Rawles Motorsport Austin Healey Championship -
Race Reports
Round
9 : Donington Park 30th September 2007
Words and Pictures by : Phil
(Scoop) Broster. email
:
phil_scoop@hotmail.co.uk
Well, the final
round of the Rawles Motorsport Austin Healey Club Championship was again
at Donington Park, and the Championship could not be more finely
balanced. Dave Smithies with his 3000 and current Champion Marc Campfield
in his Sprite were both in the frame. An outright win by either would be
enough to seal it. With class positions also waiting to be settled we
were in for a good race.
Twenty one cars turned up for this finale, no less than 8 ‘Big’ Healeys,
the rest an assortment of various Sprites. Practice saw problems for a
few. Most notably Christian Andrew, who flew to a pole position only to
have his gearbox once again, let him down, his nemesis this season. Marc
Campfield had a lurid moment at the fast Redgate corner when a rear
upright broke, this would be welded up in time for the race however.
David Jenkins found what looked like bits of foam in his petrol filter, he
had been low on power. Stuart Bramley only completed a lap with a coolant
problem. Worse than that, for him anyway, was Simon Hinley’s departure,
not at all well and running a temperature, he decided to call it a day.
With Andrew ‘hors de combat’ Campfield was alone on the front row. The
big Healeys of Smithies and Holland-Bosworth were next then behind came
Lackford in another quick Sprite, Woolley and Campfield snr, Woods, a
splendid eighth, Rawles, Harris, Wenyon, Sanz de Acedo, going well, Thorne
in his 100/4, Bedford, Lister, Cooke, Hinley, homeward bound, Taylor,
Cranham, Bramley and Jenkins completed the field.
We
had a beautiful autumn day and with no other problems to talk of we all
looked forward to a terrific race.
As
the lights flashed to signal the start the field took off towards Redgate
Corner, Campfield jnr was swamped by the bigger cars around him as first
Holland-Bosworth and then Woolley tore through. Smithies made a poor
start and found himself behind Campfield snr and Lackford but it was
Woolley who was impressive, holding second place for the whole of that lap
before Campfield’s rapid Sprite out braked him into the chicane at the end
of the lap.
But
in the lead H-B was motoring and over the line he headed Campfield,
Woolley, Lackford, Smithies, who sliced up the inside of Campfield snr at
the Chicane and Rawles. Behind these Harris battled with Thorne, and
Woods led a gaggle of Sprites and 3000’s to complete the first lap.
Into the chicane on the second lap Campfield was a little closer to H-B,
Lackford had got himself into third ahead of Woolley but Smithies pulled
the move he had performed on Campfield to get ahead of Woolley as they
crossed the line. Rawles was in seventh ahead of Woods, having a great
race, Wenyon, also flying, Harris, Thorne, Sanz de Acedo, Lister, Bedford,
Cooke, whose car sounded dreadful, Taylor, Jenkins and Cranham.

Then on lap three, going into Mcleans on the far side of the circuit,
Campfield jnr tried an impatient move on H-B, going a little too quickly
and using H-B to slow him down, both cars slid across the circuit letting
Lackford and Smithies through, Smithies making contact with Campfield in
the melee and lifting off to avoid ending the blue Sprites race on the
spot.
The
outcome of this was that Lackford came into the Chicane in the lead,
followed by Smithies, H-B who recovered well, and Campfield jnr, all close
behind each other. Woolley was still in touch, Campfield snr was ahead of
Rawles and then a battling Woods, Wenyon, and Harris.
This was an exciting race though, the best this season I reckon, because
another great fight was going on further back. Sanz de Acedo relishing
his new Elwell prepared engine, having taken Thorne and fighting with old
stalwarts Lister and Bedford. Another pair having fun were Jenkins and
Cranham, the latter having his third race in the series
that
was until Cranham performed a neat spin in front of me, sorry Bob!
Next time around it was all change again as Smithies entered the chicane
in the lead, closely followed by Campfield jnr and Lackford who had been
demoted. H-B was a little further back but under pressure from Woolley,
Campfield snr, and Rawles, all four charging into the chicane together.
Woods was having a great race with Wenyon although Harris was looking to
pass both.
On
lap seven Smithies was still ahead, but the Sprites of Campfield and
Lackford were very close behind. H-B had pulled a bit of a gap on Woolley
with Campfield snr just a little way back but being challenged by Rawles.
Harris started to charge and dived inside Wenyon to secure ninth place.
Thorne, Lister and Bedford were still fighting and Cooke’s car sounded
worse than ever, hardly on four cylinders at times, let alone six.
Going into the Old Hairpin on lap eight and Campfield got ahead of
Smithies. When they arrived at the chicane he had a substantial lead, and
Lackford was menacing Smithies. Don’t forget this was for the
championship, a win for either Campfield or Smithies would secure it.
This was a race full of excitement, battles through the field were
entertaining the crowd. We did lose Cranham this lap, suspected fuel
contamination being blamed.
By
lap nine Lac kford
had pulled ahead of Smithies and the challenge was over. Harris came
around the outside of Woods and made
it pay as he secured another place. Sanz de Acedo was secure ahead of the
still battling Thorne, Lister and
Bedford.
