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The Sevenoaks & District Motor Club
The AcornJuly 2007
7Oaks Speed Leagueat Lydden Hill Round 11
Thanks to Nick Crush for the photos.More photos at www.moosemotorsport.co.uk
Andy Webber has to settlefor 2nd place
Chris Fulke Greville takes Class 2 honours...
..and Steve Thompson makes it a hat trick for 7Oaks
with a 3rd place.
Jim Giddings on the start line.
- 1 -
Sevenoaks and District Motor Club Ltd. PRESIDENT: J Symes VICE PRESIDENT: V EIford
ACORN MAGAZINE July 2007
The Editor, Committee and Club do not necessarily agree with items and opinions expressed within ACORN magazine
OFFICERS and COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN, Chin, TROPHY RECORDS [email protected] KEEPER: DEPUTY CHAIR, Andy Elcomb, SECRETARY, [email protected] MEMBERSHIP SEC: TREASURER: Clive Cooke, [email protected] COMPETITION SEC. Ian Crocker, 006 WEBMASTER: [email protected] SPEED LEAGUE Karen Webber, CHAMP CO-ORD: [email protected] RALLY SECRETARY: Iain Gibson, CHIEF MARSHAL: Philip Fawcett, [email protected] ACORN EDITOR, Dawn Travers, CHILD PROTECTION [email protected] OFFICER: SOCIAL SECRETARY: Daniel Whittington, [email protected] PRESS & PR: Suze Bisping, [email protected] PRESS & PR: Steve Thompson, [email protected] WEB ACORN: Ralph Travers, [email protected]
Website - www.sevenoaksmotorclub.com
PLEASE NOTE: COPY DATE FOR AUGUST ACORN WILL BE 18TH JULY
You can e-mail copy to [email protected] I will also accept copy on disc or CD-Rom; on paper (typed or handwritten) or by ‘phone for juicy gossip.
Wednesday 18th July 2007 Noggin & Natter from 8:30pm at The Woodman,
Goathurst Common, Ide Hill, Sevenoaks, Kent. TN14 6BU
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I t’s been a ‘stewarding’ month for me; I was club steward on the Hughes Rally, the last remaining Nat B rally in Kent – and that’s a daylight Historic
Regularity + Tests event - run each year by our friends in Blackpalfrey MC.
It’s always a good day out and the weather was
again superb. The event uses the army training ground of Mereworth Woods and there’s about nine miles of useable roads, mostly sealed surface, in amongst the trees in there. Unfortunately (!) after the event they were a little short of manpower to drive through the route and collect the furniture – well someone had to do it and I thoroughly enjoyed the thrash…..sorry…..drive.
A week later I was club steward on the Chelms-ford MC Midsummer Endurance Rally; this was an afternoon of Special Tests on several venues includ-ing Sculthorpe Airfield and the East Anglia Karting Circuit, followed by a 200 mile night section including about 50 miles of whites (which turned out to be rather rougher than was appreciated by most com-petitors). Sadly Ian Mepham (ERMC) hit a pothole in his freshly built 206 which launched him into a tree, severely damaging the car and inflicting cuts and bruises to his navigator Ian Collings (SMC) – looking at the car it could have been worse but we’re a hardy lot, us rally folk. Even more sad is that the reason the car was freshly built was that he had rolled the previous car on an earlier event in the West Country. I’m told that Ian M is giving up now, which is sad as he and his uncle Alan have been around rallying for longer than I can remember – Alan was ASEMC champion in the ‘good old days’ when that meant a
lot. Back to the future (could be a film title there)
we’ve more Autotests ahead of us and they’re still proving popular. We’ve also our second North Weald of the year looming on the horizon, 26th August to be exact, so we’ll need entries and marshals. We’ve been a bit slack on the marshalling front recently so please make an effort to help out – give Philip Faw-cett a ring and save him worrying. Christine Balder-son is Secretary and the regs should be out by the time you read this.
I’ve been getting my hands oily helping Andy Kilby rebuild the engine on his MGB (we did the head a few months back but the bores need atten-tion) and what a heavy block it is – I’m definitely get-ting too old for this lark (thinks – better choose an aluminium engine for the Costin!). It is fun, though, tinkering with older cars – they’re understandable under the bonnet. That’s it for now, folks. Chin
Editorial Ramblings
O kay so now I will never get my car back after Ralph clocked up his first class win of the series at the last autotest on 21st
June. He says it won’t stand up to double driver use so I probably won’t get a look in this summer series as he now wants to repeat his victory in the next one. Even free tickets to the theatre on that night won’t drag him away so watch out. However the car is showing signs of unreliability now (the curse of the autotests on Travers’ cars has started to go the route of the Vectra) and the battery gave up the ghost overnight and the exhaust is blowing a bit. I suspect it may be the age of the car and not the competition we are putting it through, but when I had to walk to work the other day because it wouldn’t start for the first time in the 8 years I have owned it, it was a shock!
Wonderful things are going on elsewhere in the motorsport world and I am of course talking about the F1 sensation that is Louis Hamilton. Just goes to show that if someone with the right talent and atti-tude is shown interest and given the financial back-ing needed at the right time, it can pay dividends.
Let’s hope that other sports take a leaf from Ron Dennis’s book and perhaps we can have say a su-perb British Olympic team ready for 2012 (Hmm there are those pigs flying again!)
