Round 1 - Rockingham, Sunday 25th March
Dawn broke to a dull, misty and damp start – so much for the start of British Summer Time!! Hank & Blower were first to arrive and immediately noticed the absence of a burger van, WHAT!!!!!!! (It was subsequently discovered that the usual paddock fare was available in an office unit, so uproar was averted, and peace and order were restored). Jes, Richard & Jim followed by Rob & Ellie (aka Bo and Daisy Duke) in
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their “yee haw” pick-up truck and the TVR line up was complete. Questions were floating around the paddock, could Rob repeat his victory from last year? Would Jes still be as quick after taking a sabbatical (well almost) last year? Would Hank and Blower’s suspension changes improve their performance? Would Jim “The Spin” repeat his novice outing performance? Only time would tell!
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Unusually at Rockingham competitors do not walk/run/cycle the course before practice but several convoy runs are taken by a course official for competitor familiarisation. There is no limit as to how
many of these convoy runs can be used, which proved fortunate for Hank as he span on the bend onto the start/finish straight on his first convoy run; to say that the track
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had little grip early on was something of an understatement, it was pretty lethal. However, with Blower in attendance his
“weather wand” proved true to form and the day stayed dry with even an occasional sunny spell!
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The track did slowly begin to dry out but first practice was a cautious affair with only Jes getting below 90 seconds and everyone hoping for more grip as the day continued. Second practice brought gradual improvements, apart from Jes who
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dropped back by a massive 1½ seconds, as a result of a spin (he even does that quickly!).
Later in the morning we were joined by Shunter and Jo who’d taken a leave of absence from Rockingham this year; was 
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it the loss of an hour’s sleep the night before? Or simply that a good haul of points might be difficult to achieve with our returning multiple champion in the field? Well whatever the reason it had given Jo the chance to bake a wonderful, early Easter cake (which Jes claimed to be his birthday present), it was delicious. After lunch we were also visited by local TVR newcomers Keiron and Sharon in their recently acquired Chimaera 450, who stopped to spectate for the afternoon.
The track continued to dry out and the first timed run of the afternoon saw everyone |
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And so, to answer the earlier questions from the paddock:
1. Unfortunately, Rob couldn’t repeat last year’s victory but achieved a very creditable 3rd. 2. Jes’s time off hasn’t slowed him at all, he’s still damn quick (and a bit bonkers). 3. Hank’s modifications definitely paid off, |
Blower’s definitely didn’t (probably just poor driving though!)
4. Jim “The Spin” didn’t spin and in fact knocked over 10 seconds of last year! The results tell the tale, a terrific, (if perhaps predictable) win for Jes, a brilliant 2nd place for Hank, a valiant 3rd for Rob, a stalwart 
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4th for “Normal” Richard, a great 5th for Jim and a dismal 6th and last from Blower.
We’re all looking forward to another brilliant season, so why not, go on, put some numbers on it!
Blower. (Photography: Shunter) |
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