More Success at Aldershot - 15 / 09 / 06

With Aldershot only being 160 miles away we were all lucky enough to have a lay-in till 5:30am to leave at 6:30am and meet at Exeter Airport lay-by for 7am. We were joined this week again by Adrian and Mike and Jamie took all his gear with him with a chance of a late entry looking likely.
2 1/2 hours later we were less than 800yds from the track when someone threw his motorbike down the carriage way and closed the entrance to the road we were to use. About an hour later after showing our American friend our lovely countryside we parked up and started getting our gear ready. Paul Hopkins had somehow avoided the accident (or caused it) and got to the track an hour before us. Having been out he warned us that there wasn’t a lot of grip on the track. James Matthews I believe was there at 8:30, Mmmmm, it said the track didn’t open until 10am but still, I guess he needed the practise. He too was very forthcoming with words of wisdom and suggested it would be a good idea for us to stay of the grass, Mmmmm, yeh OK.

Justin this week was to opt out of stocks and try his hand at modified, I thought he may struggle with the extra horses but was proven wrong whilst watching his 1st practise session. The only thing he was to have problems with was keeping his wires soldered to the motor.
Jamie was by now booked in and was making me wish that I hadn’t bought my new MRE when he seemed to be going round this track as he did at Ashby without finding too much trouble at all. When I went out to practise I thought of how to advertise my new car in the for sales section. Top Tip.....DONT BUY THE MRE.....GET THE MSX.

A view of the splendid Aldershot track

Jason was out with Mike and Adrian and all 3 looked to have the legs on anybody out there and again looked like they had been racing at this fast track for ever. I then caught a glimpse of an orange grass cutter between the islands but realised it was the cyclone of James Matthews, Mmmm, stay of the grass eh! Paul Rose was in amongst the fast times on the computer read out and looked like he knew every inch of this track and was very fast with it. Les was there with his beast GTRE and with it still wallowing started to put some tidy lap times in.
Wayne had his MSX going round this track being overtaken by stock drivers (me included) and seemed to struggle again for speed, but this was to change. James bell was now in possession of a 3vc with spektrum bolted to the back of it. I don’t think he had interference problems this week, but it’s hard to tell. Mike Belcher was steady around the track and may have found what his interference problems have been all year; a sticky servo seems to be sending him round in circles. Nick Adams was to greet us all and as I introduced him to all his loyal customers he asked me to join him on the track for practise. Mmmmm, I might watch I told him.

Later that day after lots of changes I believe I was in possession of the fastest 27t car at the event but knew I had a battle on my hands to keep the car under control as it felt like it had a mind of its own. Adrian now had a very settled yokomo after wise words from my new found friend (Mr Dyson) and he too showed to have some speed in abundance. Jason now was showing great lines and running silly something ratio's was very quick and surprisingly coming of with cool motors. Jamie again improved all day long which has caught the eye of prospective Sponsors. (watch this space) He is being lined up for a deal pending nobody throwing spanners around.

South West racers pose with their victory spoils!

Justin was hoooooooning down the straight by now making noises that his T2 hasn’t made before and judging by the smiles he was enjoying the moment. Paul Hopkins by this time had made loads of changes and he too had good grip and lots of speed to play with. Paul Rose was rising in the read-outs and was looking pretty safe for an "A" spot. James M and James B were to go out numerous times later and it was mentioned that they had actually passed on the track without hitting each other, I didn’t believe it but maybe they had interference!
Les took his GTRE out for his 1st qualifier and found ample speed but again didn’t get his monster to handle anything like the others; Les's time was to put him 4th on the grid with only 1 driver behind him. In his finals he managed to keep 3rd and 4th which gave him an overall 3rd place.
Mike and Jamie were lucky enough to race with Nick and Remo who were to go on and star in the "A" final. Jamie posted respectable times which were to see him line up in the "C" final and Mike with a servo made of syrup was to line up in the "E" final. In Mikes 1st "E" final he was the only car to finish which must have been pretty nervy as you had everybody watching and jeering him (especially me); his 2nd final wasn’t to be as lucky and finished 3rd which gave him overall 2nd place.

