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MSA British
Hill Climb Championship |
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Prescott May 2006 After our Loton result I couldn't wait to get to Prescott. The last National round in 2005 here I took both wins which I was both very pleased with but also surprised. Although Loton was a bit of a disaster for several serious competitors in the class I couldn't see a reason why both Dad & I couldn't get some strong points here.
Sunday arrived to bright sunshine which kept up for most of the day. One class I keep a keen eye on is the Roadgoing mod prod up to 2 litre. I still have many friends in the class including Dave Wilson who helps Dad & I at all the meetings and during the week to prep the car. The record in this class is one of only two which I have ever held and is shared with Trevor Willis. During practice a couple if drivers were extremely close to this and I was getting a bit worried that the record might finally go. I think that if the track had better grip then there is no doubt that it would go. Well done to Steve Day for taking the class win (just 8 hundredths shy of the record) and a big pat on the back for Dave who finished 2nd.
Qualifying went fairly well for the 1st Run Off. I managed to just out qualify Dad meaning that I was 3rd fastest behind Groves and Rob Turnbull. Dad was first to go in the run off and went slower than his qualifier due to a missed gear. Luckily the time was just good enough for 5th. Thankfully I found all of them and went quickest on a 38.61 which was a reasonable time but not really quick enough for the win unless either Rob or Martin made a mistake. Thankfully, Rob's run didn't beat the time meaning I would be guaranteed 2nd place. Martin stamped his authority and cruised to a 38.01, over half a second inside my time. Scott Moran. Picture: Jerry Sturman
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Saturday
morning I awoke to glorious sunshine and more importantly at Prescott, a dry
track. Everyone was hoping that the track would have 'bedded in' over the
winter and given more grip this year. Unfortunately this was not the case and
it is still very tricky and unpredictable. First practice runs went well with
most people getting to the top without too much bother. Martin Groves was back
in the swing now and posted the fastest 1st practice run. Then came the rain!
Damn weather forecasters can give quite an accurate summary when the wet stuff
is coming but I guess they just look to see how much motorsport is on as it
almost guarantees it at some point in a weekend. Only a few classes ran in the
real wet. Then we stopped for lunch, in which time the rain had stopped and the
track had pretty well dried up. The rain and drop in temperature completely
knackered up what grip was there. My 2nd practice was a bit untidy and by the
time of exiting the last corner I was convinced that I had water or oil on my
rear tyres. I checked round the car before Dad went out but it was all OK. A
few more cars in the class went up and back and all complained of the lack of
grip. I hate to go slower than my previous run in practice and although it was
only about half a second I was still a little disappointed. As more and more
cars ran it was then clear from the times that the track was to blame and this
was a great relief! Last up in the class was Mr Groves. He got as far as
Orchard and lost the back end going slower than he was on his 1st run. The car
thought it would be a good idea to use a big bank for brakes and returned to the
paddock courtesy of the 'Tonka'. Thankfully Martin was OK and walked back with
bits of carbon wing under his arm. A spare front wing is a common part to keep
but none of us have a spare rear. This called for the unused Gould HB of Rob
Turnbull/Paul Edwards to be stripped of the parts needed. (I don't think we
would see Schumacher letting Button borrow bits off the spare Ferrari!) Everyone
had the opportunity to take a 3rd practice. By this time the rain had come back
and of those who took their runs there were a lot of small incidents. Dad and I
decided to whimp out and put the car in the trailer in one piece ready for
Sunday.