speed race reports 2023

2023 Speed Race Reports

Championship sponsored by Bill Rawles Classic Cars and Peter May Engineering

The 2023 championship will include 14 rounds with 9 hill climbs and 5 sprints. Scroll on down to see the race reports shown in latest first order:

Rounds 14 Curborough 1 October 2023

(Report by LC Branch and photos by Jackie Baker)

It only seems like yesterday that we were heading off to our first round at Anglesey and now it's our last round of the season at the Curborough Sprint track. Curborough may not have the history of a Goodwood or Prescott but it is a great venue to use as it is a safe track with rarely any accidents, visitors have free access and it's relatively central in the UK for all the drivers and others to attend.

Being our last round there were a number of class positions to be decided, so the competition was going to be intense.

We originally had the seven Sprites of Garrow Shand, Lawrence Maudsley, John Tewson, Richard Salisbury, Max Shand, Rob Owen and Mike Mohr, but unfortunately John Tewson and Max Shand had to pull out leaving five cars in the class. In the Big/Jensen Healey class we had the four 3000's of Pete Walton (pictured above), Murray Shand, Trish C-P and Richard Mason (Trish and Richard were sharing Pat Cooper's 100/6 hoping to boost the sales campaign with a final outing), the two 100's of John Ducker and Michael Berry and the lone Jensen Healey of Paul Baker.

The weather forecast for Sunday was not good as it was expected to stay dry in the morning with heavy rain expected in the early afternoon. Fortunately the organisers (MAC) were on the ball and arranged to have the two practice runs and first timed run before a late stop for lunch.

This event was to be run on scratch meaning that the fastest car/driver wins.

As practice got underway in the Sprite class it was clear that the first run on the track was going to be slippery and that as the track dried and warmed up the grip levels would improve. After the two practice runs it was Mike Mohr quickest with a best time of 70.83 from Garrow Shand in 72.87, then Rob Owen in 74.41, Lawrence Maudsley 76.03 and Richard Salisbury (pictured right) in 76.47.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was very close with only a second between the top four cars. Richard Mason was out front with a best time of 69.92 from Paul Baker in 70.42 with Pete Walton a whisker behind in 70.47 and Michael Berry (pictured below right) recording a 70.95 which smashed his previous class record of 72.57 (however this is practice and the record can only be beaten on an actual timed run). Murray Shand spun on his first practice run and recorded a 74.05 on his second run, John Ducker posted a best time of 76.36 and Trish C-P was getting used to driving the Cooper 100/6 for the first time and lodged her best time of 85.31.

On to the timed runs before lunch. Now at this stage the track was dry and the drivers knew that this was likely to be their only run in the dry, so they had to make this one count. In the Sprite class disaster struck Mike Mohr's Sprite as it shed its crankshaft pulley bolt, so the car had to be retired and play no further part. This left the field open to the remaining Sprites. Up stepped Garrow Shand who recorded a 72.87 to lead the class. The next three Sprites were within a second of each other, but it was Rob Owen who was the quicker with a 75.25, slightly slower than his practice time, Then Lawrence Maudsley in 75.46 followed by Richard Salisbury in 75.77 (in a new personal best time).

As the Big/Jensen Healey class lined up in the starting area the rain was beginning so those at the back of the class were not sure if they were going to get a dry run at all. Regardless, all the drivers had to put the light rain out of their minds and consider the track as dry and just go for it. Quickest was Paul Baker in his Jensen Healey in a new class record time of 68.51 with Pete Walton just behind him in 69.20 and Richard Mason was the very last car in our class to take to the track and posted a very good time of 69.61 just as the track was getting quite wet. Michael Berry finished with a superb time of 70.67 to lower the Healey 100 class record time by nearly two seconds. John Ducker ended with a 76.49 and Trish C-P finished with her fastest time of the day in 82.73. Murray Shand (like the F1 drivers at the Qatar grand prix) was trying possibly too hard and fell foul of the marshals who spotted that he had four wheels over the white lines showing the track limits on one of the bends so his time was disallowed.

As the Healey classes finished their first timed run, the rain came down heavily and it soon became clear that it was set in for the afternoon. The drivers took the decision that as the track was now soaked, times would not be improved upon and decided to call it a day at that point. We were not the only class to do so.

So that was it, the final run of our final event of 2023. Click here to see the compilation video of 2nd practice run. The results were as follows:

Sprite class: 1st Garrow Shand (pictured above right), 2nd Rob Owen, 3rd Lawrence Maudsley, 4th Richard Salisbury and 5th Mike Mohr.

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Paul Baker, 2nd Pete Walton, 3rd Richard Mason, 4th Michael Berry, 5th John Ducker, 6th Trish C-P and 7th Murray Shand.

So what impact did this event have on the 2023 championship?

Many congratulations go to our 2023 Overall Healeysport champion - Paul Baker (pictured right) with 104 points. The first time a Jensen Healey has won this coveted award in the history of Healeysport.

In the Sprite class, Steve Casson was the winner with 87pts, Garrow Shand came a close second with 84pts and Rob Owen was third with 70pts.

In the Big Healey class - Michael Berry won with 81pts with Murray Shand second with 72pts and Pete Walton third on 56pts.

In the Jensen Healey class Paul Baker won with 104pts from David Lane second with 63pts and Gerry Wilby in third on 18pts.

In the Libre class, Nav Bhamra won as the sole entrant with 70pts

Not only was this the last race of the season but it was also Pete Walton's and Paul Baker'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 bedecked with red and green Healey 3000's (Pete tried to find a model Jensen Healey but failed!!) was supplied by Pete's wife, Vicki.

So, how did our season go? We have had some excellent driver attendances for our classes, with a number of new drivers who have really fitted in well with the established group of drivers/partners and the championship is well received by all the event organisers. Importantly, a number of the final championship positions were not decided until the last run of the last event of the season, So, all in all an excellent year.

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.

Rounds 12/13 Shelsley Walsh 16/17 September 2023

(Report by LC Branch and photos by Jackie Baker)

We were at the prestigious Shelsley Walsh hill climb track in the depths of Worcestershire for their Harvest Festival final meeting of the year. We attended both days with a superb class of 21 cars on the Saturday and 22 cars on the Sunday. There were the nine Sprites of Rob Owen, Garrow Shand, Claire Giles, Phil Gardner, Mike Mohr, Lawrence Maudsley, Steve Casson, Richard Salisbury and John Tewson. We also had the six 3000's of Ian Thomas (back out for the first time this year following an engine rebuild and bodywork at our sponsors - Bill Rawles Classic Cars), Murray Shand, Will Richards, Richard Mason (driving Pat Cooper's 100/6), Trish C-P and Huw Edwards (pictured right), plus the two 100's of Michael Berry and John Ducker, the now three Jensen Healeys of Gerry Wilby (back out in his repaired car after a trip to the Armco at Goodwood), Dave Lane and Paul Baker plus Nav Bhamra's sole Sprite in the Libre class. On Sunday we were joined by Pete Walton in his 3000.

Compared to the searing 30 degree heat we endured last year, we were back to normal September weather in these parts, namely overcast, quite cool with the ever present threat of rain. In fact the weather forecast said is was likely to be dry on Saturday but wet on Sunday.

As last year, we made both days target time events and to spice things up we included the Shelsley Cup Team event, where the drivers made up seven teams of three drivers with suitable names to match. The winning team would be the one that had the lowest aggregate score over the two days. Last year winners were the 100 Dragons comprising a team of the two 100 drivers of John Ducker and Michael Berry and the Welsh contingent of Rob Owen. Will be interesting to see how they do this year.

