Speed race reports 2021

2021 Speed Race Reports

Championship sponsored by Bill Rawles Classic Cars and Peter May Engineering

The opening four rounds of our 2021 Healeysport Championship were cancelled due to the Covid 19 pandemic. However, we managed to get our Test Day as planned on 1 April and the rest of the season is proceeding as planned. Scroll on down to see the race reports shown in latest first order:

Round 16 Prescott - 2 October 2021

(Report by LC Branch and Pics by Jackie Baker)

Our season's finale took place at the prestigious Bugatti Owners Club - Prescott hill climb, situated just north of Cheltenham in the picturesque Cotswold hills. This superb hill climb track tests all the driver's skills and it's no surprise that it's extremely popular with both drivers and spectators alike. Our class was called the "Allan Cameron Memorial" in memory of our old chum Allan who was the Competitions Secretary at Prescott and of Healeysport. The weather was forecast to be wet all day and unfortunately this time the forecasters got it right. We had light rain in the morning and heavy rain all afternoon.

But - wait a minute - we had a championship to conclude and the overall champion and the class winners could come from any one of a number of drivers taking part - so even if the conditions were a bit grim, there was a lot to play for.

We originally had 20 drivers booked to take part in the event, but the current fuel crisis meant that two of our east Anglian based drivers (Andrew Taylor and Lawrence Maudsley) could not get enough fuel for their tow cars so decided not to risk it and pulled out. Monty Hinton had a last minute work commitment, Trish C-P injured her arm in an accident at home and Richard Salisbury ate a dodgy meal the night before which left us with the 7 Sprites of Max and Garrow Shand, Phil Gardner, Rob Owen (first time at Prescott), Claire Giles (supported by Colin Gale), Steve Casson and John Tewson (out for the first time this year in his circuit race Sprite as an invitation driver - he also brought Mr. Diff along with him). We also had the 3000's of Murray Shand, Ed Giles, Huw Edwards, Pete Walton and Richard Mason, plus the 100's of Michael Berry (first competitive run at Prescott) and John Ducker and Paul Baker's lone Jensen Healey.

Even though the organisers offered three practice runs, as a championship we decided to count the first two runs as practice and the next two as our timed runs. Drivers were free to take part in any additional runs, but they would not count towards the championship. This was also a scratch event, meaning the quickest driver won the event. So, after our first two practice runs - in the Sprite class - it was Max Shand out front with a best time of 60.14 from Steve Casson in 63.30, Claire Giles in 65.08, John Tewson in 65.68, Garrow Shand in 66.89, Phil Gardner in 66.95 and Rob Owen in 70.20.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, Richard Mason was the quickest with a 61.77, from Pete Walton in 62.53, then a surprisingly quick Michael Berry (pictured right) in 62.67 which included a trip to the grass at Pardon bend (yes, there is grass at Pardon - on the inside!!), next was Huw Edwards who always thrives in the rain with a 63.14 from Ed Giles in 64.16, then Paul Baker in 64.40, Murray Shand in 65.82 and John Ducker in 68.05.

As the times show, most drivers were being very careful and were between 5 to 9 seconds slower than they would be in the dry. With its narrow twisty track and ever present Armco barriers (apart from Semi Circle for some unknown reason!), Prescott is difficult in the dry so add water, mud and some occasional oil from the 500 drivers in the class before us and anything can happen.

On to the first timed run before lunch and the rain got worse, so in the Sprite class - Max Shand held the lead with a slightly slower 60.24 with father Garrow taking second place with an improved 64.39, Claire Giles also went slower with a 65.22 as did Steve Casson in 65.40, Phil Gardner was next with a 68.01 from John Tewson in 68.56 struggling with a 4.2 diff from an improving Rob Owen in 68.80.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, Richard Mason (pictured right) put in a class leading run of 60.55 but he was only just ahead of the equally fast Pete Walton in 60.58 - just 3 hundredths of a second between them! Next was Paul Baker in the JH with a much improved 62.15 to leap ahead of Huw Edwards in 63.39 (slower than his best practice run) and Ed Giles in 64.69 (also slower). Likewise, Murray Shand posted a 67.48 and John Ducker a 69.29 - both slower than their best practice times. Michael Berry lodged a time of 70.80 some 8 seconds slower than his best practice time. Unfortunately, he applied the power too aggressively coming out of the Esses and hit the Armco front and back before carrying on his way to the finish. Although his car was not seriously damaged, Michael decided to call it a day as he needed to drive the car home after the event. Such a shame as he was going so well but it just highlights how tricky this course is in the wet.

After three runs in the wet and potential championship class wins etc. on offer, the drivers went for their final run of the day with a decision to make - do I go quicker or not. I am glad to report that in the Sprite class all the drivers put in their fastest runs of the day on their final run. So clearly, no holding back then! The winner was Max Shand (pictured right) with an excellent 59.08 (the only Healey in the 50's) from Steve Casson (pictured below) who took nearly 3 secs off his first timed run to finish with a 62.61 (click here to see his run), then Garrow Shand was third in 64.06, just ahead of Claire Giles in 64.41. Rob Owen put in a fabulous last run of 65.54 - excellent for someone new to this track - what will he do in the dry? Phil Gardner also took nearly 2 secs off his first timed run to end with a 66.11 and finally, John Tewson finished with his best of 67.38.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class almost the same situation applied as all bar two drivers went quicker. Interestingly it was Richard Mason and Pete Walton who did not go faster than their first timed runs with 61.22 and 63.17 respectively but still held the first and second slots. Huw Edwards had summoned the Welsh Rally Gods to pull out a 61.17 run which was over 2 secs faster that he had done before to leap back ahead of Paul Baker who was quicker with a 61.71 and Ed Giles in a much faster 63.36. Murray Shand dropped his time by nearly 2 secs to finish with a 65.73 and John Ducker also ended with his best timed run of 68.60.

Check out the Live Video of our first timed run provided by Prescott. You will need to move the video on until you reach the Healeysport class.

