Chester & Liverpool Motor Clubs' Speed Championship

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2005 and a flying start!

For 2005 Liverpool Motor Club joined forces with Chester Motor Club to promote a new speed series. Early sponsorship came from Sue and Roy, proprietors the of the Unicorn Inn in Cronton Cheshire, and with 15 rounds scheduled the entries started to roll in.

It all kicked off at Harewood back in March when just 12 hardy souls braved the Easter rain to contest the BARC hillclimb. John Chacksfield (1.1 OMS-Kawasaki) and Roger Fish (2.0 Carcraft Cyclone) posted maximum scores in Division 1 whilst top scorer in Division 2 was James Kerr in his well developed road going Peugeot 205GTi. The second round was the following month’s Aintree sprint and with entries at an incredible 40 the response to the new championship was very positive. Dave Coveney posted his first maximum in the Lotus Elise and moved into the lead of Division 1. George Povey (Rover Mini) also posted a maximum in his first event in the championship. In Division 2 there were a clutch of maximum scores as Dave Druker (TVR), Graham Lloyd (Innocenti-Mini), Graham Oates (Europa), Peter Schofield (1.6 Image-Ford) and Mark Wallwork (Sierra Sapphire Cosworth) all notched a ton; however it was Kerr in the 205 who took the lead of the division.

On the 14th May the third round took place at the hallowed Shelsley Walsh course in Worcestershire. The turn out was low with just nine competitors making the trip South. Top scorer in Division 1 was John Chacksfield which took the OMS driver into a tenuous lead. In Division 2 it was the Morgan Plus 8 of Nigel Ledger-Lomas who netted the top score; however the lead of the division remained with absentee James Kerr. Rounds four and five took place a fortnight later on the last weekend in May at the wonderful Anglesey Racing Circuit. In Division 1 John Chacksfield bagged two maximums in the OMS-Kawasaki and moved into a more secure lead. Christian Evans in the Mod Prod VW Golf also bagged a couple of maximum scores as he entered the championship fray; whilst George Hardman in the Westfield also bagged two maximums. In Division 2 double maximum points were registered by Dave Barrow in the rare Saab Sonett, Simon Webster in the Renault Clio and Mark Wallwork in the Sierra Sapphire Cosworth. The lead now passed to Mark Wallwork who with three maximum scores had the top score.

Rounds six and seven followed a month later on June 11th/12th as the championship returned to Anglesey. The visit coincided with the visit of the SBD Motorsport British Sprint Championship which meant fewer maximums were registered. In Division 1 only Christian Evans managed to score a double however it was Andrew Dobson in the spaceframe OMS-Kawasaki who slipped into the lead of the division. Meanwhile in Division 2 James Kerr top scored on Saturday whilst Hamish Lindsay in the 600cc Jedi scored a maximum on Sunday. The lead of Division 2 passed to Keith Webster in the Mod Prod Peugeot 205 who had strung together five good points scoring rounds.

Round eight saw the championship back at Aintree on the 25th June and the status quo continued. John Chacksfield and Dave Coveney again scored maximums whilst the drop dead gorgeous Austin Healey of Alan Wilson was the only other Division 1 runner to notch the maximum. The lead remained with Andrew Dobson who was amassing an impressive set of scores. In Division 2 occasional runners Nigel Ledger-Lomas and Graham Oates both scored maximums whilst Mark Wallwork scored his fourth maximum in four events! At the top of the division it was still Keith Webster in the 205 but Wallwork was closing in. Round nine and it was onto the seafront at New Brighton on the 24th July. No less than FIVE drivers in Division 1 scored maximums – John Chacksfield (OMS), Dave Coveney (Elise), Michael Edge (MK Indy), Roger Fish (Carcraft) and George Povey (Mini). Andrew Dobson retained the lead of the division however he had reached his maximum number of rounds to count so would have to start dropping scores from now on. In Division 2 there were just three maximums scores on the scoreboard – Graham Oates (Europa), Howard Parkinson in the Nemisis-Vauxhall Sports Libre and Martin Walker in the Road Going Westfield. At the head of the Division it was still Keith Webster who had missed the event.

