(Please close this window when finished)

Fast Track Chacksfield

Liverpool Motor Club Summer Sprint

26th June 2004

Aintree

Event Report

(Report courtesy of Steve Wilkinson)

Copyright Steve Wilkinson & Liverpool Motor Club

As I made my way to Aintree the weather seemed doomed. From early morning the light but persistent rain swept in from the coast and any possibilities of class records tumbling were as remote as an English player winning Wimbledon. There were as usual several none shows and last minute cancellations, however there was a full entry of 126.

Practice saw the elimination of Tony Ellis and Martin Elsmore; Ellis had what he thought was a cylinder head gasket failure whilst Elsmore could only select first or neutral. As Practice ended the rain was still sweeping in so the organisers gambled on the track drying later and took a leisurely lunch break.

It was still raining when the Roadgoing Modified Saloons rolled out of the Paddock and onto the track. First off were the up to 1400 class and after a brief encounter with the Scrutineers David West took an early lead with Mike Geen in hot pursuit; LMC member George Povey held third in his Mini as the rest scrabbled for grip off the greasy start line. When the second runs rolled round the rain was starting to abate however the track was still wet. David West kept his lead with Mike Geen still in second and George Povey third, however the rest were closing in. For the third runs the track was starting to develop a dry line and once again David West posted the fastest time to take the class win in his Mini, Mike Geen was just four hundredths in arrears with his 205XS whilst George Povey dropped to fifth as the English Brothers Mini slipped through. On this occasion though, it was elder brother Les who took third ahead of Steve. With the two litre Roadgoing Modified Saloons experiencing similar track conditions the fight boiled up to a third run shoot-out. Usual class leader David Marshall was relegated to third on the first run by Gareth Griffiths and Chris Yemm. He stole past Yemm on the second run and when Griffiths spun on the vital third effort Marshall slotted into the top spot. Griffiths just held onto second whilst Dyrr Ardash brought his 106 GTi through to third. In the over two litre class first run leader Mark Wallwork slipped to second when LMC member Roy Johnson got the Nissan Skyline into the groove. On the third run Wallwork was initially leading until Big Roy took the win with his late charge. Andrew Meek held third throughout in his Impreza whilst another LMC member, Bill Johnson, took fourth.

There were relatively poor entries in the Kit Car classes compared to more recent events. In the 1700 class Robert Bellerby just kept his nosecone clear of Chris Jones who in turn just held off a late charge by Brad Gould. In the over 1700 division Roger Fish found the conditions suited not only himself but also the Cyclone with its mid-engine/rear wheel drive layout. He maintained his lead throughout all three runs leaving Bobby Fryers in the Elise and Gordon Hick in the Procomp Gold to chase him home at a distance. The final Roadgoing class had no less than 14 entries comprising two drivers in a Ginetta whilst the rest were in TVRs. Initial leader Paul Edwards (G33) ran wide on his second run and damaged the Ginetta. His retirement opened the door for the TVRs but it took them until the third run to pour through! Matthew Oakley took the top spot in his iridescent purple Griffith as Simon Cole brought the White Wedge (350i) into second. In third was the gorgeous 1967 TVR Griffith 400 of Simon Bridge. The Welsh championship contender burble round to good effect relegating many more modern machines to the lower ranks.

Next were the Modified Production classes and with four on the programme things were looking up. In the Up to 1400 split James Clarke led initially then Nigel Hepburn took over in the lead second time round only for LMC member Graham Lloyd to put in the best third run time and win the class. With seven drivers contesting the two-litre class things were changing except that is in the lead. Top dog all day was Graham Oates in his trusty Europa. The black and gold projectile was consistently the fastest on each run and duly took the class with nearly three seconds of daylight to second. In second was hard charging LMC member Stuart Tranter, but with the double handicap of front wheel drive and a steel shell the 216GTi driver did well to keep the gap to under three seconds. Paul Hughes took third in his two-litre Corsa whilst fourth spot eventually went to Paul Norris in the Sunbeam. In the over two-litre class the battle was resolved on the first wet run. Geoff Kershaw, MD of Turbo Technics set a time the rest couldn't match even on their dry runs. He eventually ran out eighth fastest overall and had over six seconds in hand to second place man Pen Davies in the GT6. The final Mod Prod class was for Kit Cars and it was the only none motorcycle engine car that won! Mark Hemingway blasted his Vauxhall powered Caterham to a clear cut victory and fourth fastest time overall. Second spot went to Barry Hunt in the Caterham-Kawasaki who just edged out the Westfield 'Busa of Chris Boyd.

The two Sports Libre classes ended up with one entry each as pre-event mechanical failures and the sale of another car reduced the turn-out. In the 1700 class Stuart Nelson never let up as he blasted round in the Haggispeed-Rover. In the over 1700 class it was Graham Blackwell in the Zetec engined Fiesta who managed to have a cracking days fun and carved over 30 seconds off his first practice time by the end of the day. Both duly received their class winner's trophies to loud applause.

