500OA 2005 Championship

Round 3 was pre-empted by yet another innovation, the Garden Party held at Charlie Smith’s farm. A chance for the “Uppy-downy” and “Roundy-roundy” boys to get together and show off their cars, as well as many restoration projects. Twenty eight cars made an appearance in various states of preparation, and a lot of useful information was traded (along with a selection of rare components). A fine idea that deserves repeating. Several cars made their way to Mallory for Sunday, where we would see another impressive 17 cars, matched with eight rather fast Juniors. Of the rookies, Nigel Ashman and Martin Sheppard appeared again, with Mark Palmer now taking up driving duties in his Mk IX. The field was also bolstered by long-absent Roy Hunt (Martin) and Marek Reichman (Emeryson), clearing the cobwebs for the Goodwood Revival.

Frustratingly, both Nigel and Martin suffered bent valves in practice, and despite Simon Frost’s best efforts both would have to scratch. Then the long-threatened rain materialised shortly before the race, so it was a pretty miserable grid that formed up on a drenched track. From the start, Mike Fowler made another great start, chased by David LeCoq, Neil Hodges, and Shirley Monro! Several drivers were delayed when John Turner stalled on the line, including Marek and James Culver, yet again facing a fight back. John eventually got going a good half-minute late, and there would begin a quite remarkable drive. David was soon past Mike, with James taking a few more laps to find his way up and through. David would later suffer water ingress (unsurprising in the conditions). John, however, was already onto the tail of the field, only to thump a half-spun Paul Hewes at Gerards. Back on it, he was running several seconds faster than any other 500 and racing through the field.

Marek quickly dealt with Geoff and set off after Neil Hodges (another with water issues). Lining up a move along the pit straight, he spotted at the last moment the diminutive John aiming for a very small gap to make it three abreast. As the mechanics on pit wall took a step back, Marek wisely made space (or “bottled it” as Neil would say) and wait another chance. Further back Shirley and John Chisholm, both finally having their cars working well, were driving impressively, and were having a good tussle with Roy Hunt, whose car was struggling a bit after its long layoff. James won the class from Mike, John Turner, with Marek, Neil and John Chisholm filling the minor paces. It had been another entertaining race from both cockpit and trackside, and there were many bedraggled souls excitedly talking about their race under any available cover.

Round 4: Silverstone

One side effect of the consolidated championship was that we had not joined the 750 Trophy brigade until their sixth round. But when we did it was worth it with sixteen 500s up against an equal number of Sevens to create a packed grid for the August Bank holiday race. James Culver and John Turner launched off at the front, accompanied by the Reliant Special of Dave Brand. Frustratingly, John’s magneto failed on the second lap, but James and Dave would put on a remarkable show that went right to the flag. It was no easier behind them with the field quite literally storming back into the complex. With so much action on-track, it was near impossible to compile a representative report. Close to the front pair Nigel Challis had really got his Cooper hooked up and fought hard with Rodney Delves, Roy Hunt, and a gaggle of Trophy cars. Shirley again had a strong race battling with Gordon Russell, Roy Wright and Mark Palmer, amongst others and there were a number of strong drives.

So at the halfway point of the season, James Culver led the championship with 34 points. Mike Fowler was a surprising, but justified second with 20 points, then Bob Culver (16) and Neil Hodges (14). We had delivered 64 entrants in four races, and an impressive 41 finishers. And importantly, almost everyone was getting good racing on track.

Goodwood Revival Meeting

After two years away, the 500s were back in the Earl of March Trophy. And quite frankly, we put on a great show. Not only was the race as good as anything else out there, but everyone really hustled in the Paddock: fielding serious enquiries, making time to talk to interested spectators, letting people have their photos taken in the cars (although it was noticed that while Geoff Gartside got the children, Neil Hodges always seemed to get the pretty girls in short skirts…), and always looking the part. Everyone can be proud of their effort. It’s just a pity the press didn’t seem to notice. Still, we have lots of evidence to justify a return in 2006.

On track, David LeCoq may have won at a canter after John Turner retired, but yet again there were battles through the field. Rodney Delves, Richard Utley and American Skip Streets, in his  Staride, inches apart for the entire race in the fight for second place. Peter Kumlin really hustled the Effyh. Neil Hodges put in an astonishing drive that ultimately netted fourth place. In fact it was even better than the race report suggested – a photograph seen after the report was filed shows him deep back in the rear half of the grid after a dismal start. And Geoff Gartside, frustrated behind Mike Fowler for several laps came back to form once he was clear. Equally Gordon Russell (who also ran in the bike races) continued to extract more and more from the Mackson. Reflecting another positive trend for the season, a record-equalling nineteen of the thirty starters survived to the chequered flag, and all in (broadly) rude health.

Rounds 5 & 6: Anglesey

The traditional wildcard meeting this year took the drivers to the pretty circuit on the cliffs overlooking the Irish Sea. The remoteness of the venue, and the late announcement of Goodwood barging into the schedule just a week earlier, led to deep concern that we would only deliver a handful of entries. So eleven cars  for the two races was a pleasant surprise in the circumstance. The friendly circuit management arranged some reconnaissance laps for early arrivals, and the “Youth Recruitment Programme” got Andrew Turner some track time in both Dad’s and Shirley’s cars.

Both races proved eventful, gaining us the meeting headline in Autosport (a significant improvement on the usual one sentence). James Culver made life difficult for himself with a brace of poor starts and had to fight his way past John Turner, Mike Fowler and a rapid Simon Frost. That both races ended with the same result of James from Mike and Simon, and John retiring, understates the quality of the racing, and all competitors considered it a good meeting. Word has it that the meeting may be held earlier next year, and with a degree of planning and encouragement we should turn out a full grid. It would be foolish to restrict ourselves to the traditional, accessible venues, and an annual, two-race, long weekend package with the requisite ‘social’ would seem to be the ideal solution.

Rounds 7 & 8: Mallory Park