The Saturday morning started with mist and low cloud but most importantly, the track was dry. As practice got underway in the Sprite class it was Steve Casson out front with a best time of 38.18 from Mike Mohr next in 38.75, then Claire Giles in 39.19, Rob Owen in 39.71, Phil Gardner in 40.34, Richard Salisbury in 41.89, John Tewson in 42.53, Garrow Shand in 42.82 and Lawrence Maudsley in 43.52.

After practice in the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was local specialist Richard Mason out front in a best time of 37.34 from Paul Baker in 37.86, Michael Berry in 39.79, Ian Thomas in 40.02, Dave Lane in 40.43, Trish C-P in 40.57, Will Richards in 41.16, Murray Shand in 42.63, John Ducker in 42.70, Huw Edwards in 43.01 and Gerald Wilby in 50.41.

In the Libre class Nav Bhamra posted a best practice time of 40.43.

After lunch the timed runs got underway and in the Sprite class it was Steve Casson again out front with a best time of 36.58 (click here to see his run) about a second off his pb, which probably reflected the effect of the cold weather. Next was again Mike Mohr in a very good time of 37.28, from Claire Giles who on her second timed run beat her previous best time with an excellent 38.62. Rob Owen was next also with a new pb time of 39.20, over a second faster than his pb. The training day at Shelsley two weeks prior to this event certainly made a positive difference. Phil Gardner was just a whisker behind in 30.35, then came 3 drivers all within a second - Lawrence Maudsley in 40.59, Garrow Shand in a new pb time of 40.97 and John Tewson in 40.80. Richard Salisbury (pictured right) had a spin in the Esses which fortunately did not cause any damage on his first run and he took it easier on his second timed run to finish with a 42.56.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, again it was Richard Mason leading the class in Pat Cooper's 100/6 with a best time of 36.06 (click here to see his run) just ahead of Paul Baker in 36.81 (click here to see his run) who had to lift on his second run for a pigeon siting in the middle of the road at Kennel corner - bizarre or what! Will Richards finally stirred his 3000 into action to record a best time of 38.05 from Ian Thomas who beat his pb on his second run in 39.01 to stay just ahead of David Lane who finished with a 39.09. Michael Berry (pictured below) finally achieved his goal of beating the Shelsley Healey 100 class record set by Allan Cameron in 2002 with a fantastic 39.20 - so a new class which coincidentally equaled the time set by Rob Owen in his Sprite as they both attended the same training day at Shelsley two weeks prior. Trish C-P lowered her time to a 40.49 to stay just ahead of Murray Shand in his 3000 with a 40.54, plus John Ducker in 41.43, Huw Edwards in 42.21 and Gerry Wilby in 48.76.

In the Libre class: Nav Bhamra broke his own class record with his best time of 38.75 - well done Nav.

As this was a target time event, the spreadsheet was brought into action and the results were as follows:

Sprite class: 1st Rob Owen (pictured below getting his award from Chris Shand), 2nd Garrow Shand, 3rd Claire Giles, 4th Phil Gardner, 5th Mike Mohr, 6th Lawrence Maudsley, 7th Steve Casson, 8th Richard Salisbury and 9th John Tewson.

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Michael Berry, 2nd Paul Baker, 3rd Ian Thomas, 4th Murray Shand, 5th Dave lane, 6th Will Richards, 7th Richard Mason, 8th Trish C-P, 9th John Ducker, 10th Gerald Wilby and 11th Huw Edwards.

Libre class: 1st Nav Bhamra

With excellent results from Rob Owen and Michael Berry, the 100 Dragons team had yet again taken a commanding lead in the Shelsley team cup after the first day over the Shelsley Stars team (Garrow Shand, Huw Edwards and Mike Mohr) in second place. Will they be able to maintain that lead after day two? Read on to find out.

Cake and bubbly supplied by John and Cate Ducker as it was Cate's birthday was much appreciated by the drivers and partners who then got ready and went for a superb meal at the Baiting House restaurant, all excellently organised by Helen Shand.

Sunday started out overcast and damp and rain was expected by early afternoon. As a result, the Shelsley event organisers announced that they were planning to complete the two practice runs and the first timed runs before lunch. Then to have a shortened lunch break so that we could hopefully get a dry last run before the expected rain started. This of course relied on all the drivers behaving themselves and staying on the track - which in reality most did.

So, practice on Sunday was an interesting affair as the drivers were not sure how much grip was on offer as the track was cold and damp and the Esses section can be a challenging place in those conditions.

The Sprite class finished their two practice runs with Steve Casson the quickest with a best time of 37.83 from Claire Giles (pictured right) next in 38.97, then John Tewson posted a much quicker 40.13 to move him up the order and be a tad ahead of Rob Owen in 40.30. Mike Mohr lodged a 40.31, a little off his Saturday pace, then Garrow Shand in 40.81, Phil Gardner in 41.65, Lawrence Maudsley in 42.06 and Richard Salisbury in 42.62.

The Big/Jensen Healey class was joined by Pete Walton in his 3000. The results of Sunday practice was as follows: Richard Mason was again quickest with a 37.31 - which is taking it easy by his standards but probably the sensible thing to do given the lack of grip. Paul Baker was next in 38.31 from Pete Walton very close behind in 38.52 and Ian Thomas (pictured below in his 3000) a whisker further back in 38.91. Will Richards was clearly taking care with a 39.64 with Trish C-P just behind him in 40.22. Michael Berry was next in 40.37, then Murray Shand in 41.10, John Ducker in 41.50, Dave Lane in 41.95, Huw Edwards in 43.76 and Gerry Wilby in 47.67.

In the Libre class, Nav Bhamra finished practice with a best time of 39.54

The timed runs started immediately after the second practice had finished and then we had lunch and there was still no rain when we went out for our second timed run. So the results of the two timed runs were as follows:

In the Sprite class, Steve Casson managed two very quick runs and finished with a 36.46 - his quickest time of the weekend. Claire Giles had been consistently quick all weekend and on her first timed run set an excellent new pb time of 38.43. Mike Mohr (pictured below at Bottom Esse) sorted out his alternator issues with a little help from Richard and Rob to finish with a 39.02 to stay ahead of John Tewson who leapt up the leader board with his best time of 39.14. Richard Salisbury likewise finished with his best time of 41.38, but Rob Owen could not quite reach the highs of the previous day with a 39.60. Garrow Shand also finished with a pb of 40.21 from Lawrence Maudsley who only did the first of the timed runs before lunch believing that it was going to rain before we could get out for our second run, managed a 40.28 - his best time of the weekend and just ahead of Phil Gardner in 40.30.

It was all very close in the Big/Jensen Healey class, Richard Mason was quickest with a 36.55 on his last run just ahead of Paul Baker in 37.05, then Will Richards in 37.41 and Pete Walton in 37.65. Dave Lane knocked over 3 secs off his best practice time to finish with a 38.67 with Ian Thomas just behind him in 38.72 with a new pb. Michael Berry finished with a 39.34 just off his previous day's record breaking run. Then Murray Shand put in a 40.12 to set a new pb just ahead of Trish C-P in 40.14 and John Ducker in 41.03. Huw Edwards finished in 42.39 and Gerry Wilby saved his best run for last when he recorded a 46.76 and set a new pb into the bargain - an excellent drive in a road standard Jensen Healey.

In the Libre class, Nav Bhamra could not go quicker that than his second practice run but I'm not sure that worried him.

Shortly after we finished our last run the rain started. So, despite all the gloomy weather predictions we had a weekend of 8 dry runs at Shelsley Walsh - that must count as a record at Shelsley in 2023.