Louis is a very rare character indeed who has de-cided on one goal and dedicated himself, with the backing of his family, to that goal and made his dream happen, with enormous sacrifices along the way. Not many kids today want that dream bad enough so I say good luck to you Louis and may we have another British World Champion very soon. Dawn Travers
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COMPETITION CALENDAR 2007 FORTHCOMING EVENTS
DATE EVENT ORGANISING CLUB / Contact LOCATION Status Champ Round
11th July Grass Autotest
Weald MC (Maidstone): Ann Cook 01634 364021 or email [email protected]
Headcorn Airfield MR 188/848829
CS
19th July Grass Autotest
Weald MC (7Oaks): Contact Stacey Thomp-son 0208 3002609
Farningham CS
21st July Sprint BARC (Wales): Anita Williams on 01792 893800 Llandow Nat B Regionals; 7SL
22nd July Hillclimb Swansea MC: Alun Morgan 01792 884713 Regs available on Swansea’s website
Lys-Y-Fran Wales
Nat B ACSMC; 7Oaks SL
29th July Grass Autotest
Weald MC (7Oaks): Contact Stacey Thomp-son 0208 3002609
Farningham (All day)
CS
1st August Grass Autotest
Weald MC (Maidstone): Ann Cook 01634 364021 or email [email protected]
Headcorn Airfield MR 188/848829
CS
5th August Hillclimb BARC (Yorks): Christopher Seaman 01142 585695 or email [email protected]
Harewood Nat B Regionals; 7SL
11th August Sprint BARC (Midlands): Noreen Ward 01455 824494 or email [email protected]
Curborough Nat B Regionals; 7SL
15th August Grass Autotest
Weald MC (Maidstone): Ann Cook 01634 364021 or email [email protected]
Headcorn Airfield MR 188/848829
CS
26th August Sprint 7Oaks DMC: Suze Bisping 07986 445053 or email [email protected]
North Weald Nat B Regionals; 7SL
8th Sept Sprint Tunbridge Wells MC: Gary Goodin 01892 516365
Brands Hatch Nat B Regionals; 7Oaks SL
22nd Sept Hillclimb Woolbridge MC: Check www.woolbridge.co.uk from mid-July
Longleat Nat B Regionals; 7Oaks SL
7th October Sprint Herts County AC: Lionel Reeves 01920 823195 (no calls after 9pm) or email [email protected]
Debden
Nat B
Regionals; 7Oaks SL
For further information contact :- Competition Secretary: Ian Crocker 01892 546006 email: [email protected]
Speed League contact : Karen Webber: 01732 875091 email: [email protected]
15th July Sprint Herts County AC: Lionel Reeves 01920 823195 (no calls after 9pm) or email [email protected]
Debden
Nat B Regionals; 7oaks
members
14th October Weald Trial Weald MC: in the first instance contact Clive Cooke on [email protected] for more details.
Various venues
CS
Weald Clubs plus invited
clubs
18th November PCT (Ours)
7Oaks & DMC: Dawn Travers Email: [email protected]
Stoneacre Farm, Otham, Kent
MR 188/800536
CS Weald Clubs plus invited
clubs
8th August Sprint Lotus MC/ B19MC: Entries Christine Sharp Tel: 01206 728272 before 9 pm. Email [email protected]
Lotus Test Track Hethel
Nr. Wymondham Norfolk
Nat B
Regionals; Invited
clubs inc 7Oaks
Marshals for North Weald Sprint- Sunday 26th August 2007
A bank holiday weekend event means that there are less people around than usual so if you are free and haven’t offered your help yet this year, we would be pleased to hear from you. Bring a friend to keep you company, but in the first instance ring Phil Fawcett, Chief Marshal on 01403 258073 or
07840 523439 or email your offer to [email protected].
This is a Speed League Qualification event
- 4 -
Got something to say? Deadline for August Acorn will
be July 18th
Yours for Free! Whilst generally not so often used, if anyone has a use for a Maxarc electric welding set then it’s yours for the asking. It is an air cooled industrial set so pretty chunky, some 300 x 300 x 700 tall. Runs on single phase. Will run a 10g rod all day long and cope with a 6g rod. Good for welding heavier sections or steel plate but not the kit for sticking 20g sheet. If nobody wants it then its off to the scrapper! Contact John Symes 020 8467 8187
Comp Sec News
B y the time you read this the evenings will be drawing in (shock horror!) and for many of us, the motorsport season will be halfway
through! Preparations are well under way for the August
North Weald sprint which takes place on Sunday Au-gust 26th. I hope that you will have received the regs by now and we look forward to a good turnout. Un-fortunately this was the only date we could get this year and I shall be on holiday like many other peo-ple. If the numbers are not good we shall look to move this event to another time in the year, probably earlier on to make use of the summer weather.
The club forum has a nice thread running right now called 'Valence Remembered' which contains lots of pictures and anecdotes from the old Valence Hillclimb. As ever we are still looking for new venues and if anybody has any information about possible locations, let us know!
Seems lots of people in the club are having prob-lems with oil right now. Steve Stringer lost a pipe on his dry sump pump resulting in needing a new crank, block and rods. Keith Crocker suffered a jammed oil pressure relief valve at Abingdon resulting in no oil pressure at idle (but no damage as there was pres-sure at higher speeds). Steve Dann suffered from no oil pressure after filling his car with automatic trans-mission fluid instead of engine oil - don't ask! Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells
Marshal’s Mumblings
O nce again the Speed League is heading to North Weald for our final visit of the year as a club. Again I will need people to help me mar-
shal the course and organise the paddock Speed League competitors should note that this will be one of your last chances to gain your marshalling qualifi-cation, time is running out!
You can call me on 01403 258073 or email me at: [email protected].
I would appreciate it if I knew you were coming, it means I can allocate jobs to everyone. I don’t want anybody standing around feeling like a spare part!
With the last two autotests of the series coming up, we still need marshals, especially for the all day event on Sunday 29th July. Please contact Stacey Thompson if you can offer your help for these. Phil Fawcett
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London 2 Brighton on a fold up bike? All in a good cause or a good ex-cuse to wear lycra in public!!?
D arren Russell and myself swapped our usual 4 wheels for 2 and started at Clapham Com-mon for the annual British Heart Foundation
London to Brighton Charity bike ride, an event we have both done before, but this year I gave myself the challenge of having a go on a fold up commuter bike (the type with the tiny wheels).
So 53 miles in the heat, no sweat! Actually luckily it wasn't very hot, with the temperature starting at 16°C and reaching about 21°C by the time we ar-rived in Brighton. It rained for 10 or 15 minutes about halfway down too. We had a good ride. It was very (very) congested in London and we had to walk all the way up the hill by Chipstead Rugby Club in Surrey as so many people were blocking the road. However after that we made good progress. As we reached Ditchling it looked like we might be able to beat the time we did last year so I went flat out up
the hill and all the way to the finish. It took me 1 minute
longer this year on my little 3-speed folder than it did on my titanium road-racing bike last year. Darren came in about 10 minutes behind me. Thanks to everyone who sponsored us.