So that was it, the 2021 season was now over. The finishing order of this scratch event, excluding our guest driver, was:

Sprite class: 1st Max Shand, 2nd Steve Casson, 3rd Garrow Shand, 4th Claire Giles, 5th Rob Owen and 6th Phil Gardner

Big Healey/Jensen Healey class: 1st Richard Mason, 2nd Pete Walton, 3rd Huw Edwards, 4th Paul Baker, 5th Ed Giles, 6th Murray Shand, 7th John Ducker and 8th Michael Berry

So what impact did this event have on the championship? In the Sprite class, Steve Casson was the winner, Claire Giles came second and Rob Owen just pipped David Abram to finish in an excellent third place.

In the Big Healey class, there was a tie on 59 points for the lead between John Ducker and Richard Mason. John won the class by having more podium positions than Richard. So Richard was second and third place was taken by Trish C-P who came to the event to see the racing even though she could not take part.

In the Jensen Healey class Paul Baker won with David Lane in second.

Many congratulations go to our 2021 Overall Healeysport champion - Steve Casson

Not only was this the last race of the season but it was also Pete Walton's, Paul Baker's and Max Shand's birthday, so cake and bubbly was on offer for all the drivers, partners, friends and others who had watched the day unfold. (the excellent Chocolate cake was supplied by Pete's wife, Vicki with cake and bubbly also supplied by Helen and Garrow Shand). Whilst we had glasses in hand, we also raised a glass to Allan Cameron and Stuart Bullas who are much missed.

So, how did our season go? We lost our first four rounds due to Covid and other reasons but started in earnest at Harewood in June. Since then we have managed to complete twelve rounds, mainly in the dry, with some excellent average driver attendances for our classes. We have a number of new drivers who have really fitted in well with the established gang of drivers and the championship is well received by all the event organisers. The class and overall championship winner was not decided to the last run of the last event, So, all in all an excellent season.

Click on the links to see the full results from this and all events this season. To see all the pictures, in-car and outside videos go to our Gallery page. If you want to see the sprint and hill climb records for each class and venue, then go to the Big Healey and Jensen Healey records and the Sprite records pages.

Want to start Sprinting and Hill Climbing?

If you own a Healey or Jensen Healey and you like what you see on this website and want to find out more then click here to take a look at our Beginners Guide. If you want to get involved, then send an email to Paul Baker our Championship Organiser at competitionsec@austinhealeyclub.com New drivers are always made very welcome.

Round 15 Curborough - 19 September 2021

(Report by LC Branch and Pics by Jackie Baker)

Our penultimate round of the 2021 championship was at the Curborough sprint track just to the north of Lichfield. As we use Curborough for our test day, all our drivers know the track. The figure of 8 circuit works well and gives the driver a reasonable period of time on track in a relatively safe environment.

We had the four 3000's of Trish C-P, Murray Shand, Pete Walton (pictured right) and Richard Mason, the lone 100 of John Ducker, Paul Baker's Jensen Healey and the three Sprites of Rob Owen, Garrow Shand and Claire Giles. Huw Edwards was due to be there but had to withdraw as his car had a misfire. All the drivers were sorry to see that Robin Johnson and Joe Mackrell had pulled out of the event. This was a big shame as we all were looking forward to seeing the dynamic duo steer a 6 litre Holden Commodore around this tight and twisty track in the wet!!

The weather forecasters predicted rain all day. Fortunately, the weather had other ideas and apart from a heavy shower about 8.00am for about an hour, it then dried up and the sun came out for the rest of the day - so perfect.

As the track was soaked for our first practice all the drivers took it easy to avoid any early mishaps. Rain water must have got into the timing system as times for our first run were non-existent. So as the sun dried the track our second practice run became our first opportunity to really push the cars around the track. In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class it was Richard Mason who was quickest with a very respectable 68.78 ahead of Pete Walton in 70.59, Paul Baker in 74.18, John Ducker (pictured right) in 75.89, Trish C-P 76.08 and Murray Shand in 76.23. In the Sprite class, Garrow Shand was the quickest in 73.04 from Claire Giles in 74.06 and Rob Owen in 78.82.

After lunch the timed runs got underway and in the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, the competition really heated up as Richard Mason beat his pb with a superb 68.26 but Pete Walton was only 0.21 secs behind in 68.47, also a pb (click here to see the in-car video of his run). Paul Baker was next in 70.76 - a pb and a new class record (click here to see his run), then John Ducker recorded an excellent 74.23 to break his pb and set a new Healey 100 record for this course (click here to see his run). Trish C-P went fractionally slower than her best practice run to post a 76.14 and Murray Shand recorded a fail as he had all four wheels off the track at the top bend applying too much power and not negotiating the bend within the white lines - clearly he was trying hard. In the Sprite class, the competition was equally intense, as Garrow Shand lowered his time to a 72.24 to stay ahead of Claire Giles in a personal best time of 73.16 and Rob Owen was steadily improving his times and posted a 77.69 even though his clutch was playing up.

Onto the last run of the day and in the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, not sure what happened but all the drivers went slower than their first timed run apart from Murray Shand who had not recorded a time so far - as he finished with a creditable 76.66. But in the Sprite class the competition was clearly not over. Garrow Shand will regret posting a slightly slower time of 72.29 to be beaten by Claire Giles who pulled out all the stops and finished with a new pb of 72.10 to take the top slot. Rob Owen posted yet another quicker time to end in 75.71.

So the finishing order in the two classes of this scratch event was:

Big Healey/Jensen Healey class: 1st Richard Mason (pictured right), 2nd Pete Walton, 3rd Paul Baker, 4th John Ducker, 5th Trish C-P and 6th Murray Shand.

Sprite class: 1st Claire Giles, 2nd Garrow Shand and 3rd Rob Owen.

Well done to Claire and Richard for taking the top honours in both classes.

Unbelievably, it will be our final round of the season at Prescott on Saturday 2nd October. Be there if you can to see who will win each class and the overall championship. Currently, any one of three drivers could take the overall award depending on what happens on the day - the competition will also be intense for the class awards.

Round 13/14 Loton Park - 28/29 August 2021

(Report by LC Branch and Pics by Jackie Baker)

The weather was just right for hill climbing - 20 degrees and sunshine with a bit of cloud cover from time to time and no rain. Ideal weather to tackle this demanding track in the Shropshire hills.

We had yet another good turnout of 14 drivers. It would have been 16 but 2 Sprite drivers had to pull out - Garrow Shand had to quarantine and Richard Salisbury's new engine, recently installed since Shelsley was not running right, so he had to withdraw - but he came anyway.

