Round 17 - Three Sisters, Sunday 30th July
|
Weather Apps – Why Bother?
I don’t know why anyone as sceptical as I am should bother to look at a weather forecast app on Thursday to see what’s going to happen in Wigan on Sunday, but I did. I know it’s always going to say cloudy, with sunny periods, or showers at 9:36 until 10:20 and such. But no, the forecast for Wigan on Sunday was RAIN, all day. At home, 104 miles from Wigan, I was awoken before my 4:30 alarm call on Sunday morning, by rain hammering down. It rained all the way across the M62, until Saddleworth Moor, where it stopped and the sun almost shone, for a few minutes. |
|
As we got ready for the leisurely 9:30 drivers meeting it was dry, but all talk was of the rain and what time would it come. The organisers said they would try and press on to get a timed run in before lunch, so we might get one dry run.
The event was run as a double lapper, starting from the pit lane, a format used by other clubs, but it was only the second time Longton & District had used it. It is a very good format, and gives a good run length with times in the 80 seconds. After a few teething troubles with slower cars getting caught, the gaps between starters were increased and it worked well with three cars on the track at any one time.
The event was run as a double lapper, starting from the pit lane, a format used by other clubs, but it was only the second time Longton & District had used it. It is a very good format, and gives a good run length with times in the 80 seconds. After a few teething troubles with slower cars getting caught, the gaps between starters were increased and it worked well with three cars on the track at any one time.
|
|
|
There were five TVRs competing, four of them in our championship, L&DMC members Bill Campion in his S2 and Dave Welton in his 5 litre V8 Tasmin (Dave Tas), Dave Wilkins in his Chimaera 500 (Dave Chim), Steve Dennis’s 1600M as well as Duncan Woodcock’s non-championship Chimaera 400.
Watching earlier cars on the rapidly drying track, there appeared to be plenty of grip, however Steve proved that idea wrong with a spin going into Lunar bend, the first right hander. Bill also had a grassy ‘moment’ but kept going. Steve went much better in second practice, keeping it on the tarmac until the second lap where he spun, at Lunar again. Dave Tas was disappointed to see that his second practice time was exactly the same as Steve’s first, despite Steve’s spin.
After practice it was Bill leading from Dave Chim, followed by the tying Steve and Dave Tas.
Watching earlier cars on the rapidly drying track, there appeared to be plenty of grip, however Steve proved that idea wrong with a spin going into Lunar bend, the first right hander. Bill also had a grassy ‘moment’ but kept going. Steve went much better in second practice, keeping it on the tarmac until the second lap where he spun, at Lunar again. Dave Tas was disappointed to see that his second practice time was exactly the same as Steve’s first, despite Steve’s spin.
After practice it was Bill leading from Dave Chim, followed by the tying Steve and Dave Tas.
|
|
The first timed run was before lunch, Bill put in his quickest time so far, Steve managed to stay on the tarmac and Dave Chim, was ‘delayed’ getting a time 13 seconds slower than practice.
There were two schools of thought over the lunch break, what time will the rain come, and Dave Tas deciding that it was staying dry and he was going to put his slicks on! He wanted to see how they compared on a dry and warming track, but knew that his times wouldn’t count. His take on the weather proved right, the sun shone, clouds came and went, but no rain. Second and third runs saw Dave Chim put in times close to his best practice times, Bill didn’t improve on his first timed run, and Steve gave himself a good talking to and improved by almost 2 seconds to take fastest scratch time. On handicap Bill took the 25 points, Steve second with 23.18, Dave Chim third with 18.69, followed by Bill with 15.5. |
|
And the rain? It poured down on the way home. Weather apps; why bother?
SteveD (Photography: David Cahill) |
|