By
the final lap Campfield had pulled a ten second gap on Lackford who had
his best race ever in this car he has gradually sorted. Smithies was a
resigned third but had performed bravely, and that’s how they took the
flag. H-B had a mixed race but came back to finish fourth ahead of a
strong Woolley. Rawles got ahead of Campfield snr. Harris had won the
fight from Woods and Wenyon, then came Sanz de Acedo ahead of the Thorne,
Lister and Bedford fight. Cooke persevered with a sick car from Taylor
and Jenkins who completed the field.
Campfield took the title again, he and Smithies tied on points, but due to
more race wins he did it, how
close was that? Overall Class titles went to, Thorne who won Class A,
Lister made sure of Class C. Hulett,
absent from here, took the honours in Class D. Campfield’s win takes him
out of Class E, so that honour went to Lackford.
So
that was it, another classic season over and a terrific battle for the
Championship once again down to the wire. This race had produced some of
the finest Healey racing I have witnessed and no tears, well not really!
Except for an unfortunate accident to befall Healey newcomer James Wenyon
in a later race, which saw him total his Sprite in a series of rolls. He
thankfully emerged unhurt but was a little bruised and sore when I spoke
to him, let’s hope he comes back next season. In fact, let’s hope we all
come back next season, Healey racing just gets stronger.
To see the full results and points scored
during the season, click
here or click
on the 'Results' tab in the grid at the top of the page. To see the
pictures from the events, click
here or click on the
Gallery tab above.
Round
8 : Oulton Park 15th September 2007
Words and Pictures by : Phil
(Scoop) Broster. email
:
phil_scoop@hotmail.co.uk
Well, June was the last time you heard from me, we
had a summer break and a round at Brands and now back for round 8 at
beautiful
Oulton
Park. With the Rawles
Motorsport Championship battle hovering between Smithies’ Big Healey and
Campfield’s Sprite,
things were hotting up.
But, drama!
in
the weeks leading to this we had an e mail telling us of a disastrous
accident befalling Mr. Smithies. He had apparently crushed his legs with
agricultural machinery, not only would he be out of racing for the
foreseeable future, we all feared for his life, the championship was
settled and I faced the real prospect of spending money on some flowers!
Forget all that, I arrived in the paddock and there, in
full view, the Smithies mobile residence. More to the point, Smithies had
driven it there, and entered to race, crushed legs and all! The full
story of this deserves a separate article elsewhere, it’s enthralling to
say the least!
In fact, check out
"The
Smithies Incident !!!
" at the end of
this report.
So, fight still on, maybe, and we had Campfield’s Sprite
there, together with the only Sprite likely to take on the front battle,
that of Christian Andrew. Ian Hulett is always at the sharp end and James
Wenyon, another of the Aston Martin boys to join our ranks in the ex
Campfield Championship winning Sprite, albeit heavily rebuilt and looking
much tidier than it had was here. Other Sprites were those of mercurial
Welshman Harris J., Woods, Bramley, Permain, Lister, Bedford, Sanz de
Acedo, Jenkins, and, second time out, Cranham. Thirteen Sprites in all,
with the Big 3000’s of Holland-Bosworth, Rawe, Cooke and late arriver,
David Grace to support the big class we had a field of18 cars.
Practice went well, for most! Andrew looked quick and
Campfield was flying through the fast Old Hall corner, trouble was he was
flying elsewhere, into the scenery two maybe four times, depending on who
you spoke to. Still he didn’t damage anything, this time! Hulett was
also motoring and Smithies looked as smooth as ever, despite, or because
of, his size12 right foot. H-B was being all laid back only doing 4
laps. There was a reason for
this, the man was celebrating the birth of his first child, and he looked
just a tad ‘gooeee’..
or
was that the bottle of wine he had the night before. Anyway,
congratulations to him and his lovely wife, they got a baby boy H-B now.
Sanz de Acedo ran just a few laps with a slight manifold
overheat and was thinking twice about doing the race. Cranham was happy
finding his way around the track, out for the second time in a car he
found with Dave Jenkins. It had been a hill climber and looks smart in
yellow having had a lot of work carried out by Jenkins and Robin
Lackford. Hulett had an alarming moment when a king pin broke but he
would have it repaired for the race, and Harris had a very long brake
pedal towards the end.
A visit to Smithies after practice saw him in good health
giving a ‘pep’ talk to the young gun Campfield, and we saw Grace turn up
in his ‘silver bullet’ motorhome with the Healey on the back, quick bit of
prepping and he would make the
back of the grid at least, that bode well for a bit of excitement.
With everyone sorted and looking forward to racing on this
circuit the grid formed and waited for the lights.
At the start Andrew and Campfield took off as one,
Campfield trying for the lead but Andrew making the first corner in
front. Smithies found his way between Hulett and H-B, just a bit tight
though, and they all chased down to Cascades.
By Knickebrook Andrew had a good distance on Campfield with
Smithies, H-B and Hulett following. Wenyon was well up with Woods also
showing well ahead of Rawe. A little battle was forming with Bramley
leading Harris and Sanz de Acedo, Cooke was ahead of Permain with Lister
and Bedford resuming battle ahead of Jenkins and Cranham. Grace had
already climbed half the field by now.
Next lap and Andrew was pulling away from Campfield, his
tyres seemingly working better. Smithies was getting clear of H-B with
Hulett hounding ‘The Daddy’. Wenyon, Woods and Rawe came through, then
Grace getting
nicely sideways from Harris and Sanz de Acedo. Cooke got a little wide
coming out of Knickebrook and lost a place to Permain. Lister, Bedford,
Jenkins and Cranham all came through.