So, we had the five Sprites of Rob Owen, David Abram, Phil Gardner, Steve Casson and Claire Giles. Rob was the only one who had not competed at Loton before, although he had done the training day there.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class we had 9 cars entered. The 3000's of Trish C-P, Huw Edwards, Murray Shand, Ed Giles, Richard Mason, the shared drive of Will (pictured above) and John Richards and the two Jensen Healeys of Dave Lane and Paul Baker.

Both days were target time events with targets reset on the second day for those beating there personal best times. There was also prizeware on offer on the Saturday for the top three in each class.

So, on to the practice on the Saturday and in the Sprite class it was David Abram who got the measure of the track quickest with a best time of 62.27 (little did he know at the time but that the time but it would turn out to be his fastest time of the weekend), from Steve Casson in 63.76, Claire Giles in 65.30, Phil Gardner in 68.12 (way faster than his previous best in his other Sprite - his previous best was 73.76) and finally Rob Owen (pictured above) in 72.91 including one off road excursion, but shows he trying hard!

In the Big Healey/JH class, Richard Mason was also in the 62's with a 62.87, from Paul Baker in 63.94, Will Richards in 64.50, John Richards in 65.66, Huw Edwards in 69.22, Dave Lane in 71.64, Ed Giles in 72.90, Trish C-P in 73.60 and Murray Shand in 73.95.

After lunch the timed runs commenced and in the Sprite class David Abram (pictured right) went from quickest in the morning to slowest with an off at the sharp left hander at the top of Cedar Straight but managed a more conservative time of 63.78 on his second run. Steve Casson gradually went quicker with each run and finished the day with a best time of 62.89. Claire Giles also went quicker with each run and finished with an excellent 65.05 and a pb. Phil Gardner also lowered his time to a very good 67.75 setting a new pb in his new car. Rob Owen ended the day with a time of 72.90 almost identical to his first run but excellent for someone so new to the track. When the target times were taken into consideration the finishing order in the Sprite class was 1st Claire Giles (pictured below right), 2nd Steve Casson, 3rd Phil Gardner, 4th David Abram and 5th Rob Owen.

In the Big Healey/JH class, Richard Mason managed to get within half a second of his pb with a 62.28 on his first run. Paul Baker also got within half a second on his first run with a 63.60. Click here to see in-car video of his run. Will Richards went quicker on each run and blitzed his previous best to set a new pb of 63.67. John Richards was very close to his pb with a 65.63. Huw Edward's first run was the quicker in 68.03 with Dave Lane only a fraction behind in 68.18 - there is definite rivalry between these two. Then we had 3 drivers within a second of each other with Trish C-P ending with a 72.19, Murray Shand with an excellent 72.36 and Ed Giles, not far off his pb in 73.21. Again, when the target times were taken into account the finishing order in this class was 1st Will Richards, 2nd John Richards, 3rd Paul Baker, 4th Richard Mason, 5th Ed Giles, 6th Murray Shand, 7th David Lane, 8th Huw Edwards and 9th Trish C-P.

As it was Jan Casson's birthday, a selection of delicious cakes and bubbly was on offer when the prizes were presented to the top three in each class. A fabulous end to a great day's hill climbing all finished off with dinner at a local hostelry.

Sunday dawned bright and sunny and the Healey classes had moved to a different part of the paddock.

As cars were being readied for first practice it was noticed that one of the rear wheels on Paul Baker's black Jensen Healey was loose. With little time before first practice the wheel nuts were re-torqued and the car went out on track only to find that on return the wheel nuts were loose again. Remedies were tried and the car went out for second practice but the same problem persisted but could not be diagnosed, so the car was unfortunately retired from the event.

Practice in the Sprite class had Steve Casson out front from David Abram who took another trip off track from Claire Giles, Phil Gardner and Rob Owen - who took another 2 seconds off his best time the previous day.

Practice in the Big Healey/JH class now light by one Jensen Healey, had Richard Mason out front followed by Will Richards who posted a new pb time of 63.22 from John Richards (both pictured above). Dave Lane recorded his quickest run of the weekend with a 67.76 to lead Huw Edwards in 68.83. Trish C-P went much quicker than Saturday with a 70.77 as did Ed Giles who recorded a pb of 71.59.

After Lunch the timed runs commenced and in the Sprite class, it was Steve Casson quickest in a best time of 62.17 - a whisker away from his personal best. Click here to see his run. Dave Abram was consistently in the 63's and finished with a 63.26. Claire Giles was trying hard, even taking to the grass at the first bend, finished with a best of 65.78 but could not better her Saturday time. Click here to see in-car video of her run. Phil Gardner lowered his personal best with an excellent 67.26 but it was a stunning 69.71 from Rob Owen that really stood out. To break the 70 second mark at Loton Park at your first competitive run there is some achievement - well done Rob. After the target times were compared it was no surprise that Rob Owen took first place from Steve Casson in 2nd, Claire Giles in 3rd, Phil Gardner in 4th and Dave Abram in 5th.

In the Big Healey/JH class the times were falling fast. Richard Mason posted a superb 61.84 to finish just 9 hundredths of a second off his pb/class record time - so close. Next was Will Richards who really seems tuned into his car who finished the weekend with another pb of 62.91 - some 1.39 secs quicker than his previous pb. John Richards almost matched his son by equaling his pb in 65.42. David Lane bounded up the running order with an excellent 66.28 - half a second off his previous best time. Huw Edwards finished with a 68.41 from Trish C-P who posted her best time of the weekend on the last run finishing with a 70.50. Ed Giles (pictured above) also finished with a superb 71.47 to beat his pb by over half a second. Murray Shand was having carburettor linkage problems which caused one failed run and slowed him up on his final two runs to finish with a 74.66. Once compared to the target times, the finishing order was: 1st Will Richards, 2nd Ed Giles, 3rd Dave Lane, 4th John Richards, 5th Richard Mason, 6th Trish C-P, 7th Huw Edwards and 8th Murray Shand.

A really memorable and enjoyable weekend for all sorts of reasons, not least helped by excellent weather, a well organised event and two evening events to choose from.

