Tel's Tales Issue 016 Blyton 2013
Entry posted by Terry Everall
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Tel's Tales 01: Blyton Sat & Sun 13th & 14th July 2013
Well after a successful Curborough WSCC event earlier in the year we had all been looking forward to this weekend. Firstly Nick Algar and his team must be congratulated for all their hard work and time put in both before and during the event that made it a fantastic weekend for everyone but particularly the drivers. I arrived on Friday night and it seems that the trackday went very well and Del had been there all day testing geo changes to the car and ACW obliged as test driver and got his lines right and it turned out that the extra practice paid rewards. The weekend weather was forecast to be hot and it certainly was with most drivers suffering in their babygrow nomex overalls which are not well known for for ventilation or heat reflection properties. Being held in a queue or on the start line turned out not to be a pleasant experience and how the marshalls coped in the heat all day was amazing. Friday night saw many of us walking the track to look at the right lines to drive and also the newly kerbs to the chicanes. Final “payment” was paid by Richard James in return for my roll of Duck tape “loaned” at Aintree and Steve and I had a nice couple of cold Stellas. Light refreshments were in evidence everywhere but liquid nourishment was topping the popularity stakes.
We had 3 class A, 1 class B, 5 class D, 4 class E, 4 class F, 2 class G and 2 class H ,a total of 21 Westfields.
Saturday 13th July
P1 On the first tentative runs Stephen E and Stephen H were at it again with very close times and this set the trend in all classes where very close battles were just commencing. Del's car broke the rear ARB and Richard James car suffered another mechanical problem (my duck tape was still working well) with the gearshift bracket breaking which went a tow back to the paddock for a quick fix (of the bracket!). A few had problems but most found where the circuit was.
P2 Richard James car was at it again and this time the silencer fell off and this was found to be an issue with a front silencer inlet pipe tha had never been welded up and was merely a tight fit..... until it fell off. A local guy in Blyton welded it up and they were soon back in action despite slightly burned fingers. Barry Slingsby and ACW were on the pace right from the start and myself and Matt Turner were having a ding dong battle following Matts success at 3 sisters.
Timed runs
Saturday-We had a total of 3 timed runs in increasing heat but the track seemed ok grip wise and times tumbled. Del and Gary were now beginning to suspect that their diff was not working correctly and was the cause of some of the handling problems. Paul Aspden and Gary Smith returned to Leeds to pick up a spare 4.44 diff and to make a revised ARB which were fitted Saturday night and improved their times. Matt Turner posted a quick 66.54secs breaking the class record but then on T2 he pushed too hard and ripped off the nearside wings and an underslung water pipe which caused him to spin at the finish. Some more of my duck tape reattached the wings but the water system needed bleeding so Matt called it a day whist still leading me. It came down to my last run and I banged in a 66.06secs to take the win. Stu Hill turned up the wick and set a new record with 68.16secs in class C. Stephen E though he had got Stephen H but a keen eyed judge of fact marshall noted he did not have all 4 wheels inside the white lines as he crossed the finish so he time was not allowed. To say he was annoyed is an understatement! I think Chris Bennett was too quick for anyone to spot a similar excursion.
Other successes were John Hoyle and Barry Slingsby who both beat the class record. Star performance was Adrian (ACW) who took FTD and won class F with a class record of 64.80secs but was pushed by Paul Morcom, Pete Goulding and David Cleaver.
This was a great day for everyone in all classes with novice Chris Bennett showing the way but Phil Nicholls was close. Tim Nunn showed Richard James how its done and Gary Bunn was quicker than Del.
Sunday- Saturday nights celebrations and human bukaroo games went on until early morning and music was not bad either. Everyone knew where the track went now so practice times were quick and few people had offs despite some mistakes and for an hour or so the sun was hidden behind clouds...... but it soon turned into a battle to avoid dehydration and keep cool (sorry I meant less hot). In the afternoon the paddock saw the appearance of many umbrellas but there were to keep the sun off not the rain.The Saturday class battles recommenced and 7 competitors beat the class records with 4 people scoring a maximum102 points.
Class A was won by Chris Bennett from Tom Frankland and James Alexander who had a close battle.. Phil Nicholls clocked a quick 72.29secs and was well pleased. Stu Hill again won class C with John Loudon getting close and Graham Frankland, Martin Hepworth and Mark Bishop playing catch up . Class D was won by Barry Slingsby with a time of 65.39secs on T1 whilst John Hoyle also smashed the record with 65.94secs. Matt Hillam drove well in his borrowed car and Stephen E managed to beat Stephen H by 0.08secs with his T1 run of 70.97secs. Class E had been won on Saturday by Andy Hargreaves and he repeated this with a much better time of 68.23secs for a new class record. Class F was blitzed by ACW again who took FTD with 64.15secs and Paul Morcom beat Pete Goulding by 0.01secs.(pretty close).
In class G Matt Turner was maybe trying too hard and his best was 66.76secs whilst I improved my Saturday time to 65.51secs. Del's car was now handling much better and he achieved 65.17secs whilst Gary got down to 64.17secs to just miss FTD by 0.03secs so the future looks good for them. Over the weekend it was good to see the Yorkshire Mafia team (I am a member) scoring well and challenging the leading team that has ACW, Barry, Stu and John Loudon in it.
It was great to see that the fastest 6 cars on both days were Westfields!
Finally I have to reiterate that it was great to see so many drivers and supporters enjoying a great weekends sport. John Fisher ran the paddock like a military exercise and Luke, Richard, Ian and all the girls kept the day flowing smoothly and out thanks are due to them all whether I have mentioned them or not. This weekend will take some beating and if you were not there make sure you dont miss next year.
Terry Everall – Speed Series correspondent and class G competitor.
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