Round 22 - Debden, Sunday 2nd OctoberGentle rain tapped the windows as I awoke sometime before dawn.
Fortunately the remainder of Sunday 2nd October was dry as forecast. Pleasantly warm sunshine turned distinctly autumnal whenever the sky clouded over. Reporting on this event was always going to be a challenge. There were five entries in class E20 TVR Car Club. Two Marks, two Richards and one Dave. Five similarly aged cars, two red, two green and one blue. The outcome to the contest wasn’t a forgone conclusion. Dave Barrowclough was quickest on scratch times for much of the day. Captain Chaos Mark Everett led narrowly on handicap times and proudly took home the 25 points. |
The imaginatively named Herts County Auto & Aero Club had changed the track layout again this year. Two sections of course faced each other with a gap of about 20 yards. This reminded me of the route I had inadvertently taken during first practice last year. I had foolishly arrived too late to walk the course. I took an incorrect exit from the confusingly sign posted hairpin and narrowly avoided meeting Steve Lyle coming the other way. Maybe that gave the organisers the idea to try it for everyone.
It was deemed necessary to run just two vehicles on the course consecutively in an attempt to keep them apart. We were informed at the driver’s briefing that in the event of a possible ‘head to head’ occurring both drivers would be shown a red flag and offered a rerun. The Clerk of the Course said that if that didn’t work then ‘Good Luck!’
The resultant proceedings were a bit slow. There was insufficient time for the hoped for first competitive run before lunch. Noise restrictions meant the competition had to finish by 4pm, allowing only two timed runs in the afternoon. This was a bit disappointing as there weren’t the usual number of entries.
The resultant proceedings were a bit slow. There was insufficient time for the hoped for first competitive run before lunch. Noise restrictions meant the competition had to finish by 4pm, allowing only two timed runs in the afternoon. This was a bit disappointing as there weren’t the usual number of entries.
First practice was dominated by Dave and CC. Dave was 4 seconds quicker on the track and 0.6 secs behind on handicap. Dave arrived back in the paddock with the front splitter on his 5 litre Chimaera scraping the ground and had to cut it off. He said he knew what the noise was so didn’t have to slow down. Harry (Mark) Harris took first practice gently in his eager sounding Cerbera as he hadn’t walked the course.
The long wait for P2 was enlivened by four of us being roped in to try to bump start a Lotus Elise. After 100 yards of what felt like uphill pushing the driver realised he hadn’t immobilised his immobiliser. At least one of us was still puffing when we put helmets on again.
The long wait for P2 was enlivened by four of us being roped in to try to bump start a Lotus Elise. After 100 yards of what felt like uphill pushing the driver realised he hadn’t immobilised his immobiliser. At least one of us was still puffing when we put helmets on again.
I recollect CC still led Dave on handicap after P2 based on the earlier results. Dave was given a 10 sec penalty for hitting 2 cones. CC spun and collected impressive cone rash above his 4 litre Chimaera’s n/s rear wheel arch. The two Richards and Harry improved on their earlier times.
Harry’s lovely daughter Lauren arrived at the lunch break. She asked us to line up the cars artistically for a photo shoot. Lauren looked most professional with a Polaroid type instant camera as well as an SLR. She may just have talked herself into a job at the annual dinner.
Lunchtime banter was lively. Topics of conversation included a consensus of opinion that Debden is a great driver’s track. The final right hander, Armpit, was particularly enjoyed by all. It is a flat out right hander on a very wide part of the course. You just floor it and hang on in the hope you can pull the car back to the right enough to pass between the chequer boards whilst doing about 95mph. CC reckoned it reduced the Shark Skin Technology of his Uniroyal rain tyres to the grip of a flat fish.
Harry’s lovely daughter Lauren arrived at the lunch break. She asked us to line up the cars artistically for a photo shoot. Lauren looked most professional with a Polaroid type instant camera as well as an SLR. She may just have talked herself into a job at the annual dinner.
Lunchtime banter was lively. Topics of conversation included a consensus of opinion that Debden is a great driver’s track. The final right hander, Armpit, was particularly enjoyed by all. It is a flat out right hander on a very wide part of the course. You just floor it and hang on in the hope you can pull the car back to the right enough to pass between the chequer boards whilst doing about 95mph. CC reckoned it reduced the Shark Skin Technology of his Uniroyal rain tyres to the grip of a flat fish.
It was also mooted during lunch that Jes should be given at least a 1 second penalty at all events for being so darned good (but I didn’t say that).
After consuming Mrs Barrowcliffe’s excellent cakes we donned helmets again for T1. Official records don’t quite correspond with what I wrote down at the time. I thought Dave went faster but apparently he was nearly 2 secs down on P1. Anyway, CC went quicker and extended his lead on handicap over Dave to 1.55 secs. Harry was disqualified for demolishing the super-fast first chicane at ‘100mph’. That left me lying in third place on handicap so I prayed (unsuccessfully) for rain.
After consuming Mrs Barrowcliffe’s excellent cakes we donned helmets again for T1. Official records don’t quite correspond with what I wrote down at the time. I thought Dave went faster but apparently he was nearly 2 secs down on P1. Anyway, CC went quicker and extended his lead on handicap over Dave to 1.55 secs. Harry was disqualified for demolishing the super-fast first chicane at ‘100mph’. That left me lying in third place on handicap so I prayed (unsuccessfully) for rain.
I can’t remember much of what we did between T1 & T2 as I was bored taking notes. I remember a discussion about the deteriorating condition of the track surface. Debden airfield is part of Carver Barracks, home to the 33 Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal). Gravel roads for military vehicles cross the sprint course and much debris was dragged onto the track by the end of the event. It was observed that the locals surely don’t complain about the noise of a few cars going round when our hosts blow things up for a living.
T2 showed FTDs from all drivers except Harry and me for some reason. Dave reduced his lap time to an incredible 88.36. CC was marginally faster than his T1 time, at 92.08. That was good enough to give him the win on handicap by (I think) just 0.35 seconds over Dave.
T2 showed FTDs from all drivers except Harry and me for some reason. Dave reduced his lap time to an incredible 88.36. CC was marginally faster than his T1 time, at 92.08. That was good enough to give him the win on handicap by (I think) just 0.35 seconds over Dave.
Star of the show for me though was Supercharged Richard Bream in his 400plus bhp Chimaera 4500. His final run of 92.16 was 0.08 behind the Captain and we all know how quick he is. It elevated Richard to a well deserved third spot. The sound of Richard’s car at full chat is something else. I haven’t heard anything like it since spectating half way down the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans.
Well done to all, and plea to Shunter, please keep Debden on our calendar. Richard Blacklee |
Fantastically arty photos: Lauren Harris On track photos: George Stergios |