Round 3 - Harewood, Sunday 10th April

Is maths useful for motorsport? When we arrived at Harewood, on what can only be described as a “fresh” spring morning, dense fog equalled no visibility.  Walking the course provided only a vague reminder of which way the track goes as the next corner couldn’t be seen.

As is the way with motorsport, the requirements of the organisers can be asymmetrical with the requirements of the drivers.  The start of the event was delayed, not because of the probability that the competitors wouldn’t be able to see their way around, but because of the probability that the marshals wouldn’t be able to see each other’s red flags.

A delayed start equals more time polishing cars and for breakfast.  Having got his 1600m dazzlingly white again, Stevie D came back from the food tent complaining they hadn’t cooked the egg in his bacon ‘n’ egg bap enough – strangely he kept his bright white t-shirt covered up for the rest of the day.

The clearing fog revealed what must be the most stunning hillclimb in our calendar – glorious sunshine over the Wharfe Valley is a sight to behold!  The lifting fog also revealed another sensation – no Pesky Vixens.  In recent years, the Pesky Vixens have taken up most of the column inches describing the goings here; Harewood minus Pesky Vixens equals a chance for the rest of us.

A freshly polished white 1600m equals a fast time.  While the common denominator of a damp surface meant we were all ten seconds slower than our personal bests, Stevie D declared his intent.  Richard discovered that even with clear visibility, you can’t see the acute angle of Country until after the crest, and you need to brake before the crest, resulting in a minor excursion onto the grass, but no damage done.

With the sun beating down, the circuit dried, and everyone knocked lumps off for their second practice times.  A dry track and ample coffee to aid concentration equalled no incidents.  Dave was ahead of Simon who was using driver’s excuse number one “these new tyres are rubbish”.  Ian was ahead of Shunter who was using driver’s excuse number one “these new tyres are rubbish”.

Lunch was enjoyed in the pleasant sunshine with friends and family, then back to the serious matter of timed runs.  In an uncharacteristic lapse of focus, Dave crunched his down change, exceeded his grip coefficient and span into the Esses.  Everyone else went quicker than practice.

Even with the delayed start, there is often the chance of a third run at Harewood, so everyone threw their all at the second run hoping that any mistakes could be rectified later.  Stevie D tried a line up to Orchard that Prof Lobley had recommended to him – by following the hypotenuse the corner radius can be reduced.  But he ended up in the gravel, baulking both Richard and Dave who returned through the farmyard for another try.  Shunter decided that coasting across the line in third gear was losing a tenth of second, but crunched his down change, letting the tangential inertia carry him across the line backwards.  His overall time was his best of the day, but the resultant red flag baulked Richard (again), Dave (again), Ian and Simon. 

After what seemed like an infinite amount of time, these four finally emerged at the top of the hill having also done their fastest times of the day (Simon – how do you manage Quarry on opposite lock with the armco so close?), whilst the announcer declared that there wouldn’t be enough time for a third run, because of the cumulative frequency of “all the offs”: a common factor of TVRs at Harewood is putting on a good show for the crowds.

Stevie D’s T1 time was enough to secure victory, Simon next, and Dave pipped Shunter on the final run. Amusingly, because the 1600m was in Class A all on its own, there was no trophy for Stevie D, despite winning overall.  With five in class B, Simon got a trophy for “finishing second” – I left before the prize ceremony, so I can’t tell you whether “no prize for first” plus “prize for second” equalled extreme violence.

Is maths useful? Well, this Venn diagram neatly sums up the day:

Shunter
Go on, put some numbers on it.
(Images: Trickie Dickie and Tim Mullett)

Great to see Tony Hall in his fab Chim 400 also enjoying his day out at Harewood.