Again the spreadsheet was cranked up and the results were as follows:

Sprite class: 1st Garrow Shand, 2nd Claire Giles, 3rd Richard Salisbury, 4th John Tewson, 5th Rob Owen, 6th Lawrence Maudsley, 7th Steve Casson, 8th Phil Gardner and 9th Mike Mohr

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Murray Shand (pictured right), 2nd Ian Thomas, 3rd Michael Berry, 4th Dave Lane, 5th Paul Baker, 6th Pete Walton, 7th Will Richards, 8th John Ducker, 9th Trish C-P, 10th Gerry Wilby, 11th Richard Mason and 12th Huw Edwards.

Libre class: 1st Nav Bhamra

The result of the Shelsley Team cup was: 1st 100 Dragons (Michael Berry, John Ducker and Rob Owen - 1.07secs), 2nd Shelsley Stars (Garrow Shand, Huw Edwards and Mike Mohr + 1.33), 3rd Team Vectis (Ian Thomas, Gerry Wilby and Richard Salisbury +1.37), 4th The PTO's (Paul Baker, Peter Walton and Dave Lane and John Tewson +1.56), 5th The Odd One's out (Lawrence Maudsley, Nav Bhamra and Murray Shand +1.67), 6th The beauties & the Beast (Trish C-P, Claire Giles & Richard Mason +2.26) and finally 7th Way to Spew (Phil Gardner, Steve Casson & Will Richards + 2.73).

So, for the second year running the 100 Dragons (pictured right) have won the Team Cup by quite a margin - well done guys.

A big congratulations to all the winners on both days. Once all the prizes had been awarded there was excellent cake and bubbly supplied by Steve and Jan Casson as it was Jan's birthday that weekend. A great end to a super weekend of very competitive racing at such a challenging venue. What was amazing was that with 22 cars entered we had no major breakdowns and no damage to the cars at a track which has a justifiable reputation for causing such problems.

So, on to our last event of 2023 at the Curborough sprint track near Lichfield on Sunday 1 October where some of the championship positions will be decided. So be there if you can.

Want to start Sprinting and Hill Climbing?

Rounds 10/11 Gurston Down 26/27 August 2023

(Report by LC Branch and photos by Jackie Baker)

We usually do single round events at Gurston with one in April and their last event in September. As they cancelled this year's September event we decided to change to a double header at their now final event on the August Bank Holiday weekend.

The weather was forecast to be wet on Saturday and dry on Sunday. They were almost right as we had a couple of showers on Saturday and it was dry on Sunday with a cold northerly wind on both days. Nothing like the scorchers we had last year in August.

We had a very good turnout of 14 cars, with the nine sprites of messr's Shand x 2, Casson, Giles, Gardner, Maudsley, Nutland, Owen and Salisbury - the last three of whom had not done Gurston in a Sprite before. In the Big/Jensen Healey class we had five drivers with the two Jensen Healeys of Baker and Lane, the Healey 100M of Berry, and the 3000's Shand and Edwards/Walton. Max Shand and Huw Edwards did just the Saturday and Peter Walton did the Sunday only. Murray Shand had a long trip down from Whitley Bay (Tyne & Wear) for his first outing at Gurston but felt it was worth it given it was a two day event. Murray's 3000 is pictured right at Ashes bend.

Saturday practice got underway in the Sprite class and after two runs it was Max Shand out front with a best time of 40.22 just ahead of Steve Casson in 40.69, then Phil Gardner in 43.39, Claire Giles in 43.89, David Nutland in 43.97, Garrow Shand in 44.70, Rob Owen in 45.50, Lawrence Maudsley in 45.71 and Richard Salisbury in 46.09.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class after two runs it was Paul Baker ahead in 41.42 from Michael Berry in 42.80 then David Lane in 43.31, Murray Shand managed an excellent 43.77 on his second run with Huw Edwards in 48.04.

After lunch the timed runs got underway and in the Sprite class it was Max Shand (pictured below) who took the class win with a 40.25 with Steve Casson second in 41.01. Claire Giles took third with a 43.19 from Garrow Shand who leapt up to fourth with a 43.40. The next three drivers were all within 0.34 secs of each other with Phil Gardner in 44.25, David Nutland in 44.31 and Rob Owen in 44.54. Next was Richard Salisbury in 45.52 ahead of Lawrence Maudsley in 46.27.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was Paul Baker who took first place with a best time of 41.08 from David Lane who almost matched his pb with a 42.72 but ahead of Michael Berry who could not better his practice times with a best of 43.74. (Click on link to see his run - camera at funny angle!) Murray Shand also could not match his best practice time and finished with a 44.31 to stay ahead of Huw Edwards in 47.79.

The cold weather and slightly damp track at times must have played a part in none of the drivers beating their previous best times.

So, the results of the Saturday scratch (i.e. quickest driver wins) round were as follows:

Sprite class: 1st Max Shand, 2nd Steve Casson, 3rd Claire Giles, 4th Garrow Shand, 5th Phil Gardner, 6th David Nutland, 7th Rob Owen, 8th Richard Salisbury and 9th Lawrence Maudsley.

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Paul Baker (pictured right), 2nd David Lane, 3rd Michael Berry, 4th Murray Shand and 5th Huw Edwards.

The organisers at Gurston offered the drivers a free Hog Roast on Saturday evening (guests/partners were £10) which was really well attended and great fun. So much so, that the bar ran out of beer and some wine!!

On Sunday morning we were joined by Peter Walton in his 3000, looking a bit jaded after a late night. Huw Edwards and Max Shand returned home.

The weather remained cold and windy but thankfully dry. The drivers got themselves ready for the Sunday event. Richard Salisbury and Steve Casson were complaining of transmission problems on the Saturday, so much so that Richard was going to skip second practice on Sunday morning to avoid putting too much pressure on his clutch and hope it held up for the timed runs. Whilst Steve felt he should soldier on and hope it held together.

So, on to Sunday morning practice in the Sprite class - Steve Casson was out front with a best time of 40.39 from Claire Giles in 42.60 (just off her pb of 42.49), then Phil Gardner put in his fastest time of the weekend so far with a 43.03, with David Nutland (pictured right) just behind him in 43.19, then Garrow Shand a tad further back in 43.83, with Rob Owen in 44.06, then Lawrence Maudsley put in a 45.95 and Richard Salisbury in 47.15 on his sole practice run.

Sunday practice in the Big/Jensen Healey class went as follows: Paul Baker was quickest with a 41.03 but then there were three drivers within 0.2 sec - namely Michael Berry on 42.38 (his fastest run of the weekend so far), Peter Walton on 42.56 and David Lane on 42.61 - so close. Murray Shand had been quickly learning this tricky hill climb but was getting to grips with it and posted a 44.73.

After lunch the timed runs commenced. Now, as stated earlier this Sunday round was a Target Time event, meaning that each driver is set a target - either their 'previous best time' (if they have been to that venue, in that car on 4 or more events) or a calculated 'projected time' based on what they have done at previous hill climbs. This levels the playing field to give everyone a chance to win.

So what happened? In the Sprite class, Steve Casson produced a weekend's best time of 40.22 on his first run (click on link to see his run - including new telemetry) and then his gearbox jammed on his second run and the car had to be recovered. David Nutland knows this course well but not in a Sprite, however, he went really well and finished with a 41.74. Rob Owen was one of the drivers new to this track and he finished with a very quick 42.62 with Claire Giles (pictured right) just behind him in 42.72. Garrow Shand also beat his previous best time here to end with a 43.27 to be just ahead of Phil Gardner in his best time of 43.58. Lawrence Maudsley took another two seconds off his best practice run to finish with a superb 43.84 and Richard Salisbury's gearbox/clutch held together for his to manage a much improved time of 45.39.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class it was all very close. Paul Baker led with a 40.18 (Click on link to see his run) from Pete Walton in 41.58 - no where near his previous best but he had been to a wedding the day/night before. Then David Lane leapt up the leader board with an excellent 41.99 to smash his pb. Murray Shand pulled out all the stops and finished with a very good 43.13 - his quickest run of the weekend. Michael Berry ended with a best of 43.15 after a catalogue of missed gears and problems but slower than his best practice run.