Next out was Adrian and myself , I knew right from the start that my day was going to be a hard one as again the car would veer either left or right with no indication of how much or when. Adrian proceeded to go off in the distance and didn’t want to wait for me and with 1 eye on him I was very pleased that at least 1 of us was going well. Adrian was to post a time which was to see him pole in the "C" final and I was struggling to hold onto a "D" spot of 5th. In my final I grabbed a 3rd place and a 2nd place with a car which now felt great , this was to give me 2nd place overall. Adrian led his 1st final with a storming drive and was 1st past the flag followed by Jason in 4th place and Jamie in 5th. The 2nd final saw Jason take a gutsy move on Adrian for him to take the win from the start , Adrian seemed safe in 2nd place until he glitched onto the grass , Jamie who was now like a preying mantis and didn’t need a 2nd invitation and squeezed through and was now pushing 2nd and 3rd place drivers. With 1 corner to go Jamie tried to get on the inside on the fast sweeper to grab a pot place but after heavy contact the positions didn’t change. After a fantastic race to the line the final positions in this heat saw Jason win the "C" final overall with Adrian grabbing a 3rd place pot. Jamie finished 4th but shows a very mature driving style and will undoubtfully go on and claim great results in the future.
Jason had been qualifying with Mike Doody and had been very fast all day. His last qualifier would have seen him in the tail end of the "A"s until he was wiped out. Mike too was very fast and with a little more luck would have also been in the "A"s. Mike eventually ended the day as fastest 27t SW driver being 10th on the "B" grid. Mikes finals were fast, furious and probably one he wishes to forget as he moved down a place to 10th in the overall results after his finals.

19t boys were out next and Les was with James in the lower group and Les set a stunning 1st leg time which would have him comfortably in the "B"s if no-one else improved through the day , unfortunately others did improve and that relegated Les to a "C" final. James seems to have taken Les's sandbagging antics and was to line up 2nd on the grid in the "D" final which was to be 1 place behind James Matthews who was pole for that final. I guess the 3vc and the spektrum was to make an improvement for James Bell as for this meeting he actually had someone behind him on the grid. James M made the better start in both finals and was to go on and win this heat , James Bell made inconsistent starts , middles and ends to his races and finished 2nd in this heat. With Les sat in the middle of the "C" final we weren’t counting any more silverware after he was the victim of some very nasty antics and his 1st race lasted 5 yards.

Wayne receives his 'B' Final winners trophy, congrats dude!

In the 19 "B" final we had Paul Hopkins sat in 4th place after some very fast qualifying had promised him an "A" final but lost a rear shock on his 3rd and fastest qualifier which made his 2nd fastest time count. Wayne was quietly creeping up the standings and found himself 7th on the grid. These 2 drivers were amongst great company as there were a lot of local drivers in all classes which seemed to relegate normally higher placed drivers. After 2 hectic and very fast finals the outcome was in the favour of Wayne who with his results managed to be top scorer in the "B" final and gaining him the overall win WELL DONE! Paul was amongst the bumps and bruises and found himself relegated to 6th place.
Top qualifier in 19t SW driver was to be Paul Rose who lined up 10th on the grid in the "A" final. After 2 qualifiers it didn’t look like Paul was going to make this top final but putting in a very secure last round saw him amongst the elite. Paul seems to have a habit of just looking like he is there for the ride in his finals but this week showed a bit more aggression which was to see him grab a 6th place overall in 19t.

This week as I said before we had an interest in the modified final, as Justin was seemingly nervous with his car through the day he still managed to park it on the 5th grid in this "A" final. After a marshal decided to have a day off Justin hit the kerbs just at the wrong spot and after watching the video I have timed it that he was there for 7 seconds which is more than half a lap around Aldershot. After this Justin seemed p*~*ed off and started to drive the way we all know he can and took place after place with some very cut throat moves but all staying perfectly legal gaining him a 5th place. In his 2nd final he seemed to regain his nervousness and stayed in 5th place giving him his 5 place overall.

Altogether after presentation the SW had taken 8 trophies and the raffle hadn’t even begun. James M won a new Speedo to put with his numerous others, Jason won a 8 X 2 to bolt to a car when he finally gets one and I won some tyre warmers for Jamie to use.

All in all a great weekend and with some great results on and off the track. Looking forward to the last round at Ashby on Oct 1st already.

Thanks to Sean as ever for a great report :-)

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