This years event was literally a damp squib. Saturday was the main MLR event (with Sunday being an "all marques/non members" session) and began wet with the promise of drying-out, so Ross left the Evo still strapped to the trailer while we waited. It had barely begun to dry before a heavy downpour crept in and left us all wondering whether to hit the pub early.
Come 3pm there were still patches of standing water on the runway when the heavens opened again. Granted SVM did a cracking top speed, but their launch and 30-130 was shocking (beaten by 3 road-trimmed Evo's), so there was absolutely no point in Ross trying to beat his record (set in bone-dry conditions), so we left for an early drink. Ross' nearest MLR rival, Neverneverman, only went for a few low-boost runs to shake down the car after some last minute mapping, and reported no traction at all in the dying minutes.
There was little intention in going again today (Sunday), but there was a small chance of the runway being dry at some point, so Ross and Gary brought the Evo out for another go. Once again it started wet, but began to dry-out midday and Ross was getting Sylvia off the trailer around the time when Andy F set his time, but the Scoob lost a door at high speed which meant closing the runway while the debris was removed... after which, it rained.
Eventually Ross decided it was worth doing at least one run to make the two days standing about worthwhile. Unfortunately, he fell foul of the RAF's rules for the day and was excluded before hitting the runway. The Base was fully active on both days, with the prospect of planes landing on any of the other runways, as well as plenty of support vehicles driving about- so the crew had ruled it was first gear only in the pits, and a 30mph limit to and from the runway. On the service road upto the start box, Ross had blipped the throttle to check the gear shift, and momentarily breached the limit. Getting banned for speeding on a top speed day... ironic that.
A disappointing end to a disappointing weekend. Ross' car will do low 6's/under 5 secs all day long in the dry, so it was a waste of time running purely for marque bragging rights, a belief echo'd by Paul (Neverneverman). We might have a play later in the year to see what it will do elsewhere in the dry, but ultimately we'll have to wait until 30-130 next year for an official result.
