This year we were back at our traditional venue of Matthew and Tim Green’s farm at Pusey so a thank you to them for allowing the use of the land.
The weather was dry and slightly longer grass was enough to provide some grip but also slippery enough to provide plenty of entertainment. A disappointingly low entry did not spoil the day indeed it allowed us to run 7 tests, 6 traditional and one special, much to everyone’s enjoyment.
In the Autotest class new club members Matthew Fazakerley on his first event and Matt Tyrrell were only slightly off the pace until they became accustomed to the surface although they were matching each other’s times. At the end they were 3rd and fifth respectively.
2nd and 4th places went to Dolphin members Derek Looker and Mark Nicoll but the top spot was awarded to Bob Milligan and his flying Mini who was fastest on every test.
In the PCA class Tom Horst and Felicity Martins took it steady on their very first event as drivers, after missing the last two tests they ended the day in 5th and 6th.
In 4th place were the son and father pairing of James and Richard Austen, this was also James’s first event and was driving his own car but still equipped himself well.
Moving up a spot were Sam and Steve Chambers in the lovely Austin Healey Sprite who had made our event the final part of their grand scenic tour from Bournemouth, through Wales and back home. We wondered how Steve’s glorious E-Type would have performed.
In second place Richard and James had swapped seats to record a time which would have given them 3rd overall.
The top PCA team of young driver Jake Humphrey paired with dad Russell grew with confidence throughout the day to record some very quick times and would have been 2nd overall.
The design of the tests received praise from the drivers as being very entertaining, they combined some technical manoeuvres with the opportunity to drive at speed.
The last test of the day was devised by Colin to add a twist to the day.
From the start drivers had to pass through 15 numbered gates before crossing the finish line. The choice of route was free with additional penalties for missing or duplicating a gate.
There were numerous variations of route but it was Bob who had it nailed by recording the fastest identical time on both his runs.
Same time, same place next year – put it your diary for a good days motorsport and the super barbeque.