Champion Wins

Date: 4th March 2007

Round 1 - Hagley & District LCC, Curborough, 4th March

posted by petercox on 04/02/07

Paul Swift started the defence of his BTRDA® title in emphatic style with a winning margin of a minute. Initially Stephen and Duncan Wild challenged Paul until a broken drive coupling sidelined the ABS. Gavin Dickson mastered the wet conditions in his Nova and closed to within five seconds of second placed Simon Echlin at the end. Ben Morten took the small sports car class and completed the top six with his best ever result. 

It was a cold wet welcome to Curborough for the first round of the Demon Tweeks BTRDA® National Autotest Championship. Malcolm Livingston and his team ran a very efficient event in difficult weather. The 16 tests were challenging for a slightly lower entry than usual. Paul Swift was a late arrival after competing the previous day in Northern Ireland. Paul had to study the tests after they had started but this did not handicap him. Stephen Wild has returned after a three year lay off. He showed that he had lost none of his speed as he kept Paul and his Mini Special within sight over the first few tests. This challenge was not to last as on his eighth test the rubber drive coupling on the ABS let go and punched a hole in the end cover of the gearbox. This also sidelined dad Duncan which was disappointing as the Wild men were lying second and third. 

Paul continued to open up a clear lead while the battle behind was raging. Simon Echlin was having trouble with grip and having difficulty holding on to second. Gavin Dickson was flying in the Nova. He was getting good traction despite the wet surface. 

The small Minis class went to Dave Goodlad when Brian Bridge collected maximums for the last few tests, I'm not sure whether he was another car failure. Howard Everingham made it into the top ten with a class win in his big engined Mini. Carl Sams has showed that his Bronze Star championship win last year was no flook. He continues to improve and was second in class and an excellent fifth overall, his best result to date. Also having an excellent day was Ben Morten who beat dad Stephen in the 1400 Striker. This was Ben's first class win in the Striker and sixth overall was his best result to date. 

Chris Atkinson rung the neck of the Buggy as he tried to recover from a maximum early in the day. Second in class was a just reward. The beneficiary of the demise of the Wild clan was Stuart Perren who took second in the specials class behind Paul. Helen, sharing the Retrotester with Stuart won the ladies award. 

The new season raised some problems. Peter Cox and Richard Yapp couldn't start their ABS. The new engine wouldn't turn over and removing the head did not reveal the problem. Also having problems was Gordon Holmes. He had a faulty Alternator which led to a low battery and the need to push start the car. To avoid too much pushing he kept the engine running but an overheating problem gave further problems. He eventually gave up and went home to get dry and warm up. Dave Sowman had a rose joint fail on the DRS. He repaired it and finished fourth in the class. Roy and David Higginson spent time in the closed season cutting the roof off their Mini. The "new" special was going well, although I guess that they wished they had a roof with such bad weather. 

The marshal's received praise from the competitors for standing out in the rain and wind. It was a really cold start to the season but I am sure that it will warm up in the coming months. With Paul regularly visiting Ireland it will be interesting to see who can stop him winning a fourth Championship. 

Duncan Wild

Results

1 Paul Swift (Mini Special) 845.5; 2 Simon Echlin (Westfield) 925.7; 3 Gavin Dickson (Nova) 930.5; 4 Stuart Perren (Retrotester) 948.7; 5 Carl Sams (Nova) 959.5; 6 Ben Morten (Striker) 965.4; 7 Chris Atkinson (Buggy) 973.1; 8 Richard Pinkney (Dutton) 974.3; 9 Stephen Morten (Striker) 975.4; 10 Howard Everingham (Mini) 978.9.

Class Winners: Dave Goodlad (Mini) 1116.5; Everingham; Dickson; B Morten; Echlin; Swift.