Our next event will be a sprint at Curborough near Lichfield on Sunday 19 September. Be there if you can.

Want to start Sprinting and Hill Climbing?

Round 12 Goodwood - 7 August 2021

(Report by LC Branch and Pics by Jackie Baker)

To say that the weather played a significant part in our latest outing to Goodwood would be an understatement. Early on Saturday morning the rain was torrential across the south of the UK and many drivers had difficulties actually getting to the Goodwood circuit given the flooding on the roads, with some even considering turning back. Fortunately, everyone turned up to be greeted at the entrance to Goodwood by one of the Goodwood team handing out "R.I.P Rob" stickers for each of the cars and a sheet explaining that there was to be a ceremony at 8.30 for all marshals and drivers to attend in honour of Robert Foote - a volunteer marshal and a regular at Goodwood, who was tragically killed at Brands Hatch a week ago. It was a moving ceremony with all the flags at the circuit set to half mast.

We had a really good turnout for our most southerly event, with 14 drivers comprising the 6 Sprites of Garrow and Max Shand, Robert Owen out for his first time at Goodwood, Steve Casson, Lawrence Maudsley and Monty Hinton. We also had the 8 Big/Jensen Healeys of Trish C-P, Pete Walton, John Ducker, Paul Baker, David Lane, Michael Berry, plus first time out this year Gerald Wilby from the Isle of Wight in his 100/6 and first time out with us Tim Crighton in his beautifully prepared 3000 (by Bill Rawles Classic cars) in traditional Chatham colours.

Shortly after we arrived at the circuit the heavens opened to a torrential downpour then the rain stopped just before practice got underway. So, for our first practice run it was quite wet, then with some sun and a stiff breeze, it continued to dry out. Our second practice run was on an almost dry track, with some large puddles that had to be avoided.

In the Sprite class everyone was considerably quicker on their second practice run. Max Shand who was out front with a 106.99 from Steve Casson in 110.30 - both about 3 seconds off their personal bests. Monty Hinton popped in a surprising 114.25 - some way quicker than he had been there before, from Garrow Shand in 125.50, Rob Owen in 127.39 and Lawrence Maudsley in 128.53.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, it was Pete Walton in the lead with a very quick 103.97 from our new driver Tim Crighton in 107.54 - However, Tim (see picture above ahead of the slower pre-war Aston Martin) caught the eye of the Clerk of the Course when he overtook a slower car going into the Chicane. A move not allowed in sprinting! As this was Tim's first time at a Sprint event no further action was taken, apart from a stern word. Paul Baker was next in 115.67, then Michael Berry was very quick in 117.76 in his Healey 100, from Trish C-P in 125.20, John Ducker in 127.55, David Lane in 129.25 and Gerald Wilby in 146.56.

After lunch the cars went out for our first timed run and the track was now nice and dry, but by the time the Healy class took to the start line, only the first half dozen or so Healeys got a dry run before the rain came down hard again soaking the track. So some drivers got dry runs and some wet which was reflected in their times.

In the Sprite class, the top three drivers went out in the wet - so Max Shand was still the quickest but with a slower time of 109.31 (click here to see his run) from Steve Casson also slower in 112.21 and Monty Hinton had a slower time of 116.84, but the next three drivers were out in the dry Garrow Shand was quicker with a 123.26 (click here to see his run), as was Lawrence Maudsley (pictured right) in 126.33 a pb and Rob Owen a whisker behind in 126.81. Once the actual times were compared with the drivers target times the results were as follows: 1st Lawrence Maudsley - great news for Lawrence given all the problems and breakdowns he has endured this season. 2nd was Rob Owen and 3rd Steve Casson, 4th Max Shand, 5th Monty Hinton and 6th Garrow Shand.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, the order changed as Tim Crighton was out in the dry and posted a very quick time of 102.53 but Pete Walton was in the wet and recorded a slower time of 108.71. Paul Baker did a quicker dry time of 111.89 (click here to see his run) yet Michael Berry (pictured right) was in the wet with a slower 118.77. John Ducker got an almost dry run but posted a personal best time of 126.14 to leap ahead of Trish C-P who was in the wet with a slower 127.94 and Gerald Wilby was also in the wet with a 149.80. Again, once the actual times were compared to their targets, 1st was John Ducker, 2nd Tim Crighton, 3rd Paul Baker, 4th Michael Berry, 5th Trish C-P, 6th Pete Walton, 7th David Lane and 8th Gerald Wilby.

As the weather worsened, the clerk of the course came around to the paddock to see all the drivers to find out if it was worth running the last run of the day given that the track was now well and truly soaked and no one was going to post a faster time. The consensus was to abandon the meeting at that point, which they did. So an early start home for most after our prizes and the organiser's awards were given out.

So overall, a very well attended event, the first this year to be truly open to the public, which was well run by the organisers with no one falling foul of the noise meter and facing exclusion. The main downside was the weather but given the forecast, it was much better than we had any right to expect.

Our next event will be a double header hill climb at Loton Park near Shrewsbury on Saturday/Sunday 28/29 August. Be there if you can.

Round 10/11 Shelsley Walsh - 24/25 July 2021

(Report by LC Branch and Pics by Jackie Baker)

This year, we were taking part in Shelsley Walsh's Summer Spree event - a traditional members style meeting without the razzmatazz and crowds of the Classic Nostalgia event held the weekend before.

We had 6 Sprites - 4 of which had been there before, namely - Steve Casson, David Abram, Phil Gardner and Claire Giles, plus the two freshmen - Robert Owen in his Frogeye and Richard Salisbury in his Sebring. We also had the 7 Big Healeys of John and Will Richards sharing their 3000, John Ducker 100, Richard Mason driving Pat Cooper's 100/6, Trish C-P 3000, Huw Edwards 3000 and freshman Michael Berry in his 100. Plus we had the two Jensen Healeys of David Lane and Paul Baker. Pat Cooper was also on hand to offer advice and encouragement throughout the weekend and to check that nothing untoward happened to his Healey!!

The weather forecast prior to the event had been for heavy rain for both days - not ideal weather conditions at Shelsley. As it turned out we had a light rain shower early on Saturday morning then it dried up and stayed mainly overcast for the rest of the weekend. Excellent hill climbing conditions.

