HCC North Weald

[Gerry H]

Off to a slow start as, for whatever reason, the event started with convoy runs of 8 cars at a time. Eventually practice began and all seemed to run smoothly from then on. 2 practice runs and 3 of the originally intended 4 runs were had, with all times to count.

There was the usual, interesting, mix of cars. Fewer than usual single seaters but numbers were made up with quite a few London Irish Club, rally cars.

A good turnout of BP guys with Ben, Andy, Rich and me competing and some very welcome visitors in the form of Trev, Dan, Andy and the illustrious Stu. Good to see next year's potential competition coming along for a taster. Not to forget Spence who really was Sprint Chief on the day.

For me, the class consisted of 4 entrants. The untouchable Mike Blackmore in his immaculate Type RA Impreza, an Escort Cosworth, a Sunbeam Lotus and me. Unfortunately, the Sunbeam failed scrutineering due to some rust pin-holes in an area of the floor.He was allowed to run but none of his times were posted.

Predictably, Mike set the pace with some scorching times with me following at a, too safe, distance. His performance was so stunning, he ended with FTD, and about 3 seconds from his closest rival

Great day, thanks to Sprint Chief and the HCC for a well run event.

Results, from what I can remember:

Ben, second in class
Andy, second in class (pipped on the last run by the Porsche GT3) :x
Rich, Best novice,
Me, Best HCC
Spence, Monster headache

[Stuart]

It was a great day and a superb advert for club sprinting :thumb:

I'll upload my thoughts in a minute. Well done Gerry. Superb commitment as always.

[Tk]

I was impressed and something im looking forward to take part in next year (hopefully) all looked to run smoothly and well organised , good to meet you again jerry and the wagon looked quick and an impressive spin (i think in practice)
be good to see a few bigpower members doing this next year
and thankyou stu for the breakfast :thumb:
Trev

[pablo]

Well done Gerry and also to the rest of the guys that took part :thumb: Any pictures from the day. Or better still any video

[Gerry H]

Well done Gerry and also to the rest of the guys that took part :thumb: Any pictures from the day. Or better still any video

Apparently BP had an official photographer on hand. Watch this space.

Glad you guys are up for some sprint action next year, we need someone to reel in Mike as he's so bloody quick. I have a few mods in the pipeline but, you can bet your life he has too

Of course, the easy answer would be to get him to join BP. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em (up).

[Stuart]

I spent 6pm til 8pm at work writing a review of the day and emailed it to myself for quick and easy uploading. That was the plan.....no idea who I've emailed the review too


Oh well.......second attempt.
************************
Dan (Madenglishman) and I met at the farm at 9am sharp.


One of Dans best attributes is his hatred of poor time keeping, so were able to make a prompt and timely exit.

Dan had volunteered to drive and I was more than happy. As the above picture shows, the drama is everywhere when you're out in the Cerb. These swoops and curves are more readily seen in a waterpark than a factory produced car.......stunning. It certainly added to the enjoyment of the day for me (cheers bud) Dan was going for the drive. I was going to see whether I liked the look of this for my involvement in 2008. Beyond the hype of forums like our own, I needed to see if the JISC was going to be my focus for next year or just another thing that other people 'did'.

A few miles down the road we encountered some Lotus cars. Elise, Exige and Esprits flowed like shoal of fish. This meant we needed a detour as they were going to the factory at Hethel and we were going the other way

We despatched one group of cars, judging by the plates mostly French, and then found some more up ahead.........restoring British pride in the space of 30 cars and a huge carbon footprint, this was a great way to start the day


We enjoyed the diversion but it was time for the main event. A hasty U turn saw us making cracking progress towards Londinium and North Wealds tiny airfield nestled in the Essex countryside.

We were due to meet Andy/ESL, Gerry/GerryH, Rich/Ren, Ben/Ben Brett, Andy Bryant/Andy 916 and Trev/TK not forgetting the maestro behind the shindig.....Spence or Sprint King as he is humbly known

We pulled in behind Trevs new Sti and very tidy she looked too.

Dans Cerb with its new high rise boot spoiler. There is beauty in symmetry.

We three marched towards the familiar cars of Gerry,Andys and Bens. At this point I saw the fabled P1 of Rich's. Very nice it was too. The guys were all up and running by now as we had arrived slightly later than planned......


We were soon introduced to everyone relevant and given high visability vests so that we could photograph 'stuff' from just about wherever we wanted. Shame no-one told the real marshalls :lol: The action was good. The photos were not......sorry guys!















Apologies Guys. No idea why they turned out quite that bad (apart from no talent)

The event was run like clockwork from what I could see. A huge variety of cars from standard Skoda Fabias to mega money tweaked GT3 Porsches. The one common DNA strand was the willingness of the drivers to drive their given steeds as hard as damned possible. Compelling and huge fun to watch.

The buzz of the event was just superb. So intimate and friendly after the corporate fanfare of the Time Attack series. I'm not knocking the efforts of Glenn and Rob et al, just saying that this is more grass roots.....

I would have to say here and now, if anyone is serious about driving and wants the competitive edge whilst keeping costs down to trackday levels, this is where it's at. I have previously gone on record as saying I'd only do circuits.......airfields are not my cup of tea etc, but this was just so much fun. I feel happy to say that I will join HCC next year, enter the series driving the GTR and do my very best to complete as many rounds as possible. I'll still do trackdays/Ring trips/quarter mile stuff, but this series looks like it has huge potential for those paying for it out of their own pockets.

With Gerry, Ben, Andy and Rich already doing it and Trev, Logan, myself and Gary H (he doesn't know yet ) joining them, BigPower will have an awesome presence in the field next year. I just need to convince Spence to allow Dans Cerb as a wildcard and we're laughing :thumb:

Thanks to everyone. Look forward to seeing you all for the shakedowns in March.

[Gerry H]

As always, a great write up Stu. Just to reassure you, not all the courses are as open as North weald, as my still noticeable, dents will testify. :oops: In fact, NW is the 'safest' one.

Don't know what venues will be included on next years JISC calendar but they could take in Goodwood, Brands Hatch, Silverstone and Lydden, so you'll get to combine circuit and sprint. Bit like TA without the expense and audience.

Looks like a promising year to come in '08

BTW you forgot to add Dynamix in your list of potentials. :oops:

[Stuart]

I have been assured that Dunk is doing TA next year (by Dunk) but I did presume he wouldn't be doing both........was that wrong Dunk?

[pablo]

Sounds like you had a great day....It's just a shame that I live so far away
Think it's time I inveastigated as to what is happening in my area 8)

[ESL]

Thanks for coming down Andy, Trev, Dan and Stu (spot on write up btw). I was a little concerned you would be bored but glad you had a good time and even better that you have decided to do it next year. I don't know anyone who has tried it and not been subsequently hooked. I think the top brass at Harrow were pleased at the level of interest shown. The Cerb can definitely come out to play btw.

Congrats to the BP JISC team, Gerry Best Harrow, Rich Best Novice and Ben an easy 2nd in class. I was a bit miffed to get beat by Bills GT3 in the last run having lead for the first four, but at least he did it by three tenths and not a couple of hundredths (that is galling), and it would be hard to be beaten by a nicer guy

Thanks to the organisers and marshalls at HCC and a good inaugural year for Spencers championship, the JISC, bigger and better for next year!