The weather was simply appalling on the drive up from the Shire to darkest Essex. Torrential rain, standing water on the M11 and howling winds but I was still looking forwards to the event, not knowing who would be there and who would pussy out
I had previously arranged to meet Bladey and his better half there. The four of us all had different reasons for watching. James and I with a view to taking part in future events, Karen and Tanya to see what we'd be getting up to whilst out sprinting.
As soon as we got to the car park/pits it was a huge relief that so many cars were there to take part. Around 90 in total. These ranged from classic and modern Minis, a good selection of TVR's, a dozen Ferrari of various vintage, modern Japanese subsonic weaponry and some delightful kit cars.
My favourite car of the day
The Impreza Massive
Camber settings were a little extreme. A lovely Escort, one of many on the day.
If it makes you feel any better, this guy drove like a big girls blouse.
A 6R4 replica. No idea how it went but it was nice to see such an unusual car getting spanked.
The noise of a dozen Ferraris getting driven really, genuinely hard was such a treat. The guys were having bets between each other in the paddock about the results, it was magic to see! One chap driving a grey 348, nicknamed Mad Dog, was happy to launch his car that hard he slewed sideways through first and second gear. And that was before the chicane!
We had missed our quartets opening practice runs. I caught up with Trev, Andy Stevens, Andy Bryant and Kim at Smiffys (surprise) and the guys looked bloody freezing.... Trev was wet through already and this was just after 10am! Practice was filled with issues. Standing water, changed course layout (again) and ambiguous cone placement seemed to throw a few of the drivers.
Tan, James and I enjoyed the cuisine of the house and we all chatted for a couple of minutes before the ladies ran off to the warmth of the Explorer
Can't blame them at all, it was really crap and getting worse. I pity the drivers. The slippery concrete, severe undulations and surface changes must have been a nighmare.
We stayed just long enough to see the guys first couple of proper runs. Trev looked confident and bloody quick. Andy B was so clean, right up until the point where he got back onto the gas too early after the hairpin and spun. Even when he got the Sti pointing the right way he struggled to get the car straight.........that shows how bad the traction was. Kims performance was typical. Quick, smooth and clinical in the use of effort vs. traction. Only the seond time I've watched him drive but you can see from 400 yards away why he wins events. Very impressive :notworthy:
That leaves us with Andy Stevens, nominated loony of the day by the BigPower support team
Not only is Andy a very talented driver and damned fast, but he is slightly unhinged (in a good way) With a suspected head gasket failure imminent from a fortnight before, Andy wheeled out his wagon and decided it was shit or bust. The nagging thought of impending mechanical doom would have made me pick the phone up and call a friend. Not for him........he just went for it. Looked committed as hell considering the conditions. Oh yeah, his tyres were nearly bald too.
The times when I left were
Kim 79 secs
Andy S 82 secs
Trev 84 secs
Andy B time to be confirmed. His cleanest run meant saw the timing gear fall over, so that didn't count.
Overall our guys were doing very, very well. The four wheel drive paid dividends and the theoretically quicker or more powerful Porsche, TVR's and Ferraris never stood a chance. Well not at the time I called it a day anyway.
I hope the guys will update the thread later with finished positions. It certainly looked like at least one trophy was coming home to BP :thumb: Can't wait to see Logan and Gerry back in the mix. It should really hot up then
Brilliant result in cr@p conditions. Good to hear you enjoyed it. A result helps forget the adverse conditions. 