As both events were to be target time events, all the drivers had been issued with their targets before the meeting.

Practice got underway and after the two runs it was clear that there were 3 two car battles forming in the Sprite class with Steve Casson and David Abram very close in the 38's Claire Giles and Phil Gardner in the 41-42 sec area and Robert Owen and Richard Salisbury in the 44-47 sec area.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, unsurprisingly, local expert Richard Mason (pictured right) led the class with a very quick 35.58 from Paul Baker in 38.00, Will Richards in 40.15, father John a whisker behind in 40.46, then Huw Edwards in 41.86, Trish C-P in 42.26, David Lane in 42.67, John Ducker in 43.10 and Michael Berry in 44.65.

After Lunch the timed runs got underway. After the two timed runs it was Steve Casson (pictured below right skipping over the rumble strip at Bottom Ess) who was quickest in 37.15 from David Abram in 37.47, then Claire Giles in 40 dead, from Phil Gardner in 41.66, Rob Owen in 42.34 and Richard Salisbury struggling with a smoking engine in 46.51. Once the target time system was fired up, it was Claire Giles who got closest to her target to take 1st from Steve Casson in 2nd, Dave Abram in 3rd, Phil Gardner in 4th, Rob Owen in 5th and Richard Salisbury in 6th.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class all the drivers went quicker, Richard Mason was fastest in 35.46 (Click here to see in-car footage of his run), next was Paul Baker in a pb 37.56, just ahead of John Richards in 37.74, nearly 2 secs quicker than his pb. Will Richards was next in 38.72, then Huw Edwards in 40.77, next was David Lane in 41.09, followed by Trish C-P in 41.24, then the two 100 drivers - John Ducker in 42.50 and Michael Berry posting an excellent 42.65 given he has not been to Shelsley Walsh before. The order once compared to the target times was - 1st John Richards (pictured below right in his 3000), 2nd Paul Baker, 3rd John Ducker, 4th Richard Mason, 5th Trish C-P, 6th Will Richards, 7th Huw Edwards, 8th Michael Berry and 9th David Lane.

Sunday dawned bright and sunny. The Sprite class stayed the same but in the Big Healey class Michael Berry departed and we were due to see Ed Giles in his 3000 but he did not appear. We were all very pleased to see Colin Gale attend the event and take in the sights, smells and sounds of this historic venue.

The target times were adjusted down for those who had improved on their personal best times set on the Saturday.

As all of the drivers had been at the venue the previous day, practice was really a formality. In the Sprite class, it was Steve Casson found more room for improvement as he recorded a 36.85 from David Abram in 37.26, Claire Giles in 40.32, Phil Gardner in 41.12 but the big improver was Robert Owen who was a tad away in 41.16. Richard Salisbury's Sprite engine was getting worse and as a result he was getting noticeably slower with a best of 49.21.

Practice in the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class followed a similar trend, with most of the cars going quicker than the previous day. Richard Mason, now driving his own 3000 was still out front with a 35.45, from Paul Baker in 38.17, then Will Richards leapt up the rankings with a 38.57 from John Richards in 40.16. Huw Edwards was next in 49.58 then the next 3 cars were all within a second of each other with David Lane on 41.03, John Ducker in an excellent 41.34 and Trish C-P in 41.73 - with Keith's voice in her ears telling her to go faster!!.

After lunch the timed runs got underway. In the Sprite class, Steve Casson went fastest on his first timed run recording a 36.68 Click here to see in-car footage of his run. David Abram was just 2 one hundredths slower in 36.70 - close or what. Claire Giles then produced yet another excellent run to finish with a 38.88, nearly a second under her pb. Rob Owen shot up the listings with a superb 40.36 - nearly two secs quicker than he has done there before. Phil Gardner finished with a 40.73 - again over a second quicker than he has done Shelsley before in his new Sebring GT Sprite. Richard Salisbury did the first timed run then retired the car when it was clear that the engine had serious problems. So the order, once times were compared with targets had Claire Giles (pictured right) again out front, with Steve Casson in 2nd place, David Abram in 3rd, Phil Gardner in 4th, Rob Owen in 5th and Richard Salisbury in 6th.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, Richard Mason managed the unusual feat of recording the same time on both runs i.e. 35.29 - he thinks a first for him. Paul Baker broke his pb and the JH class record with a 37.13 (Click here to see his run), Will Richards with his fastest time of the weekend a 38.17, John Richards was a whisker behind in 38.24. Trish C-P must have been listening to Keith as she pulled a stunner out of the bag to beat her pb with a 39.43. David Lane broke the 40 second barrier on his last run with a 39.63. Huw Edwards finished with a 40.17 - his fastest run of the weekend, likewise John Ducker also lodged a pb time of 41.31 nearly a second faster than he had been there before. Again, once the actual times were compared with targets, it was John Ducker who took first place, from Trish C-P in 2nd then Paul Baker in 3rd, John Richards 4th (pictured right), Richard Mason 5th, Will Richards 6th, David Lane 7th and Huw Edwards in 8th.

Click here to see a compilation video of all the cars going through the Esses

So overall, a great weekend's hill climbing at this wonderful venue. It helped no end that the weather was on our side and the organisers did a great job of keeping everything running.

Our next event will be a sprint at the world famous Goodwood circuit near Chichester on Saturday 7th August. Be there if you can.

Round 9 Lydden Hill - 17 July 2021

(Report by LC Branch and Pics by Jackie Baker)

Our second sprint this season was at Lydden Hill, the world famous rally cross venue situated just north of Dover in Kent. Using only the tarmac elements offered by this track, with it's steeply banked curves and hill leading to a hairpin, this course appears to many as a cross between a hill climb and a sprint. The weather was expected to be sunny and hot and we were not disappointed.

We had ten drivers taking part with the three Sprites of Claire Giles, who admitted that in all the years of taking part with Healeysport, this was her first sprint event and therefore her first time at Lydden Hill. Garrow Shand and Lawrence Maudsley were her competition and both had been to Lydden before. In the Big Healey class we had Peter Walton and Huw Edwards who had been here before and the new to Lydden contingent of Trish Cecille-Pritchard in her 3000, Michael Berry in his 100 and Robert and Mike Chambers, a father and son duo out for the first time together with us in the family 3000. Robert admitted that he had driven Lydden competitively before in the Healeysport circuit race series - but in 1998!! Finally there was Paul Baker in his Jensen Healey who had been to Lydden before.

