Race Reports:

HealeySport Sprint and Hill Climb Challenge 2011 -  Sponsored by Denis Welch Motorsport and The Frogeye Spares Company

Round 13 - Prescott -  1st October 2011 -  "Hot or what!! .... " (Report by LC Branch and pics by Jackie Baker)

The biggest field of Healeys -  29 in all - amassed at the world famous Prescott hill climb track on what turned out to be the hottest October day on record.  Well, what a setting for the finale to the season.  At the beginning of the day the questions on everyone lips were: "... would Tom make it back from Corfu in time ..."  " ... will Lyn manage to keep the 3000's at bay to keep the top slot ..."  and "... will any of our records stand by the end of the day ..."

Enough of the questions - so what happened?  (Isn't that another question!)  Well, in the Sprite class - Tom turned up looking bleary eyed as he had managed to get a late flight home so that he could give Murray a run for his money.  Practice got underway and as expected Tom (pictured right) set the pace with a first run of 51.04  and a second run of 49.74, over a half a second faster than the Sprite record and the first Healey ever to get under the sub-50 second barrier.  Murray Wakeham took second slot with a best of 51.00 a pb, Noddy Cameron, fresh from winning the semi-modded Sprite class in the circuit race series, was in third place with a best of 52.41, just ahead of Paul Baker with a 52.54 who was also just ahead of 'ring rusty' Robin Johnson in a best of 52.74, who's co-driver, Adie Ball had twice had the red flags out by first spinning in the Esses and then on his second run had hit the Armco in the Esses.  Adie, for some reason, thought that you could take the Esses without braking!!  Colin Gale was next up in his freshly repaired Sprite following its inversion at Wiscombe, with a best of 53.29, after running out of fuel on his first run - no comment!!  Rafe Haywood was next up with a best of 53.71 closely followed by the first of the Taylor boys - Andrew that is - in 53.99 with Mike Cockayne a fraction behind in the 'Frogeye Spares' frogeye in 54.38.  Freshman to Prescott James Taylor put in an excellent 54.43 to stay within half a second of his father and co-driver.  Joe Mackrell's frogeye was now sporting a decent set of half shafts and achieved a 57.59 with John Tewson very close behind in the one litre screamer with a 57.62.  Clare Tewson was out for the first time this year and co-driving the family frogeye to a 62.04 with fellow one litre in Sebring form driver Richard Pugh just behind with a 63.15.  Out in a different frog was Judy Green who achieved a 77.33.

In the Big Healey class, it was Richard Mason who led with a 52.24 from Pat Cooper (pictured left) in a leisurely, by his standards, 53.08.  Surprise of the practice session was third place going to James Pugh-Lewis in his Healey 100 in 55.47 as, not only was it under the previous record for a 100 but it was the first time he had competed at this track - clearly a man to watch next year!!  A fraction behind James and also under the last record was Richard Summers in the familiar green and white Healey 100 in a time of 55.65.  Huw Edwards was pushed back to an uncustomary 5th place with a 55.96 joining the mid-field battle between Ed Giles in a 56.88 and Pete Walton in 57.14.  Championship leader, Lyn Wheadon posted a best time of 59.42 just ahead of a close three-way fight between Nick John (60.01), Tim Cooke (60.05) and John Wiseman (61.11).  Lindsay Summers took almost 6 secs off her pb to record a 61.70, with Trish C-P beating her pb with a 63.26 and lastly Claire Giles taking 3 secs off her pb to record a 66.46.

After practice the drivers had the chance to cool down in the shade or stroll around the paddock to see the 'Wall of Death' motorcycle show or variety of other Americana on offer at this American themed event.

Now for the serious stuff.  In the Sprite class, Tom Walker really turned up the wick and in the two timed runs lowered the hill record to a stunning 48.80 secs - almost 2 seconds faster than the previous record.  Murray Wakeham (pictured right) took second with a new pb of 50.30 just a tad ahead of Adie Ball who managed to stay on the track this time to post a very quick 50.62 in the yellow frogeye.  Co-driver Robin Johnson headed a very close tussle with a 52.12, just ahead Rafe Haywood who steamed up the leader board with a last run of 52.36, just ahead of Paul Baker in 52.39, who in turn was a fraction ahead of Noddy Cameron in 52.44.  The next close grouping was headed by Colin Gale who was a little off his pb - was the car still not right after his accident at Wiscombe? - Colin posted a best of 53.22 and was holding off Andrew Taylor with a 53.92 who in turn was trying to keep clear air between himself and his co-driver James Taylor who managed to lower his best time to a very good 54.03, with Mike Cockayne just a whisker behind in a best of 54.17.  Joe Mackrell was steadily lowering his best time to a 56.06, but was being pushed by John Tewson with a pb of 56.97.  Co-driver Clare Tewson lowered her best to a 61.93 and beat Richard Pugh whose best was a 63.63, with Judy Green improved her best to a 75.43.

Now for the Big Healeys.  If anyone thought that Pat Cooper did not have the determination to win this event - think again.  Pat Lowered his pb with a stonking run of 51.40 and pb to take the win.  Richard Mason tried hard but could not get close and ended with a best of 52.50  (check out the in-car video of Richard's best run).  Huw Edwards was clearly riled after seeing two Healey 100's go faster in practice than his mighty 3000 so pulled out all the stops and knocked half a second off his pb to post a 54.97 and take third place.  Now the Healey 100 battle raged between James P-L and Richard Summers with the greater experience of the Tenby Wells driver showing through.  Richard took fourth slot with a record breaking 55.33 from James P-L's (pictured left) best of 55.36 - yes only 3 100ths separated them after two rounds - fantastic or what!!  Next up was the annual Giles vs Walton tussle which was won this time by the birthday boy himself, Pete Walton, in a time of 56.06 (a new pb) from Ed Giles in a disappointing for him  57.17.  Lyn Wheadon posted a first run time and pb of 57.71 but came back to the paddock with a shredded fan belt and was unable to get it repaired in time for the last run.  Tim Cooke broke through the 60 second barrier for the first time with an excellent 58.68 to leap frog Nick John who also managed to get below 60 seconds with a 59.47 just ahead of John Wiseman with a 59.50 and Lindsay Summers with a superb 59.81.  Trish C-P lowered her best to a 62.11 and Claire Giles took over the 'Miss Consistency' title with a 64.62 followed up with a 64.63 - bet she can't do that again!