Next year I will either use my fixed gear bike (it was suggested I use 1 gear but I prefer 1 gear with no freewheel) or Darren will borrow a Specialized and we'll go for a fast time on road bikes.
Ian Crocker (Well done Darren and Ian, quite an achieve-ment ...The Ed)
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WEALD MOTOR CLUB LTD SUMMER AUTOTEST SERIES 2007
Sevenoaks & DMC on behalf of Weald MC will organise a clubsport status series of grass autotests on the following dates in
2007:
THURSDAYJuly 19 and SUNDAY July 29
at COLDHARBOUR FARM, FARNINGHAM MR 177/540670
Call Stacey Thompson on 0208 300 2609 for Regs & Entry Form.
Sevenoaks Members aged under 21 will have their entry fee paid for them by the club, upon production of valid club card
and proof of age.
PLUS
The Maidstone & Mid Kent Motor Club Ltd. will organise a clubsport status Grass
Autotest series, at HEADCORN AERODROME, KENT
(MR 188/848829) on the following Wednesdays in 2007:-
July 11th & August 1st, 15th. Phone:
Dave or Ann Cook on 01634 364021 for more information.
Production Car class for Junior Drivers aged 14-17 available
Marshals required for Autotest events
If you are able to help on any of the dates, please give the
organisers a ring.
Don’t forget 2 evenings at 7Oaks events can count as
your Speed League qualifica-tion not to mention Chalky
White points.
Summer Autotest Series 2007 Round 2 – May 24
T he second evening of this years’ Evening Autotest series saw the weather was much im-proved on week one. The sun shone through-
out, not only on the Autotest but on me also as, after a frantic Wednesday night thinking I’d have no mar-shals, I was blessed with three (phew!) So I must start with a big thanks to Kerry, Andy and Mark.
I was, however, slightly perplexed, as on week one when it was wet, we had 34 competitors and this week in the glorious sun we went down to 28 (odd chaps and chapesses these Autotest drivers!)
Class A had 12 competitors. MICK ROSE came first in his mini with Chelmsford’s MIKE THOMAS in second and Maidstone’s RICHARD OLSEN in third.
FTD was taken by DAREN HALL in his Nova. Class B had 11 competitors. This class was won
by CHRIS PENFOLD in his Golf with RALPH TRAVERS in his Sunny in second and one second behind him was ROBERT WATERS in his Corsa.
Class C had only one entry as did class D so they were combined again. This combined class was won by Maidstone’s DARREN BELL in his BMW.
DARREN TYRE won Class E in his Healey. Once again, everyone appeared to have a good
time. Battle continues June 7, June 21, July 5, July 19 and July 29 – still plenty of time to enter and as usual, we will be very glad to welcome you.
Round 3 – June 7
R ound 3 of this years’ Evening Autotest series took place on 7th June and once again the weather held up and the sun shone again.
Let’s hope it stays nice for the rest of the Series. Things seem to be settling down and everyone is
getting into the swing of things and we had a very respectable 24 entries.
Class A had 9 competitors with DAREN HALL taking 1st in class in his Nova with Maidstone’s RICHARD OLSEN 4 seconds behind him in 2nd, while for a change it was CHRIS PENFOLD in his Golf who took FTD.
There were 13 competitors in Class B with STEVE HATTON in his Rover in 1st with RALPH TRAVERS in his (Whose? The Ed) Sunny in 2nd and in 3rd was ROBERT WATERS in his Corsa.
There were no entries in Class C or Class D this week.
There were two entries in Class E and this class was a very close fought thing with PETER DUNN in his Mazda taking 1st and DARREN TYRE in his Healey only 2 tenths behind him!
Once again, thanks to everyone who turned up to play and especially to the marshals. We’re almost halfway now with three down four to go. The series continues on June 21, July 5, July 19 and July 29 – still plenty of time to enter and as I always say, we will be very glad to welcome you.
Stacey Thompson
- 6 -
AU
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1st2nd
1st2nd
1st2nd
1st2nd
1st2nd
TOTA
LPLA
CE
PLAC
EA
WA
RD
AR
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BA
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PE
UG
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T23.9
21.627.7
27.919.8
20.114.1
14.220.3
19.619.9
19.6122.4
712
ATIM
BA
TEMA
NK
A21.8
20.726.6
38.821.3
20.415.8
14.820.0
20.025.4
20.8123.3
813
AJA
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AN
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19.819.5
25.726.0
100.020.4
14.713.8
26.729.6
20.319.7
125.89
15A
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RO
SSMITH
ME
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22.420.5
27.127.5
100.020.8
25.114.2
100.032.2
22.221.4
136.212
25A
DA
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HA
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OV
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18.225.3
25.018.3
17.513.5
13.119.0
17.719.8
18.0109.5
11
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CH
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20.421.1
25.225.9
19.818.9
14.513.6
30.720.2
23.519.6
117.95
7A
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23.920.7
27.726.6
21.922.1
14.514.0
21.624.2
24.121.8
126.611
17A
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20.525.7
25.318.9
18.413.5
14.320.2
18.820.7
20.6117.1
46
CLA
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AM
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RO
SEM
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21.219.8
28.625.1
26.317.9
17.113.4
21.717.9
21.318.5
112.62
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LASS 1ST
AB
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19.824.9
25.120.1
19.214.8
14.421.1
20.720.1
20.3119.1
68
AR
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20.4100.0
27.621.4
21.515.9
15.920.2
20.721.2
20.9126.4
1016
AM
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PE
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21.837.4
25.718.2
18.813.0
13.2100.0
18.918.8
18.2115.8
35
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411
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GM
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100.0100.0
28.231.5
22.214.8
15.219.5
20.020.6
20.6127.9
618
BSA
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SM
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A24.3
25.129.2
30.824.6
23.618.6
18.521.5
22.423.1
21.9139.0
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NR
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28.522.3
28.127.6
23.922.0
15.815.3
21.821.8
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130.77
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21.127.2
26.421.3
21.416.1
15.520.9
21.221.0
20.1125.3
514
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31.320.7
26.825.3
17.717.2
22.412.1
19.217.9
17.617.3
110.51
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24.840.7
28.230.5
23.314.7
14.522.7
22.421.3
30.5134.5
924
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23.323.0
27.528.2
21.723.2
17.517.1
22.023.9
100.022.1
133.48
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23.020.7
32.827.9
21.019.4
16.314.2
20.718.8
20.519.4
120.42
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28.319.5
19.713.7
13.724.8
20.620.8
19.3121.5
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27.263.6
41.7100.0
100.026.9
100.018.5
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25.624.0
35.635.5
35.023.7
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31.129.7
22.820.9
100.016.5
25.3100.0
21.519.1
134.11
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23.823.8
38.527.2
23.529.8
23.913.2
22.139.6
41.418.5
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27.822.1
20.013.9
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25.817.7
17.414.5
12.119.9
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Social Calendar 2007
Wednesday 18th July Find a Pub in Kent.
