I have just competed in one of the best one-day race meetings ever! =
Dinner the night before was extremely good and the company was very =
convivial. The weather on the day was good (warm and dry) and the track =
was pretty clean. The atmosphere was relaxed, but the organisation was =
excellent. The driving was competitive, but friendly and =
non-aggressive. There was a heap of track time, provided your car was =
running right, and we got away from the circuit at a sensible time =
(unfortunately, only to encounter a couple of massive storms, complete =
with thunder/lightning/torrential rain/hail, when midway on the freeway =
between Goulburn and Sydney).
There were only two significant incidents; one on Friday during private =
practice and the other on Sunday during qualifying. Both involved =
pre-war cars (1932 Morris Austin Special and 1933 MG J Type) which =
rolled and required both drivers to have medical attention for =
concussion and broken wrist (it could have been much worse). A number =
of people have expressed concern that narrow sticky motorcycle tyres on =
tall narrow cars is a recipe for problems - what is the experience in =
other countries?
The racing was fast, furious and FUN, with some good-looking grids. The =
Lb Sports and Racing category had some very interesting machinery (as =
mentioned in my earlier posting), and, it smelt and sounded wonderful. =
In addition one of their number was invited to give a solo track display =
during the lunch break in his 1956 Tornado (absolutely stunning car - it =
goes well, it looks great, and, it makes all the right noises).
At the risk of boring you I have included my race report for the =
Appendix J Association club magazine - I know it is restricted to one =
category, but that is what the Appendix J club is all about:=20
"Talking of enjoying the day, the HSRCA pre'60 Race Meeting at Wakefield =
Park on 23 March was abso-bloody-lutely superb - a great idea; more, =
more, more, please. Every one of the 10 currently logbooked Na cars was =
entered for the meeting and the numbers were supplemented by 5 pre'60 Nb =
cars.
The entry was:
Aaron "MinorMo DynaMo" Gabriel - 1957 Morris Minor
Alan Barrow - 1955 Holden FJ (Nb)
Andrew "Axeman" Pursey - 1955 Morris Oxford
Arthur "Hux" Huxley - 1958 Morris Major
Bill "Dicko" Dixon - 1957 Wolseley 1500
Bob Harris - 1953 Holden FX (Nb)
Bob "Pinky" Priddle - 1958 Ford Zephyr MkII
Chris Haigh - 1958 Jaguar MkI (Nb)
Dean "Mission" Wesley - 1953 Holden FJ
Don "Ticko" Titcume - 1958 Morris Major
Grahame Hill - 1957 Austin A35 (Nb)
Michael "Captain Ahab" St John Cox - 1955 Jaguar MkVIIM
Paul "Reg 3" Rodenhuis - 1957 Ford Zephyr MkII
Paul Warne - 1957 Jaguar MkI (Nb)
Terry "Dak Dak" Thompson - 1958 Volkswagen Beetle
I congratulate everybody on making the effort to be there - I know HSRCA =
were delighted by the numbers in Group N overall, whilst I was ecstatic =
that Na has proved to all the doubters that it is (in NSW) a serious =
category. =20
A particular welcome to the Na ranks to two drivers having their first =
ever race - Bill Dixon and Dean Wesley. To me, these two represent what =
Na is all about in that Dean is a young guy who has many years of racing =
to look forward to and can use Na as a stepping stone, whilst Bill being =
of more mature years has now started doing something that he has been =
watching and thinking about doing for years (but still with many racing =
years to look forward to - watch his Austin-Healey at Winton).
Needless to say qualifying produced a few problems - Aaron's Minor lost =
all oil pressure during a very fast session and was packed away, whilst =
Hux's Major worked without enthusiasm so he switched to Regularity as a =
means of getting some track test sorting time without disrupting the =
rest of the Group N field.
The first race was a 5-lap scratch race which was dominated by the Nb =
cars. However, Na gave a very good account of itself, with Bob's Zephyr =
producing times (1:25.52) very close to the Nb guys. Michael's Jag =
(1:28.76) was as spectacular as ever, whilst I spent the entire race =
with my Oxford (1:31.73) not far away from the rear bumper of Paul's =
Zephyr (1:31.67). Dean was settling in the FJ (1:33.87) and improving =
on his qualifying time, whilst Terry in the VW (1:34.58), Bill in the =
Wolseley (1:34.31) and Don in the Major (1:35.46) were all keeping each =
other honest.
The second race was a 10-lap handicap (times and start bands assigned by =
the organisers). Na headed the results with Bob first, Dean second =
(good one), Don third and Bill fifth (good one again). The overall race =
times showed that the handicappers had done pretty well and there were =
several groups hitting the finish very close together; for example Paul =
(14:51.45), Michael (14:52.60) and myself (14:52.76) - most enjoyable, =
but I'll be happier if Paul puts additional reading material on the back =
of the Zephyr for future events.
With the formal races out of the way it was on to a couple of Butchers' =
Picnics, the first of which was a combined race for Groups N and Sa - a =
great combination, enjoyed by all - maybe we can get a rematch at a =
later date?"
I hope that that gives you an idea of how much one category enjoyed =
themselves - talking to other drivers they reported just as much fun in =
their categories. All we need for a similar event next year is a few =
more competitors in certain categories, plus more spectators overall =
(those I spoke to reckoned it was a good day out).
Yours in MotorSPORT............regards....Andrew "Axeman" Pursey=20
1954 Morris Oxford, 1955 Morris Oxford (racing in Group Na pre'58 =
Classic Saloons), 1955 Morris Isis, 1956 Morris Isis, 1994 Land Rover =
Discovery (a terrific tow vehicle), plus 1996 SAAB 900S Coupe (more =
trouble in under 500 miles than any LBC - if this is typical of the =
marque, don't buy a SAAB)
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