Manor Farm Results 270914

Our visit to the seaside was again blessed with fine weather, even if it was cold overnight, resulting in a heavy dew making the paddock grass very wet. There were 12 drivers in total for the Saturday, of which 3 were double driving, Tim and Ted in the Mark IX Cooper, Xavier and David in their Mark V along with John and Andrew Forsyth in the Alfa Dana.

It was nice to meet two new faces with cars that have not been seen previously. Making the long trip down from Huddersfield was Richard Grant with a Cooper Special that looked like it contained elements of a Mark IV, whilst local man Tim Sage brought along his venerable and very original Mark II Cooper. For both, this event was to be a means of discovering what foibles the cars would have in store before hopefully exercising them more in 2015.

The first practice saw a couple of 'off's' as we got to know the route and grip. It also threw up a few mechanical problems, mainly revolving around carburation, but by the time of the second practice, things were settling down. Andrew was easily the quickest once the car had been persuaded to run cleanly.

Tim Sage tends his JAP

Timed runs
The afternoon saw nearly everyone set a quicker time on their first run than in practice. Mike, however, continued to have troubles at the first corner, clouting the straw bale on the exit and slowing his progress. Andrew led the field by quite a margin.

The second run saw further improvements for most but issues for a few. Andrew had the car die on the way to the line and it refused to restart, Tim and Ted's Mark IX had clutch trouble, Tim S spun just after the tunnel exit and Mike never made it past turn 1, due to an unseen bent steering arm caused by the first run incident.

So the day drew to a close with plenty of happy faces and some overnight work for a couple, Mike on the steering and both Tim S and the Forsyths' to cure carburettor woes.

Saturday Results

Sunday

The morning dawned much the same as Saturday as our group, now numbering 10 as Tim and Ted had not entered, set about preparations for the day. Tim Sage was fitting a replacement carburettor and Mike's steering arm had been straightened by a local competitor with garage facilities.

Practice was largely uneventful as most picked up where they had left off the previous afternoon. Andrew still led by quite a margin but Alistair was keen to close the gap. Revelling in being back in the Hornet he explored the limits of adhesion on this narrow track, especially on the second practice!

And so we came to the competition runs in the afternoon. With the experience gained from Saturday, times were closer with significant consistency and smaller gaps. Fettling was also less needed, although the Kingslands' were experimenting with driving sans seat, just sitting on the floor - an attempt to reduce weight? - and Mike had the engine under tray fall down on the start line and timing strut troubles.

The organisers did a good job and the event finished not long after 4.00 thus helping with long return journeys home. Congratulations to Andrew on two clear wins, two seconds for John and a brace of thirds for Alistair.

Sunday Results

Bit o' left, bit o' right.... David Kingsland conducts his Mk V