From 8:00 pm at The Woodman, Goathurst Common, Ide Hill, Sevenoaks, Kent. TN14 6BU
www.thewoodman-idehill.co.uk
Wednesday 15th August Bat & Trap Evening
The Crown, Seal Nr Sevenoaks
Wednesday 19th September TBA
Wednesday 17th October Speed League Forum.
From 8:30pm. Venue TBC
Wednesday 17th November TBA
Wednesday 17th December Festive Noggin and Natter. From 8:30pm. Venue TBC
Social Stuff
F or July your challenge (really, it's not difficult!) is to find The Woodman near Ide Hill, for some
seasonal chat. Plenty of parking!
For August I have booked the use of the Bat & Trap facilities at The Crown, Seal. They do offer food and we can book that in advance if we wish. Please let me know your thoughts and, if there are enough takers, I will make the necessary further arrange-ments.
Daniel Whittington
Bat and Trap…..that quaint Kentish Game
S o you have heard talk of this local game you may have even seen it played, but are still none the wiser as to what is going on. With a
Social night given over to this ancient (?) Kentish game, here’s a definitive guide as to how to get the most from the evening.
Firstly you will need to find some friends to play with. Bat & Trap is a team game. If you are a bit Nobby No-Mates on the day, don’t worry we are sure to be able to fix you up on the night, just let us know you are coming and we will do the rest.
Each team consists of 6 to 8 players, fewer can play but the depleted side has to give away a free run in place of the missing player every sixth bowl. Once the two Captains of the teams have decided the order of play one team bats and the other bowls. Game Rules
The entire bowling team go to the end of the pitch furthest from the trap while the first player from the batting team approaches the trap. The batsman puts the ball
on the front of the trap and hits the see-saw section so that the ball rises. In the same motion the bat is swung to hit the ball up the pitch to the bowling end.
If the ball fails to cross the line at the bowling the end of the pitch or goes outside of the tram lines up the sides then the batsman has 'hit-out' and the next batsman approaches the trap. (Note that if the ball hits one of the end posts and bounces in, this is acceptable provided that it does not go outside the tram lines). If the batsman gets the ball over the bowling line successfully, one of the bowling team takes the ball and throws underarm back at the trap, aiming for the flap on the front. If the flap falls, the batsman is out and the next batsman approaches the trap. (Note that the batsman is not out if the ball hits the flap but fails to make it fall). If the bowler misses the trap, or it does not fall com-pletely, the batsman is awarded a run and takes an-other turn. Players in the bowling team take turns to bowl the ball when it reaches the bowling end. This continues until the entire batting team is out. The teams then swap over and repeat the exercise. A leg is over when the second team is either all out or has scored more than the first team. The leg is awarded to the team with the most total runs. If both teams have the same score, the team with the few-est hit-outs wins. The overall winner is the team that wins the most legs (normally played out of 3). See you there then.
Dawn Travers
The trap
The bats
- 9 -
Jim Clark Rally
M yself and Pat Cooper took the lead of the British Rally Championship Super 1600 after contesting the Jim Clark Rally based
on closed roads around the Scottish Border town of Kelso.
It was a massive learning experience for us as a team and I drove some parts as fast as I have ever driven in my life! Imagine 130mph down a 9 foot wide road, this gives you a real sensation of speed I can tell you!
We were never going to find it easy to compete with rival Darren Gass in his new Citroen C2 S1600, while we are in a 7 year old Ford Puma. Gass has a definite head start with the superior modern car and a year in the British Championship already under his belt. We knew we wouldn’t be able to finish any more than in 2nd place to Gass, but to be only 3 sec-onds a mile off his pace was a nice surprise. We charged hard throughout the rally and started to gain faith in our Pirelli tyres, which we discovered had awesome grip compared to what we are used to.
We had a few hairy moments though, mainly when we were caught out with the combination of the ever changing Scottish weather and tyre selec-tion, but having the back end skip on you at 120mph gives you the concentration required for the rest of the stage! We still had our dramas and visited the scenery more than once, thanks to slick tyres on the wet road, but the wonderful and enthusiastic specta-tors got us back and running again, a big thanks to them.
We still have a lot of work to do to get the Puma working right and achieving full power, but we are confident we can get it all done in time for the Manx International Rally on 19th- 21st July. We certainly don’t want to give our Super 1600 lead away that easily that’s for sure.
A massive thanks to Eastern Fabrications and McLean Reid Accountants our main sponsors so far this year, and all our world record members hope-fully growing by the day!
So off to the Isle of Man for the next round. Watch this space. Stefan Davies
Picture by www.jakobebrey.com
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T his was my first time competing at Millbrook, and I really enjoyed the experience....well the stage that we completed anyway. It was more
like a rollercoaster then a rally stage. It had been raining up at Millbrook since Saturday
afternoon (non stop), which made it very slippery and tricky to compete on at quite a high speed on Mon-day. We went out in the morning for the familiarisa-tion run, as I had never been completely round the test track before and it was 3 years ago that Paul (my driver) had competed here. The National boys went out first and we joined in at stage 3 as we en-tered for Clubmans.
Stage 3, our first stage out and it was brilliant, we were lying in 3rd place overall! This stage went well except we clipped a curb on the exit of a fast left-hander. When we got back to service and the me-chanics checked out what damage we had done. We were lucky to get away with no damage.