So with a fantastic days competition complete and the end of another great season, the hot and tired hill climbers retired to the paddock for a cold glass of bubbly with a superb 'Healey' birthday cake (pictured right) prepared by Vicki Walton to celebrate Pete Walton and Paul Baker's birthdays and to give Richard Mason the opportunity to present Andrew and James Taylor with their Gurston glassware and present two discretionary prizes for this event - one for each class.  The winners were Adie Ball in the Sprite class for a superb drive in a car relatively new to him and to Richard Summers for his excellent Healey 100 record breaking run.

For this scratch event, the top three in each class were:

Sprites:  1st Tom Walker, 2nd Murray Wakeham & 3rd Rafe Haywood

Big Healeys:  1st Pat Cooper, 2nd Richard Mason & 3rd Huw Edwards

The result of this event confirmed the class winners as Tom Walker in the Sprite class and Pat Cooper in the Big Healey class.  In podium position count back, Tom beat Pat by one point to take the Overall 2011 HealeySport Sprint and Hill Climb Championship for the second year running and in two different cars - well done to Tom and Pat.

To see the full results from this event and from all events in 2011 (results and points awarded) click here.  To see the pictures and video footage from this and all previous events click here. 

Record times - click here to check out the Hill and Sprint records for all the recent venues for the Sprites and Big Healeys

Want to get involved in Sprinting and Hill Climbing?  If you are interested and want to find out more, click on the link to check out the 'New Beginners Guide to Sprinting and Hill Climbing' or email Allan Cameron on alcam27@gmail.com

Don't forget, If you own a Healey, like what you see on these web pages and would like to find out more about this sport, email Allan Cameron on the contact details shown at the bottom of the page or come along to the next event and have a chat with any of the drivers.  New drivers are always welcome.

 

Round 12 - Shelsley Walsh -  18 September 2011 (Report by LC Branch and pics by Jackie Baker)

Twenty one Healeys (12 Sprites & 9 Big un's) made their way to Shelsley for round twelve of the HealeySport Challenge.  Our biggest field this year and larger than the entries from the TVR, Ferrari and Morgan clubs - so we must be doing something right.  It would have been 23 cars but the Taylor boys had to scratch due to Andrew being unwell.  And of the 21 cars entered, 9 were freshmen or women, so the target time setter was going to have his work cut out after second practice.

The weather was going to play a big part in the proceedings, as we knew it was likely to rain on and off throughout the day.  Practice was the usual book yourself into the two batches you like the look of, which given it had rained heavily overnight those in the early batches had a very slippery track to contend with.  There were no major mishaps in practice and all readied themselves for the first run after lunch.

With no real rain to speak off in the morning and the sun out, the track dried slowly and all the drivers were hoping to get up the hill on their first timed run in the dry.  For some their wish came true, as the dual drives were run in the previous batch they and the first cars in our batch got up the hill in the dry as mid-way through our batch the heavens opened and the track went back to being a skating rink.  So after the first run the positions in the Sprite Class were: Adie Ball in the Yellow Frog was leading the pack with a 38.04, next was Rafe Haywood with a 38.16, followed by Robin Johnson also in the Yellow Frog in 39.63.  Then it rained and next up was Murray Wakeham in 41.61 (click here - to check out the in car video footage of Murray's run and his problem in the Esses), followed by Paul Baker in 42.80, then Mike Cockayne in 44.67, Joe Mackrell 45.33, ahead of John Tewson in 47.16, then Mark Owen in 48.04, Simon Leeming in 50.58, ahead of Richard Pugh in 51.74 and finally Kevin Rowe in 53.06.

In the Big Healey class, local expert, Richard Mason led the class with a superb 39.24 - an especially good run given he was the last car up in our batch.  Next up was Pat Cooper in 43.39 who was 5 one hundredths ahead of Huw Edwards in 43.44, who in turn was just ahead of Richard Summers in 43.91 with Lindsay Summers up in 44.60.  James Pugh-Lewis produced an excellent 46.83 given it was his first time to Shelsley ahead of fellow hundred driver and freshman Lyn Wheadon in 47.58, who in turn was ahead of Claire Giles in 51.21 and Trish C-P in 52.13.

Before our last run of the day the rain came down in earnest with no hope of the track drying before our final run.  The result was that most could not improve on the first run times, the exceptions were: In the Sprite Class, Mike Cockayne took nearly 3 seconds off his first run time to post a very creditable 41.29.  Mark Owen reduced his time by nearly a second to record a 47.15.  Simon Leeming broke through the 50 second barrier to record a 49.31 and Richard Pugh took over half a second off his previous best to post a 51.20.  In the Big Healey Class, Pat Cooper reduced his time by over 2 seconds to put in a 41.29.  James P-L really was getting the hang of the place and took over 4 seconds off his previous best to record an excellent 42.77 and beat fellow Healey 100 driver Richard Summers who lowered his time to 43.43.  And finally, Trish C-P was shedding her "Miss Consistency" tag from Gurston by taking a whopping 4.5 secs off her first run time to post a 47.62.

Now as this was a Target Time event the top three in each class were (with the winners pictured below):

Sprites 1st Rafe Haywood (pictured above heading the pack), 2nd Joe Mackrell and 3rd John Tewson

Big Healeys 1st Lindsay Summers, 2nd James Pugh-Lewis 3rd Richard Summers

All the prizes for this event and for last week's Gurston event were presented by Mark Foster from our Sprite class sponsors, The Frogeye Spares Company.  Mark had to fill in as Jayne had been delayed but she joined us later to share a glass of bubbly as it was Robin and Mike's birthdays.

The next event is the last on the 2011 calendar and will be at Prescott on Saturday 1st October.  This promises to be a cracker with 29 Healeys entered - a record entry for our Sprint and Hill Climb Challenge.  It will also decide who will win each class and the title of Overall Sprint and Hill Climb champion.  So, if you're not competing, put the date in you diary.

To see the full results from this event and from all events in 2011 (results and points awarded) click here.  To see the pictures and video footage from this and all previous events click here. 

