Tel's Tales Issue 065 Pembrey weekend June 2016
Entry posted by Terry Everall
1,440 views
For those who have not had the opportunity to visit, Pembrey is an airfield circuit located on the south west coast of Wales, about 20 minutes beyond Llanelli. Known as ‘The Home of Welsh Motorsport’, it hosts car, truck and bike racing as well as rally cross, tarmac rallies, track days, karting and driving experiences along with an annual sprint for National A and National B competitors. Facilities include a spacious concrete paddock, plenty of grass areas for camping, toilets, showers, restaurant and a catering van, all of which are basic but entirely acceptable. The track is also very close to the coast, with a country park giving access to a large, sandy beach just a short drive from the venue.
The location itself is barely convenient for the residents of Llanelli, let alone the rest of the country, but the motivation to make the trip is the track itself. The combination of a technical in-field section, some really quick bends, long straights and grippy tarmac makes it my favourite sprint venue. Typical of airfield tracks, it is almost entirely flat, and spotting braking/turn-in points can be difficult due to a lack of distinguishing features, but the run-offs are generous in most places. That said, at least one notable Westfield has come to grief at Pembrey, and a dual-drive Fury suffered significant damage on Saturday, so thought is required. There are corners that can be cut aggressively, bends that you can really commit to and options to stay flat (and clench accordingly) where others may lift, as well as places where you can stretch the boundaries of the track to your benefit.
The track, operated by BARC Wales, was a popular venue for testing amongst Formula 1 teams in the late 80’s and early 90’s, including McLaren and Williams. This illustrious history has led to a small amount of ‘legend’ being cultivated, including Ron Dennis using a test session at Pembrey to attempt to diffuse tensions between Senna and Prost in 1989, and Senna being allegedly quoted as saying that the Dibeni/Paddock sequence of bends was amongst his favourites in the world…. .
The number of entrants for the event was notably smaller than previous years, with the sprint held at Abingdon on Saturday being seen as the culprit, although the finger may be fairly pointed at recent (and much discussed) changes in regulations, too. The Westfield entry seemed smaller too, particularly with Terry and Steve Everall giving it a miss this year due to the 7 hour journey from God’s Own County that it entails. The St Gueno hillclimb in France, held the weekend before, may also have distracted some other Westfield competitors. Charlotte and Adam Phelps, Mike Skidmore, David Cleaver, John Loudon, dick Spanner Racing, and I made the trip and all seemed to be subjected to delays on any motorway that they chose to use.
A warm, dry Friday evening provided the opportunity to explore the track and enjoy the evening sunshine in the peace that comes with a remote location. Saturday began cool and overcast but, critically, dry. The driver’s briefing was performed in the genial, informal manner that seems to be customary for the BARC Wales team, and practice commenced just after. Progress throughout the day was slow, with a number of incidents leading to delays and re-runs. For reasons beyond his control, Gary Bunn made a bid for the record number of re-runs in a day, having been victim of a number of baulks and red flags. Mike Skidmore ran into an issue ahead of Practice 1, but was able to register a time for Practice 2, in which most drivers made good progress. I managed a personal best in Practice 2, but then failed to match it for the rest of the day, which was frustrating. All Westfields registered a first timed run, but Mike Skidmore’s second run was compromised by a gear selection issue, and a particularly quick Westfield managed a double-pirouette at the exit of the kink on the back straight; no time was recorded, but style marks were awarded (and you could smell the rubber from the paddock!). David Cleaver finished the day as the fastest Westfield with an impressive 107.81s, with Adam, Derek and Gary in hot pursuit. To give some context, Fastest Time of the Day went to Colin Calder in the well-known Gould GR55, recording 90.11s. Our own Matt Hillam finished fifth in the Top Twelve Run Off with a time of 94.20s in his Dallara.
Sunday dawned warmer and brighter, and proceedings were notably quicker than the previous day due to fewer incidents. My pit crew (family) retired to the beach for the morning, which is not an option at all Speed Series venues. With the help of some valuable suggestions from an experienced Westfield pilot and a bit of deep thought undertaken overnight, my times started to improve. Derek, David and Garry all recorded practice times of 108 seconds. Mike had managed to resolve his gear selection issues but then fell foul of another problem on his second practice run that put an end to his troubled event, which was a shame. Garry pipped David to the honour of fastest Westfield with a 108.61s, with Derek close behind. Adam consistently recorded 110s runs in the slick-shod Megabusa, while Charlotte made significant improvements on her Saturday runs. John Loudon progressed from a best of 114.28s on Saturday to a 113.31s on Sunday. I managed on new personal best of 121.35s after a very committed (for me, anyway!) final run, which ended my event on a high note. John Graham in a Gould GR55B managed to break the Calder stranglehold on the Fastest Time of the Day by recording an 88.68s run, which doesn’t bear thinking about! All Westfields were done for the day by about 14:30, which enabled a much-appreciated prompt departure in warm sunshine for the long journey home.
Two days of warm, dry weather at a great, albeit remote, track were not without frustration for some, but if you had even half as much fun as I did, you had a great time. If you haven’t visited Pembrey before, grit your teeth and make the journey – it’s worth it.
written by Simon Broadbridge
Class Competitor
-
5
2 Comments
Recommended Comments