Stage 4 was not lucky for us at all. We were on our first lap round (I think) when we were coming out of a fast square left and the back of the Peugeot 205 decided to hang the arse out and clip the raised drain on the exit of the corner. After hitting the drain, we clipped a stone and then launched over the start
of the Armco barrier. All I could see was grey sky and I thought that we were stuck on the Armco until I saw loads of greenery - coming towards me. Next thing I know is Paul is out of the car and asking me if I am
okay. We had gone 60 feet down a ditch. I don't re-member much of the accident only what I have men-tioned above.
The rescue and ambulance vehicle arrived. The ambulance man came down on a tow-rope to check me over as my vision was a bit blurred and I couldn't move my toes.
About 10 minutes later, I slowly made my way up the ditch with the towrope, and made my way in to the back of the ambulance. Once Paul had joined me, we made our way back to the service area.
We sat in Rally HQ for about an hour before call-ing the Paramedic, who then sent me off to hospital, where I lay on an uncomfortable stretcher on wheels, with a brace around my neck, waiting for a doctor for 2 hours. Meanwhile, Paul went home and had a nice warm bath! The doctor told me I had bruising and concussion. Both Paul and I were grateful that we could walk away from such a nasty accident. Lorraine Chappell
- 10 -
LTSP TTSP TTHC TTSP TTHC LTSP 1-Apr-06 15-Apr-07 28-Apr-07 6-May-07 12-May-07 13-May-07 Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Avg Total
Pos Name Qualified Bonus N weald Cadwell Wiscombe Bentwaters Harewood Debden Score 1 Webber Andrew 14 11 12 10 9 14 12 70 2 Gibson Iain 12 8 15 13 12 48 3 Nicholls Roy 13 12 15 13 40 4 Greville Chris 12 14 13 13 39 5 Start John 14 12 13 26 6 Ellis Martin 13 10 12 23 6 Balderson David 9 8 6 8 23 8 Giddings Russell 9 5 8 7 22 9 Brown Ray 10 6 5 7 21 9 Giddings Alex 8 13 11 21 11 Thompson Stephen 10 10 10 20 12 Druce-Smith Micheal 6 4 9 6 19 13 Giddings Jim 12 4 8 16 14 Dann Stephen 15 15 15 14 Franks Gordon 6 4 5 5 15 14 Murphy Tom 11 4 8 15 17 Mead Nigel 12 12 12 18 Collins Sam 10 10 10 18 Luff Tom 10 10 10 20 Richardson Gareth 9 9 9 20 Miles Adrian 9 9 9 22 Knapman Mike 4 4 4 8 22 Thompson Oliver 8 8 8 22 Tyre Darren 8 8 8 25 Whittington Daniel Y 7 0 7 26 Bispling Suze 6 6 6 26 Forbes-Marsden Tony 6 6 6 28 Oliver Bill 4 4 4 28 Oliver Matt 4 4 4 28 Scotchmer Richard 4 4 4 31 Actman Andrew 0 0 31 Clover Ian 0 0 31 Cresswell John 0 0 31 Hoare Bob 0 0 31 Judge Chris 0 0 31 Kemp John 0 0 31 Rawlings John 0 0
7Oaks Speed League Results to Round 6
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To make you smile A very loud, unattractive, hard-faced woman walks into Tesco with her two kids in tow, screaming obscenities at them all the way through the entrance. The door greeter says, "Good morning and welcome to Tesco, nice children you've got there. Are they twins?" The fat ugly woman stops screaming long enough to snarl: "Of course they bloody aren't! The oldest is nine and the youngest is seven. Why the hell would you think they're twins? ..... Do you really think they look alike, you dickhead?" "Absolutely not," replies the greeter, "I just can't believe anyone would shag you twice!"
- 11 -
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Abingdon CARnival - June 10th
Speed League Round 9
T he weather at Abingdon was great on the day, which may have helped the large number of competitors to nego-
tiate the course and 7Oaks members came away with a number of the top class hon-ours, including a 1-2-3 in Class 2 - Andy Webber, Chris Fulke-Greville and Roy Nicholls in that order; plus a 1st (me) and 3rd place for Gareth Richardson in Class 5.
My class win gave me 7th overall and fastest road car, however my win was not really a win though as the guy leading broke his car on the second course. He also went 0.5s faster than me in my own car when he had a play in it - although he did his 2 runs back to back so he had hot tyres - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!
Keith [Crocker] had another 'mare. He did a 'Steve Stringer' and lost oil pressure on his second practice. Fortunately it was a jammed relief valve so no damage and we got it all sorted so he could do most of his runs.
Darren Russell was out and about and after complaining about terminal understeer even with his new Quaife, he managed a very creditable 2nd place in class 7 anyway.
Ian Crocker
7Oaks Speed Leaguers at B19’s Lydden Sprint 23rd June 2007
L ydden turned out mixed fortunes for the Speed League competitors and from the chit chat on the Lydden fo-
rum thread, the places were closely fought in Class 2 with Andy Webber even seen doing a walkabout round the track to spy the lines the opposition was taking to see if he could squeeze a few tenths more from
Andy on walkabout
Photo taken by Matthew 5
the Lotus +2 in the corners. It almost paid off but Andy had to settle for a 2nd place, 0.58 seconds behind Chris Fulke-Greville in 1st. Steve Thompson’s Renault 5 took 3rd. Another 1-2-3 for 7Oaks.
New member John Start took 2nd in Class 3 in his Mitsubishi Evo. I know John has a foot in the B19 camp, but he was fly-ing his 7Oaks flag too for Speed League points. Other 7Oaks members out and about were Jim Giddings in the TR8 and Dave Balderson in the TVR. The Metro of Joseph Druce-Smith was seen in Class 1 whilst dad Michael had the Toyota MR2 out in Class 3.
Another 7Oaks father/ son team were seen in action in the Nat A sessions and do-ing rather well. Congratulations go to Matt and Bill Oliver who had a Nat A FTD and 2nd place in Class 11 respectively.
Other pot winners were Michael God-dard’s Mk 1 Escort with 2nd in Class 7 and Martyn Ellis in the Talbot Sunbeam taking 2nd place in Class 8.
Some photos of the event can be found on www.moosemotorport.co.uk with full re-sults on the B19 website, regs page.
