Autotest event reports

Added: 9th August 2007

Irwin Masters The Rain

After the open spaces of Anglesey it was a contrast to have rather less space for the Knutsford & DMC event at Championship sponsors, Demon Tweeks. There was also a contrast in the weather as the threatened rain arrived at the start of the event and lasted all day. Ken Irwin made up for his disappointment the previous day as he mastered the slippery conditions in a Mini. It was a front wheel drive benefit with Robin Lyons in the Mini Special second, Gavin Dickson in his Nova third and last year's winner Dave Mosey fourth.

The threatened rain arrived as drivers completed walking the tests. The Demon Tweeks car park is very slippery when wet and conditions stayed that way all day, only drying up as the organisers packed up the cones. Regular competitor, Duncan Wild laid out three compact tests on the Demon Tweeks car parks and these were to challenge the skills of the best drivers. Paul Swift was again absent from the entry as he was earning his living with his demonstration nearby at Ellesmere Port. Most of the drivers who were on Anglesey had entered the Sunday event. One absentee was the previous day's winner, Stephen Wild who had a prior commitment. Once again the regulars were joined by Ken Irwin and Robin Lyons, but this time they swapped seats and Ken drove the Mini Saloon. Also having a first outing this year was the 2006 winner, Dave Mosey, supported by Adele, also in the Mini. Dave and Ken were evenly matched and traded fastest times but a maximum for Dave on test 5 dropped him down the field. Ken was to suffer a stall on test 9 but he avoided a maximum by push starting the Mini. Dave's two penalties to Ken's one was to prove the majority of their difference at the end.

The sports cars were having most difficulty with the conditions and Demon Tweeks were able to supply several with more suitable rubber. Simon Echlin (Westfield), Malcolm Livingston (Lotus 7), Richard Pinkney (Caterham) and Chris Atkinson (Buggy) filled the next four places. Only Simon avoided penalties. Malcolm had two, Richard five and Chris 6. Without these penalties Simon, Malcolm and Richard would have reversed their positions. Duncan Stephens took his revenge on Carl Sams for the previous day and finished inside the top ten.

Three small sports cars were out and this time it was Paul Fobister who won the class by 10 seconds from Mike Biss. Regular Mini driver, Howard Everingham had to be content with third in class behind Ken and Dave having their rare visits this year. The ladies were well represented. Helen Perren was fastest followed by Adele Mosey, Clair Chambers and Steph Carey. Steph was complaining about stiffness after doing some explosive stunts during the previous week as part of a Dr Who episode.

Ian Chapman was getting to grips with the new Striker. He fitted a seat after the Anglesey event to provide better location. Son Chris was using the regular Westfield which he shared with Gordon Holmes.

Footnote.
Little did Gavin Dickson and Stephen Wild realise when they met at University fifteen years ago that they would each take best BTRDA® and a coveted Spoon on the same weekend.

Organisers: Knutsford & DMC
Where: Demon Tweeks, Wrexham
Starters: 44

Results
1 Ken Irwin (Mini) 642.0; 2 Robin Lyons (Mini Special) 647.3; 3 Gavin Dickson (Nova) 650.6; 4 Dave Mosey (Mini) 653.0; 5 Simon Echlin (Westfield) 663.9; 6 Malcolm Livingston (Lotus 7) 670.1; 7 Richard Pinkney (Caterham) 684.8; 8 Chris Atkinson (Buggy) 697.9; 9 Duncan Stephens (Nova) 709.6; 10 Carl Sams (Nova) 714.1.
Class Winners: Irwin; Dickson; Paul Fobister (Striker) 776.7; Echlin, Lyons.
Duncan Wild

Demon Tweeks Direct BTRDA® Autotest - Round 8
Kennings Trophy, Anglesey

Wild Tames ABS

It was a good day for the Wild family on Anglesey for the eighth round of the championship. Son Stephen pushed the ABS Freestyle to a fantastic FTD while Duncan was fifth overall. Ken Irwin and Robin Lyons came over from Northern Ireland to provide some stiff competition in the absence of Paul Swift however they both had their problems and had to settle for third and eighth overall. Simon Echlin took second place followed by Richard Pinkney.

Stephen Wild in the ABS Freestyle traded times with Ken Irwin (Mini Special) and Simon Echlin (Westfield) all day but a maximum on test 4 when he wrong routed was to cost Ken FTD. Simon had the Westfield wound up on the fast open tests but a mistake cost him valuable time when he put the wheels on the grass. A similar mistake and a cone cost Duncan Wild fourth place which was inherited by Richard Pinkney. Lee Matthews and Caenarvonshire and Anglesey CC used the narrow roads of the Anglesey Showground to provided a novel challenge as the drivers changed direction at speed. Several vanished onto the grass and lost valuable time.

Robin Lyons stalled the Mini Saloon on one test and pushed the car to the finish, loosing about 15 seconds and three or four places. John Griffiths in the same class was heard to admit that despite Robin's problem he still beat John by 15 seconds on the test. Malcolm Livingston returned to the championship after his holiday on the continent taking in Le Mans then visits to drive the Lotus on the old Reims, Nuremberg and Spa circuits. It was perhaps not surprising that the Lotus 7 cried out for a service when Malcolm tackled the first round of tests. He found a leaking rear brake cylinder, which was replaced by one from Clerk of the Course, Lee Matthew's Breakers Yard. Malcolm rejoined the fray to take sixth place.

