Just before your first round at Snetterton, here are a few words from your Group 2 Series Representative, Ian Everett.
Hello folks,
I hope you have had a productive winter preparing or modifying your car for this year’s racing? One or two of you raced at Silverstone GP last month and we had a good turnout at the CSCC test day last week too, but for most of you this weekend at Snetterton is where it begins.
I am away on business abroad, so I am not able to attend Snetterton this year – one of my favourite tracks and the nearest to me. Since I last raced, I see from pictures, that the kerbs are different – worth taking a closer look at, after seeing images of the touring cars testing.
Always a great event, sometimes chilly being an old airfield, so make sure you pack a coat & a hat, particularly for your extended team, who may be standing around waiting for you to perform.
What other words of wisdom can I offer to jar the early season memory? Sign your licence, often forgotten early in the year, if asked to present it. Not many people look at the trailer; the tyres, the spare tyre in particular and the lights. If you cannot get the car to the track, that is frustrating, so a check over now could be beneficial. Adams & Page can bring trailer tyres with them, if you ask before they leave.
Pins on fire extinguishers and electrical cut-outs, cables often seize over winter and give grief when asked to display working.
Are all the nuts torqued up on the race car wheels – when was the last time you checked them? Remember they can loosen after getting hot in testing/qualifying.
It goes without saying, check all your safety clothing, gloves, Frontal Head Restraint (if you are using one) & boots. Are your seat belts and fire extinguisher in date? They should be, given that you will have added some of this information when signing on.
So, who is going to show early promise this weekend?
Group 1
Class B. Connor Kay is back in a Midget and James Hughes is in the Frogeye Sprite, both guys on good form towards the end of last season. They will of course have to beat off Tim Cairns in Class D, back in his favourite steed in the reliable light blue Frogeye, after a couple of years of developing the Turner. I have probably put the kibosh on his chances now I have mentioned him. The Chaplins were also going well last year in Class B in their Midget.
Great to see familiar faces back out racing, like Steve Adams and Simon Page.
There is a Fairthorpe Electron Minor, Series 2, with Simon Tunnard at the wheel. Good to see something different in Group 1.
Father and Daughter team Rod and Francesca Roodhouse are back out in the Mini and keep an eye out for Simon and Sam Polley, father and son team in the Mini Marcos – will Sam leave any tyres on the car for Dad’s stint?
So, what of Group 2?
20 runners in this group of cars. New to the club with some pre-season testing completed, is Alex Elbrow in his blue Plymouth Belvedere GTX.
Familiar faces back for more action, a power circuit and there is certainly some horsepower on this grid, with some great front-running cars. Dean Halsey in the 240z, Steve Pickering in the Sunbeam Tiger and an interesting pairing with John Wolfe and Martin Adams sharing the No.13 Tuscan V8. Watch out for those two.
They will all of course have to fend off the gaggle of Lotus, with quick men at their wheels. You cannot rule out though Mark Campbell, in his beautifully prepared TR5, a quick man and a circuit that really suits this car, myself having had front row seats in the past – he will be a real challenge to pass on the day.
Remember to read the Final Instructions, they are important and you could learn something that gives you an advantage on the track. I shall be watching and cheering you all on with interest from afar, given that the races are live-streamed on the clubs Facebook page and Youtube channel.
Ian Everett Series Representative
Adams & Page Swinging Sixties Group 2
Nigel Adams contacted us to let us know about the health of Gordon Elwell. Many of you will know Gordon, who together with daughter Helen, have regularly raced their green Sprite with us for the past 6 years. Gordon has sadly suffered a serious fall, that has changed his life and is going to take some time to recover from. Nigel says that Gordon was always a fierce competitor (as he knows from their many door to door battles in the Austin Healey Club championship) but nonetheless a fair and “clean” driver with a great sense of humour. Gordon was always willing to aid a fellow competitor in need be with the loan of tools, spares and/or physical assistance with mechanical repairs.
The CSCC team and all in the Adams & Page Swinging 60s paddock wish Gordon a speedy recovery and hope to see you back in our paddock soon.
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