Dawn Travers
Got a Speed report for Acorn?
Email the Editor at: [email protected].
August Acorn deadline is 18th July. Photos also welcome but please resample
to approx 1 meg size please.
- 12 -
Goodwood Festival of Speed
T he 7Oaks posse of myself, Super-Marshal Phil Fawcett, Suze Bisping and Rob Waters arrived around 08:00 to sign on and get our
white overalls and were then free to see what we wanted until lunchtime.
We took a walk down hill through the stage which was still extremely slippery and most cars were be-ing driven very gingerly.
Whilst waiting at a crossing, we saw Paddy Hop-kirk come past in a Mini - which he promptly put on its side about three corners further on! We got to see it on the big screen a little bit later though - the car just fell over. Apparently Paddy was a bit miffed as in all his years of Mini driving this was the first time he'd turned one over…
Popped into the F1 Paddock and promptly saw David and Chris-tine Balderson sporting Subaru Guest passes - the swine! You can tell they weren't sorry they had them...
Then it was back to take up my position on the Stage Finish whilst the others dealt with the times at the Stop line, next to the Start - and had the chance to chat a bit to all the famous drivers. Hmm it’s a tough job etc etc….
Petter Solberg was very fast and spectacular - on the hill in an F1 car and on the stage - a real showman.
It was a good day for star spotting…….
Rare and spectacular cars……
and wacky driving!
We had to give the overalls back at the end of the day - some could take them off standing up …..
...and some couldn’t! And with the very rainy muddy condi-tions, the quote of the weekend, over-heard by me Friday morning in the rally stage had to be by a
woman with a buggy: "I'm trying to find a clean bit to walk on!”
Finally our Club
Vice President Vic Elford took a run up the hill in a Chaparral, whilst once again flying the club flag.
Andy Elcomb
(Photos provided by Andy Elcomb with a few nicked from Ian Crocker. More to be seen on the Club Fo-
rum Goodwood thread…….The Ed)
Phil & Rob
Suze
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FRED MATTHEWS
I t is with much sadness that we report that, following a longish period of illness, on 23 June, Fred Mathews departed this mortal world. Many, many competitors over the last fifty years plus would have come across “Young Fred”, al-
though in more recent years, following the death of his father, the “Young” had generally been dropped. Fred and “Young Fred” each completed fifty years of service as scrutineers and both scruti-neered at very many Sevenoaks & DMC meetings. It is probable that at all the race meetings organ-ised by Sevenoaks & DMC, Fred was on the scrutineering team.
Fred was presented with a silver salver at the 25th Valence Hill Climb in recognition of his having been a scrutineer at every one of the 25 Valence Speed Hill Climbs. It was an award that he hugely valued. Rather than it sitting on a shelf or in a cabinet, the salver saw pretty much daily use, being used to serve many a whisky, as I can confirm, being the recipient on many occasions!
In more recent times Fred was eligibility man for the Porsche race series and over the years was chief scrutineer for many International race meetings. Nevertheless he still turned out to look after “club motorsport”. One week he may have been chief scrutineer for an International race meeting and the following week enjoying the pleasures of a rain swept North Weald sprint or similar.
Passing on the news of Fred’s departure, one friend remarked that Fred was one “of the old school”. Absolutely correct. Fred could sometimes be seen as being a little severe, but many is the competitor who has been grateful to Fred, who on matters of safety adopted a position of “We’ve got a problem here.” Explaining what the problem was, why it was a problem he would then discuss with the competitor how to address the problem.
When it came to matters of eligibility, then black was black and white was white. No matter who you were, what the circumstances, if he found an ineligibility there was no leeway, no argument, you had infringed the regulations.
Not only at SDMC meetings but at many other meetings I have been responsible for, Fred was my Chief Scrutineer. I oft remarked that with Fred in that position, as far as scrutineering was concerned, I was assured my trousers were secured by double strength braces plus a belt, plus double gusset reinforcement.
Fred’s contribution to motor sport was enormous and lives on. Whilst he has not been on the front line for the last few years there are one or two bits of standard paperwork still used in scrutineering which Fred was responsible for. One of these is commonly referred to as “the Fred form”.
To Val who supported Fred in his scrutineering activities running the scrutineer’s office with im-maculate efficiency and to Fred’s three sons and the rest of his family we extend our deepest sympa-thy. Motorsport has lost a true friend and servant. SDMC has lost more than that, for SDMC had a very special place in the life of Fred Matthews and he has a very special place in the history of Sevenoaks & District Motor Club.
John Symes
Happier Thoughts
J ohn Webb is a name associated with Brands Hatch but in the early days of Sevenoaks & DMC, there was the “other John Webb”, prominent member of Sevenoaks & DMC who served on the
Committee, organised many events and contributed to building on the foundations laid by those forming SDMC. We are pleased to congratulate John on recently attaining his 80th birthday.
C ongratulations to life member RON COTTRELL who recently notched up 50 years. Ron started his involvement with SDMC whilst a pupil at Valence School. Whilst retired from active involve-
ment in motorsport Ron is still “about” and long may he be so.
John Symes
- 14 -
Kentish Crews in Belgium
M yself and co-driver Andy Gibson (Blackpalfrey CC) recently took the Lo-tus Sunbeam across the Channel and
competed in the Ypres Historic Rally in Belgium, a closed road special stage event counting to-wards the European Historic championship. Two other crews from Kent, Chris Browne and Alli Cornwall of Bredgar were in the Chris Browne Builders backed Mk1 Escort RS1600, and Liz Jordan of Maidstone & MKCC was co driving with Adrian Kermode from the Isle of Man (Okay so not strictly all from Kent then!) in his Porshe 911.
The event started with a 14 km stage on the Friday night with Adrian and Liz going well in the damp treacherous conditions and were just ahead of Chris who was 6th. Andy and I started over cautiously and were 14th, but I was pleased with the engine which had been rebuilt after the last trip to Belgium, when it blew.
Saturday started showery as the crews made their way along the 160 km of stages planned for the day. The rain made the stages very tricky with mud being dragged onto the road in places. Myself and Andy got no further than half
way through the first stage of the day, when I cut across a bit of grass, resulting in a broken half shaft in the axle, time to retire to the bath again!
