Wiscombe Park Results 120512

Wiscombe Park 12th May 2012

Yes, there were many wizards at the wheel at Wiscombe Park, but more about them later. The real wizards are mostly unseen; they are the 'team' that arrived days before the event and worked hard setting everything up, they are the Committee Members and organisers such as Carol Foster, Paul Harris, Peter Issac, and Colin Rolls, to name but a few. And many wizards were at work on event day; all the marshals were so professional as they looked after the safety of everyone, the medical and rescue team were ready to attend if needed, the signing-on and timing team never missed a second, the commentator kept everyone informed, and the Officials and scrutineers kept us 'honest' within the regulations. And all of these wizards were volunteers! We thank you all.

Nice place to rest in the sun. Photo Mike Wood

After so much rain before the event it was encouraging to see it dry with some sunshine on Saturday morning, and with the newly laid good grip smooth surface all drivers were keen to try the course. A good entry of thirteen pre 1954 and eleven post 1954 500cc racing cars showed the popularity of Wiscombe Park, and indeed of the sport of speed hill climbing.

With all the wizards at Wiscombe it was surprising that a few witches (or were they warlocks) managed to do the devils work on some cars. They stopped the sparks working in the engine of Alistair Dent's Hornet, but being a wizard engineer he 'just' removed the engine and fitted another. It made him a few minutes late for practice but the officials soon had a place for Alistair in another batch. The engine of Mike Wood's lovely Iota refused to start but after purging the methanol through the carburettor and willing hands pushing the car down the paddock slope it decided to run happily.

Practice runs went well for most drivers and mechanical reliability was better than at many other events; perhaps the hard work on the cars during the winter was proving worth while! Out of the 48 practice runs there were only 5 that failed and the times recorded were good. With practice completed on time it was lunchtime and a welcome break for the 'workers' and marshals.

A spot of queuing. Photo Mike Wood

Classified Results Pre 1954

Pos	Name	Car	Run 1	Run 2	Best	Report By Alan Hartfield. Photos Alan Hartfield & Derek Hibbert Mr Ross in his Cooper Mk IV
1	Mark Riley	Creamer-Kieft-JAP	48.16	48.53	48.16
2	Mike Fowler	Cooper Mk V-Norton	48.55	Fail	48.55
3	Alistair Dent	Hornet-JAP	49.44	49.44	49.44
4	George Shackleton	Cooper Mk VI-JAP	49.64		49.64
5	Darrell Woods	Staride-Norton	49.76	53.53	49.76
6	Richard De La Roche	Smith-Buckler-JAP	51.98	51.61	51.61
7	Alan Hartfield	Cooper Mk V-JAP	56.02	54.77	54.77
8	Mike Wood	Iota-JAP	56.33	65.53	56.33
9	Ted Sharpe	RGR-JAP	Fail	57.62	57.62
10	Anthony Claringbould	JP-JAP	58.76	Fail	58.76
11	Dennis Williams	Arnott-JAP	61.64	61.18	61.18
12	Tim Ross	Cooper Mk IV-JAP	65.64	66.98	65.64
13	Humphrey Collis	JLR-JAP	67.11	68.55	67.11

The sun was still shining and it was warmer for the competitive runs in the afternoon. Perhaps it was the temperature, or the new surface, or that all the drivers were wizards, because the times were most impressive! In the pre 1954 Class there were 5 drivers below 50 seconds, with Mark Riley and his Creamer achieving first place in eye watering 48.16; this just beat Mike Fowler, Alistair Dent, George Shackleton and Darrell Woods. Your scribe noted other times worthy of note in this Class as Mike Wood in his IOTA, Anthony Claringbould in his JP (in only his second hill climb), and Richard De La Roche with his beautiful Smith Buckler.

The post 1954 Class produced the amazing time of 47.27 achieved by Nigel Ashman and his Cooper Norton to give him the FTD by a Historic Formula 3 500cc race car; I don't know what the course record for these car's is but this time must be close! Other times in this Class were quick, as to be expected with the quality of the cars and the drivers.

This was an excellent well organised event that provided a friendly competitive atmosphere. Everyone seemed cheerful and friendly and we all had an enjoyable day. It was really good to meet Tony Hodson, now recovered from serious illness, and who would have been competing again if his car had behaved itself. I must make mention of Xavier Kingsland who, because his race car is still undergoing work, not only spent the day at the Bunny's Leap marshals post to help with our safety but also gave me a 'cheery' wave each time I returned down the course - well, I think it was a wave! Other Club members that I saw working on our behalf all day were Angie and Carol on the timing team. Our thanks go to all the helpers and pushers, and I particularly thank Bruce for 'looking after me'!

Mark Riley made a fine run in his Creamer. Photo Mike Wood.

Classified Results Post 1954

Pos	Name	Car	Run 1	Run 2	Best
1	Nigel Ashman	Cooper Mk XI- Norton	47.45	47.27	47.27
2	Simon Frost	Martin-Norton	50.16	48.06	48.06
3	Andrew Turner	Cooper Mk IX-JAP	50.10	50.53	50.10
4	John Turner	Cooper Mk IX-JAP	52.43	51.21	51.21
5	JB Jones	Cousy-Triumph	52.71	51.46	51.46
6	Charles Reynolds	Cooper Mk IX-JAP	51.68	51.72	51.68
7	Nick Reynolds	Cooper Mk IX-JAP	54.08	52.59	52.59
8	Patrick Riley	Smith Mk III-JAP	53.18	53.85	53.18
9	Alistair Hunt	Juno-JAP	53.38	53.57	53.38
10	Mark Palmer	Wishart-Norton	56.50	56.29	56.29
11	Gary Clare	Martin-Norton	59.12	56.53	56.53

We all like to see good pictures of cars and drivers in action and I hope that you will like those in this report. They are the work of Derek Hibbert, a professional photographer who has kindly sent the pictures free of charge. Should you want a picture of your car you can contact Derek on 07925110040 or email digitalderek@hotmail.co.uk

Classic Wiscombe as Darrell finds his apex. Photo Mike Wood.

Alan Hartfield and his adoring fans. Photo Derek Hibbert