Moran 5

After a lonely journey up the M6 (no Deb this weekend as she had to work), I arrive at Barbon at about 10pm Friday. The forecast for the weekend wasn't looking good but as there is bugger all we can do about that we just have to make the best of it! Barbon is not my favourite hill on the calendar and is also the venue where I have struggled to get to grips with. I think this was only my 3rd visit and the last 2 years I have only just managed to qualify and pick up a single point with each attempt.

Saturday I awoke to the sound of rain on the motorhome roof. It was not looking promising! Last year several of us needed repairs to be made to the floor after Barbon due to a re-surfaced part of the track having a Dukes of Hazard style jump in it (or that's what it felt like in the Gould!) This year thankfully the bump had gone but had been replaced with a longer more gentle slope over the bump. This was also followed by another new patch of tarmac entering the main straight. The new tarmac was good but unfortunately had not had enough time to 'bed in' and so was similar to Prescott (where I believe Torvill & Dean are training new skaters as it is tricky and more unpredictable than ice).

1st practice soon came round and although the rain had stopped it still meant for a very delicate approach. Not delicate enough though as I park the front end up on the bank in the middle of the final hairpin! Particular thanks go to the marshals and fellow competitors who helped to push me up to the finish paddock!

2nd practice was better and both Dad & I fair well and are happy with our times and the car. The track was still slippery but was starting to dry in time for qualifying. This goes well and I am in the ball park with a 23.56. Dad is fastest on a 22.72 with Simon During a close 2nd just 6 hundredths behind. Paul Ranson is first to go in the run off and posts a 23.30, a good improvement over his class run. I'm next up and post a 22.40, FTD for now! Unbelievably I hold the lead until one Grovesy pops up with a 21.78, Simon improves to a 22.19 with Dad close behind on a 22.22. Groves therefore has another win under his belt and is eating into my lead.

2nd run off I manage to qualify well for but am still out gunned by Dad. I again get to run 1st and a time of 21.83 I am well pleased with. I know it won't be good enough for a win but should bag some good points. Deano had finally got his arse into gear and had managed to qualify 2nd fastest behind Grovesy, he ends up 2nd overall with Groves taking the win and Dad 3rd. To go away from Barbon in one piece and still leading the championship I was delighted! A big well done must go to Alistar Crawford who scored his 1st British Championship point today!

The trip to Harewood on Saturday evening is normally quite enjoyable but the weather was pretty grim and didn't look good for Sunday. Dad and Dave were sent for fish & chips shortly after arriving and an early night was had. During the night I woke a couple of times as Dave was sleeping in the top bunk and he makes the noise of a baby rhino drinking a McDonalds milkshake.

I enjoy Harewood as it has quite a variety of slow technical corners and some fast sections to really get stuck in! Again, the track starts out damp and cold. A couple of practice runs and I found that the conditions weren't too bad and certainly more grippy than what we have been used to. 1st class runs were carried out on a nearly dry track, although it was still a bit tricky in places. I pull a lucky run and qualify slower than Dad (again!) meaning I run 1st. As Paul & I are heading to the start line the rain starts falling once again. We need to get going or we could be caught out. Unfortunately we are kept waiting for a timing fault to be rectified. The rain didn't look as though it was going to give up and as Paul left the line I could tell the grip level had gone off a touch. This was a good chance to take advantage of my running position and so I needed to push the boat out a bit. Not too heavy on the old right foot as is is all too easy to make a fool of yourself in these conditions. I post a 62.67, not too bad but almost 10 seconds slower than my class run. As the run off progressed the rain fell harder and the last few cars needed to swap to full wets. A wet time here is normally about 10/12 seconds off a dry time so I knew my time was in danger. Groves is last to run and crosses the line in a 63.52. A cracking run but thankfully not quite good enough and I bag my 2nd win of the year. Dad ends up 3rd. A later look at our data logging and at several points on the hill Dad was actually quicker in the wet on full wets than I was on slicks on a damp track.

The afternoon weather didn't really improve much but most of us were getting used to the damp conditions. By the time the 2nd run off came round the track had started to dry again. I was a bit of a lottery on tyre choice and as I was to run 1st to run Dad left it up to me to choose. A quick look round the paddock and I could see that the Ranson/Groves car had slicks all round but two of the local heroes, Tim Wilson and John Waggit who had both qualified superbly, had slicks rear with wets on the front. Could be worth a go so I went with it. Unfortunately not the best choice though. It felt like my run was really good but when I crossed the finish on a 60.32 I felt gutted. This could have ended up being 7th or 8th. As more cars came up it soon became clear that full slicks was the right choice. The track was slowly improving and when Deano's split times were read out as he progressed up the hill I knew my lead would be short lived. Then as he entered Farmhouse Bend he carried too much speed and slid off into the gravel trap. Thankfully no damage but a short hold up. Simon Durling had qualified 3rd fastest and drove like a demon posting a 56.72. This I was sure could be his 1st British win. Dad was next to run and had heard how hard Simon was driving and waited for his time to be read out. He went for it and a superb run of 55.94, I felt pleased for Dad but also very sorry for Simon. With only Groves left to go he pulled an absolute stormer out and blew us all away with a 54.10. A real Champions run and therefore taking him into the lead in the Championship. Thankfully a good haul of points for both Dad and I meant that I am in 2nd just 1 point behind Groves and Dad 3rd who is 1 point behind me. Gurston next with hopefully better weather!

Scott Moran [Roger has the blue helmet top and Scott the silver, much like Paul Ranson is white lid and Groves is black].