Race Report from Myerscough College Open Day, Lancs. –
June 5th/6th
Race 3 of the 2004 NWLMRA Championship Series was held over
the weekend of June 5th/6th and brought a good turn out of
mowers to a small but flowing track at Myerscough College.
Mark Jaffe from the BLMRA visited and raced against us on
the Saturday on his new Class 4 mower which created some interest
amongst the NWLMRA regulars
#31 Daz Whitehead’s lap of the track
“The track was created on a mown surface of grass, so
it pretty slippery trying to get off the start line, as usual
we had a nice long straight from the start which is always
handy for sorting yourselves out before the first bend. When
you got to Turn 1, it was a medium speed left-right-left combination
between a couple of trees, and the ground was damp, so you
needed a good line on the way in to save as much time as possible
on the way out of these bends. This led to a short bumpy straight,
then a hairpin left, with a couple of big ruts on the exit.
If you got this wrong, you could end up off the track! If
you stayed on line, then it set you up nicely for the hairpin
right that followed. There was a little dip on the best line
out of the corner that unsettled the mower so you had to try
to keep inside of it for the best drive down the short straight.
Next up was a very tight right-left combination that led onto
the short back straight. You couldn’t run too wide because
of the straw bales, so you had to be careful getting back
on the gas. At the end of the back straight was a tight left
hander that cut up as the racing went on, there were two good
lines here, one was a really tight defensive line, and the
other was a faster wider line outside the ruts, which gave
you maximum acceleration back onto the main straight and under
the finish line for another lap!”
Round 6 – Saturday 6th June, 2004
The Points Race was up first, and as the lights went green
the best starts were from #31 Daz Whitehead and #96 Chris
Randall. #31 Daz Whitehead won the battle through the first
corner and went on to defend the lead for the whole race from
a hard-charging #96 Chris Randall. #69 Matt Randall trailed
in 3rd place. #26 Robert Smith had a good race, recovering
from 7th at the end of the first lap to take 4th by the chequered
flag ahead of #12 Martin Shaw and #22 Matt Heys. #7 Andy Little
beat #24 Dave Smith to the flag in Class 2 Wheels, while #11
Sam Shaw was first across the line in Class 3 Briggs. #66
Mark Jaffe failed to finish after suffering a puncture on
lap 8
The Grand Prix followed and this time it was #96 Chris Randall
that won the battle into Turn 1 holding a narrow lead for
the opening laps. #96 Chris Randall then stalled at one of
the hairpins on lap 5 dropping him down to 4th place. He passed
#69 Matt Randall for 3rd on lap 7, and #26 Robert Smith for
2nd on lap 17 but was unable to catch #31 Daz Whitehead before
the flag. #31 Daz Whitehead, #96 Chris Randall, #26 Robert
Smith, #69 Matt Randall & #22 Matt Heys all finished the
race having covered 20 laps. #12 Martin Shaw, #24 Dave Smith
& #7 Andy Little all finished one lap down and #11 Sam
Shaw covered 17 laps
The afternoon saw some non-championship races and these were
won by #31 Daz Whitehead & #96 Chris Randall. The relay
race was won by #96 Chris Randall & #12 Martin Shaw, while
the drag racing was won by #31 Daz Whitehead
Round 7 – Sunday 7th June, 2004
The track was largely unaltered for Sunday’s Race apart
from making the right-left combination before the back straight
a little tighter. As usual the first race was the Points Race
and again it was #31 Daz Whitehead & #96 Chris Randall
who made the best starts. #31 Daz Whitehead was the first
man through Turn 1, and was closely followed by his rival.
#96 Chris Randall almost made an overtaking manoeuvre pay
off at the start of lap 2 taking the long way round the last
corner to lead at the line, but the more defensive line taken
by #31 Daz Whitehead allowed him to retain the lead through
the first turn. #22 Matt Heys made a mistake and dropped from
4th to 8th place on lap 2, allowing #26 Robert Smith, #7 Andy
Little, #12 Martin Shaw and #24 Dave Smith to all improve
one place. At the flag #31 Daz Whitehead held on for the win
and was followed over the line by #96 Chris Randall. #69 Matt
Randall came in 3rd followed by #26 Robert Smith, #12 Martin
Shaw, #7 Andy Little, #24 Dave Smith, #22 Matt Heys and #11
Sam Shaw
The ever-improving #26 Robert Smith led the opening laps
in the Grand Prix beating everyone into the first corner.
Lap 2 saw #96 Chris Randall pass #22 Matt Heys for 3rd place,
while lap 3 gave an opportunity for #12 Martin Shaw to pass
#7 Andy Little for 6th place. Onto lap 5 and #96 Chris Randall
continued his charge through the field taking 2nd place from
#31 Daz Whitehead. #69 Matt Randall moved into 4th at the
expense of #22 Matt Heys, while #24 Dave Smith passed #7 Andy
Little for 7th. Lap 8 brought the only lead-change of the
race when #96 Chris Randall passed #26 Robert Smith. #24 Dave
Smith passed #12 Martin Shaw on lap 11 for 6th place. There
was a small drama for #31 Daz Whitehead on lap 16 when he
broke a throttle return spring, although he continued to the
flag loosing just one place to #69 Matt Randall whilst managing
to stay on the lead lap by a matter of inches as #96 Chris
Randall took the chequered flag. #22 Matt Heys dropped one
lap, while #24 Dave Smith, #12 Martin Shaw & #7 Andy Little
all dropped 2 laps. #11 Sam Shaw finished 4 laps down
Non-championship races followed in the afternoon and the
wins were shared between #96 Chris Randall, #26 driven by
Stuart Polkinghorne and #31 Daz Whitehead. The relay race
was won by #69 Matt Randall & #22 Matt Heys following
a very close race and #26 Robert Smith won the drag racing
challenge
The Championship Standings after Round 7 are: ~
Class 4
#66 Mark Jaffe 1 point
Class 3 Tecumseh
#31 Daz Whitehead 50 points
#96 Chris Randall 45 points
#69 Matt Randall 41 points
#12 Martin Shaw 36 points
#26 Robert Smith 26 points
#27 Matt Heys 11 points
#27 Stu Polkinghorne 10 points
Class 3 Briggs
#11 Sam Shaw 50 points
#18 Sheldon Webster 19 points
Class 2 Wheels
#7 Andy Little 50 points
#24 Dave Smith 47 points
#50 Phil Brooks 9 points
Grand Prix
#96 Chris Randall 96 laps
#69 Matt Randall 95 laps
#31 Daz Whitehead 93 laps
#24 Dave Smith 90 laps
#12 Martin Shaw 90 laps
#7 Andy Little 80 laps
#11 Sam Shaw 78 laps
#26 Robert Smith 66 laps
#22 Matt Heys 44 laps
#27 Stu Polkinghorne 19 laps
#50 Phil Brooks 16 laps
#18 Sheldon Webster 15 laps
The next NWLMRA event is at Chester Race Course on June 12th/13th.
For more information, please visit www.nwlmra.org or speak
to our club secretary (details below)
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