Tel's Tales Issue 046 -Blyton 2 Lapper 2015
Entry posted by Terry Everall
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Tel's Tales 046– 2015 Season- Blyton 2 Lapper 19th April 2015
So what would this new event be like?
Everyone thought that 3 Sisters was cold but with an easterly wind today was every bit as cold and seemed to cut through your clothing reminding us that summer was not yet here!
Steve was meeting me en route and despite me giving him instructions from the M18/M180/A15 etc he still nearly got lost. There were 12 Westfields taking part out of an entry of 30 cars and if the MDA club's Regs had been out sooner then maybe there would have been more of us. The forecast was for some rain but in the end it was just cloudy (a few rain spots during P1) but actually it remained cloudy but dry all day until we finished at about 1600hrs when it started to rain, so was perfect timing. Signing on and scrutineering was easy but having walked the part of the track I had not driven before it was obviously going to take some learning to be really quick. John Walters had driven to the event with his daughter in his Westfield and deserved a medal to have survived without frostbite. Some sneaky competitors had even attended the trackday on Saturday to get some practice in.
This was Adam Read's first sprint and Gary Bunn was out for the first time this year driving his own car ( which had not been used for the last 3 years) in class F. During the day it was good to see lots of familiar faces spectating including the Westfield cars and drivers that had included the event on their Sunday run out. This social side of events and banter in the paddock really does enhance the day.
P1:Steve Everall (showing us his lack of navigational skills again) found it to difficult to learn and only did one lap instead of two and came back with a red face as the Clerk of the Course asked him what was wrong. I just took the micky out of him saying he should have used his Satnav but he was quite chuffed that his time was faster than anyone, even though it was for only half the distance. He was not the only one that lost the plot as Graham Frankland had to return to the paddock as just before he approached the start line he remembered that he had not fitted his timing strut. John Hoyle set the pace on 135.90 secs followed by me and then Adam Read whose previous race experience was clear to see.
P2 – I think John Hoyle tried too hard and had a spin and Phil Nicholls went slower and I got down to 132.76secs but there was not a lot of drama as the class D guys settled down to chase John and Adam.
T1 - was held before lunch and saw everyone improving and pushing hard on a track that was hard to remember never mind find good braking points and avoid the cones. About half way through the Westfield runs the timing gear seemed to throw a wobbly, but was quickly sorted and some of us were offered a rerun including Steve Everall, who swore that he had gone 10secs quicker than anyone else. John Walters (Shaggydo) was going well but had a moment on the last bend before the finish and Howard Gaskin's car suffered terminal clutch failure and sadly ended his day.
T2 – Craig Spooner also suffered a breakdown which ended his Class A efforts against Dave Richings and Jason Brown. The problem was that the gear selector mechanism lost its roll pin and hence he had no gears available.
T2/T3/T4/T5 – Runs now came quick and fast so it was hard to record what happened and when but Steve had a run which he had to abort due to one bonnet catch not being fasten down, Dave Richings had an off at the Wiggler chicane and broke his newly fitted front splitter. Throughout the day Gary Bunn was suffering from front brake problems giving him some hairy moments and he also lost downshifts but he was happy that the car was back on track. Jason Brown was enjoying some good runs at his “local” track. Steve had battery/alternator failure but John Hoyle and I kept him running.
Eventually John Hoyle stormed with home with some fantastic driving to take his first ever FTD from Adam Read and then me, so 3 Westfields in top 3 places.
In summary this was a well run event and enjoyed by all competitors so it is hoped we will include it in next year's calendar. Of particular interest was the circuit length and track time which represents good value to competitors.
Class A
Jason Brown 144.00
David Richings 144.63
Craig Spooner 153.17
Class B
John Walters 144.60
Class C
Graham Frankland 146.50
Class D
John Hoyle 129.62 (FTD)
Adam Read 131.81 (2nd overall)
Phil Nicholls 139.21
Stephen Everall 140.33
Howard Gaskin DNF (practice time 145.59)
Class F
Gary Bunn 153.04
Class G
Terry Everall 132.01 (3rdoverall)
Terry Everall
Speed Series Correspondent
Class G competitor
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