As with our last event at Snetterton, although the organisers treated the first run as practice with four further timed runs, we decided that we would treat the first two runs as practice, the second two as timed runs and the last run optional that would not count re championship points. All runs consisted of almost two laps.

The sun was out from the off and stayed out all day. In our first practice run it was clear that we had a few technical issues amongst our merry band. Garrow Shand's Sprite had battery issues hence poor starting, Paul Baker's Jensen Healey still had a serious misfire but Lawrence Maudsley's run of bad luck seems to be continuing as his near side front brake disc snapped off the hub under braking and had to retire the car as no spares could be found for this broken part.

The other big issue of the day was the timing system. No times were provided for the first run and they were a bit patchy throughout the day. KJ C-P did an excellent job trying to get the times for the drivers, so they had at least some idea of how they were doing.

So after our two practice runs the result of our second run in the Sprite class was: Claire Giles was leading Garrow Shand by a narrow margin of 103.47 to 104.50. In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, Pete Walton was the quickest in 90.18, not far off his PB with Paul Baker miles off his pb in 97.18. Michael Berry was next in a very good 97.91 with Huw Edwards a little bit further back in 98.86. Robert Chambers was next in 101.61 from Trish C-P in 104.53 with Mike Chambers (pictured right) a whisker behind in 104.56.

On to the timed runs and in the Sprite class, Garrow Shand failed to get his Sprite to start for the first run but with some help from the other drivers he managed to get out for his final run and recorded a personal best time of 97.78 to lead the class from Claire Giles who finished with an excellent 99.44.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, the timing system caused a few drivers not to get a time but despite a spin, Peter Walton (pictured right) finished with a very good 90.14, just off his pb. Paul Baker was next with best of 96.08, some 5 secs off his pb so that misfire has to go. Mike Chambers steadily improved throughout the day and finished with a superb 97.30 given it was his first competitive event. Next was Robert Chambers in a 97.78 a whisker behind his son, then Michael Berry and Huw Edwards tied with the same time of 98.30 and Trish C-P finished with her best time of the day in 102.84.

A great day's sprinting at a super venue. Our next event will be a weekend of hill climbing at Shelsley Walsh near Worcester on 24/25 July. Be there if you can.

Want to start Sprinting and Hill Climbing?

Rounds 7/8 Snetterton - 26/27 June 2021

(Report by LC Branch and Pics by Jackie Baker)

This was Healeysport's first ever championship event at Snetterton and we had a very good entry of twelve cars for each day of this double header scratch event. For those unfamiliar with this circuit, Snetterton is just south of Norwich in Norfolk and Borough 19, the organisers, run a sprint on the Snetterton 100 circuit which sits inside the 200 track, with a circuit race underway on the outer track on both days. The sprint track is similar to the Stowe circuit at Silverstone although wider, quicker, safer as it has much bigger run off areas and without the annoying temporary chicanes.

Our entry on Saturday included the six Sprites of David Abram, Lawrence Maudsley, Garrow and Max Shand, Richard Salisbury and Steve Casson. The Healey 100 of John Ducker, the 3000's of Huw Edwards and Murray Shand (pictured above) and the two Jensen Healeys of David Lane and Paul Baker. Unfortunately, Andrew Taylor had to withdraw prior to the event. Only David Abram and the Shand duo had been here before, so the rest had to learn the track fast to stay in touch.

Although the organisers treated the first run as practice with four further timed runs, we decided that we would treat the first two runs as practice, the second two as timed runs and the last run optional that would not count re championship points. All runs consisted of two laps.

Saturday dawned cold and grey, but the sun soon came out and bathed the venue in warm sunshine for the rest of the day. As practice got underway in the Sprite class it was clear that the drivers with local knowledge were going to lead the way, so after the first two practice runs David Abram was out front with a very quick 108.73 just ahead of Max Shand in 108.94, then a gap to Steve Casson in 115.31 having spun on his second run, then Garrow Shand in 121.49, Lawrence Maudsley in 128.15 and Richard Salisbury in 135.56.

In the combined Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, it was Paul Baker out front with a best time of 115.16 from fellow Jensen Healey driver David Lane in 120.31, then Huw Edwards a whisker behind in 120.63 and John Ducker in 121.97 and Murray Shand with a 123.51 from his first run as his throttle linkage broke on his second practice run.

Onto the timed runs and in the Sprite class it was David Abram (pictured right) who took the win with a slightly slower time of 109.02 from Max Shand a tad behind in 109.28 with Steve Casson posting an excellent 110.74 to take third after his second spin of the day. Garrow Shand was next with a 117.87, then Lawrence Maudsley (pictured above) in 122.78 - even though Lawrence had to retire his car as our photographer noticed that on left hand bends his rear tyre was giving off huge amounts of smoke (the old leaf spring bolt rubbing on the tyre problem). Last up was Richard Salisbury in his very smartly prepared Sebring in 128.14.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, all bar one of the drivers best time was the one before lunch - what does that tell you about them! Paul Baker top the honours with a slightly improved time of 114.61 from David Lane in 118.54, then Huw Edwards in 120.17, John Ducker in 121.30 and Murray Shand in 123.42. There was slight unrest amongst the Big Healey drivers about the two Jensen Healey drivers taking the two top slots - but the threat of a coup was narrowly avoided!!

A great day's sprinting at a super venue, where the B19 organisers ran the event very efficiently indeed.

Sunday morning dawned, much as Saturday, overcast and not very warm, but the sun soon came out and warmed the place up. On the outside track the organisers were starting a 12 hour Ford Ka race for teams of drivers. As a spectator, they were very slow but at least they were quiet. The excellent bacon baguettes must be the largest seen at a race track!!

We had to say goodbye to Lawrence Maudsley (broken Sprite) and John Ducker (only booked in for one day) and welcome Pete Walton (pictured right) in his freshly repaired and repainted 3000 (well done David) and Michael Berry out in his very smart Healey 100 for the very first time with us.