Lap three and Campfield came back at Andrew pushing him
quite hard. By lap four Campfield was leading and Andrew was behind
Smithies, only just, because on lap five he was back right on Campfield’s
tail, they went up Clayhill side by side, and that was the last we saw of
this potentially great fight.
Going into Druids Andrew had tried the outside, not the
best of ideas on this fast double apex, he had run wide and an errant
stone punched his radiator, half way around the water temp was rising and
he wisely switched off. A shame, because this fight had been going to the
wire. I do admire Christian’s honesty in relaying his tale though.
Meanwhile,
poor Cranham pulled over with broken suspension and we lost Bramley.
Hulett was looking good though and chasing down H-B and Wenyon wasn’t far
behind. Grace had passed both Woods and Rawe in his climb from the back.
With the battle for the lead now over Campfield was away on
his own, likewise Smithies was keeping a good pace watching for Hulett who
was pushing on behind having disposed of H-B. Harris and Sanz de Acedo
were the only pair looking to make a race of it and on lap seven the green
car of Sanz de Acedo took the place away from Harris. J.H. was having
none of it though and fought all the way around the last lap to grab it
back on the line by the smallest of margins, what a finish for them.
Campfield took the flag at a much slower pace over the last
couple of laps, the talk worked, and Smithies held off Hulett for second.
H-B came fourth from a well driven Sprite of Wenyon. Grace had made it up
to sixth with Woods and Rawe keeping each other company all race. There
was Harris and Sanz de Acedo then Permain, all alone Cooke, then Lister
and Bedford fighting class C and only two hundredths apart. Jenkins was
the only other finisher.
Off we go to
Donington (Sunday
30th September)
for
the final round. It’s all to play for, down to the wire.
To see the full results and points scored
during the season, click
here or click
on the 'Results' tab in the grid at the top of the page. To see the
pictures from the events, click
here or click on the
Gallery tab above.
The Smithies Incident !!! A
special report by Phil (Scoop) Broster
So, we all
get this e mail from Comps Sec. Joe Cox telling us how Smithies has
incapacitated himself in an agricultural accident, or more to the point,
crushed his legs and in a serious state!
Then we
turn up at Oulton Park and there he is, right as rain, or as near as. A
miracle, you all cry, or the biggest case of ‘sandbagging’ the opposition
you have ever heard.
To be
honest Dave was hobbling a bit, needed a stick, but then he is old! His
foot WAS a bit big! all the more useful for the throttle pedal then! He
was rambling, lying down resting when I saw him but that’s nothing new
either, I’ve seen it before, and his poor lady running around after him
with cups of tea and tucking him in…yes! Tucking him in ... because … what
I saw in the motorhome will stay with me for a long time and is something
I had not seen before… Dave’s ‘snuggle blanket’. See for yourself……. I
had to share it, and look at him, he’s PROUD of it! Not some super hero
for butch Dave, not Batman, Spiderman, but…Polly Pocket!

And let’s
recount the accident. Dave is trying to start a stacker truck in a field,
why a field? I didn’t dare ask. Anyway he’s lying by the stacker, using
his legs as an impromptu wheel chock, fiddling around, and it starts.
‘Great’ thinks Dave for about a millisecond until the thing starts moving.
Now Dave
is not in the best of places, he should be in the driving seat, and he is
considering his rash decision to lie under the thing as it serenely rides
over his leg. ‘Ouch!’ Says Dave, ‘silly me’ and ‘bother’ as the ch arging
monster heads towards his house. Dave decides to run after it, again, not
the best decision he made that day, as he got nowhere, with one leg
pointing North and the other South, ‘that’s not right’ says Dave, falling
to the ground. So he shouts, loudly, and poor Margaret comes out of the
house to be greeted by the errant stacker, demolishing a multi gallon oil
storage tank, oil everywhere, and still the things moving, its slight
deflection sending it careering towards the house now. It didn’t do much
damage to the corner wall apparently, but it simply changed direction and
went straight into the conservatory, and that’s were it came to rest, hard
up against the wicker furniture, engine still running, wheels spinning.
Stunned, Margaret looked up the field at the chain of destruction, smashed
conservatory, damaged corner wall, bricks and cement dust everywhere, oil,
more than left by the Exxon Valdez, Dave, squirming, and his tool chest,
all within a few metres of each other. ‘Best get help’ says Margaret,
‘splendid idea’ says Dave.
Round
6 : Snetterton 30th June 2007
Words and Pictures by : Phil
(Scoop) Broster. email
:
phil_scoop@hotmail.co.uk
Off to Snetterton for round six of the
Rawles Motorsport Austin Healey Club Championship and normally I will say
what the weather is doing. Well,
as those of you in the UK will know, that rainstorm that came to Oulton
two weeks ago was still here, with a vengeance. It hasn’t stopped and
there was a real danger that the whole country would grind to a halt, or
flood, and that would have affected our
race, especially in the lowlands of Norfolk.
Has that got your attention?
Good,
I love dramatic!
We did get a race,
with seventeen cars entered for this AMOC run meeting. Six big Healeys
showed up, Smithies, Holland-Bosworth, Cooke and his chum Rawe, whose car
was repaired but unpainted from Mallory. Also out was newcomer Simon
Hinley in the car run by Sandy Glen a few years back and Peter Korner's
100/4 was out in the hands of Simon de Lautour.
Good to see that out.