Record times - click here to check out the Hill and Sprint records for all the recent venues for the Sprites and Big Healeys

Want to get involved in Sprinting and Hill Climbing?  If you are interested and want to find out more, click on the link to check out the 'New Beginners Guide to Sprinting and Hill Climbing' or email Allan Cameron on alcam27@gmail.com

Don't forget, If you own a Healey, like what you see on these web pages and would like to find out more about this sport, email Allan Cameron on the contact details shown at the bottom of the page or come along to the next event and have a chat with any of the drivers.  New drivers are always welcome.

 

Round 11 - Gurston Down -  11 September 2011 (Report by LC Branch and pics by Jackie Baker)

The weather forecast all week was for rain and it did not bode well for our Sunday event at Gurston Down.  But on the Sunday morning the sun was out and the wind was keeping the rain away, so the 11 Sprites and 8 big Healeys that gathered were in for a treat. Joe Mackrell was the only driver who had not been to Gurston Down before yet Andrew (pictured right) and James Taylor were also treated as 'Freshmen' for this target Time event as they had not posted an actual timed run as they had had problems with their car last time out.  Also out with us for the first time this year was Robin Johnson and Adie Ball in the very well known yellow Frog - a delight to see them both and hope we will see much more of them in the future.

With most drivers also taking part at the MGCC Wiscombe event the day before, there had been a few casualties, as Colin Gale had severely damaged his Sprite and was offered a dual drive with Joe Mackrell and Murray Wakeham had a clutch failure and was sharing with Tom Walker.

Practice was largely uneventful.  After lunch the first timed runs got underway with the Big Healeys first up.  Richard Mason led the field with a 39.25, closely followed by Pat Cooper in 39.88 and Huw Edwards in 3rd with a time of 42.71.  Ed Giles was a little off his previous best in a 45.29 with Lyn Wheadon a tad behind in 45.92 and Nick John pushing on with a 46.29.  Trish C-P and Claire Giles were a little off their best with 47.26 and 50.99 respectively.

In the Sprite class, Tom Walker blitzed the course with a scintillating 37.60 in his new for this season Frogeye, to take over half a second off the previous record (check out the in-car video to see how it's done).  Murray Wakeham was less than half a second behind with a 38.06 which was also beat the previous class record and was a pb for Murray.  Paul Baker held third spot with a 40.15 with the Taylor Boys (Andrew and son James) a fraction behind on 41.22 and 42.09 respectively and both under their target times.  Mike Cockayne (pictured left in the Frogeye Spares sponsored car) was in 6th place with a 42.54 some 0.65 under his TT.  Colin Gale was showing his experience of the course in the immaculate Mackrell Frogeye as he posted a 44.89 and was just ahead of Joe Mackrell with a 45.39.  John Tewson was just over a second off his previous best in his one litre Frogeye with a 46.62.  And lastly, Robin Johnson span in Karousel (no mean feat) and co-driver Adie Ball went off at the very same bend with half of the soil from that bend embedded in the front of the car when he returned to the paddock - was Adie just trying to make Robin feel good or just trying too hard!! Probably the latter.

On to the last round - in the Big Healey class Richard Mason stretched his lead with a personal best of 38.80 from Pat Cooper who edged closer to his pb with a 39.69.  Huw Edwards improved his time (42.33) to fend off a late charging Lyn Wheadon (pictured below) who posted an excellent 44.28 knocking over a second off his previous best and leap frogged Ed Giles who did not improve on his first round time.  Nick John also did not improve his time and the title "Miss Consistency" must go to Trish C-P who managed to record exactly the same time as her first run - bet she can't do that again.  Claire Giles almost took the same title as she posted a second run time within 0.02 secs off her first run.

In the Sprite class the pre-run tension was mounting as the drivers were knocking back Red Bull by the litre and special home brew concoctions to give them the edge.  As it turned out both Tom and Murray did not improve on their first run times - is there a connection? - so their positions remained the same.  The 'Yellow Frog' duo got their act together and Robin Johnson just pipped co-driver Adie Ball with 39.37 to 39.49 respectively.  Paul Baker was appreciating his new engine with a 40.07, but probably not half as much as those racing behind him!!  In the Taylor family battle, Andrew could not improve on his first run time of 41.22 but son James got within half a second with an excellent 41.72.  Mike Cockayne finished his run with a suspected blown head gasket but he still managed to post a much improved 42.05 which was over a second better than his TT.  Joe Mackrell pulled out all the stops to beat his co-driver's time with a 44.07 yet Colin Gale limped off the start line with a suspected broken half shaft and did not get a second run.  Last up was John Tewson who took a big chunk out of his first run time to finish with a 45.72.

So after the target time formulae had been applied, the top three in each class were:

Big Healey class:  1st Lyn Wheadon, 2nd Richard Mason, 3rd Huw Edwards

Sprite class:  1st Mike Cockayne, 2nd James Taylor, 3rd Andrew Taylor

Congrats to all but due to an administrative cock up, the prizes for the first three in each class were not at the course, so they will be presented to the winners at Shelsley Walsh this weekend.  Also right on cue as most were leaving the venue the heavens opened and it started raining - were we fortunate or what!

To see the full results from this event and from all events in 2011 (results and points awarded) click here.  To see the pictures and video footage from this and all previous events click here. 

Record times - click here to check out the Hill and Sprint records for all the recent venues for the Sprites and Big Healeys

Want to get involved in Sprinting and Hill Climbing?  If you are interested and want to find out more, click on the link to check out the 'New Beginners Guide to Sprinting and Hill Climbing' or email Allan Cameron on alcam27@gmail.com

Don't forget, If you own a Healey, like what you see on these web pages and would like to find out more about this sport, email Allan Cameron on the contact details shown at the bottom of the page or come along to the next event and have a chat with any of the drivers.  New drivers are always welcome.

 

Round 9 - Harewood -  7 August 2011 (Report by LC Branch and pics by Jackie Baker)

Seven Healey drivers attended the Saturday hill climb at Harewood and had a rather wet and windy day to practice how to negotiate this interesting and challenging course.  On the Sunday they were joined by a further nine drivers to make a full complement of ten Sprites and seven Big Healeys for round nine of the 2011 challenge.  Only one admitted to being new to this track and that was James Pugh-Lewis in his 100 yet Mike Cockayne, Andrew Taylor and Tom Walker had all not ventured up the hill in a Sprite before.  Also joining us for the first time this year as a guest driver was Robin Johnson - who received a very warm welcome from all the Healey drivers who had genuinely missed him.  Robin was co-driving with Tom Walker in his new Frogeye.