So once the spreadsheet had been fired up and the numbers crunched the results of the Target Time round were as follows:

Sprite class: 1st Lawrence Maudsley (pictured right), 2nd David Nutland, 3rd Claire Giles, 4th Rob Owen, 5th Steve Casson, 6th Richard Salisbury, 7th Garrow Shand and 8th Phil Gardner.

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st David Lane (pictured below right), 2nd Murray Shand, 3rd Paul Baker, 4th Michael Berry and 5th Peter Walton.

Being a target time event we also present engraved, cut glass prizes to the top three in each class.

Overall, we all had a great weekend at Gurston Down. The weather was mainly dry, the organisation of the meeting was first rate, the Saturday evening Hog Roast was a delight and the competition in the Healey classes was really close.

Our next event is the challenging Shelsley Walsh on 16/17 September - be there if you can.

Round 9 Goodwood 5 August 2023

(Report by D Boxx and photos by Nav Bhamra)

Round 9 took us to the fabulous Goodwood Motor Circuit for the Brighton & Hove Motor Club’s Eagle Sprint. Last year the final timed run was cancelled for the safety of the marshals as it was so hot. This year the weather forecast was appalling so would we get all our runs in; time would tell.

As always, we had an excellent entry; 7 Sprites of Casson, Salisbury, Shands Senior and Junior, Owen, Abram and Maudsley and Bhamra in the Libre class Sprite. In the Big Healeys we had 5, namely Cecile-Pritchard, Berry, Ducker, Walton and Hinton out in his new 100/6 - pictured right (although he had entered the wrong class) and 2 Jensen Healeys in Baker and Wilby. Unfortunately, when the register was called there were a few absentees, Baker illness, Maudsley weather related travel problems, Abram tow car issues!

At the drivers briefing we were advised, due to the weather forecast, that we would have one practice and up to three timed runs, however our regs stipulate 2 of each so we would have to play it by ear. Also for us it was a target time event.

Practice began and it was wet, heavy drizzle or light rain with warnings of standing water, most took it steady and with the exception of Gerald Wilby who decided to run his car along the tyre wall at St Mary’s, luckily bodywork damage was light and a punctured front tyre only, all arrived back to the paddock unscathed. So, after practice the standings in the Sprites were Casson 139.44, Shand Junior 139.69, Shand Senior 144.90, Owen 156.19 and Salisbury 164.46. Bhamra set a very creditable 140.38 for his first ever lap of Goodwood. In the Big Healey / Jensen class the standings were Berry 134.55 (the recent track day serving him well), Walton 139.69, Hinton 143.46, Ducker 148.85 and Cecile-Pritchard 168.33.

And on to the timed runs before lunch. The rain had abated, and the track was drying fast, a definite improvement. Casson and Bhamra lined up first and enjoyed a relatively dry run, but then it started to rain again heavily, and the rest of the drivers endured a wet run; luck of the draw, I guess. The organisers then called a halt for lunch, the rain had stopped and there was even some blue sky. There were a few murmurs that it was going to be a dry afternoon.

The meeting recommenced and the weather looked good, even a little sunshine. HealeySport were towards the end of the run, so would it hold? We were called to the collection area with the sun breaking through and then after half an hour of delays whilst various other drivers were recovered due to their indiscretions the rain started and by the time Casson was called to the start line it was a monsoon and the track was awash (see video) and he ended up spinning at No Name, others made it around with a great deal of caution. The track was then inspected, and the meeting abandoned as it was deemed too dangerous. So, the results after the two timed runs were: In the Sprites, Casson 117.89, Shand Junior 122.35, Shand Senior 129.89, Owen 149.79, Salisbury 152.47, with Bhamra posting a terrific 133.39 on his second ever lap of Goodwood. In the Big Healey / Jensen Class it was Walton 121.69, Berry 122.77, Ducker 137.25, Hinton (Guest Driver) 137.28, Cecile-Pritchard 140.54, Wilby (after mending the puncture and applying duck tape) 163.55.

As this was a target time event, the times were crunched and the results were:

Sprites - 1^st Casson, 2^nd Shand Senior, 3^rd Shand Junior, 4th Rob Owen and 5th Richard Salisbury.

Big Healey / Jensen - 1^st Berry, 2^nd Cecile-Pritchard, 3^rd Walton, 4th John Ducker and 5th Gerald Wilby

Libre – 1^st Bhamra.

Our next event is a double header at Gurston on 26/27 August.

Round 8 Lydden Hill 15 July 2023

(Report by LC Branch and Pics by Jackie Baker)

Our second sprint event this season was at Lydden Hill, the world famous rally cross venue just north of Canterbury in Kent. Using only the tarmac elements offered by this track, with it's steeply banked curves and hill leading to a hairpin with the iconic "Lydden Hill" sign, this course is a cross between a hill climb and a sprint. The weather was dry overall with sunshine and occasional cloud cover but with a very strong southerly wind. The wind was considered so strong that further along the coast the Goodwood Festival of Speed was cancelled. Fortunately Lydden is in a natural bowl so the wind did not seem to affect the drivers too much but the odd easy-up was destroyed in the paddock.

We had our largest entry at Lydden with 14 drivers taking part, including the five Sprites of Richard Salisbury, Lawrence Maudsley, Garrow Shand, David Abram (pictured above rounding the hairpin) and Steve Casson. This was a first venture to Lydden for Richard and Steve. Monty Hinton wanted an entry but applied too late, was offered 7th reserve place but unfortunately did not get in. In the Big/Jensen Healey class, we had the Healey 100 of Michael Berry, the 3000's of Peter Walton, Huw Edwards and the father and son duo of Robert and Mike Chambers (who were with us as invitation drivers), plus the now 3 Jensen Healeys of Gerald Wilby (pictured right - going into the left hander too hot) , David Lane and Paul Baker - one more and they get they're own class!! This was Gerald's first time at Lydden and he was also out for the first time in his freshly restored British Racing Green Jensen Healey. In our Libre class, Nav Bhamra was out in the orange Sprite for his first time at Lydden Hill.

This was a scratch event for our championship where the fastest wins and we adopted the usual format of the first two runs were considered as practice and the next two runs were our timed runs that count. The organisation at Lydden is very slick and even though each driver gets two laps per run, they managed to offer all drivers the chance to have a further timed run making it five, two lap runs, in total.

After both practice runs, it was clear that we were going to lose a few drivers due to mechanical breakdowns.

In the Sprite class, it was Steve Casson (pictured right in his Sprite that ran well all day) who, given he had not been to Lydden before, was very quick from the off with an excellent time of 89.86 (only a couple of secs off the class record), from Dave Abram in 91.08, Garrow Shand in 94.37, Lawrence Maudsley in 94.75 and Richard Salisbury in 100.84. Unfortunately, the recurring transmission problems faced by Richard Salisbury returned with a gear selector problem, meaning he could not get the gears he wanted so he had to retire the car.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, Pete Walton's 3000 failed at the first practice run start line with what turned out to be a broken half shaft, so his car was towed back to the paddock to play no further part. So it was local driver Mike Chambers who led the class with a best time of 91.38, from Michael Berry in and excellent time of 91.65 nearly 7 seconds quicker than his previous best time at Lydden. Next was Paul Baker in 92.01, then Robert Chambers in 95.90, Dave Lane in 99.59, Huw Edwards in 104.14 and Gerald Wilby in 107.71 out for the first time at Lydden in a car that had only done 50 miles prior to this event.