The usual hoard of Sprites were out to do
battle, Essex boys Taylor, Jenkins, Bedford and Harris P., Lackford,
Hulett, Woods, Lister, Prior, Bolton here for another play and ‘boy racer’
Campfield had his Sprite back. Dad had obviously had second thoughts and
worked countless nights, and spent countless pennies to give his son his
chariot back..
with the help of Bill Rawles
who rebuilt the chassis.
So what’s this about rain? It was dry for
practice and almost sunny. Smithies was soon on the case with ‘boy
blunder’ in his Sprite getting out of shape in The Esses within a lap.
Lackford looked quick and the Essex boys Harris,
Bedford and Taylor were circulating together, swapping places every lap,
Taylor back in the groove after Brands. Hulett, Cooke, Rawe and H-B were
going well also.
The grid was decided with Smithies 3000 on
pole, Campfield, Lackford and Hulett, all in Sprites were next before H-B,
Cooke and Rawe in their 3000’s. We were going to have at least one other
Sprite/3000 battle by the look of it!
Pat Harris was ahead of Woods, Taylor and
Bedford. The 100/4 of de Lautour
just pipped Lister’s Sprite with Hinley ahead of Jenkins, Bolton and
Prior. But that wasn’t the whole story!
Bolton had completed one lap and was ‘full
chat’ past the pits when a con-rod decided to part company with the rest
of the engine and make a bid for freedom. It was successful to the
detriment of the block
which had a huge hole punched through it. Poor Bolton was left with the
prospect of finding finance for a new engine, tough that one!
Prior also came back on a rope but he would
be out again for the race.
Misfire seemed to be the word of the day
because nearly everyone had it! Or were they ‘sandbagging’.
Lister wasn’t, he
changed plugs and bits in the Paddock. Smithies had
a
misfire, low oil pressure
and vibrating brakes but he didn’t seem too bothered by it all. We had
rain, dry, wet tyres, dry tyres for most of the day until ‘our’ race came
around at 3 pm.
It was cloudy but dry and everyone made it
to the grid, minus Bolton of course, and we waited for the start.
Smithies was expected to out drag the Sprite alongside but it was
Campfield who made it into the first corner and we had to wait for the
rest of that lap to find who was where!
Into
the Chicane to complete the first lap it was Campfield, and by quite a
distance. Smithies was second, just ahead of H-B and Lackford. Behind
them was Rawe with Harris all over him like a rash. Cooke was next,
alone, but then a great little group consisting of Taylor, going really
well, Bedford, a gap to Hulett who had lost out at the start, Woods right
with him, de Lautour
and Lister and Jenkins alongside each other. Hinley and Prior completing
the field.
Next lap and Campfield was pulling clear,
the Sprite like a Kart through the chicane, Smithies was pulling away from
H-B and Lackford was still fourth. Harris pulled alongside Rawe but was
just short of passing the Healey. Woods and Taylor had both got ahead of
Bedford, further back de Lautour was right with Lister. These guys were
providing three separate battles down the field. Unfortunately we lost
Hulett on that lap.
On lap four, the order was the same but
Lackford was right on H-B’s tail, Harris and Rawe were at it ‘hammer and
tongs’, going through the chicane side by side. Bedford was right behind
Taylor and de Lautour had got ahead of Lister. Hinley was feeling his way
nicely, cornering the Big Healey with style playing with Jenkins.
The H-B/Lackford battle was becoming a
repeat of Oulton, the pair sliding through the Chicane
with the big car having the power on the straight to stay ahead. Harris
out braked Rawe into the chicane to get ahead, but Rawe wasn’t having any,
again, the big car had the power onto the straight to just get back
ahead. Bedford was pushing Taylor even harder, they were having a great
race, and then Lister was coming back at de Lautour, this was crowd
pleasing stuff.
These battles went on lap after lap,
Lackford trying everything to get past H-B, the nimble Sprite much quicker
through the chicane. Then on lap 6 Lister came through ahead of the 100/
4 and Harris and Rawe went around the whole of the chicane side by side.
By lap eight we had lost Hinley and Prior,
Campfield was about ten seconds down the road and Smithies was about the
same distance from H-B/Lackford who were still locked in battle. Bedford
had got ahead of Taylor and Lister had pulled onto the back of them both.
Rawe and Harris were still squabbling.
Then on lap ten, Lackford pulled a similar
move as he did at Oulton, getting up the inside of H-B and making it stick
into the chicane. Harris was just never going to give up on Rawe,
although the big Healey wasn’t going to give up easily either.
Then the fifteen minutes was up and onto
the final lap they went. Campfield took the flag fifteen seconds ahead of
the serene Smithies.
Lackford held off H-B to take third whilst Rawe kept ahead of Harris.
Cooke was lonely in seventh place after a strong performance whilst Woods
was another lonely finisher, but confident again after his Mallory
mishap. Bedford came in ahead of Taylor after their own race long battle
with Lister only just behind. De Lautour and Jenkins completed the order.
This had been another typical Healey club
race with battles going on throughout the field. Campfield had come back
as strong as ever, Smithies consistent once again. We go for a long break
now but will be back at the end of August.
Next round is
Brands Hatch
at the end of
August.
To see the full results and points scored
during the season, click
here or click
on the 'Results' tab in the grid at the top of the page. To see the
pictures from the events, click
here or click on the
Gallery tab above.