The tenth round took place a week later at the Liverpool Motor Club organised Loton Park Hillclimb. In Division 1 Dave Coveney again with the Elise and Stuart Tranter in the multi-hued Rover 216GTi were the only runners to score the magic 100. Tranter’s effort finally took him into the Division 1 lead over Andrew Dobson. In Division 2 Howard Parkinson was the only scorer with a maximum to his name; whilst at the head of the table it was still Keith Webster who again missed the event. Rounds eleven and twelve were held over a busy August week-end at Three Sisters starting with Chester Motor Club’s single lapper on Saturday where the rain tended to dampen spirits. George Hardman (Westfield) and Stuart Tranter (Rover) were the century makers in Division 1 and it was Tranter who still led even though Andrew Dobson was closing in. In Division 2 the century makers were Howard Parkinson, who was quickly getting the hang of his new Sports Libre, Russell Thorpe (Renault 5 Turbo) and Mark Wallwork (Sierra Sapphire). At the head of Division 2 Mark Wallwork’s perfect scoring moved him into the lead. On the Sunday Lancashire Automobile Club’s double lapper saw just a few showers and some very close competition. In Division 1 there were just two maximums registered – Stuart Tranter and Roger Fish. The net impact on the lead of the division was minimal as Tranter still led but Dobson had closed the gap slightly due to having to drop lower scores. In Division 2 Bryan Crouch in the Scimitar SS1 scored his first maximum whilst Howard Parkinson scored his fourth maximum in four events. Also registering a maximum was Peter Schofield in the Image and the flying Mark Wallwork who had the distinction of continuing his acquisition of maximum scores. Wallwork continued to lead the Division 2 table and was starting to amass 100 point dropped scores!

The 3^rd of September and the championship was back at Aintree for the third and last time. Also present were the SBD Motorsport British Sprint Championship contenders which meant stiff opposition in the slick shod classes. In Division 1 Dave Coveney (Elise) and Roger Fish (Carcraft) were the only maximum scorers. John Chacksfield had a massive off in practice when a catastrophic puncture saw the OMS swerve off the track and into the bushes just after the finishing line. At the top of the table Dave Coveney in registering his eighth score catapulted into the lead as both Tranter and Dobson fell away. In Division 2 Bryan Crouch scored another maximum, as did Graham Oates; meanwhile Phil Gough registered his first 100 points score with the Road Going Caterham. The lead of Division 2 remained unaltered as both Wallwork and Webster gave the event a miss.

Meanwhile Round 14 was taking place on Anglesey on the same day & this event would prove to be highly influential! In Division 1 there was a flurry of maximums with four drivers achieving the maximum. Most significant was Andrew Dobson who was registering his first maximum score in the OMS. Michael Edge in the MK Indy got his second maximum score of the season whilst Chris Elmore took his Road Going MX5 to a perfect score. Final Ton Up merchant was Christian Evans in the indecently quick Mod Prod VW Golf. The net result of this DOUBLE event was that Stuart Tranter leap-fogged back into the lead, Dave Coveney slipped back to second and George Hardman moved into third just ahead of Andrew Dobson. The Division 2 results saw Stephen Crawley net his first maximum score in the Swift Formula Ford whilst the only other maximum went to Mark Wallwork once again. Wallwork’s lead was now unassailable and there was a round to go!

The fifteenth and final round was on the Sunday at Anglesey Racing Circuit. With Dave Coveney and Roger Fish not travelling to Anglesey current leader Stuart Tranter was in an unassailable lead as neither Hardman nor Dobson could catch the Rover driver. Tranter rubbed it in by netting another maximum and increasing his lead. Dobson netted a maximum score as well but could only finish fourth overall. Hardman was over 4 points adrift of the maximum but it was enough for third whilst Dave Coveney finished second with his feet up at home! In Division 2 it was a repeat of Saturday’s result with just Crawley and Wallwork netting a top score. Wallwork ended up dropping just three scores, all maximums as he romped to victory. Howard Parkinson’s late season charge took the Nemisis driver into second whilst Russell Thorpe took third in the Renault 5 Turbo.

The championship year finished with an Awards Presentation and Buffet Evening at The Broughton Wings Sports and Social Club, Broughton near Chester on the 21st October where  92 competitors, family and friends were present to see a total of 54 trophies awarded to the overall and class winners in both divisions.

With a combined total of 61 competitors registering scores in both divisions the first season of The CMC & LMC 2005 Speed Championship could be considered a complete success. Now all the clubs have to do is build on what they have achieved and more entries will come flooding in for the 2006 championship. Will you join us?

This report is courtesy of Steve Wilkinson