In our Libre class, Nav Bhamra had a differential failure in the Sprite on his first practice run and was towed back to play no further part in the event. Maybe the 5.3 was not such a good idea at this fast track!

Our timed runs got underway and in the Sprite class after two runs it was Steve Casson (click here to see his run) who found that he could not put together a run to better his superb run in practice but ended with a very good 90.02 to stay just ahead of Dave Abram in 90.56. Garrow Shand (click here to see his run) was next in 93.06 to set a new pb over 3 secs quicker, to keep ahead of the fast improving Lawrence Maudsley who also set a new pb time of 95.27 a whopping 10 secs faster than his previous best time.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, Paul Baker (click here to see his run) took the top slot with a new pb and class record time of 91.05 from Mike Chambers a whisker behind in 91.08 and Michael Berry (pictured right) who also could not get below his practice time and finished with a 92.87. This was still an excellent time and a new class record for a Healey 100. Robert Chambers was next in 94.56 and David Lane finished with a best time of 98.84. Huw Edwards improved throughout the day and finished with a 102.66 with Gerald Wilby finishing with a best of 110.09, a little slower than his best practice time, but at least his car ran faultlessly all day.

Take a look at the compilation video - you will see how strong the wind was for our photographer.

So the results of this round, excluding our two invitation drivers (Mike and Robert Chambers - see their 3000 pictured below), were are as follows:

Sprite class: 1st Steve Casson, 2nd David Abram, 3rd Garrow Shand, 4th Lawrence Maudsley and 5th Richard Salisbury

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Paul Baker, 2nd Michael Berry, 3rd David Lane, 4th Huw Edwards, 5th Gerald Wilby, 6th Peter Walton.

Libre Class: 1st Nav Bhamra.

As it was David Lane's birthday, cake and fizz were on offer and was much appreciated by all the drivers/partners.

Want to hear a good news story - If your faith in human nature ever wavers, just watch what happens when a Healey driver has a problem, namely, how were Pete Walton and David Marshall going to get home in a 3000 with a broken transmission? Step forward Gerry Wilby who tells Peter - you put your car on my trailer, you drive my Jensen Healey and I'll take it back to your place in Aylesbury. For those who don't know, Gerry lives on the Isle of Wight, so not exactly on his way home. I'm sure Gerry received some great hospitality at Church Farm. Well done Gerry.

Overall, we all had a great day at Lydden Hill. The weather was really fine, the organisation of the meeting was first rate and the competition in the Healey classes was really close.

Our next event is at the mighty Goodwood on Saturday 5th August - be there if you can.

Round 6/7 Harewood 3/4 June 2023

(Report by LC Branch and Pics by Jackie Baker)

The Healey hill climbers travelled to Harewood in Yorkshire for this fabulous hill climb. Set in stunning countryside, the longest hill climb in the UK is a treat, especially when the weather is good - which it was all weekend.

As last year, the entry for this ever popular event sold out in a matter of hours yet most of the Healeysport drivers were on the ball and we had a very good entry of 15 drivers taking part in this two day weekend event. Unfortunately, David Lane could only get an entry for the Saturday, but he and Susie stayed to watch most of the Sunday racing. Will Richards had planned to compete on the Saturday only. So, we had the 7 Sprites of John Tewson, Steve Casson, Claire Giles, Phil Gardner, Rob Owen, Garrow Shand and Lawrence Maudsley had brought his freshly bought and immaculate 1380 Ashley bodied car as his regular Sprite was awaiting parts. In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class we had the 2 Healey 100's of John Ducker and Michael Berry, the 3000's of Will Richards, Murray Shand, Trish C-P and Richard Mason and the Jensen Healeys of Paul Baker and David Lane. Richard Mason was back out in his newly re-engined steed after a period sharing Trish C-P's car.

Claire Giles was also supporting her husband Jon on the Saturday as he was competing in a Morgan GN called 'Salome' in one of the VSCC classes at Harewood. Unfortunately, engine problems meant the car was returned to its trailer early, so Jon supported Claire and the other Healey drivers over the weekend.

Saturday was run on scratch i.e. the quickest driver wins their class with Sunday our Target Time, where each driver is given a target that matches their experience and the ability of their car. The driver beating their target by the biggest margin, wins.

Saturday morning practice got underway and in the Sprite class after two runs it was Steve Casson out front with a best time of 69.89 from John Tewson in 71.08, Claire Giles in 71.85, Garrow Shand in 72.59, Phil Gardner in 75.26, Rob Owen in 77.43 and finally, Lawrence Maudsley trying to get to grips with his immaculate new car although it had some problems. There was copious amounts of smoke coming from the rear tyres (see pic right), the alternator appeared to have packed up and Lawrence was uncomfortable with the handling. So with all these issues, the car was put back on the trailer and Lawrence spectated for the rest of the day.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was Richard Mason back out front relishing the extra power and torque his new engine is giving with a best time of 69.23 (click here to see in-car video) with Paul Baker next in 70.60, ahead of Will Richards in 71.35, a rapidly improving Michael Berry in 72.98 already way under his pb, from David lane also way below his pb in 74.76, then John Ducker in 78.63 and Trish C-P in 81.10.

On to the two timed runs and in the Sprite class, there were numerous new pb's set. Steve Casson took the top slot with a best run time of 69.31, a little way off his pb, but John Tewson reduced his pb by nearly 2 secs to a 71.32. Garrow Shand lowered his pb to a 72.52, Claire Giles posted a 73.00 and Phil Gardner lowered his pb to a 73.67. Rob Owen took nearly 2 secs off his previous best time to record an excellent 73.95.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class there were three new pb's set. Richard Mason took first with a very quick 68.63 to be within a whisker of his pb. Paul Baker was close to his pb with a 70.56 and Will Richards was a fraction behind in 71.34. Michael Berry in his 100M recorded a superb 72.44 to smash his pb by over 3 secs but he was very close to beating the class record of 71.78 set by Allan Cameron way back in 2007. David Lane also set a new pb time of 74.84 - nearly 3 secs faster than his previous best. Murray Shand finished with a 75.15 setting a new pb from John Ducker who posted a 76.83 a whisker ahead of Trish C-P who pulled out all the stops and ended with her best time of the day of 76.86.

So the finishing order of the scratch event was:

Sprite class: 1st Steve Casson, 2nd John Tewson, 3rd Garrow Shand, 4th Claire Giles, 5th Phil Gardner, 6th Rob Owen, and 7th Lawrence Maudsley.

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Richard Mason, 2nd Paul Baker, 3rd Will Richards, 4th Michael Berry, 5th David Lane, 6th Murray Shand, 7th John Ducker and 8th Trish C-P.

With Saturday's racing complete, all the Healeysport drivers retired to the Ducker's Tapas bar for a well earned cocktail and something to eat - fabulous spicey nibbles. John and Cate Ducker surpassed themselves yet again this year with a stunning array of drinks and food. A huge thank you from all the drivers and partners to John and Cate for putting in so much thought and effort into organising this event each year, as it is an absolute delight and so Healeysport - well done.

The Harewood Arms hosted the dinner in the evening for nearly 20. The food was good, the company was great and to top it all, we could even pay by credit card - a recent change at Samuel Smith's pubs!!

As predicted, Sunday dawned bright and sunny for the morning's practice but turned cloudy and cooler for the afternoon runs.

Practice in the Sprite class threw up no real surprises - Steve Casson was leading the class with a best of 69.43 from John Tewson in 72.53, Garrow Shand in 72.80, Rob Owen lowered his best time to a 73.14, Claire Giles posted a 73.23 and Phil Gardner in 74.14.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, Richard Mason opened with a best time of 69.15, from Paul Baker in a pb breaking time of 70.29, from Michael Berry (pictured right) who lowered his pb again to a 71.97 to be within 0.19 secs of the 100 class record. Murray Shand lodged a 75.17, from John Ducker in 77.14 and Trish C-P in 79.34.

