Round 9 - Coventry Motofest, 1st JuneCar Modifications
Being local, this was the first event of the year that Jo and I didn’t stay over the night before. As we left, we both said we were sure we’d left something behind. Halfway up the A46, I thought “oh no, I’ve forgotten my camera” – but with today’s phone technology, everyone has a camera in their pocket, so that was no big deal. Coventry Motofest is England’s first closed road sprint competition since new regulations were passed a couple of years ago. After 6 years of “demonstration” events, last year’s event was the first competitive sprint, and this year was the first time it was officially included in the TVRCC Speed Championship. Being a “closed road” event, it is somewhat chaotic in its nature; the “paddock” is part of |
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the closed-off dual carriageway, with slot allocation on first come first served basis. As well as the sprint, the organisers also manage to fit in demonstration runs of speedway cars, motorcycle clubs, racing trucks and supercars, (celebrities included Jason Plato and Aled Jones?!?). So all being told, the organisers do a pretty good job of creating some order out of the chaos. Which means that the 230,000 spectators get a good show!
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With nine competitors, this was the biggest entry list for the Speed Championship so far this year. Several of the drivers have attended before, (Jes, Richard, Jo, me) so knew a little about what to expect, although because the organisers try to limit the average speed through the use of temporary chicanes, the layout is not identical year to year. The newbies to the event were Hank, Pete, Steve T, AHD and Moggy, who all demonstrated good improvements over the course of the day.
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Practice is held just before lunch, with all the competitors completing both their runs in a little over an hour. Unsurprisingly, Jes was way out in the lead (the way he drives, you would think his car is impervious to barriers), with Jo second and Coventry virgin AHD in third. Most of the gang wandered into town to grab some lunch and peruse the hugely diverse static car displays, showcasing the outputs of Coventry and beyond from Britain’s boom era of car production.
The timed runs were scheduled for 3pm, and everyone showed their competitive nature. Pete improved by over 7 seconds compared to first practice, and Richard took off 6 seconds. Steve T found 7 |
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seconds to take him below the 90s mark, and Moggy almost broke the 80s barrier. Talking of barriers, I outbraked myself on the first chicane, and whacked the barrier, resulting in a shower of headlamp lens glass and a drive of shame back to the paddock – no other damage apart from the £30 price of a new lens.
Jes also had a contretemps with the final chicane, which he claimed was just a “clip”, but the fact that it triggered his inertia switch, and that he arrived back in the paddock missing a nearside wing-mirror suggests it was a slightly more substantial impact. That put AHD at the top of the leaderboard after first runs, with the victory still wide open. Uncharacteristically, Moggy fluffed his start, so didn’t make an improvement in his second run. Jes put his improved |
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aerodynamics to good use, and claimed the win. Despite improving further, AHD was demoted to second, while Hank sneaked into third place. Jo had the bit between her teeth, and pushed all the way round, but a little too hard in the penultimate chicane, drifting wide and clouting the kerb, which broke the wheel. However, her first run was fast enough to claim fastest lady of the day in the whole sprint for the second year running. However, the scrutineers wouldn’t allow me to take my final run using the space saver spare wheel, so my day was done.
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The space-saver’s 50mph limit ensured plenty of time on the way home to review the day’s events, including the embarrassment of being overtaken by a 2CV. We finally figured out what we’d left at home that morning – some talent!
Go on, put some numbers on it. Shunter (Photography: Hank, Richard, Picnic, Shunter) |
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