Round
5 : Oulton Park 16th June 2007
Words and Pictures by : Phil
(Scoop) Broster. email
:
phil_scoop@hotmail.co.uk
So, there we all were, sitting around the
Paddock watching young Campfield sheepishly circling his dad, and his car
on the trailer. We were talking about this and that and generally
chilling ‘cos. the next race, round 5, wasn’t for hours and no one had
major problems. As we neared the race the talk turned to which ‘big’
Healey would pull it off, it was all rather civilized for a change!
Practice had been sorted in the one session
that morning and second best times would decide
the grid. There was one change though, in that Gordon Elwell was going to
have a go in Xavier’s car, he now looks after it and what better way to
sort any foibles I suppose.
Smithies was on pole this
time, with a gap alongside where Campfield’s once immaculate Sprite would
have been (sorry to rub it in you two!, but it just flows). Behind
Smithies was Hugo H-B with Rawles sat next to him. Then the quickest
Sprite now left, (sorry!), which was Lackford's
and Harris J, who’s pace was remarkable. Hulett was on row four with
Harris P., then the road going Lister, and Bedford. Woods, Jenkins and
Taylor where next, with Elwell starting from the back.
Off into the country to watch this time,
the sun was out, well not really, but any threat of rain had gone. The
cars completed their warm up lap and waited for the lights. It was to be
another ten lapper. Off they went, and it was Smithies who held off the
challenge into Old Hall corner, followed by H-B and Rawles.
By the time they got to the
Chicane half way around the lap, Smithies had pulled at least a three car
gap. Rawles was in H-B’s boot and Lackford had claimed fourth place. Pat
Harris was fifth, Lister in sixth had held off Hulett for most of that lap
but the faster Sprite got by in the chicane. Lister had made a cracking
start by the way, getting ahead of Harris P., Hulett,.
AND Harris J. Bedford,
Elwell, Jenkins, Taylor and Woods completed the field.
On lap two, Smithies was leaving the
chicane as H-B was entering it, so, barring mishap, the winner was
becoming obvious. Not so obvious was second to fourth as Lackford was
pulling himself onto the back of the Big Healeys ahead of him.
Hulett was right on the tail of Harris J.
by now, and, just entering the chicane, Elwell out braked Bedford to move
up the field.
Second place was see-sawing a bit as H-B
had pulled a gap by lap three and Lackford wasn’t as close to Rawles, each
time through the fast sweep of Cascades the Sprite would be with the
bigger cars, but it was the usual story come the straight bits, although
we were using the middle length circuit which leaves out the banked Shell
corner and about half the top straight. Elwell had moved ahead of Lister
by now and was going after Harris J.
Next lap, Lackford was much closer,
and on lap five was ahead of Rawles, splitting the two Healeys. Now let
battle commence. Hulett had also got ahead of Harris P that lap.
We would now witness the
highlight of the race as on lap six the three
cars disputing second
place
were swapping and changing throughout the
lap. Through
Cascades the Sprite was alongside the big cars and as they disappeared
into the Island hairpin and came onto the straight Rawles had the power to
stave off the challenge. They came through the chicane in the order H-B,
Rawles and Lackford.
But on the next lap, Rawles was awake…and
had got ahead of the other two, where had that move come from. Not only
ahead, but pulling clear!
Now that gave Lackford the impetus to
challenge H-B, who was, and I have to say it, getting a little itsy bit
leary,
maybe tired, who knows? Anyway the result was that on lap nine, the
penultimate lap by the way, Lackford made a superb dive up the inside into
the chicane to get alongside the blue Healey, H-B attempted to fight back
but the Sprite had the inside line for the second bit and was away into
third. Rawles by the way, had decided he had had enough of all that
playing and was two seconds up the road in second place.
Oh!
Now we had tears, because that was the last time we saw H-B, who
apparently forgot that Druids corner has TWO apexes, he missed the second
one and went to look at some shrubs. That was a shame though because he
did deserve some sort of result for his effort. Incidentally poor Elwell
was having a misfire and dropping places after a good drive up the field.
Onto the last lap and Smithies, remember
him, was once again smoothly lapping in the lead. He was twenty seconds
ahead of any of the fun we had witnessed and that gap was to Rawles who
was ‘well chuffed’ with his hard earned second place.
When they took the flag it was Lackford who
had outpaced all the other Sprites for third. Hulett was a good fourth
ahead of Harris P. who seems to have sorted his gremlins these days,
although his biggest gremlin,
J.C. no! not that one the other one, Joe Cox !! was away in France.
Harris J. was a strong sixth from Bedford who had pulled ahead of the ‘on
form’ Lister. Elwell brought his spluttering Sprite home ahead of
Jenkins, Taylor and Woods, these two having had much better conditions to
race in this time.
We had presentations handled by the HealeySport
‘Web Master’ Paul Baker, who seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself with us
and did a good job in Joes’ absence, nice talking to you Paul!
Next round is Snetterton at the end of
June.
To see the full results and points scored
during the season, click
here or click
on the 'Results' tab in the grid at the top of the page. To see the
pictures from the events, click
here or click on the
Gallery tab above.
Round
4 : Oulton Park 16th June 2007
Words and Pictures by : Phil
(Scoop) Broster. email
:
phil_scoop@hotmail.co.uk
Mid June, and the
championship moved up north for the ‘double header’ Oulton Park meeting.
The majority of serious contenders made the journey for this BARC run
event, the three big Healeys of Smithies, Holland-Bosworth and Rawles
pitted against assorted Sprites in various classes. This circuit produces
great racing
…
when it doesn’t
rain!