With cloud cover the track was cooling, so the drivers knew that they ideally had to make their first run count. In the Sprite class: Steve Casson went faster on his second run posting his fastest time of the weekend and got within a second of his pb with an excellent 68.86 (click here to see his run). Then all the other Sprite drivers broke their pb's - John Tewson got close to getting into the 69's with a 70.37 (John knows his way round this track as he holds the 3000 record in 67.95 secs - so maybe an engine refresh is required!!), Garrow Shand took another 2 secs off the pb he set the previous day to finish with a superb 70.51, Rob Owen really did get things right when he recorded a 71.39 some 2.5 secs faster than the pb he set the previous day. Claire Giles reduced her pb by nearly half a sec to 72.14 and Phil Gardner did the same to end with an excellent 72.51.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class half of the drivers beat their pb's. Richard Mason finished with his best time of 68.71 again a tad over his pb. Paul Baker finally broke the 70 sec barrier by posting a 69.10 to set a new pb and JH class record (Click here to see video). Michael Berry achieved what he had been threatening to do all weekend by beating Allan Cameron's 16 year record of 71.78 with a brilliant 70.44. We are all sure that Allan would really have appreciated a 100M driven well beating his time. Murray Shand took another 1.5 secs off his Saturday pb to end with a fabulous 73.01. John Ducker finished with his quickest time of the weekend in 76.25 and Trish C-P ended with her best time of the day in 77.52.

Take a look at the compilation video for our class - apologies that some of the cars are missing, this was due to a technical problem!!

As this was a Target Time round the times were input to the spreadsheet and the winning order was:

Sprite class: 1st Rob Owen (pictured above right), 2nd Garrow Shand, 3rd Phil Gardner, 4th Claire Giles, 5th John Tewson and 6th Steve Casson.

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

Overall a great weekend's hill climbing at this long and challenging venue. Huge congratulations to Rob Owen and Murray Shand for winning their classes.

Our next event is a sprint Lydden Hill near Canterbury in Kent on Saturday 15 July, so be there if you can make it.

Round 5 Prescott - 27 May 2023

(Report by LC Branch and Pics by Jackie Baker)

Back at Prescott for the Bugatti Owners Club Historique event for the second year running and yet again the weather was superb. We had 16 Healeysport drivers (10 Sprites and 6 Big/Jensen Healeys) competing in this one day scratch event with three, Nav Bhamra and Richard Salisbury new to the track and technically Mike Mohr as it was the first time he has driven his Sebring Sprite there. Of those who have been there before we had the Sprites of Max & Garrow Shand, Rob Owen, Steve Casson, Phil Gardner and Lawrence Maudsley, plus the Big/Jensen Healeys John Ducker, Michael Berry (pictured right in this Revcounter front cover if ever we saw one!), Trish C-P co-driving with Richard Mason (as his new engine was not quite ready for this event), Paul Baker and Pete Walton.

Also present with us for the day was Keith Allen after such a long absence and Colin Gale. So good to see them both as they have been greatly missed.

We were told by the organisers that they were planning to offer three practice runs in the morning with two timed run after lunch.

So practice got underway and in the Sprite class it was Max Shand after all three practice runs out front with a personal best time of 53.20 from Steve Casson who managed his first practice run in 54.49 then found that he had a solid rear suspension (later established that the shocks had locked up!!) and was suffering with numerous electrical problems resulting in the engine expiring at Pardon on his second run. As a result the car was put on the trailer to play no further part. Mike Mohr was next in a best time of 54.43 from John Tewson a fraction behind in 54.91, then Garrow Shand in 54.97, Phil Gardner was next with a best time of 56.84, Lawrence Maudsley produced a personal best time of 57.02 on his third run to be ahead of Richard Salisbury, still learning the track in a very respectable time of 59.31.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was Paul Baker in his Jensen Healey with a best time of 53.29 with Pete Walton (pictured right) a whisker away in 53.33 and Michael Berry very close behind in 53.72 - obviously benefitting from having done the Prescott drivers school only a few days before the event. Richard Mason managed to squeeze a 55.79 out of Trish's 3000 with John Ducker next in a pb time of 58.09 ahead of Trish herself next up in a best time of 59.58.

In our Libre class, Nav Bhamra round by round was going quicker and finished practice with an excellent time of 53.65 secs.

The lunch break included demonstration runs from various BRM's single seaters including the incredibly loud V16, plus numerous parade runs by the Bugatti's all topped off with a fly past from a Spitfire. Eventually, at 3.30pm the timed runs started, some 4 hours after our last practice run!!

During the interval, the traditional Healeysport camaraderie came to the fore as Steve Casson was offered a dual drive with John Tewson. Steve was really grateful for the offer and John was keen to get some feedback on how is car compares.

On to the timed runs and in the Sprite class, it was Max Shand (pictured below squirreling out of Ettores) who pulled out all the stops and recorded a pb winning first run in 52.76 from John Tewson in 54.74 (click here to see his run) and Rob Owen also in a pb time of 55.38. Steve Casson came in a valiant fourth in 55.50 speaking very highly of JT's Frogeye (click here to see his run), just ahead of Garrow Shand in 55.72 and Phil Gardner in 56.33. Richard Salisbury ended with a superb 57.07 - breaking 60 seconds on your first attempt at Prescott is an excellent drive. Mike Mohr was expecting to be higher up the field but had to be content with a 58.63 as his Sprite lost 1st gear off the line on his first run, so he had to put the car on the trailer and miss the last run. Lawrence Maudsley recorded a 60.06 on the first timed run.

On to the the Big/Jensen Healey class and it was Pete Walton who took the top slot with a pb time of 52.33 from Paul Baker in a tardy 53.40 - way off his pb (almost not worth seeing this run). Michael Berry was third with an excellent pb time of 54.05 from Richard Mason who managed a 55.13, then Trish CP in in 59.03 and John Ducker in 59.94.

In the Libre class, Nav Bhamra, also new to this track, pulled out an amazing 52.51 without a puff of smoke seen on the videos - maybe it had run out of oil!!

Talking of videos - take look at the compilation videos of the drivers tackling the Esses and the lead into Semi Circle.

So, the results were as follows: In the Sprite class: 1st Max Shand, 2nd John Tewson, 3rd Rob Owen (pictured below braking hard into Pardon), 4th Steve Casson, 5th Garrow Shand, 6th Phil Gardner, 7th Richard Salisbury, 8th Mike Mohr and 9th Lawrence Maudsley.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Pete Walton, 2nd Paul Baker, 3rd Michael Berry, 4th Richard Mason, 5th Trish CP, 6th John Ducker.

In the Libre class: 1st Nav Bhamra.

We had three birthdays to celebrate - namely Garrow's, Trish's and Keith's, so the bubbly flowed and large amounts of chocolate cake and nibbles consumed. A great end to an excellent day's hill climbing at this world famous venue.

Our next event is Harewood - next weekend!!

Rounds 3/4 Loton Park - 13/14 May 2023

(Report by LC Branch and Pics by Jackie Baker)

The weather forecast was fortunately inaccurate as it was fine, dry and sunny most of the weekend. We had an excellent class of 17 Healeys including the 9 Sprites of Shand/Shand, Casson, Mohr, Nutland, Tewson, Gardner, Giles and Owen. The 2 Jensen Healeys of Lane and Baker, 2 100's of Ducker and Berry and the 3 3000's of Giles, Shand and Edwards. We also had two new drivers to Loton in David Nutland and Mike Mohr (Mike had in fact been before but a few years ago and not in his Sprite - pictured right). A mention must go to Murray Shand for getting his 3000 repaired in under 2 weeks so that he could be out at Loton - probably helps owning a garage.