Chris and Alli were going well however and had got up to 4th, when a slight miss judgement at a chicane resulted in a heavy impact with an innocent tree, and although the Escort sus-tained a lot of damage, the crew were fine. The good news is that Liz and Adrian finished 5th and first British crew.
Steve Stringer
Above: Steve Stringer and Andy Gibson tackle the muddy Stages around Ypres
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Craig Breedlove’s LSR attemptsand Sammy Miller’s Ice SpeedRecord dragster. Another classifiedad led to involvement in round-the-world ballooning, plus yetmore ambitious jaunts with PerLindstrand and Richard Branson.Behind-the-scenes photos bringthis wonderful, highly personalaccount to life.
LOTUS – THE CREATIVEEDGEISBN 978 1 84425 249 7Russell Hayes, Haynes,£19.99Latest in Haynes’ impressiveClassic Makes series is thishardback overview of Lotus fromits inception to the present day.At significantly less than 200pages, such an effort is nevergoing to be comprehensive, whichmight let it down against themany more thorough effortsavailable on the marque, butequally there are few tasters orintroductions as good as this.What really sets this book apart –and will prove invaluable to
MILLE MIGLIA – THEWORLD’S GREATEST ROADRACEISBN 978 1 84425 139 1Anthony Pritchard, Haynes,£35This initially seems expensive for a264-page hardback with barelyany colour, but you can hardlyblame the author for what is notgenerally available and the qualityof the paper and printingunderlines that this is no bargain-basement effort. Instead, Pritchardoffers a well-constructed history ofthat most enigmatic of lunaticroad races. There are somemarvellous photos – naturallyJenks and Moss grace the cover –accompanied by a mass of resultsdata, reprints from letters andmagazines and maps of thedifferent circuits. As ever, Pritchardleaves no stone unturned.
JET BLAST AND THE HANDOF FATE – ADVENTURESWITH LAND SPEED CARSAND RECORD BALLOONSISBN 978 0 954435783John Ackroyd, RedlineBooks. £29.95 (Available atwww.redlinebooks.co.uk)It’s impossible to browse designengineer Ackroyd’s autobiographywithout becoming absorbed in hisfascinating story. At various timesa draughtsman at ERA, ahovercraft designer, a replicabuilder and restorer of DonaldCampbell’s speedboat, he evenworked on an airship fortransporting sheep across Africa!After designing the Enfield electriccar, Ackroyd saw a newspaper ad– ‘Wanted, 650mph car designer’–which led to Richard Noble,Thrust 2 and the Land SpeedRecord. He later contributed to
Wheels 7/07 i
REVIEWS FROM
Wheelsfor everyone and that’s reflected inthe wide range of shows we have –such as Autosports International atthe NEC, RaceRetro at Stoneleighand, more recently, the NationalKit Car Motor Show packing themin back at Stoneleigh. I know somepurists look down haughty hootersat kit cars and specials but that’s amisguided attitude because bothhave a long history in our sport. Infact, come to think of it, the veryfirst motor car must have been aspecial.
I’ve never seen clear definitionsbut I suppose if you knock a cartogether from various bits andpieces, that’s a special. If youproduce something with a uniquechassis for other people toassemble, then that’s a kit car.Build a fair number of them andyou’ve got a production car –where 20 identical spec cars areconstructed that model may berecognised by the MSA andaccepted as a Specialist ProductionCar. I don’t think any of usprivileged to see a then-unknownColin Chapman hurtling roundSilverstone in his Lotus Mark 3then 6s and 7s would have guessedthat 50 years later the show atStoneleigh would see a bumperturn out of Caterhams celebrating50 years of the 7. There were
According to the magazinesI see, more clubs seem to belooking at their Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities andThreats by doing a SWOT analysisevery few years. A sound ideabecause our sport is so addictivethat it’s sometimes difficult to lookat the wider world and separatewood from trees or whatever thecliché says.
As far as our sport as a whole isconcerned, one of our greateststrengths, the multiplicity ofdisciplines, is also one of ourweaknesses because it makes itmore difficult to ‘sell’ our sport tothe general public. Say you aregoing to play golf, tennis orfootball and people know exactlywhat you mean. Say you areentering Ecurie Cod Fillet’s FaggotFlinging Championship and they’llunderstand you, even though theymay well edge nervously away.But say you’re going to play or domotorsport and it doesn’t makesense unless you go on to explainwhich branch of our sport youmean. And there are plenty ofthem – I stopped counting at 20without including the DumballRally or whatever the confoundedthing is called.
But the diversity is also a strengthbecause it means there’s something
several other makes there toowhich owed more than a nod toColin’s classic design.
Not surprisingly, kit cars andspecials have always been morecommon in speed events thanrallying – look back over the yearsand the closer rally cars have beento production ones, the greater thenumber of entrants (and spectatorstoo for that matter).
But back to the SWOT study.It’s good that kit cars are allowedinto many branches of our sportbecause they represent anOpportunity for us in combating agrowing Threat. Not rising costs,not rising average ages but theenvironmental issue. Comparetoday’s newspapers with those ofonly five years ago. The maindifference? The huge increase incoverage of the environment. Sowhy do kit cars help? Because theymean we can use that magicalbuzzword ‘recycling’ – what moreresponsible thing can we do thatre-use components otherwise ontheir way to the knacker’s yard?
We’re going to need such pluspoints as the restrictions crowd in.Before long we’ll probably have tooffset the air pollution caused byjokes at club dinners by plantingtrees. Chestnuts perhaps.
Stuart Turner
KARTINGThese days it is almost taken asa rule that top drivers in F1and other prime formulae willhave graduated from karting.Yet strangely actually driving akart and car is very different.
Karts require their ownspecial technique of drivingwhere body weight of thedriver can be used to help goround corners and where thelack of braking power becausethey only work on the rearwheels, shows up very strongly.
Indeed take many a youngkarter and put them into a racecar and they’ll need a lot ofimmediate polishing up beforethey can give their best.
But what karting does do isto train and guide a youngsterin the art of racing. Thepressures of racing, the skillsrequired in optimising lines, theconcentration and the need tothink and plan ahead for anovertaking chance two cornersahead, are all part of theregular routine of kart racing.