Unfortunately rain was on the cards for the
day and although it didn’t rain for practice, the track was damp and
slippery. Fourteen cars turned up for the day, including the returning
Pete Taylor after his Brands incident, and Harvey Woods was back in his
rebuilt maroon Sprite, immaculate as ever. Welcome back you two!
Championship leader Campfield junior was
here in his Sprite and challengers Smithies and Hulett with their 3000 and
class D Sprite respectively. Not far behind in the tables is stalwart
Mark Lister in his road going Sprite, and he was here also.
Practice went well for all,
well, a couple of spins for Harris J and Campfield who forgot about the
hairpin turn aside that is. Campfield did post fastest lap though, a
'midges
kneecap'
from Smithies and then Hugo (opposite lock) H-B, shaking off a night of
debauchery into the early hours -
who says the
spirit of Hawthorn is dead! Bill Rawles was next from Pat Harris
ahead of Robin Lackford. Then Hulett, ‘spinner’ Harris (my choice for the
cap so far this year Bill), Mark Lister, Harvey Woods, Brian Bedford,
Xavier Sanz de Acedo, Dave Jenkins and Pete Taylor completed the line up.
Then we had a break, not
long, because the first race was to be before lunch, tyre choices were
being made and I was being asked about my local knowledge of the weather,
who am I, Michael Fish? Anyway,
I said it would rain and boy did it RAIN
- just minutes before
the start. There are a couple of trees left at Lodge corner these days
and I got beneath one to protect
my camera gear, scurrying out periodically to grab a shot.
The grid formed and after a couple of
‘sighting’ laps while they collected the stray karts from the previous
race, we got a start for this ten lapper, straight laps for a change
and not against the
clock.
The blue Sprite on pole got bogged down in
wheel spin as the ‘Big’ Healeys took off at the lights, H-B challenging
Smithies into Old Hall with Rawles third. Half way around the lap
Campfield was back in fourth and as they came into Lodge to complete lap
one Smithies had a strong lead from H-B and Rawles, Campfield, Hulett,
Lackford and the rest as they splashed through.
By lap two, Campfield was getting his act
together and chasing down H-B having passed Rawles.
Smithies was comfortable up front.
The conditions were awful and most people
were content to just splash around and stay on the track. By lap three
Campfield was ahead of H-B, getting past around the back of the circuit.
Into Lodge and onto lap four Campfield was
motoring and attempting to pass Smithies under braking for Old Hall, this
corner is tricky in the dry, in the wet, treacherous! And that was where
the challenge ended, in the barrier on the outside, Campfield locking
brakes onto the grass and once there, bang!!
It wasn’t the best place to try for the
lead, still, that was it, and with it any chance of Campfield keeping his
championship this year. The car was pretty badly damaged and will be out
for a while according to his Dad. Didn’t envy those two on the journey
home!
Anyway, on with the race and undaunted and
smooth as ever Smithies was starting to lap back markers, Taylor and Woods
having a baptism of fire for their return, at least Woods had a roof!
Rawles
was mounting a challenge on H-B, chasing him up Deer Leap, Hulett was
ahead of Lackford who was finding his car a handful through Lodge and
probably anywhere on the circuit. “It was a pig”, said Robin afterwards.
Lister was going well ahead of the much
faster cars of Harris’s J and P, de Acedo also showing well in the
conditions. Bedford had a quick spin out at Druids (thought I didn’t know
eh Brian!, never underestimate ‘the scoop’ ! ) and Jenkins, Woods and
Taylor were having lonely races.
As the rest of the laps counted down, it
was quite a procession, H-B pulled away again from Rawles and everyone
else was getting quite spread out. All except Lister who was closing on
Lackford in the closing stages and Harris who were only 500 th’s
sec. apart at the end!
H-B was having fun at Lodge, sliding the
back out, I think it was for the camera, poseur! He was on his own and
nothing else to do I suppose.
After ten laps the flag came out and
Smithies serenely sailed past (literally) to take the flag nearly twelve
seconds clear of H-B who had driven well to take second. Rawles a
sensible third, Hulett fourth, then Lackford, on form Lister, Harris J,
Harris P, Sanz de Acedo, Bedford, Jenkins, Woods and Taylor finishing the
order.
Into the Paddock for lunch,
an eye on the weather and a long wait until the second race, heads down
guys!
..
oh! and the sky
cleared, looked promising for the rest of the day. Read my second report.
To see the full results and points scored
during the season, click
here or click
on the 'Results' tab in the grid at the top of the page. To see the
pictures from the events, click
here or click on the
Gallery tab above.
Round 3 : Silverstone
2nd June 2007
There is no race report or
pictures for this race. Normal service to be resumed at Oulton Park
on June 16th.
Round 2 : Brands Hatch 7th May 2007
Words and Pictures by : Phil (Scoop) Broster.
‘e’ mail :
phil_scoop@hotmail.co.uk
After all the turmoil and excitement of
Mallory our intrepid bunch found themselves at Brands Hatch for the second
round of the Rawles Motorsport Austin Healey Club championship. Renowned
for suiting Sprites but usually allowing the powerful 3000 cars to unleash
the horses on the straight bits,
how would this race
round out?
