Wurr’s whizzy win

Snetterton - 23 Apr 2000

April 23rd dawned bright and clear following days of rain, so the mood at the track for the first race of the season was optimistic. Our farmer in the know muttered darkly about a 60% chance of rain, but as farmers haven’t had much to be joyful about lately everyone else just carried on with their tyre pressures and other last minute adjustments to their cars ready for qualifying.

Of the 26 cars expected, 22 made it to the assembly area. Cars 18 and 11 were much better prepared than their drivers (which is no mean achievement in the case of number 11) for they passed scrutineering but the drivers didn’t. John and David were to be seen running around the pits begging spare overalls to replace their failed ones. Whether the scrutineers failed them because they were out of date or overly soiled is a matter of speculation but one suspects that Andy Green had better be careful with the Brands’ scrutineer if he manages to trouble them at all. Everyone else tried to drive as quietly as possible through noise testing on their way to the track except David James who showed us a glimpse of the true Spirit of Morgan Racing which enabled him to win so convincingly the Tony Morgan Trip Award by ever-so-generously offering Mr Noise Man two fingers, when one would have done nicely, whilst speeding past on to the track. Sadly, Team Orange had to watch from the pit lane as their car had managed to break an axle testing the previous day, but Rick Lloyd managed to overcome gearbox selection problems to join the fun.

Out on the track, Matthew showed familiar speed to clinch pole, very closely followed by Keith Ahlers. The track was generally reckoned on being about one or two seconds slower than on previous testing occasions. After a few laps, the dramas began to start. One of our newcomers, Andy Green, enjoyed four laps of his new-found sport, but then lost it (and sadly the car too) at the Bomb Hole. The undamaged bodywork hid a disfigured frame as the car hit a mound of earth sideways. Keith lost his alternator around the track but was happy to find another one later on in the paddock. Mark Aston was less happy to find out that he had found it on his (i.e., Mark’s) car. Chris “Orange red blue pink black purple” Acklam was disappointed not to have taken advantage of some free sandblasting opportunities in recording his inaugural Class B time, which was slightly slower than he was hoping to post, but he had had some pre-season problems with his afterburner kit which had been returned to the factory for some final tweaking.

Further down the classes, whilst most drivers were fumbling in their gloveboxes for their Blue Book to see what a black flag with an orange disc meant, David James was ignoring it. Many theories have been advanced as to why it might have been thus. Maybe David (he of car 11) was suffering from a bout of dyslexia or thought that the “11” proudly displayed by the Flagman meant that he was especially exempt from whatever the flag might have meant. Sources close to David suggested that he thought that he could safely ignore the flag because he was wearing the overalls of number 29 and it was therefore nothing to do with him. But as the flag turned from black with orange to a deathly black, it became clear that the Clerk of the Course was not wholly in tune with David’s thinking, no matter how sound it may have seemed at the time. The reason for the flag was that Mr Noise man more-than-my-jobsworth, having no respect for the Spirit of Morgan Racers, decided to call in the whispering car to locate its exhaust pipe.

Whilst Jack Bellinger was grateful not to have to wheel out excuses/complaints etc about being beaten by Peter Horsman who was now in class B, he was not totally out of the woods having been comprehensively turned over by former Champion and returnee Alan Wickenden in a measly class E car. Paul Chauveau, our other intrepid newcomer, managed to complete practice in fine style and intact.

And so to the race. As the lights turned green Chris Sporangial sprung forward two places into the lead whilst Matthew tussled with a new clutch and too much wheel spin. James Paterson and Peter Horsman also had good starts blocking Chris Acklam back into 6th place. Maybe Chris was not expecting the lights to go green quite so quickly. Paul Burry was disappointed with his poor start which he attributed to the wrong ECU chip (limiting his revs and giving him engine and brake problems). Daniel Ward and David James also started well taking a number of places by the start of the second lap. Chris Springall went wide at Sears allowing Matthew through and then, after a short tussle, Keith, who had a lonely race following in Matthew’s wake. Rick Lloyd, who voluntarily started from the back of the grid because he only had a few gears (one of which was 4th), spent the race storming up the pack. At the end of the first lap he was in 10th place, achieving 4th by the 4th lap and then finishing an impressive 3rd. Despite their best efforts, no-one in Class A could catch Matthew who drove a faultless race to the finish, returning to the pits with a garland and the fastest lap time. Talking of Garland, he still holds the circuit record, despite his absence due to new baby and other supportive duties (many congratulations, Gillian and Peter) so we await future races with anticipation; babies, axles, gearboxes, alternators and sheer over-excitement allowing.

Chris Acklam overtook Peter H on the 2nd lap and James P on the 5th holding James at bay until the line to take his first class win in the MMCC. Grahame Walker had a generally uneventful race despite handling problems to finish 2nd in class B, taking fastest lap, while Peter H found the 60% bit of the track awash with rain and promptly spun at Sear which gave Philip McKelvey the chance to slip past and relinquish his last in class place. Peter blamed his poor performance on bad brakes but discovered a detached spark plug lead after the race. Your scribe can attest to a vast array of excuses for his poor performances on various occasions but these were ones which had hitherto been untried.

James P finished 6th to win class C ahead of Paul Burry, who took his first fastest lap having recovered from a slow start, stylishly regaining his place from Simon OG at the Esses. Daniel W, also in class C, drove a good race starting 16th and finishing 12th.

Class D was won by Jack, who also took fastest lap, this time showing Class E winner Alan Wickenden a clean pair of heels at the start and staying ahead until lap 9 when Kelvin Laidlaw broke up the twosome passing Alan as he slid in the Bomb Hole. Mary Lindsay led John Clarke out of Esses on the first lap and the two fought for position until John overtook her on the 4th lap staying ahead until the finish.

John also won the mysterious class F, which wasn’t too difficult as he was the sole contender. This netted him an MG Car Club trophy but, alas, not a real one. Leigh Sebba was motoring gently around when he decided to entertain the crowd at Riches with a double sulko from nowhere into the unsuspecting gravel when he selected 2nd in error. In error from what, one idly wonders? However, in true gentlemanly style reminiscent of the absent Serge at his most charming, he waited for the rest of the pack to creep past before escaping from the bunker to a huge wave of applause from the spectators. Paul Chauveau’s first experience of a start woke him up and in that state he finished the race safely moving over for the leaders and overtaking where appropriate using his mirrors and signals before manoeuvring past the stranded Leigh. Methinks that there will be more to come from Paul as his licence gets filled up with signatures. David J, spurred on by the excitement of the morning and Keith’s overalls, made up three places, whilst Stephen Wheatley held onto the track despite the unexpected roar from Rick’s Class A car penetrating his helmet at the start. Later in the day, Simon OG represented the Morgans in the Centurion Challenge having firstly overcome a sense of guilt and filled up with Esso petrol (he started a new job with BP not four weeks ago). But it certainly appeared to be the right stuff as he saw off at least three air-cooled German machines to chalk up yet another win for the allied forces, by recording a fastest lap time of 1:22:7 on his way to his first ever class win.

The final controversy of the day came as Serena “Mad Max” Aston exercised her executive powers over the Morgan Race Series and over-ruled the Clerk of the Course to disqualify Simon as Class E victor and award this most coveted of prizes to Alan Wickenden.

And so to Brands Hatch where outright power will count for less and handling and experience for more. What odds am I offered for a Class E overall winner?

Ruth Horsman, but occasionally embellished by Peter Horsman