Single seaters were next up and it was the fabulous 1100cc Racing Car class first. John Chacksfield was consistently not only the fastest 1100 but also the fastest overall. His final run of 45.44 was stunning and he rightly picked up the FTD trophy as well as first in class. John Halstead just managed to keep his more venerable OMS in second as Henryk Koslowski challenged hard in his Jedi. First LMC member home was Andrew Dobson who had languished in last place until his final run when he catapulted through thanks to negotiating Country Corner for the first time during the day without a spin! We then moved into the Pre-'96 Formula Ford class, probably the most affordable (Sorry no pun intended!) single seater class in motorsport. Pre-event favourite was class record holder Graham Curwen, however the competition was fierce. Stephen Walker led in the Swift for both the first and second runs then on the rapidly drying track the whole class suddenly improved on Walker's best time! Graham Curwen looked to have snatched victory with a 51.87 until Rochdale's Mark Moran slammed in a stonking time to grab the lead. Mark had sat patiently as the rest of the class had set off and he had kept an eye on the clock on the timing caravan roof. As the times tumbled he was convinced there was plenty of grip and his totally committed run bore dividends. The final Racing Car class for the two litre cars ended up with just two drivers in one car. The family feud between John Williams and his daughter Emma resolved itself in favour of the younger generation. Emma was on fine form and in fact almost chased down John Chacksfield as she swept through to the class win and second fastest time of the day. 

Things then took on a more sedate pace as the Classic and One Make classes finished the event. The Classic Car class was run on a Handicap basis and although Ronnie Clayton was easily fastest in his TR4A it was Robert Goodchild in the Elan who beat his bogie time by the biggest margin and took the win. The Bert Hadley Memorial Trophy runners in their Pre-War Austins were a bit thin on the ground but the interest and competition was no less than usual. In the Road Going class Gordon Tasker ripped along to the class win in his Special whilst in the Track Car class it was Bentley Boy Alan Fairless who took his Ulster to the win. Then it was the turn of the Scimitars. Craig Hughes was unstoppable in his SS1 version and held off the massed attacks of the GTEs. Peter Brown was a comfortable second well clear of Paul Turnbull. The penultimate class was for Morgan Speed Championship contenders and was another decided on handicap due to the huge variety of Moggies present. Fastest on scratch was Simon 'The Stig' Baines who blasted his Plus 8 round in near record time. However his efforts only earned him second as David Frow in his immaculate Plus 4 was the best performer on handicap. The final class saw the MG Car Club Speed Championship contenders do battle. Terry Pigott who has been dominating the series of late was relegated to second by the returning John Dignan. The two Rover V8 powered cars were light years ahead of the rest who were headed by Nick Phillips in his MGB Roadster. Fourth spot went to David Coulthard who was driving Helen Waddington's MG ZR 160 as his Midget is up for sale.

When all the spray had settled and the drivers were busy loading their cars onto the trailers the sun finally broke through! The organisers had been very busy on the old laptop and had worked out the Best Liverpool Motor Club Member's Handicap which went to Keith DeRycke in the Formula Ford class. The Formula Fordies also picked up the Best Novice pot in the shape of LMC member Derek Martlew from Southport. 

So as the presentation got underway John Harden again thanked all the organising team but more especially the drivers whose restraint meant few accidents and more importantly three timed runs - not bad with 126 entries on a day that started with such foul weather!

See you all on July 10th at Loton!

Results:

FTD: John Chacksfield (1.1 OMS-Kawasaki 2000M) 45.44s

Class Winners: David West (1.4 Austin Cooper S) 56.19s; David Marshall (1.9 Peugeot 205 GTi) 55.86s; Roy Johnson (2.8t Nissan Skyline GT-R) 51.18s; Robert Bellerby (1.6 Sylva-Peugeot Striker) 53.52s; Roger Fish (2.0 Carcraft-Vauxhall Cyclone) 51.68s; Matthew Oakley (5.2 TVR Griffith) 53.78s; Graham Lloyd (1.4 Austin Mini) 57.33s; Graham Oates (1.8 Lotus Europa) 51.27s; Geoff Kershaw (3.0t Ford Sierra) 49.48s; Mark Hemingway (2.0 Caterham-Vauxhall 7 HPC) 48.11s; Stuart Nelson (1.6 Haggispeed-Rover) 51.10s; Graham Blackwell (2.0 Ford Fiesta Zetec) 54.79s; Chacksfield 45.44s; Mark Moran (1.6 Van Diemen RF89) 50.95s; Emma Williams (2.0 Ralt RT30) 47.27s; Robert Goodchild (1.6 Lotus Elan) 66.12s - Handicap; Gordon Tasker (0.7 Austin 7 Special) 77.62s; Alan Fairless (0.8 Austin 7 Ulster) 71.18s; Craig Hughes (1.9 Reliant Scimitar SS1) 52.77s; David Frow (2.0 Morgan +4) 58.27s - Handicap; John Dignan (4.6 MGB GT V8) 54.08s.