Steve Pearce writes our opening report of the new season:

Some remarkably good weather greeted the 12 competitors to Anglesey for rounds 1 and 2 at the weekend. There were a few takers for testing on Friday, but I didn't arrive until Friday evening so not sure how things went. There was a lot of discussion about transponders and where to put them (!!!). One or two thought they would work from inside the cockpit, hard luck they can't see through ally. There has been a lot of hard work on some cars over the winter after shunts last year, Guy Snook's (now black) PRS looking good, compared with its sorry state after Cadwell.

The first practice was OK for most, but our new guys were having a few problems - Ian Millward was taking it very steady (after being kicked by a horse - ask Ian for the full story) and Mitch Wenger with a coolant leak and square tyres on his RF79. Simon Davey put his RF81 on pole, joined by Anthony Wills, hmmm wonder how he managed that. Dave Lowe and myself were on row 2. There was plenty of time to fiddle with the machinery before the race.

Race 1 (16 laps) - with overtaking being so difficult, the start was going to be all important, I made a really good one to slip in front of Dave and Anthony, but almost gave Simon a biff up the back. I tried to keep Simon busy and he did make a mistake at 'Radar' early in the race, but I was only given the outside line into the hairpin, which wasn't going to work. After that Simon pulled clear for a fairly easy win. I had some empty mirrors because the full resources of the Metropolitan Police were being used to keep Dave Lowe at bay, with Dave having a spin during his efforts to find a way by. However, Anthony then tripped over a recovering Mitch Wenger, allowing Dave through to 3rd. Martin Camp (RP26 - now virgin white) and Keith Ward completed the top 6. The only retirement was a fuel starved Colin Williams who was unlucky enough to get some sealant (or was it chewing gum) in the fuel pipe.

We had another 15 min practice on Sun, time to bed some rear pads in, but getting a clear lap in at the end was a problem - even with only 12 cars. The same top 6 but shuffled slightly, with Simon and Dave on row 1.

Race 2 (20 laps) - I fluffed the start slightly, but kept close to the first pair, with Anthony Wills hanging on well in 4th. Dave gave Simon quite a bit of stick early on, even getting a nose in front into turn 1, but didn't fancy the long way round - it looked quite lively from my seat. Things then settled down with Simon pulling away and I lost contact with Dave, with Anthony still in 4th. 20 laps seemed like an enduro to me. The highlight of the race was a great dice between Martin Camp and Colin Williams, going to Martin on the last lap. Both Ian Millward and Mitch Wenger improved their times a huge amount over the weekend, although Mitch tried hard with Jon Nash to record the best (or most?) spins of the day. All 12 cars finished this time, with everybody looking forward to Thruxton in 2 weeks time.

My new tow car managed 39 mpg (all chip oil donations welcome), complete with trailer, PRS, tools, kitchen sink, etc. Not brilliant uphill though. On the way back we incurred the wrath of the following fire engine on the contraflow section of A55 (about 5 miles long!), the horsebox in front was more concerned about speed cameras. I could see crew donning yellow helmets and BA in my mirrors, as well as blue lights, siren, etc. Must have been a big shout.

SP

 

Back to 2003 Results

Home