The Saturday event was run as a scratch event - where the fastest driver wins and on the Sunday it was run as a target time event - where each driver is given a target or their previous best time and the driver who beat their target by the most wins.

Saturday morning practice went well with no mishaps. In the Sprite class it was Steve Casson out front with a best time of 63.74 from Max Shand in 64.25, Mike Mohr was next and getting the hang of the course very quickly posting a very swift 67.17, from Garrow Shand in 68.79, Rob Owen in 69.78, Phil Gardner in 70.26, Claire Giles in 71.01, John Tewson in 71.37 and David Nutland learning the track in 76.83.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, it was Paul Baker leading with a 63.75 from David Lane also in a Jensen Healey in 67.45, from Michael Berry in 68.43, Murray Shand in 69.69, John Ducker in 70.75, Ed Giles in 72.64,and Huw Edwards in 72.74.

In the Libre class, Nav Bhamra posted a 68.29.

After lunch the timed runs got underway in bright sunshine. In the Sprite class after both runs were complete, it was Max Shand who leapt to the front with a best time of 63.80 to record a pb - releasing the rear brakes - see pic above - did make a difference! However, Steve Casson was having gear shift problems and could only manage a 64.10, some way off his hill record time of last year. Mike Mohr showed he is a class act in extracting a 65.59 from his pretty Sebring Sprite given he hasn't driven at Loton for some time. The next 6 cars all finished within a second of each other, but it was David Nutland who jumped up the list from 9th after practice to take 4th with an excellent 68.62, from John Tewson in 68.70 (click here to see his run), Garrow Shand in 68.73, Phil Gardner a whisker behind in 68.75, Claire Giles in 68.81 and Rob Owen in 69.09.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, the first timed runs went off without incident but after the second timed runs two cars had problems at the same bend, namely 'Fallow' at the top of Cedar Straight. First Michael Berry's engine stopped mysteriously although he got it going again to complete his run, but a little later Ed Giles (pictured right) came into the braking area at the fastest part of the track at Fallow only to find that his brake pedal went to the floor - no brakes!! - so his car went straight on and hit the bank which launched the car into the air before coming to rest on its wheels. Ed was clearly shaken but fortunately unharmed but his car was seriously damaged, so it was loaded onto a low loader and brought back to the paddock to play no further part in the weekend.

The Big/Jensen Healey class finished their second timed runs with Paul Baker setting a new Jensen Healey record of 62.46 from David Lane who took second in 66.59 holding off a determined pb challenge from Michael Berry in 66.70. Murray Shand finished with a best time of 70.63, to be just ahead of Ed Giles's first run time of 71.31 - a personal best, John Ducker was next in 72.34 and Huw Edwards could not beat his practice time with a best of 75.26.

In the Libre class, Nav Bhamra finished with a best time of 66.24.

So the results for the Saturday scratch event was:

Sprite class: 1st Max Shand, 2nd Steve Casson, 3rd Mike Mohr, 4th David Nutland, 5th John Tewson, 6th Garrow Shand, 7th Phil Gardner, 8th Claire Giles and 9th Rob Owen.

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Paul Baker, 2nd David Lane, 3rd Michael Berry, 4th Murray Shand, 5th Ed Giles, 6th John Ducker and 7th Huw Edwards.

Libre class: 1st Nav Bhamra.

Click here to see a compilation video of the cars on the Saturday.

Claire Giles had expertly organised an excellent evening at the Old Hand and Diamond pub for the nearly 30 drivers and partners/friends.

Early the following morning a group of drivers helped get Ed Giles's 3000 onto a borrowed trailer so that Jon Giles (Ed's cousin) could drive Ed and his car to the Cameron Emporium in Farringdon for Joe Mackrell to take a look at the damage and decide on a course of action. Jon then had a return drive to Loton, hand back the borrowed trailer then collect Claire's (wife) Sprite and drive home. Jon did over 9 hours driving that day - what a superstar. Yet another example of Healeysport competitors helping one another when things go wrong - long may it continue.

On Sunday morning our second day's racing at Loton Park got underway in slightly cooler weather, even though we were in a different part of the paddock and with a new set of race numbers - I'd be surprised if that happens again!

We had the same drivers and cars less Max Shand and Ed Giles, but this round was a target time affair.

After practice in the Sprite class it was Steve Casson quickest in 63.11 from Mike Mohr in 64.49, Claire Giles in a very good 67.60, with Garrow Shand a whisker behind in 67.97, John Tewson in 68.67 ahead of his previous best, from Rob Owen on 68.71, Phil Gardner in 69.81 and a surprisingly tardy David Nutland in 73.04.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was the black Jensen Healey of Paul Baker out front in 64.35 from Michael Berry (pictured above) in 66.65 who had leap frogged David Lane in 68.18. John Ducker had a best time of 69.93 from Murray Shand in 70.50 and Huw Edwards in 71.20.

Nav Bhamra posted a best practice time of 66.70.

On to the timed runs and in the Sprite class, it was Steve Casson out front with a best time of 63,20 (click here to see his run) but with handling issues on his newly built Lenham GTO he was not getting near last year's times. Mike Mohr posted a very quick 64.20 and a pb from Claire Giles who got very close to her pb with an excellent 66.29. Garrow Shand pulled out all the stops on his last run to record a pb time of 66.98 to stay ahead of John Tewson in 67.41 (also a pb), Rob Owen in 67.76 (a pb), Phil Gardner in 67.93 and finally David Nutland in 71.75 - was his cold getting the better of him?

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, Paul Baker finished with a best time of 63.09 (click here to see his run) from Michael Berry in pb time of 66.50 but Murray Shand took over 2 secs off his previous day's time to finish with a superb pb time of 68.04 to leap ahead of David Lane in 68.07. John Ducker finished with a 69.26 and Huw Edwards in his best time of the weekend of 70.85.

In the Libre class, Nav Bhamra posted an excellent class record time of 63.91 on his last run.

As this was a Target Time event, the results were as follows:

Sprite class: 1st Garrow Shand (pictured above), 2nd Rob Owen, 3rd Mike Mohr, 4th Phil Gardner, 5th Claire Giles, 6th John Tewson, 7th Steve Casson and 8th David Nutland.

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Murray Shand (pictured right), 2nd Paul Baker, 3rd John Ducker, 4th Michael Berry, 5th David Lane and 6th Huw Edwards

Libre class: 1st Nav Bhamra

Overall, a great weekend's hill climbing at one of the top hill climb tracks in the UK in dry, sunny and warm conditions. Our next event is at Prescott for the one day Historique event for classic cars on Saturday 27 May. Be there if you can make it.

Want to start Sprinting and Hill Climbing?

Rounds 1/2 Anglesey - 29/30 April 2023

(Report by LC Branch and Pics by Jackie Baker)

After our last foray to Anglesey last April when the weather was not very kind we were hoping for better conditions for this wonderful and scenic track. Perched on the edge of the Irish Sea the weather can be changeable to say the least. Fortunately, we were blessed with two days of virtually dry tracks and at times sunny weather.

We had our best entry ever for Anglesey, with 9 Sprites, 6 x 3000's, 2 x 100's, 2 Jensen Healeys and a Sprite in our Libre class - giving 20 drivers in total and a third of the total entry for the event

We had a new driver to Healeysport in Carl Read in his nicely prepared Mk 2 Sprite (pictured above). This was Carl's first time out competitively in our sport yet his car had engine problems on the way to the track on Friday so we will see how it performs. Also out with us for the first time was Mike Mohr in his very well sorted Sebring Sprite (pictured below), although Mike has been competing in our sport for many years. Richard Mason's 3000 is still waiting for the engine to be completed so Richard is sharing with Trish C-P.