The day started out wet with frequent showers in the morning which fortunately died out just after lunch to provide us with the chance of timed runs in the dry.  The major problem encountered in practice was by Richard Mason - when in first practice he found that the triple Weber set up on his highly tuned 3000 jammed in the fully open position - that must have been an interesting experience - fortunately Richard was quick to shut off the engine and managed to coax the car back to the paddock.  The carbs were freed off and Richard went out for second practice only for the same this to happen again - resulting in a tow back to the paddock (see picture right - yes there is a tow rope).  As it was looking as if no. 1 Weber needed to be taken apart to find out what the problem was, Richard decided this was not a job to be undertaken in a paddock so put the car on the trailer and he was kindly offered a co-drive by fellow big Healey driver Pat Cooper - helpful or what these Healey drivers!!

On to first timed runs and in the Sprite class Tom Walker posted the quickest time of 67.32, only a second off the hill record, with co-driver Robin Johnson in second place with a 68.97 - not bad for someone who has not driven a Frogeye in anger for over a year and driving someone else's car to boot.  Murray Wakeham missed the finish gate and was handed a piece of paper with a black spot on it by the marshals (or was it blind Pugh - you know, Richard's brother!!).  Colin Gale was in third place with a pb of 70.93,  Rafe Hayward was in fourth with a 71.33, with Paul Baker in fifth with a 71.83, Mike Cockayne was next with a 72.27, followed closely by Andrew Taylor with a 72.94.  John Tewson, in his one litre Frog, was next with a 78.06 with Simon Leeming posting an 80.74 - his best time to date at Harewood.

In the big Healey class, Pat Cooper posted a conservative 71.87 to take the lead from Richard Mason, co-driving and getting used to the same car, who recorded a 72.45, with  Richard Summers a tad behind in a 72.89 (a pb for Richard in a 100).  Huw Edwards was in fourth place with a 73.02 with freshman James Pugh-Lewis a fraction behind with an excellent 74.00 and Lindsay Summers (pictured above looking very 'Stig-esque' in her new helmet/visor) recording an 84.11.

On to the final timed run that would count towards our championship and in the Sprite class, Tom Walker trimmed a further 0.42sec off his previous best to record a 66.90 to take the win.  Murray Wakeham (pictured right) found the right way past the finishing line this time to record a 68.63 and take second place.  Robin Johnson would have been third with his 68.75 if he were registered for the championship but instead third went to Paul Baker with a 70.25 who was a whisker ahead of Colin Gale on a 70.46, who again was a fraction ahead of Rafe Hayward with a 70.87 (who blames the extra weight of carrying the in-car camera).  On that point, click here to see Rafe's in-car video of his second run.  Mike Cockayne was sixth with a 71.28 followed by Andrew Taylor getting used to his new gearbox with a 72.83.  John Tewson improved by nearly two secs to record a 76.36 with Simon Leeming unable to improve on his first round time.

Pat Cooper (pictured below) was the star turn in the big Healey class, with a sub 70 time for the first time in over a decade of trying to achieve this at Harewood, with a 69.13 - some 2.5 secs quicker than his first run - what a difference.  Maybe it was the fear of having someone else beat you in your own car that spurred him on - whatever - it was a great achievement.  Second was said driver, Richard Mason in the Cooper 100/6 in a time of 71.45, with Richard Summers in third with yet another pb of 72.73, a tad ahead of Huw Edwards in fourth with a time of 72.87.  James Pugh-Lewis was 'Mr consistency' with an almost identical time of 74.01, yet 'most improved time of the day' award must go to Lindsay Summers who took nearly three seconds off her previous time to record an 81.34 to take sixth place.

All the drivers took advantage of a third timed run that was offered - even if they hadn't planned to - because interestingly the officials would not let cars out of the paddock until the third run was complete - maybe we needed Mrs Tewson there for legal counsel!!  As the track was getting warmer as the afternoon went on, the times were largely quicker, with Murray W getting into the 67's, Mike C into the 70's, James P-L breaking into the 73's, John T into the 74's and Simon L and Lindsay S both into the 80's.  Huw E was the only one to have a major off, but no damage done which was good news really as he had to drive his car back to west Wales.

A great days hill climbing and a gap now until our next outing at Wiscombe and Gurston on the weekend of 10/11th September.

To see the full results from this event and from all events in 2011 (results and points awarded) click here.  To see the pictures and video footage from this and all previous events click here. 

Record times - click here to check out the Hill and Sprint records for all the recent venues for the Sprites and Big Healeys

 

Round 7 - Loton Park -  10 July 2011 (Report by LC Branch and pics by Jackie Baker)

Nine Sprites and eight Big un's ventured to the Welsh foothills to enjoy the delights of the Loton Park hill climb.  Unfortunately, Robin Johnson could not attend as planned but hopes to be out later in the year but there were five 'freshmen' to the hill in the form of Joe Mackrell, Lyn Wheadon, James and Andrew Taylor, Tom Walker and Mike Cockayne.  Seems strange to view Mike, Tom and Andrew as freshmen, but they joined and Allan Cameron (out in his 100M) for this Target Time event where no previous times for them in the cars they were driving.

The weather tried to play its part in upsetting the apple cart by twice raining mid-way through the Healey class, so those that went first got a dry run and those later in the class had a wet track.  However, practice was the usual affair of a damp-ish track with little grip which greatly improved once the sun came out and a bit of heat got into the tarmac.

So on to the first timed runs after lunch and in the Sprite class all made it up the hill with the exception of Colin Gale.  Those at the front of the class had a dry run and on scratch the top three were first, Tom Walker with a superb 61.88, only 0.07 seconds off the hill record, Murray Wakeham was second with a personal best of 63.88, Mike Cockayne third with a 66.73.  However, this was a TT event so the top three after the first run were first Joe Mackrell, second Murray Wakeham and third Tom Walker.

