Moran 25 & 26

I missed the trip to Ireland last year so this was to be my 2^nd visit and the 1^st in the Gould. The track is on a ‘B’ road just outside Belfast and has a really fast top section. The bottom is still fairly quick but more technical, bumpy and slippery. There is also a man made chicane about half way up which is to slow us down as we cross the main road. Using last years DVD with on board footage from Richard & Georgia I did some homework on the Friday night. Thankfully it was well worth it as I had forgotten how many bends there are! This is really good for new comers to the sport to give an idea of lines etc.

Saturday morning was clear although some rain in the night had made the track slightly damp. By the time 1^st practice came round this was all but dried up.

1^st practice and HOW FAST??? Couldn’t believe the speed of the top section of the hill. I have a small moment at about 125mph crossing the crown of the road near the top, but otherwise OK and on the pace.

1^st class runs and qualify fastest. Bit of a surprise, especially as Paul Ranson had out qualified Martin as well. Dad’s run went really well, good enough to beat Martin in the double drive runners. He would hang on all the way until my run thankfully. With both of us on PBs we were pretty chuffed. I had another win to add to my score, with Dad 2^nd, Deano 3^rd and Grovesy 4^th. From my point of view a perfect result.

2^nd class runs and again I qualify fastest. Even more of a surprise. I had thought that due to my lack of track time here I would have had my ass kicked. The DVD had certainly helped!

Dad was again to run with the other double drives. His run was OK until the last section of the hill and he missed a gear and therefore much needed momentum for the fastest part of the hill. The run would be good enough for 5^th. Paul had another good run with a 4^th, Deano back on form with a 3^rd. I think he had a friendly swan who may have been near the top of the hill to break the timing beam. I think he may want to get a more discrete one for next year though! Grovsey is next to run and posts a 40.13. Pretty close to the hill record. Another run to show why he has the No 1 on the car.

As Dad had missed a gear I did not want to risk missing it as well so decide to use the clutch instead of relying on the flat shift system. Using the clutch is not quite as fast as the flat shift but faster than a missed gear. The run is another PB but not quite good enough, 40.36 and 2^nd place.

For me this was an extremely good result as I had expected a couple of 3^rd or 4^th placings at best. Next stop is Shelsley, my most local hill with a great crowds & atmosphere. Hope to see you there.