be enough excitement for one race, so I set about chasing down Tinkler when oh no…here we go again….this time Alan Exocette Brooke left the black stuff stage right and booted it (ahh the good old front wheel drive) and rocketed  back onto the track at greater speed, making a bee-line for Primrose (how do I think this up?). 

Simon (Racing under the alias of Richard) lifted, and went into a spin.

Crikey it’s all go this racing lark, but this let me nip through but clearly enraged Simon who set about his recovery drive like a man possessed.

After a few laps I could see him bearing down on me at a phenomenal rate and this time out I could not hold him off and he passed me around lap 5 and then shot off into the distance.

Well they do say a practice session is worth 2 seconds a lap. They may be right.

Then there was the déjà-vu moment….is it?  no it can’t be…it looks like the Vulcan Bomber Burchill behind me.

And sure enough it was just like old times as he blatted past me on the straight. Hmm, but not that quick on the corners though, I just had one brave pill left, so throwing caution to the wind floored it round the next corner as Burchill braked….quite a nice four wheel drift I thought as I veered towards the ample run-off area, but I kept my foot in and as my tyres screamed in protest managed to keep ahead of unlucky car 13.

Before I knew it the race was run and to be honest it was just nice to get back with most of the car intact.

Back in the pits I found a few other drivers had got a bit closer than they would have liked.
Peter  Andrews in his much improved V8 had his right wing hanging off after a scrape with Terry Holmes and both failed to finish.

Alan Brooke having successfully rejoined  was shown as a non-finisher although he had done the full 7 laps….what happened there?

RESULTS

Simon Cripps was back with a vengeance and took the win in his Roadster with Beaker getting 2nd overall in tripod and taking the class C win, with Ollie Neaves 3rd overall.

Pat Fenn had his best placing in his V8 so far  with 8th over all.

Bump-and-grid Bergonzi taught the whipper-snappers a lesson in class A and took the win there and grinder, sorry I mean driver of the day! Carrot and Darby took the other silverware. A good effort on Darby’s part though getting the Class A fastest lap in a hard fought race.

James Brice pipped the Silver Fox to the class F result.

This really was a drive-it-like-you-stole-it type of race full of excitement granted, but maybe just a bit too rough in hindsight.

I am pleased to report that John Moon is out of hospital and I have re-listed his comments below.

I am also happy to have been able to fill in the gaps for him regarding the crash!!

All in all a very enjoyable day and I am only glad that the majority of damage was mainly wallet related and not too bad injury –wise.

I am sure we all wish John a very speedy recovery.

I am off to start the repairs once again and look forward to seeing you all at a slightly calmer Mallory perhaps?

There are already some discussions taking place with regard to venues for the Christmas Do, but I will mention this in another report as I have blathered on quite long enough in this one.

Cheers!!

Jonesey.

************************John Moons Comments********************

Hi all, Just feeling well enough to find this and contribute. Came out of hospital yesterday. I have no recollection of either the race or qualifying. So as far as I’m concerned I’ve never been on the Silverstone GP circuit! My mechanics just brought the car back - doesn’t explain how my helmet came off and how I cracked my ribs….If anyone has any in-car footage or photos I would really appreciate them- it may help restore my memory.
Thanks for all the good wishes, appreciated.

John Moon