In the Big Healey class on scratch - Pat Cooper had the honours with a 68.09 (and he was in the wet half), with Allan Cameron in second place (69.39) with Richard Mason in third (70.38).  When TT's were taken into consideration it was Lyn Wheadon in first slot with Richard Summers in second place and Allan Cameron in third.  Huw Edwards did a spectacular spin at the top of the hill which somewhat wrecked his time (pictured left - see gallery for complete spin!).

On to the last run and the sun had come out with a vengeance and looked as if it would stay out long enough for our batch to get through.  In the Sprite class Tom Walker improved on his previous best with a 61.65 to take the hill record.  Murray Wakeham matched Huw and also did a 360 at the top of the hill so his first run time put him in second place on scratch and Paul Baker took third place with a 64.54 and a pb.  Rafe Haywood was fourth with a 65.35 - a little off his best of last year.  Colin Gale took sixth by posting a time of 66.15 - a pb for him. James Taylor did an excellent 69.48 to break the magical 70 second barrier on his first attempt at this hill - well done.  Joe Mackrell did a superb 70.23 on his final run and Andrew Taylor, who was acting as tyre warm up driver for his son and co-driver, achieved a 71 second dead - a tad slower than his first run time.

In the Big Healey class, Richard Mason finally got a dry run and got very near his previous best time with a 63.91.  Pat Cooper also lopped nearly three seconds off his first (wet) run and posted a 64.54, again just a whisker off his pb. Huw Edwards must have given himself a serious talking to as only a headmaster can and finally recorded a 68.49, again a tad shy of his pb.  Richard Summers improved on his previous best with a 68.74 to be the quickest of the 100's and beat Allan Cameron who could not improve on his first run of 69.39.  Lyn Wheadon did an excellent 73.62 in his polished 100 with Trish C-P just behind with a pb of 74.97.  Lindsay Summers could not match her previous best with a 76.11 but she must have been distracted by copious amounts of smoke appearing from the foot wells of the 100 when on the start line - which most thought was a discarded cigarette butt left by her co-driver - although he denies it - but who believes any driver wearing a 'Mr Grumpy' t-shirt!!

So once the TT's and the new 2.5% rule had been applied, the top three in each class were:

Sprites: 1st Joe Mackrell (pictured right receiving his trophy), 2nd James Taylor and 3rd Colin Gale

Big Healeys: 1st Lyn Wheadon (pictured right), 2nd Trish C-P and 3rd Richard Summers

Where did Allan get that hat??

 

Round 6 - Silverstone -  26 June 2011 -  "Phew, what a Scorcher ......  " (Report by LC Branch and pics by Jackie Baker)

The new and improved Silverstone Stowe sprint track was the venue for the second MG Live sprint run by the MG Car Club (North West Centre).  Twenty two Healeys - 12 Sprites and 10 big Healeys - made their way to the Northamptonshire home of British motorsport for round six of the HealeySport sprint and hill climb challenge on what must have been the hottest day of the year so far.

Of the 12 Sprites, 7 of the drivers had not been to Silverstone before, namely Simon Leeming and co-driver Kevin Rowe, Joe Mackrell and co-driver Mark Owen, Ian Grainger and James Taylor (pictured right in his Electric Blue Sprite).  In the big Healey class, Tim Cooke, Lyn Wheadon, Huw Edwards and Trish C-P were trying this course for the first time.  Tom Walker was out in his 3000 as he had been racing in the 50 minute two driver race with Allan Cameron the day before (where they came an excellent 9th out of 42 starters) but as he was not registered for the championship in his 3000, his times would not count. 

The track had also undergone some changes since last year - the back straight had been resurfaced with two new chicanes added.  The format was the same with one practice run and three timed runs - although our championship rules state that only the first two timed runs would count for points purposes.

Practice got underway and in the Sprite class Murray Wakeham showed he doesn't take long to get to grips with a new course with a storming 121.56 some 10 seconds quicker than second place driver Paul Baker who was clearly taking it a little easier on this first run.  In third was Mike Cockayne, closely followed by Rafe Haywood, Joe Mackrell, Mark Owen and then Colin Gale who came in complaining of a misfire.  James Taylor was next closely followed by Richard Pugh, Simon Leeming, Ian Grainger and Kevin Rowe.

To see the full results from this event and from all events in 2011 (results and points awarded) click here.  To see the pictures and video footage from this and all previous events click here. 

Record times - click here to check out the Hill and Sprint records for all the recent venues for the Sprites and Big Healeys

Want to get involved in Sprinting and Hill Climbing?  If you are interested and want to find out more, click on the link to check out the 'New Beginners Guide to Sprinting and Hill Climbing' or email Allan Cameron on alcam27@gmail.com

Don't forget, If you own a Healey, like what you see on these web pages and would like to find out more about this sport, email Allan Cameron on the contact details shown at the bottom of the page or come along to the next event and have a chat with any of the drivers.  New drivers are always welcome.

 

Round 4 - Anglesey Circuit -  11 June 2011 (Report and pics by Colin Gale)

Arrived at Anglesey Friday night and walked the International Circuit that evening to refresh my memory, since it was 2 years ago when last competing here.

Just as I remember it - 6m wide, 2.1 miles long, perfect tarmac track with a banked-up hairpin, long sweep uphill, "marker" indicated 90 left, but all you could see was the sky.  Then, later slightly down hill, ...brilliant views of the sea... with a long sweeping left hander up to the hairpin finish...Timed 1hr 15mins.

Then I retired for the night into my "luxury camper van" with a can of Stella or 2, I soon fell asleep on my blow-up mattress.  Saturday morning lots of small black clouds overhead,...(pouring down at home).  As soon as the car was in the pits a few spots of rain began, but the clouds soon drifted over to reveal a blue sky and remained so all day, although a little windy was very hot at times.

I waited for the competition to arrive, fresh from their superb "B&B",  Joe Mackrell and Mark Owen (the new kids on the block) sharing their MK 1 Frogeye Sprite in Olde English white with a red hardtop.  Unfortunately John Tewson could not join us.

After sign-on and drivers briefing, 1st practice runs started at 10 am.  Joe recorded a 121.26, Mark 122.53 and Colin 115.05.
Not too long before our next practice run when Joe did a 131.05, Mark 117.68 and Colin 110.42.