We also had a number of our drivers who were new to Anglesey - namely - Lawrence Maudsley, Garrow Shand, Mike Mohr and Carl Reid in the Sprites, Murray Shand (3000), David Lane (Jensen Healey) and John Ducker (100).

Dave Abram organised 2 double garages for all the cars we had to store.

As last year, we complete two laps of the National circuit per run on the Saturday followed by one lap of the International circuit per run on the Sunday. As the weather was good the organisers managed to fit in 2 practice runs and two timed runs for us, with additional runs on the Sunday if anyone wanted them. For the Championship, the Saturday was a target time event with glassware for the top three in each class and the Sunday was on scratch i.e. where the fastest driver wins.

Practice started on the Saturday morning and after two runs it was Steve Casson leading the Sprite class with a best time of 134.10 from Dave Abram in 134.93, then John Tewson (now an Anglesey resident and pictured below) in 136.85, Garrow Shand in 144.06, Richard Salisbury in 144.99, Mike Mohr in 151.38, Rob Owen in 152.03, Lawrence Maudsley did a 154.70 in his freshly resprayed Sprite and Carl Reid in 192.31. Unfortunately Carl's Sprite had an engine problem that could not be fixed easily in the paddock so Carl decided to retire the car and head back home.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, it was Pete Walton in his 3000 that lead the pack with an opening time of 34.19 which would have broken the existing track record for a 3000 if it was not practice. Paul Baker was next in his Jensen Healey and recorded a best time of 138.28, then Michael Berry in his 100 in 140.81, Richard Mason in 141.87, Murray Shand in 142.07, closely followed by John Ducker in 142.12, John Richards in 143.84, Dave Lane in 146.70, Trish C-P in 151.05 and Huw Edwards in 160.56.

Nav Bhamra is the sole entrant in the Libre class and he recorded a very quick 138.05.

The timed runs got underway and in the Sprite class Steve Casson was showing what his new Lenham GTO bodied Sprite could do - well he broke the class record with a stunning 133.21 - so the new car is quicker than his old one - good news for all the other Sprite drivers!! See Steve's run here. Dave Abram posted a 135.10, John Tewson 136.90 and a pb, Lawrence Maudsley knocked over 10 seconds off his best practice time to record a 144.58, Richard Salisbury produced a pb time of 145.28, Mike Mohr finished with a best of 147.66 and Rob Owen in 153.48.

Just before the Healeysport classes went out for their final run of the day, the sea mist rolled in over the track reducing visibility, particularly at the end of the Tom Pryce Straight into the tight hairpin. As a result the second timed runs for most drivers were slower.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class it was Pete Walton who ended up quickest with a best time of 135.13 ahead of Paul Baker in 136.91 (a new Jensen Healey record), then Michael Berry (pictured right) in 140.32 (a new Healey 100 record), Richard Mason in 141.65, John Richards moved up the listing with a 142.28, Murray Shand finished with an excellent 143.02, David Lane posted a 146.47, then three drivers very close together - Huw Edwards in 154.04, John Ducker in 154.63 and Trish C-P in 154.74.

As this was a target time event, the results were as follows:

Sprite Class: 1st Lawrence Maudsley (pictured right receiving award from his partner Lorraine), 2nd Steve Casson, 3rd Garrow Shand, 4th Dave Abram, 5th John Tewson, 6th Richard Salisbury, 7th Mike Mohr, 8th Rob Owen and 9th Carl Reid

Big/Jensen Healey Class: 1st Paul Baker, 2nd Pete Walton, 3rd Michael Berry, 4th Richard Mason, 5th Murray Shand, 6th John Richards, 7th Dave Lane, 8th Huw Edwards, 9th Trish C-P 10th John Ducker

Libre Class: 1st Nav Bhamra

We had heavy rain overnight but the brisk breeze dried the track quite quickly. The first practice run on Sunday morning was in damp conditions but a dry line appeared for the second practice followed by a dry track for the timed runs.

After both practice runs in the Sprite class, it was Dave Abram out front with a best time of 111.31, Steve Casson was next in 15.86, then John Tewson in 118.39 with Lawrence Maudsley just behind him in 118.79 and Mike Mohr next in 119.09. Garrow Shand was next in 125.78 then Rob Owen in 127.46 and finally Richard Salisbury (pictured below) who recorded a 134.74 on his first run and failed to record a time for his second run.

A few more problems appeared with our old cars on the Sunday. Richard Salisbury's starter motor packed up and so we had to resort to bump or tow starts and Dave Abram's Sprite completed both practice runs then got stuck in first gear again - this happened at Goodwood last year, so Dave accepted a dual drive with Nav Bhamra in the orange Sprite.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class it was all very close for the top 5 cars, however, it was Will Richards who led the class with a best time of 114.90 from Pete Walton in 115.13, Richard Mason in 115.17, Michael Berry in 115.46 and Paul Baker in 115.79. Trish C-P was next in 123.30 from John Ducker in 123.39 and Huw Edwards in 125.52, then Murray Shand posted a 133.78 on his first run and on his 2nd run went too fast into Rocket and hit the barriers next to the marshal's post. The car sustained some significant damage, so Murray's event was over. Last up was Dave Lane who recorded 139.25 on his first run decided to change his tyres for a new set and had some wheel nuts come loose on the front left and had to pull off the track.

On to the timed runs and in the Sprite class it was Steve Casson (pictured below) who produced a personal best time of 109.46 to lead from John Tewson also with a pb of 111.01, then an excellent run of 114.39 by Mike Mohr pulled him up to third place, ahead of Garrow Shand who leapt up the leader board with a 115.53, from Lawrence Maudsley with an excellent 116.99, from Rob Owen in 121.03 and a 122.03 from Richard Salisbury. Dave Abram co-drove with Nav Bhamra in the Orange Libre Classed Sprite and recorded a best of 119.22.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class all the cars went much quicker than practice with the top five cars were still very close after the final two runs but the order changed with Paul Baker leaping to the front with a new class record time of 107.89 (click here to see Paul's run) beating Will Richards into 2nd place with a pb time of 108.60. Pete Walton was a whisker behind in 108.94 (also a pb) with Michael Berry posting a new 100 record time of 110.60 and Richard Mason finishing with a best of 111.74 - an excellent result given that he was not in his usual car (click here to see Richard's run) . David Lane knocked 23 seconds off his practice time to finish with a very creditable 116.79 showing those new tyres did make a big difference once bolted on securely. Trish C-P recorded a personal best time of 120.18 (see her run here) from John Ducker in 123.26 and Huw Edwards in 124.02.

Click here to see a compilation video of most of the cars on the Sunday.

As this was a scratch event the results were as follows:

Sprite Class: 1st Steve Casson, 2nd John Tewson, 3rd Mike Mohr, 4th Garrow Shand, 5th Lawrence Maudsley, 6th Rob Owen, 7th Richard Salisbury and 8th Dave Abram.

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Paul Baker (pictured right), 2nd Will Richards, 3rd Pete Walton, 4th Michael Berry, 5th Richard Mason, 6th David Lane, 7th Trish C-P, 8th John Ducker, 9th Huw Edwards, 10th Murray Shand

Libre Class: 1st Nav Bhamra

What a fabulous event with great weather, a tremendous group of drivers and an overall super weekend. A big thank you must also go to Marius for collecting the times, organising the garage space and generally helping anyone who needed a hand with a ready smile over the weekend and for Jackie Baker and Vicki Walton for taking the photos.

Our next event is our first hill climb of the year at the excellent Loton Park near Shrewsbury on 13/14 May. We have over 20 drivers entered, so looks to be a great weekend's hill climbing at this prestigious venue.