So while the actual skills ofvehicle control are verydifferent from a kart to a carand of course the mechanicaladjustments to gain vitalfractions of a second, the skillsof racing become very finelypolished from an early age.
No surprise then that kartersare in the front line of firewhen it comes to fast-trackingthrough the formulas towardsthe top.
AAUUTTOOSSCCEENNEE
?1.Which drivers’ hold the record for
winning the greatest number ofWorld Rally Championships?
2.Where did Jenson Button achieve hisfirst GP win?
3.Who is the only driver to win the F1World Championship, the Le Mans24 hr race and the Indianapolis 500?
4.Which racing circuit featuresKnickerbrook, Druids Corner andLodge Corner?
COD FILLET QUIZ
marque novices and potentialbuyers – is that each chapter hasfairly accurate driving impressionsof the road cars plus buyingadvice. Out-and-out racers meritonly an appendix – along withLotus type numbers and theDeLorean saga – but there isplenty of good stuff elsewhere,including loads of boxes andpanels on technical info and theleading Lotus characters.
ANSWERS ON PAGE ii
KIT CHECK
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This year, clubs are beinginitially screened on a range offactors, including supportgiven to National MotorsportWeek, the running of goodquality events, attracting highquality sponsorship, mediaexposure, the promotion anddevelopment of volunteerofficials and community andgood works initiatives.
Entry to the first stage of thecompetition is by nominationby a Regional Association tothe MSA by 1 October 2007.
National Motorsport WeekThe next National MotorsportWeek will be 11-19 August2007. This is an opportunityto attract new competitors,spectators and marshals. Go towww.nationalmotorsportweek.co.ukfor news of events and forideas of how to get involved.
Baja GB 2007Following the success of theinaugural Baja GB last year,the 2007 event is a round ofthe FIA International Cup forCross-Country Bajas. Takingplace over the weekend of17–19 August and based inNewtown, mid-Wales, Baja GB2007 will benefit from£100,000 worth of investmentin road construction andimprovements in the Hafren,Myherin and Tarenig forests ofmid-Wales.
This year’s Baja GB has thefull backing of the MSA, theWelsh Assembly MotorsportInitiative and the ForestryCommission Wales. It is opento cars complying to both FIA
MSAnews
ii Wheels 7/07 Correspondence to Stuart Turner, c/o MSA, Motor Sports House, Riverside Park, Colnbrook, Slough SL3 0HG
MARSHALSPOSTby the BMMC
Service areas, paddocks, pits andassembly areas are all placeswhere you need to keep your witsabout you.
You might think people aren’tcompeting in those areas, but thetruth is, they are and there aremore hazards for the unwarythan there are out on a circuit oron a rally stage.
What’s a few other cars, alltrying to go in the same directionand some barriers or treescompared with a mechanic in ahurry with a petrol can, an airgun, or a trolley jack; cars beingpushed back from scrutineeringas the next practice starts andsponsors’ guests, wanderingaimlessly about.
There’s more flammablematerial, careless hands andpeople so focused on what theyneed to do that they ignorewhat’s going on around them inthose four locations thananywhere else at a motorsportvenue.
As always, the first thingmarshals need to do is look afterthemselves. Then look after therest.
Act immediately whensomething dangerous happens,but don’t be heavy handed. Ahelpful word or an explanation isthe best way to ensure the samething doesn’t happen again, onceyour back is turned.
Know what is and isn’tallowed – where under-16s canand can’t be; where people canand can’t smoke, where cars canand can’t be refuelled, repaired orwashed down, where people canand can’t go.
Always know the ‘can’ as wellas the ‘can’t’ and try to be ashelpful as possible – even if, ashas happened, a mother with ababe in arms and a toddler triesto arrange a picnic in the pitlane. Always have a back up planin case you are faced with blankrefusal.
Try to let teams deal withincidents if possible. If they havea metal coated wooden spikewith a handle for ramming upthe exhaust to snuff out recurringturbo fires – and at least oneteam does – let them use it…butbe ready with your extinguisher,just in case!
T1 and T2 regulations,although there will also be anational class for non-homologated vehicles.
Officials will also be runninga separate event for motorcyclecompetitors under the auspicesof the Auto Cycle Union (ACU)Bikesport GB.
More information fromwww.BajaWales.com
Numbers off!Competition numbers shouldbe removed or covered beforecompeting vehicles are drivenhome on the public highway –to comply with regulations inthe MSA Competitor’s Yearbook2007 (a.k.a. the Blue Book).
Evening motor sportPowernights is a commercialorganisation which hasannounced a new initiative tostart just ahead of NationalMotorsport Week. It plans toattract new spectators andexisting enthusiasts with aseries of Thursday eveningmotor sport events on 2August at Silverstone, 9 Augustat Donington Park and 30August back at Silverstone.
Spectators will experiencefour hours of motor sportentertainment plus a post-raceawards ceremony andbarbecue with competitors andmarshals in the paddock.
All volunteer marshals willreceive family tickets and anevening barbecue voucher forthe event.
For more information, go towww.powernights.com
Marshal of The Year AwardWith the help of Lockton(official insurance brokers tothe MSA), the MSA will againpresent a Marshal of the Yearaward at its Night ofChampions in January 2008.The award will recognizeexcellence from any or alldisciplines of motor sport.
If a club has a nomination, itshould be submitted to itsRegional Association forconsideration as soon aspossible – with a briefsummary of the reasons for thenomination.
Clubs who are not activemembers of a RegionalAssociation or who are basedin remote locations (e.g.offshore islands) may sendnominations directly to theMSA, marked for the attentionof Allan Dean-Lewis, Head ofExternal Affairs.
Club of The Year AwardThe Lockton MSA Club of theYear Award has been awardedannually since 1993 and thisyear’s competition givesanother opportunity for clubsto win the top prize of £1000plus the prestigious AlexanderForbes Trophy and otherbenefits. There are second andthird prizes of £500 and £250respectively, withcommemorative awards.
1. Juha Kankkunen and Tommi Makinen(both 4 times)
2. Hungary August 20063. Graham Hill4. Oulton Park
QUIZ ANSWERS
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