Joe's car sounding like a bag of nails ...bonnet up ...rocker cover off... to reveal the new roller rockers on No 1 cylinder had come adrift.  Joe was feeling a little disappointed with his newly built 1380cc engine and thought it was all over.  But "A series" experts came from all directions with spanners...torque- wrench...lock tight...& a big hammer.!!!     ALL SORTED.  Our first timed run was before lunch and I warned the stewards that the white Sprite was on his way although out of sequence

In race 1 Joe did a 121.93 some 10 sec less than previous practice.  Mark recorded a 115.64 ...7 sec better than his first practice and I did a 109.45, 1 second less than practice.

After a picnic lunch with the competition and much discussion about tyre pressures...what gear...how to tackle some tricky corners, it was on with 3 further runs in the afternoon.  However, only the first two timed runs count for the championship.  Being a Target time event, TT's were now set @ 2 secs off our PB's set in practice.  Joe did better by race 3 and Mark did a 113.17 in race 2  and Colin a 110.17.
 
Scratch Results :-   Colin 1st ....Mark 2nd....Joe 3rd.

TT Results :- Mark 1st .... Colin 2nd .... Joe 3rd.
 

Jersey Festival of Motoring - 3-6June 2011 (Words by LC Branch and pics by Jackie Baker)

Eight drivers from the HealeySport Championship decided to combine a weekend of motorsport (a sprint and two hill climbs) with a break on the pretty island of Jersey, based at the excellent Hotel de France in St Hellier.  2007 was the last time most had undertaken this event before but there were a couple of newcomers to this format, namely, Huw Edwards and Trish Cecile-Pritchard in their much improved 3000's.  Huw had the mis-fortune of having his seat belts stolen in Poole the night before the ferry which was easily rectified by Pat Cooper who lent Huw the set from his spare seat.  Andrew Taylor had brought out his freshly prepared and immaculate 100S replica.  Tom Walker was using his new Frogeye for the first time on the island and Richard Mason and Pat Cooper were in their 3000's with Murray Wakeham and Paul Baker in their Sprites.  None of the three event counted as part of the HealeySport championship.

Friday was a busy day.  All the drivers had to get their cars down to the People Park for signing-on which was followed by a welcome and lunch with the Constable of Jersey (not to be confused with the local constabulary).  The afternoon was spent getting the cars through scrutineering which gave us just enough time for a bite to eat before getting down to the seafront for the first event - the 'Moonlight Sprint' along the seafront road in St Hellier.  A standing quarter mile blast which starts in daylight but as the sun goes down by about 9.30pm-ish the last runs need headlights.  Due to tyre regulations (HealeySport regs allow 60 profile tyres compared to a minimum of 70 profile expected for the event), the Healeys were kept in their own two classes - five in a big Healey class and three in the Sprite class.  The local Healeys ran in the general classes.  It was interesting to see how many cars in the event were running with less than 70 profile tyres even though they were placed in the general classes!! 

The start of the sprint was delayed due to getting the crowd far enough back behind barriers and the presentation runs by a Camel liveried Lotus/Peugeot 1979 F1 car and Moto GP styled motorbike.

Once underway, it soon became clear that event is more about power to weight ratio and less about driver ability.  In the Big Healey class Richard Mason blitzed his previous best of 14.35 (2007) with a new record of 13.45 and a terminal speed of 109.50mph.  Pat Cooper was next with a best of 13.76 (down from 14.80 in 2007) Huw Edwards was third with an excellent time of 14.36 until disaster struck on his final run when his differential disintegrated showering the track with teeth, oil and pinion bearing parts.  The car had to be recovered to the Hotel de France car park as it would play no further part that weekend.  Andrew Taylor hustled the new 100S to a very respectable 15.21 - quicker than his last Healey 100M which did a 15.56 in 2007.  Trish C-P put up a best of 15.51.

In the Sprite class Tom Walker's new Frogeye creation was certainly showing a clean set of Kumho's to his competition and proved that his new MED engine was certainly not short on power.  His best time was a 13.52 with a terminal speed of 106.60mph only 0.07 behind Richard Mason's fire breathing 3000.  Murray Wakeham was second with a best time of 13.83 with Paul Baker in third with a best of 14.97.

So back to the hotel by midnight for a quick beer in the bar before an early start as we had to be at the Westmount paddock by 09.00 for a 10.00 start. 

Westmount must rate as the favourite event/hill for most of the drivers.  It's tight and twisty but with a steep hill and fast finish.  Check out the video footage.  In the Big Healey class Richard Mason led from the start with a best time of 30.23 beating Jeremy Welch's 2007 record of 30.42 - although Jeremy's time still stands as a record as it was an official championship round in 2007.  Pat Cooper got within a whisker to take second place with a superb 30.59 - a big improvement on his 2007 time of 31.92.  Andrew Taylor took third spot with a 35.06 which was slower than his 2007 time in his old 100M.  Trish C-P was really trying to master this hill and even managed a 360 deg spin in the tight confines of the track on her second run.  Undaunted, she finished with a very respectable 37.72.

In the Sprite class, Murray showed his skill and determination by beating the existing record of 30.00 set by Robin Johnson in 2007 with a 29.63 (as before, Robin's time stands as it was a championship round) and fended of Tom Walker who's best was 29.81 into second place and Paul Baker took third with a 31.92 but had to forego his final run to try and fix a clutch problem.  To add to Paul's problems the car developed a serious oil leak on the way back to the hotel.  Given local Healey driver and event organiser Robert Surcouf had laid on a BBQ at his place there was no time to fix the oil leak that evening - there  was just enough time to get cleaned up and changed before the minibus collected us all from our hotel.  Robert and his wife did an excellent job and we all had a great time with huge amounts of excellent food and drink and a great chance to meet all the local drivers socially.