Well,
the first thing I noticed on arrival in the Paddock at 9 a.m. was that it
was empty, well, very near! There
wasn’t a Healey in sight, and not many other cars either. Trailers and
Motor Homes belonging to ‘our guys’ seemed to be about, so! they must be
in scrutineering I thought, no! Marie Celeste like, that too was empty. A
trek up to the start line complex, and if any of you know Brands, not easy
at that time of the day, or any time of the day for that matter, gates,
underpasses and hills, lots of hills! Anyway, mystery over, there they
all were, revving up and about to go out on track, for once we are going
to be the first race of the day, great! early
start!
and back for the 4 1/2 hour drive home by 3 o’clock I thought. It was
Bank Holiday Monday!
There were 19 cars going out, 21 on the
entry list. Christian Andrew and Ian Hulett hadn’t arrived, they were on
the way but, and this is where the empty Paddock mystery is, they were
stuck, together with many others, somewhere on the motorway, closed
because of a dreadful fatal accident. They would eventually get here to
practice out of session.
Rawles
got pole, ahead of ‘that Sprite’ of Campfield jnr. with Smithies, H-B and
Campfield all within a second of pole. Bolton was the next Sprite, so he
definitely has a faster car than last year, ‘Senna’ Harris was next from
Thorne, Harris P., ‘new boy’, I use the term loosely, Cooke, Lister,
Taylor, Bramley, sorted after Mallory, Todd, Permain, Bedford, Jenkins,
Bainbridge and Sanz de Acedo.
The talk about who would do what at the
start was fascinating, the only sure thing was that Andrew and Hulett
would not stay at the back for long. As the lights flashed they all
stormed towards us. As usual the power of the Big Healeys told and they
swamped the second placed Sprite, but coming round the outside it was the
blue car of H-B that got the jump. He was flying and just got ahead of
Rawles to take Paddock, Smithies was alongside Campfield jnr. But at the
back Andrew was flying like a banshee!, already half way up the field into
the first turn, Hulett not far behind him. As they came out of Druids
for the first time H-B was still in front, Campfield jnr had claimed
second from Rawles, Smithies and Campfield snr. Behind them was a battle
with Andrew hard up to Harris J., Bolton was next from Harris P., Thorne
and Cooke. Then came a traffic jam of cars including Hulett.
Into Clearways on that lap Campfield jnr
took the lead from H-B and as they crossed the line, Rawles was putting on
the pressure. Andrew was ahead of Campfield snr. and out of Druids the
order further down was Taylor, going well, Permain, Todd, Lister, Bedford,
Thorne, Jenkins, Bramley, Bainbridge and Sanz de Acedo.
On lap two Andrew got past Smithies around
Clearways and Rawles was shaping up behind H-B. Crossing the line for the
third time ‘that blue Sprite’ was streets ahead, but behind was a gaggle
of cars fighting it out, H-B, Rawles, Andrew, Smithies and Campfield all
together.
Andrew tried up the inside of Rawles into
Druids, the big Healey closing the door under braking, and that was the
last we saw of Christian’s stirring drive as he came down the hill slowly
and on the grass. His gearbox had blown again, or rather his ‘borrowed’
box. It was a shame because he had been flying and looked as though he
would be the only one to match the pace of the leading car. We will see!
Thorne disappeared on lap six and Rawles
had got ahead of Smithies once more, this time back on H-B’s case. Hulett
was catching Campfield snr. Rawles got alongside H-B into Druids and they
went round together, H-B on the grass on the outside, backing off on the
turn in to Graham Hill Bend. Bill had the ‘red mist’, two places and
going for it in one lap! The unfortunate Taylor got sideways at Paddock,
onto the loose stuff and away towards the tyre wall, more or less without
slowing, before smacking them with a fair old belt. He was alright
though. The ‘yellows’ slowed the pace for a bit.
Meanwhile, Rawles got caught out at Paddock
spinning and then getting going again, unfortunately right into the side
of the luckless Hulett who happened to be in the way. Bill was out on the
spot but the Sprite continued, a bit worse for wear, but still running.
Things more or less settled for the rest of
the race, the leaders were among the back markers now. Hulett had got
ahead of Campfield snr. and was sighting H-B.
The blue leader was now almost 30 seconds
ahead and performing like a slot car with magnets! Smithies ahead of H-B
by 4 seconds who was coming under pressure from Hulett, another couple of
laps and he would have him!
Bolton and Harris J were fighting tooth and
nail, swapping places for much of the lap around lap twenty.
But we didn’t get any more laps, after 20
minutes out came the flag and Campfield was the winner. Smithies
consistency had got him second, H-B was a splendid third just ahead of
Hulett, Campfield snr next, seven seconds adrift. Pat Harris had driven
tidily and was a splendid sixth ahead of
Bolton who eventually finished six seconds
ahead of Harris J., Cooke finished his second race in a Healey in a
comfortable ninth, then came Permain, Lister, Bedford, Bramley, who had
been stuck in gear for most of the race, Sanz de Acedo and Jenkins. Both
Bainbridge and Todd failed to complete those later laps.
We had seen a good race, longer than the
usual fifteen minutes, some good battles, steady drives and action up
front, but that blue Sprite!!! Let’s see what happens at Silverstone, it
should suit the big cars.
To see the full results and points scored
during the season click
here or click
on the 'Results' tab in the grid at the top of the page. To see the
pictures from the events click
here or click on the
Gallery tab above.
Round 1 : Mallory Park 22nd April 2007
Words and Pictures by : Phil (Scoop) Broster.