Sunday practice got underway and it was clear from the off that those new to the track on Saturday were going much quicker on the Sunday. The other issue of concern was that the Max and Garrow Shand Sprite had a serious clutch fluid leak which ideally required the engine and gearbox to come out but as that was not an option, the plan was to add more fluid after each run and not do both practice runs and hope the clutch lasts the day.

So after both practice runs in the Sprite class, it was David Abram holding the lead but with a slower time of 110.41 from an ever going quicker Steve Casson - the local tuition must be working (pictured right) in 110.61 with Max Shand a whisker off in 111.53, then Richard Salisbury 126.22 and Garrow Shand in a much slower time of 147.42 due to the aforementioned clutch problem.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, Paul Baker reduced his previous best time by over 3 seconds to a 111.96 and he needed to as Pete Walton recorded a 111.98 on his second ever time around this track - close or what! Huw Edwards moved up to 3rd place with a 119.58 with Murray Shand also 3 secs quicker with a 120.69, then Dave Lane in 121.42 and new driver Michael Berry in 123.26.

On to the timed runs and in the Sprite class the Shand's clutch finally expired after Garrow's first timed run leaving Max without a time. Biggest improver of the weekend title must go to Steve Casson who finished with the fastest time of the day in the Healeysport class with a superb 107.81 to take the class win. See the compilation video Steve put together of his weekend - spins included. Dave Abram was next with his best time of the day a 109.26, Garrow Shand took third with a 115.34, a pb and Richard Salisbury steadily improved to his best time of the weekend of 125.37.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, Paul Baker took first place with his best time of the weekend a 111.09 - check out the in-car video of this run, from Pete Walton who span on his first timed run and then recorded a 111.39 on his second run to take second slot and split the two Jensen's. Dave Lane leapt up the leaderboard with his best time of the weekend an excellent 116.81 from Huw Edwards in 117.71 and Murray Shand in 118.14. Michael Berry (pictured below) finished with a very respectable 119.28 after his first competitive sprint.

A great weekend's sprinting at a super venue. A quick consensus amongst the drivers held that this should be added to our calendar next year.

Our next event will be at Lydden Hill near Canterbury in Kent for another B19 organised sprint on 17 July. Be there if you can.

Want to start Sprinting and Hill Climbing?

Rounds 5/6 Harewood - 5/6 June 2021

(Report by LC Branch and Pics by Jackie Baker)

Entry for this ever popular event sold out in a matter of hours yet the Healeysport drivers were on the ball and we had a fabulous entry of 19 drivers taking part in this two day weekend event. We had the ten Sprites of Claire Giles, Steve Casson, Max and Garrow Shand, David Abram, Lawrence Maudsley, Phil Gardner out in his new Sebring GT fronted Sprite, and new drivers Richard (known as Monty) Hinton in the ex Ian Grainger W&P bodied Sprite (pictured right), Rob Owen in his Frogeye and Richard Salisbury in his Sebring Sprite. We had the 3000's of Richard Mason, Will Richards, Huw Edwards, Trish C-P and Murray Shand out in his almost/but not quite complete freshly prepared BJ8. We had the 100 of John Ducker and the 100S Replica of returnee Andrew Taylor. Plus we had the two Jensen Healeys of David Lane, who was new to this track and finally Paul Baker.

The weather forecast was excellent with dry and sunny weather expected all weekend. The event was being run under Covid conditions with no signing-on or scrutineering as this had been completed on-line before the event.

Practice got underway on the Saturday morning and it was clear early on that the drivers had not had much practice and were a little ring rusty as the practice runs were completed with no driver anywhere near their target times on this long and twisty track. In the Sprite class it was Steve Casson leading the way with a 69.20 from David Abram in 71.78, Max Shand in 72.88 and Claire Giles in 73.98. Garrow Shand was next with a best time of 75.90, then Phil Gardner getting used to his new car in 79.73, Robert Owen in 80.37 (pictured right), Monty Hinton in 81.75, Richard Salisbury in 84.35 and Lawrence Maudsley close behind in 84.40.

In the combined Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, Richard Mason was out front with a best time of 70.99, followed by Paul Baker in 73.11, Will Richards in 74.30, Huw Edwards in 75.23, then John Ducker in 76.10, Murray Shand in 76.80, Andrew Taylor in 80.69, Trish C-P in 82.25 and finally David Lane in 83.29.

With the smaller overall entry due to Covid, the organisers were rattling through the cars at some rate and managed to start our first run time before lunch with our second run just after lunch. A third run was offered, which most took as they needed the practice but the third run did not count towards the championship positions.

As the cars set off for their first timed run Paul Baker's Jensen Healey refused to start. It was later diagnosed as a variable electrical feed problem that fried his electronic ignition so his distributor was converted back to points to get it going for the third timed run of the day. As always with the Healey drivers, help, tools and parts were freely donated to help a fellow driver get back out on track. Many thanks were due to Richard Mason and Dave Abram.

On completion of the second timed run, the spreadsheet was truly warmed up and the results against target time were as follows: the Sprite class was won by Claire Giles in a personal best time of 72.57, followed by Steve Casson in 68.46, Max Shand in 70.47, Robert Owen in 78.12, Lawrence Maudsley in 82.29, Phil Gardner in 78.06, Monty Hinton in 80.32, Richard Salisbury in 82.96, Garrow Shand in 74.92 and Dave Abram in 71.77.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, Andrew Taylor took the honors in a 79.14, followed by Will Richards in 73.22, John Ducker in 76.11, Richard Mason in 70.16, Murray Shand in 76.82, Huw Edwards in 75.97, Trish C-P in 81.01 and David Lane in 82.72. Paul Baker did not record a time.

At the end of the event the drivers retired to the Ducker's "Tikki Bar" in the trailer park for cocktails/beers and the prize giving. This is an annual treat put on by John and Cate Ducker for the drivers and friends that is much appreciated by everyone. The choice of drinks and food was amazing - well done John and Cate (pictured right) - can't wait for next year.

The top three in each class received their trophies, however there was a special prize of a packet of Burton's Stig-on-Wheels donated by Cate Ducker and won by Rob Owen as the fastest newcomer to Harewood.