So, Sunday morning started with patching up the Baker Sprite in the hotel car park.  Showing their 'all for one attitude', all the Healey drivers waited until the Sprite was fixed before they all left together.  The weather had changed - gone was the sun and warmth for cold, wet and overcast.  Not ideal conditions for the Mount Bingham hill climb as there is the notorious hairpin to get round and the bend with the 30 foot high wall facing you to negotiate.  One of the first motorcyclists on a practice run got the last bend wrong and ended up clattering into the wall and being taken off to the local hospital to repair a damaged hand.  At that point the marshals stopped the event and moved two of the bales forming the apex of the bend to improve the drivers' view.  For the eagle eyed amongst you, the picture of Murray above shows him clipping the very same bale with the side of his car - that's what I call trying hard!!  Also, as the day went on the weather improved greatly.

In the Big Healey class, Richard Mason made it a hat trick with a best time of 33.10 which was enough to secure first place.  Pat Cooper has always had problems in the past with this hill, mainly due to being unable to turn his 3000 fast enough to get around the hairpin in one attempt.  This year was no different.  Two out of the five runs involved a three point turn, not ideal on a hill climb but he still came in second with a 35.08.  Some wag photographer, who does not wished to be named for legal reasons, took the picture left with yer' man parked under a 'Disabled Parking' sign.  Showing there's no respect for the older generation these days!

Andrew Taylor again took third spot with a 38.03 with Trish close behind with a much improved 40.71.

In the Sprite class, Tom Walker regained the top spot with a record breaking 31.05 and Murray Wakeham took second place with a best of 33.27 after a number of serious lockups at the hairpin bend.  I'd also check your tyres for flat spots Murray!! 

Last up was Paul Baker, who's Sprite was struggling with an intermittent clutch problem and to top off the weekend nicely, the distributor decided to pop out on his penultimate run in the braking zone to the hairpin.  So after being towed back to the paddock there was a desperate search for a metric nut to fit on the dissy clamp bolt to get out for the last run.  Hats off to Richard Mason who found one rattling around the bottom of his tool box.

So that was it.  A great weekends sprinting and hill climbing, plus some superb evenings fun and entertainment.  The only task left now was to get Huw Edwards car back across the channel given Condor ferries don't take to cars being pushed on board.  A quick swap with Andrew Taylor's 100S and Huw's car was trailered back to Weymouth.  Talking of Weymouth - I don't know who runs their street signs dept. but not the easiest place to get out of - hope they get it fixed before the Olympic sailors get there next year.

Round 3 - Curborough (2 lap) -  29 May 2011 (Report by Trish Cecile-Pritchard and pics by various snappers)

Round 2 - MIRA -  7 May 2011 (short report by LC Branch as no pics due to camera ban at MIRA)

A trip to this Nuneaton proving ground is always a different experience to most events on our sprint and hill climb calendar.  To start with, there is no overnight camping facility, no cameras can be used at the venue and all drivers must gather at the entrance by 08.30 to be let in.  If anyone arrives later than 09.00 then they are not let in!!  Focuses the mind wonderfully.  We had our usual two classes with six sprites including the beautifully prepared Frogeye driven by Joe Mackrell facing its first day out since being built and Joe's first time out in a Sprite vs a BJ8. So that's three new, white frogeyes out this year - it'll be interesting to see them all together!  However, Colin Gale unfortunately had to pull out due to gearbox problems.  In the big Healey class there were seven entrants - which would have been eight had Nick John not had a problem at home. 

The weather was atrocious last year and as the rain started to fall as we arrived, most were fearing the worst.  However, by lunchtime, the rain showers had past and we had a dry and sunny afternoon.  Messrs Cooke and Walton i.e. the two farmers amongst us, were both hoping it had gone to their home area to deposit its load!!

First and second practices were cautious affairs for all as the track was very wet with standing water in places where you really didn't want it to be.  There were no real mishaps and all returned to the paddock in one piece.  One exception was Trish C-P who managed a complete 360 after the control tower corner but managed to stay on the track.  About midday the rain stopped and the sun came out which started the dry the track quite quickly, so by the time of our first timed run the track was by no means dry throughout but it was getting there and times started to tumble.  By the time of the second timed run the track was dry and most felt comfortable going for it.  Then the organisers realised that with only 60 cars and a dry track they could offer the drivers the chance of a third timed run so Richard Mason called a driver's meeting and we all agreed that the result of a third run, if faster than the previous two runs, should be used to calculate class positions.  So all drivers, with the exception of Joe Mackrell (who did not wish to push it with a fresh car) and Tim Cooke (electrical malady), took to the track with the following results:

On scratch - In the Sprite Class, Murray Wakeham took first place with a 58.58, 2nd Paul Baker 62.10, 3rd John Tewson 66.20, 4th Simon Leeming 73.02, 5th Joe Mackrell 72.87 and 6th Kevin Rowe 76.72.  However as this was a Target Time (TT) event, the actual positions for points purposes was:

1st Murray Wakeham (-0.05 below his TT - the only person to get below their TT), 2nd Simon Leeming (1.02), 3rd John Tewson (1.75), 4th Joe Mackrell (3.12), 5th Paul Baker (3.57) and 6th Kevin Rowe (4.72).

On scratch in the big Healey Class, Richard Mason took first place with a 61.53, 2nd Pat Cooper (62.33), 3rd Peter Walton (63.80), 4th Huw Edwards (64.58), 5th Lyn Wheadon (68.41), 6th Tim Cooke (70.57) and 7th Trish C-P (75.74).  After their times have been adjusted, the actual positions were:

1st Huw Edwards (just 0.04 slower than his TT), 2nd Lyn Wheadon (1.69), 3rd Richard Mason (2.49), 4th Peter Walton (2.77), 5th Tim Cooke (3.07), 6th Pat Cooper (3.36) and 7th Trish C-P (4.47).

It was interesting that most drivers were slower than their previous best times at MIRA.  This was probably in some part due to the very wet practice conditions and the unknown state of certain corners in drying conditions, so caution was used on this fast track.  A great days racing topped off with some excellent cake and bubbly to help celebrate Trish's impending 29th birthday - her words not mine!!  Plus the top two in each class picked up their cut glass prizes as this was a TT and trophy event.

To see the full results from this event and from all events in 2011 (results and points awarded) click here.  To see the pictures and video footage from this and all previous events click here. 

