Rounds 1 & 2 - Ty Croes, Angelsey, 6th & 7th April
What Goes on Tour...
Now, they say “what goes on tour stays on tour”. So I could tell you about how Anita motivates Dave Barrowclough to drive faster, but I can’t. I could tell you how John Carter came to buy Coxy’s Green And Yellow (G.A.Y.) V8S, but I won’t. I could explain what Bill Campion got up to during his evening stays near the air base, but I shouldn’t. And I could describe the discussions that Jo Briars and I have after a particularly competitive weekend, but I daren’t. What I can tell you is what a fantastic weekend we all had. The organisers, Longton & District, do a fabulous job of giving us loads of track time. Saturday saw seven runs of the shorter National circuit, and on Sunday we had six runs of the full International circuit. The weather was tremendous – there’s no escaping the breeze on Anglesey, but the sun was shining all weekend. |
Due to an upcoming non-championship round on the Isle of Man, which requires absolute “roadgoing” specification, Davey wanted to get used to his 1A tyres, rather than the track day 1Bs (which carry a 2.5% penalty). Bill won here last year in rainy conditions using 1As, but decided that 1Bs would be best for the forecasted sunshine. Jo and I had new front tyres which despite the 200 mile journey, didn’t fully scrub in until after practice. And Johnny was just using whatever tyres he had lying around.
The first runs on Saturday saw Davey complaining about understeer on his 1As – but the response from everyone else was that the 1Bs were no better. Particularly around the final hairpin to the finishing line, where everyone was washing wide, including an “off” after the line for Davey, decorating one side of his car with mud for the remainder of the weekend. Jo had the early pace, and led in practice, with all bar Johnny within a second. |
The first timed runs were before lunch, and as is normal in these cases, Jo and I both put in our fastest times of the day. Davey was getting used to his new tyres, and Johnny was getting used to his new gay (loud, proud and vivacious) car.
A long lunch break resulted in mixed fortunes. I span at the top of Rocket, and couldn’t find the pace again in the third run. Jo struggled for grip, and couldn’t find her morning pace. Bill put in two near-identical times - how’s that for consistency? Johnny chipped away at his times, with an improvement of 0.01s on his final run. And Davey just kept pushing, leapfrogging Jo and me in the second run, then consolidating his win in the third. Well done Davey – clearly Anita’s motivational technique works. Johnny and Bill both went out for the “fun runs”– if Bill’s time had counted, he would have jumped to second place, with 24.98 points, clearly benefitting from the extra seat time. On Saturday evening |
we were joined by Jan and Mark “Harry” Harris, for an enjoyable evening on the Oyster Catcher restaurant. Not too much alcohol was consumed, despite a relaxed late start on the Sunday morning.
Sunday started as Saturday had done, with Jo setting the early pace. But this time, with much more than a second between the field. At one point, Davey tried to help me by saying “you only need to find four seconds Steve”. Johnny had changed to a different set of 1B tyres, with a smaller diameter in the hope that the left rear arch wouldn’t rub as much on the long right handers. Like yesterday, the first timed runs were before lunch, with Jo again putting in her fastest time of the day. Despite improving on my second run, I was relegated to third as Davey put in what is technically called a “blinder”. Johnny also improved a bit. Bill didn’t. |
Big Al and Jacque Holloway made a surprise appearance at lunchtime. It’s been about three years since Big Al was last seen on track with his Cerbera, and he claims he’s been prepping it for it’s return this year – we’ll hold you to that!
A couple of years ago, we discovered a smart phone app called Track Addict. It uses the GPS and gyro capabilities of your phone to measure speed, acceleration and location. It can also be linked to a camera for video footage. I studied the numbers in between runs to see where I was losing out to Jo – she was absolutely nailing the corner leading onto the back straight, carrying 10mph more on the exit! So I focused on that and tried to keep my foot in on the ascent to Rocket (110mph!). I gained over a second, which was (just) enough to snatch the win – Davey and Jo were less than 0.2s behind. |