Sunday morning dawned bright and fresh and all the cars took to the track for the morning practice runs. In the Sprite class Steve Casson continued to lead the way with a best time of 69.01 with a Max Shand moving up to second spot with a 69.49 and David Abram complaining of no grip in third with 70.16. Claire Giles was next in a fabulous 71.22 which turned out to be her best time of the weekend. Garrow Shand in 74.99 and Robert Owen was steadily improving posting a 75.59 which was also his fastest time of the weekend. Phil Gardner's best was 78.31 with Lawrence Maudsley almost getting into the 70's with an 80.03 just ahead of Richard Salisbury in 80.18.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, it was very close at the top with Richard Mason just in the lead with a 69.94 from Paul Baker in 69.95 - yes, 1 100th of a second!! Click here to see the in-car video of his run. The Jensen Healey was back working again. Third was Will Richards in 79.91 with Huw Edwards next in 74.10. John Ducker was the leading 100 in 77.02 with a much quicker David Lane in 77.97 some 4 seconds quicker than his previous run - someone must have given him some pointers as to how to get round this track! Andrew Taylor improved to a 78.52 yet Murray Shand blew the head gasket on his 3000 so took no further part in the proceedings.

As with the previous day, the first timed run was before lunch. The Sunday was also a target time event and we tried a new system of using the previous best times from the day before, so the results were as follows: In the Sprite class, the top three were Richard Salisbury took the top slot with an improved time of 80.03 from Lawrence Maudsley in 79.43 and Phil Gardner in 75.50. Then came a much improved Dave Abram in 69.21, Robert Owen in 75.64, a new pb for Garrow Shand in 72.64 and an excellent finishing time of 78.74 for Monty Hinton out at his first competitive event with us. Steve Casson was next with a 68.98, then Claire Giles in 73.40 and Max Shand did not record a time as the Sprite's clutch went he shares with Garrow.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, the top three were Trish C-P with a best time of 77.00, from Will Richards with a pb of 71.23 and Huw Edwards who managed a 74.71 before he had an engine misfire. Richard Mason finished with a best time of 68.97 - click here to see the in-car video of his run, then Andrew Taylor (pictured right) in 78.24, John Ducker in 76.46 and Paul Baker in a slower time of 70.57 but a new class record and pb. David Lane's car broke down on the finishing line on his first run with a snapped clutch cable.

Most drivers left after the second timed run although more runs were offered to those who stayed. It had been a really good weekend with fine weather and just great to be out on track again and to be with the Healey Drivers again after such a long period since our last event.

Our next event will be a first for Healeysport at Snetterton near Norwich for a double header sprint on 26/27 June. Be there if you can.

Want to start Sprinting and Hill Climbing?

Healeysport Test Day - Curborough Sprint Track - Thursday 1 April 2021

Motorsport resumed in England on Monday 29th March, which was excellent timing as we had our Healeysport Test Day planned for Thursday 1 April. This was really the first opportunity for most to legitimately leave home with a trailer and race car for the last 6 months or more. As it was, we had 20 cars (the maximum allowed for testing at this circuit), 22 drivers and a number of support crew arrive early for breakfast at the Curborough Sprint Track just to the north of Lichfield in Staffordshire. The event was run under the latest Motorsport UK Covid rules to keep everyone safe.

The package for all attending included a hot breakfast and lunch, which on a cold but thankfully dry Thursday at the beginning of April is a very welcome sight. Everyone was pleased to meet up, all outside and socially distanced of course, as we have not all met up since our last event in September/October last year. Interesting to see the various and new lockdown hairstyles and beards.

We had most of the regular drivers, plus Robert Chambers and his son Michael out for the first time with us in their well known 3000. John and Will Richards brought their latest acquisition - a race prepared Healey 100, which looked and sounded the part (see pic right of Will queuing to start). We also had Michael Berry (see pic of Michael below) out with us for the first time in his very smartly prepared red over black Healey 100. John Ducker will have some competition at last with these two 100's.

Pat Cooper brought not one but 2 cars - his usual 100/6 and one of his bevvy of Sprites, which KJ C-P (yes that is a person and not just an acronym!) tried the Sprite for size and found it very much to her liking. We may see more of KJ in that car!! Pictured below right.

Murray Shand was hoping to have his new 3000 ready for the day but an unforeseen cylinder head gasket problem meant that his car was not going to be ready in time. Fortunately his brother Garrow offered him a drive in his Sprite as long as he could fit in the drivers seat - which he did.

It was great to see Colin Gale at the test day, who, you never know may well be back out with us at some time in the future. Thanks Colin for taking the photos of the day. A selection of his pics are shown here with some more on our gallery page.

A little after 9am, practice commenced with Richard Mason and John Verry controlling the exit from the paddock to ensure that only one car was on track at any one time. The system worked very well and made efficient use of the time we had available.

Not long after testing got underway, Richard Salisbury came back into the paddock with a puncture in a rear tyre of his very smart Sebring Sprite. Once the car had been jacked up and the tyre removed it was clear that the problem was due to a protruding rear leaf spring bolt and no wheel spacers on the the rear axle keeping the rear tyres away from the leaf springs. Normally a spare wheel would be put on but as the leaf spring needed some work the car was put back on the trailer and no more testing.

The John/Will Richard's Healey 100 seemed to be going well, but a slightly overfilled radiator meant that steam and water was being thrown out of the overflow when going down the straight. Not really a problem as the water level was lowered and the problem solved.

Tom Walker brought his class E Race Sprite for some testing and half way through the day was seem changing away from his usual Avon race tyres to something softer to try and get some grip on this cold day.

David Lane was unable to bring his latest sprint and hill climb prepared Jensen Healey as it was not ready in time so instead brought his well known Gulf liveried Jensen Healey. Unfortunately it probably needs some new tyres as he was also struggling for grip on this cold track on an old set of Toyo's - it did make it interesting for those watching though!!

Steve Casson was out in his updated Sebring Sprite - check out the in-car video of one of his practice runs link to video

Two members of Shenstone and District Club members came to test the noise we were making at the track, not because the Healeys are especially noisy, but because they have had complaints in the past from a new housing estate nearby and wanted to take some readings whilst we were practicing from various points around the circuit.

After everyone had done as many laps as they wanted, or the ran out of fuel or tyres or all three, time was called and everyone headed off home grateful for the opportunity to meet up with some old friends and have some fun in our old cars.

A big thank you to Richard Mason from everyone in the club for organising the day.