‘e’ mail :
phil_scoop@hotmail.co.uk
Well, the winter dust had been washed off
the cars, diet regimes made sure overalls fitted,
discussions with AMOC had ensured we were with them again this year and
Rawles Motorsport was the headline sponsor, ably supported by Foodfinders
Ltd, Listers Quantity Surveyors, Harris Coaches Ltd, and John Todd
Refrigeration Ltd. as class sponsors. So we all trundled to Mallory Park
to begin
another season of Healey racing. There
were some changes, changes in cars, some new faces and some not so new
returnee faces. Whatever, we all seemed to agree, it was as if we had
never been away. Read on to find out how the day went.
A walk around the paddock confirmed the
winter rumours. Past champion Mike Johns has returned, with a big Healey,
the car campaigned by Ian Cox in recent years. Current champion Marc
Campfield has bought Nigel Adams’ rapid car, or at least his dad has, not
wanting him to have his big Healey to play with as had been rumoured.
Jeremy Cooke, who races a DB4 with AMOC has decided to come and play with
us, he has the car last seen in the hands of Bob Pepper. James Wenyon,
another AMOC racer is joining us in a semi- modded Sprite; this is Mark
Campfield’s racer from last year. Ian Hulett, who used to race with us
way back, at least before even Joe can remember, although given his memory
span that’s no testimony. He has a car he has recently campaigned in the
FISC series, and Harvey Woods has come to play with a Modded Sprite. Oh!
and the honourable Hugo Holland-Bosworth had come out again. Nice to have
you all with us, especially the new guys, keeps the blood line going you
know!
Practice had gone reasonably well, although
baby Campfield completely stumped everybody with a lap almost 1.5 seconds
faster than his nearest rival who also stunned the opposition because it
was Anthony Bolton, his best ever showing putting him on the front row.
David Smithies was the first big Healey and just behind him was Christian
Andrew, although he would take no further part in the day when his brand
new gearbox decided to internally combust!
The grid formed up and as the lights
flashed to go Campfield was the first to move with the big Healey of
Smithies following him into Gerrards. Close behind was Bolton but it was
Hugo H-B who stormed through from the fourth row to follow closely and
overtake the Sprite down the straight into the Esses.
Up
to the Hairpin for the first time Campfield jnr. already had a huge lead
from Smithies, H-B and Bolton with Campfield snr right on his tail.
Hulett was next up with Lackford chasing then Harris J., Rawe, Harris P.,
Permain, Bramley, Taylor, Woods, Johns, already working his way through
the pack, Bedford, Thorne, Lister, Cooke, Jenkins and Prior.
Lap three saw Campfield jnr. about six
seconds ahead and tail sliding for the camera. Smithies was undaunted in
second but unable to make any ground. H-B was still third. Campfield was
under pressure from Hulett who was alongside and Lackford was looking at
the inside as they braked three abreast.
The exuberance of youth was with Campfield
as he arrived next lap, streets ahead and determined to make a show for
the camera, which he did, and promptly did a 360 spin. That focused his
attention as he was suddenly back in the clutches of Smithies. His dad
was determined to better this as he dived up the inside of H-B exchanging
paint, fortunately Hugo moved over which avoided further tears. Mine, my
eyes were streaming at the antics of young Campfield.
This confusion for poor H-B saw the cheeky
Sprites of Lackford and Hulett, follow Campfield through. The hapless
chap had lost three places in one corner, now that’s cruel!
For the next few laps the pace settled
down, Campfield jnr. pulled away again, Smithies had a comfortable gap to
third man Campfield snr. while Lackford, Hulett and Bolton were all still
falling over each other. H-B was settled in sixth and the rest of the
field were going about their business. On lap eight Lackford was missing
from the battle. Johns had climbed up as far as Rawe.
Then
suddenly out came the red flag, and the rescue units went mobile, this was
not a spin in the gravel trap, something serious was up.
Out on the fast sweep of Gerrards Bend
there was a lot of activity, I could make out Robert Rawe’s car, then a
cluster of marshals around another.
There had been a big incident. Getting
information was difficult; the marshals at Devils Elbow confirmed two cars
were involved. Down into the Paddock and slowly, drivers came to me with
their stories. The man who knew most and almost got involved was Mike
Johns. He had just dived inside Robert Rawe who tucked himself in behind
to take the fast sweep. Half way around Johns saw a broadside Sprite in
the middle of the track, who was it?, Harvey Woods, going well in his
first ever race, but going just a little too hard at Gerrards had half
spun, jinking to the right he avoided it.
Rawe right behind and unsighted stood no
chance and slammed into the parked car, driver’s side. It was a huge
impact; the front of the big Healey was destroyed right to the bulkhead.
The Sprite, hit just forward of the door, stood up remarkably well, a full
roll cage saving the driver from serious injury, it resembled a banana
though.
But that was the end of the race, it took a
while to remove the hapless Harvey, who was shaken and bruised but with
nothing more serious thank goodness. Robert likewise was uninjured if a
little shaken by the experience, but happily wandering around the Paddock
with a soothing cup of tea. We were all a little subdued but the race
awards went ahead with the result given at 10 laps.
Harvey contacted me later in the week, he
was stiff and bruised but determined to get back with us and talking about
rebuilding the car to be out later in the season, we look forward to that.
To see the full results and points scored
during the season click
here or click
on the 'Results' tab in the grid at the top of the page. To see the
pictures from the events click
here or click on the
Gallery tab above.
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