Chris Atkinson in the Subaru engined Buggy was just ahead of the unfortunate Robin Lyons. Gordon Holmes made a rare appearance sharing Ian Chapman's Westfield with Ian's son Chris. Ian debuted his new Striker which showed promise. Unfortunately Ian was sliding about in the car and after the event went home to fit a full seat before the Knutsford event the following day.

Best larger saloon was the Nova of Gavin Dickson. He was followed by a determined Carl Sams who beat previous class winner, Duncan Stephens. Several drivers were having problems as the day progressed. Keith Walton had a propshaft failure but fixed it for the next morning. Martin Mackenzie brought out his Lindsay Special only to throw a fan belt and boil. None of this detracted from an enjoyable day in the sunshine.

Organisers: Caenarvonshire & Anglesey CC
Where: Anglesey Showground
Starters: 35

Results
1 Stephen Wild (ABS Freestyle) 643.25; 2 Simon Echlin (Westfield) 659.02; 3 Ken Irwin (Mini Special) 663.84; 4 Richard Pinkney (Caterham) 671.88; 5 Duncan Wild (ABS Freestyle) 675.05; 6 Malcolm Livingston (Lotus 7) 681.89; 7 Chris Atkinson (Buggy) 687.30; 8 Robin Lyons (Mini) 689.70; 9 Gordon Holmes (Westfield) 701.29; 10 Gavin Dickson (Nova) 712.87. Class Winners: Dave Goodlad (Mini) 836.53; Lyons; Dickson; Echlin; Wild.

Duncan Wild

Demon Tweeks Direct BTRDA® Autotest Championship - Round 6
CSMA, Hatfield

Paul Swift turned the tables on Simon Echlin from the previous day with FTD. Paul had an initial challenge from Stephen Wild in the ABS who was leading after three tests. Unfortunately a drive coupling failed on test 4 and Stephen dropped down the field but recovered to take third place. Richard Pinkney turned the tables on Chris Atkinson and could have finished higher if he had avoided penalties.

Mike Biss made good use of the Hatfield Library site with a contrst from the previous day,s event in Kent. Although the roads provide a tight challenge on the tests, Mike had managed to thrill the drivers with some good quick bits.

Duncan Wild was suffering from over heating of the ABS in the hot conditions. After a hectic attempt to bleed the system he lost concentration on the final round of tests. First he collected a penalty and then on the penultimate test hit a curb and broke a wheel.

The battle of the Novas continued and this time Gavin Dickson took the class honours from Duncan Stephens. Stephen Morten debuted the new Elise engined Striker the previous day and continued to sort out teething problems. He was rewarded with an encouraging eighth place. Paul Fobister had his best result in the ex Morten Striker with a class win.

Organisers: CSMA
Where: Hatfield
Starters: 28

Results
1 Paul Swift (Mini Special) 698.3; 2 Simon Echlin (Westfield) 741.7; 3Stephen Wild (ABS Freestyle) 746.2; 4 Richard Pinkney (Caterham) 750.5; 5 Chris Atkinson (Buggy) 754.2; 6 Duncan Wild (ABS Freestyle) 759.4; 7 Gavin Dickson (Nova) 798.6; 8 Stephen Morten (Striker) 817.1; 9 Duncan Stephen (Nova) 819.7; 10 Carl Sams (Nova) 821.9.
Class Winners: Rob Rolston (Mini) 914.8; Dickson; Paul Fobister (Striker) 837.0; Echlin; Swift.

Duncan Wild

Demon Tweeks Direct BTRDA® Autotest Championship - Round 5
Sittingbourne

Simon Echlin made the 350 mile drive overnight from Dublin and was rewarded with the overall win. An initial scare when the Westfield had a power failure didn't distract Simon from a clear run which took advantage of Paul Swift's two maximums.

Dave Cook laid out four fast flowing tests which made excellent use of the Sittingbourne Stadium car parks. It was a very hot day which is usual for this event.

Paul took the early lead until a rocker shaft failed. Fortunately one of the local club members was able to provide a replacement and Paul was able to continue. He was making a good fight back when a throttle cable broke. Fortunately for Paul maximums were only 20 seconds so he was able to recover to finish second. Duncan Wild in the ABS was having a close battle with Richard Pinkney until the Caterham broke it's gearbox. With the replacement fitted a spirited drive took Richard to sixth, splitting the Novas of Duncan Stephens and Gavin Dickson. Only 0.8 seconds covered the three at the end. M&MKMC member, Chris Atkinson, took advantage of Richard Pinkney's problems to move the Subaru Buggy up to fourth at the end.

Stephen Morten debuted his new Striker. The hot weather caused overheating and the car needed some changes to the front geometry or diff to make it change ends quicker. The car attracted a lot of admiring glances and with the Elise engine it was very quick. Knowing how quick Steve was in the small engined Striker I'm sure he will be a contender for FTD when he gets it sorted.

This event is a previous winner of the Best Event award and it will be in the running for the award again this year.

Organisers: Maidstone & Mid Kent MC
Where: Sittingbourne
Starters: 27

Results
1 Simon Echlin (Westfield) 841.5; 2 Paul Swift (Mini Special) 846.9; 3 Duncan Wild (ABS Freestyle) 854.8; 4 Chris Atkinson (Buggy) 890.2; 5 Duncan Stephens (Nova) 904.3; 6 Richard Pinkney (Caterham) 904.6; 7 Gavin Dickson (Nova) 905.1; 8 Ian Chapman (Westfield) 913.9; 9 Lee Valentine (Nova) 957.7; 10 Will Herbert (Corsa) 982.1
Class Winners: Brian Bridge (Mini) 1034.1; Stephens; M Biss (Striker) 999.6; Echlin; Swift.

Duncan Wild