Record times - click here to check out the Hill and Sprint records for all the recent venues for the Sprites and Big Healeys

Round 1 - Gurston Down -  17 April 2011 (words by LC Branch - pics by Jackie Baker)

With the terrible news that Stuart Bullas had been involved in a fatal accident the previous weekend, the Healey part of the paddock was naturally very subdued.  Stuart was had been an integral part of the Healey sprinting and hill climbing scene for as long as most could remember and his ready wit and ever helpful advice and support will be sorely missed by all the drivers who knew him.  An obituary will follow shortly.

Back at Gurston - twenty two drivers, evenly split between Sprites and Big Healeys had turned up for this season's opener with Andrew Taylor and son James trying a Sprite this season for the first time and Kevin Rowe joining son-in-law Simon Leeming to try out hill climbing for the first time.  Other car changes included, Tom Walker in his new Sprite creation and Mike Cockayne using the Frogeye Spares Sprite - pictured right.

First practice got underway at the usual early time of 08.30 with the Healey classes in the first batch.  In the Big Healey class there was an Immediate casualty  as Pat Cooper's car was pushed back to the pits with a leaking clutch slave cylinder and hence no clutch.  But Richard Mason led the class with a gentle 42 second time close followed by Huw Edwards with inverted fan belt, Ed Giles and Allan Cameron giving his 100M a rare outing.  In the Sprite class all eleven cars got to the top of the hill with Local expert Murray Wakeham showing the field how to do it with an eye watering 38.40 opener, just a tad off the hill record.  Three seconds further back was the rest of the class with Tom Walker, Julian Wakeham and Colin Gale leading the pack.

After the usual and excellent "Gurston full English" the drivers took to the hill again for second practice and in the Big Healey class, Richard Mason was starting to clear away this winter's cobwebs and posted a much more respectable 39.95 (pictured below) with Huw Edwards again in second place, Pat Cooper had now completed a timed run and was in third place with Allan Cameron in fourth ahead this time of Ed Giles, who was closely followed by Richard Summers.  Pete Walton was still digesting his large breakfast back in seventh with a 46.18, Trish C-P was improving in eighth, Nick John took four secs off his previous run time to take ninth.  Lindsay Summers was a whisker behind Nick in tenth and John Wiseman was bringing up the rear with a much improved time of 47.94.

In the Sprite class, Murray Wakeham still led the class with a 38.48, a smidgeon slower than his first run time - does Murray prefer a cold car and tyres!!  Second was Tom Walker in his new Frogeye with a 38.82, with Julian Wakeham in third and Paul Baker now in fourth.  Rafe Haywood was improving fast displacing "the Kermit" aka Colin Gale back into sixth, with Mike Cockayne into seventh.  In the battle of the new car/drivers, James Taylor took ten secs off his first run time to take eighth ahead of father Andrew sharing the same car.  However a finishing speed of 33mph (compared to 71mph on his first run) for Andrew suggested that all was not well with their new acquisition.  In the Leeming vs Rowe battle, experience was showing the way with Simon leading Kevin by 3 secs to take tenth.

So with both practice runs out of the way by about 11.00 the Healey Drivers could now relax until the start of the actual timed runs - after the lunch break.

So on the first of the timed runs and in the Big Healey class Richard Mason continued to reduce his times and posted a 39.16 to lead the class with Pat Cooper into second with a 40.74 displacing Huw Edwards back to third with a 41.95.  Allan Cameron held on to fourth with a 42.63 but Richard Summers gained a place by a combination of a faster time and Ed Giles losing half a sec on his last run time.  Pete Walton took nearly 2 secs off his previous run to hold on to seventh.  Trish C-P improved steadily to take eighth and Lindsay Summers was a tad slower but just managed to hold off John Wiseman to take ninth and John in tenth.  Nick John slipped back to eleventh probably due to a slight problem he had in the start area.

In the Sprite class, problems abounded.  Murray Wakeham's Ashley Sprite literally went off the line with a bang, when his super low ratio diff decided to destroy itself so depriving Murray of a timed run and also son Julian as well.  The Taylor Sprite was also playing up as it also failed to complete its run with James at the wheel - it turned out to be a duff fuel pump - which was later changed for a spare supplied by Murray Wakeham.  So with a depleted class Tom Walker (pictured right) pumped in his quickest time of 38.16 to take the lead, followed by Paul Baker in second, Rafe Haywood in third and the ever improving Mike Cockayne in fourth, ahead of the green frog of Colin Gale in fifth who was going slower for some reason!  Simon Leeming took sixth and Kevin Rowe seventh, both with slower times than their last runs.

Then disaster struck, a car in a following batch went off the track requiring the ambulance to attend (driver fortunately ok) but also the ambulance also had to treat a spectator with medical problems which tied up the medical support so the racing could not be started until they were freed up, which did not occur until after 4pm.  The Clerk of the Course took the view that the second runs would be abandoned as they could not be completed within their allotted time.  So no second runs and therefore points to be awarded according to the first run times.  As Murray Wakeham and James Taylor started their first runs they get two points for starting the event and one for practicing plus one point for starting a run even though their runs were classified as 'fail'.  As both Andrew Taylor and Julian Wakeham did not start their first timed run they were classified by the organisers as 'dns' and therefore get two points for starting the event and one for practicing.

At the prize giving ceremony the organisers at Gurston made a special mention of what had happened to Stuart as he was well known to them and to many of the drivers in other championships.  It also happened to be Richard Summers birthday so cake and Champagne were provided and all the assembled Healey drivers raised a glass to Stuart knowing that he would have been the first there with a glass of bubbly in his hand and a ready quip and smile.  At least his Sprite record at Gurston remained intact!!

From the serious to the frivolous - we have three more entrants this year in the outrageous sock competition - so which sock belongs to which driver??  Answers on a postcard:

To see the full results from this event and from all events in 2011 (results and points awarded) click here.  To see the pictures and video footage from this and all previous events click here. 

Record times - click here to check out the Hill and Sprint records for all the recent venues for the Sprites and Big Healeys

Want to get involved in Sprinting and Hill Climbing?  If you are interested and want to find out more, click on the link to check out the 'New Beginners Guide to Sprinting and Hill Climbing' or email Allan Cameron on alcam27@gmail.com

Don't forget, If you own a Healey, like what you see on these web pages and would like to find out more about this sport, email Allan Cameron on the contact details shown at the bottom of the page or come along to the next event and have a chat with any of the drivers.  New drivers are always welcome.