NORTH WEST LAWN MOWER RACING ASSOCIATION
Race Report from the Barnard Castle Steam Fair ~
May 28th/29th/30th
The NWLMRA made the long trek north up to Barnard Castle
Steam Fair over the Spring Bank Weekend. Good weather prevailed,
and some great racing took place over the 3 days of the show.
The spectators seemed to enjoy themselves too, with some drivers
picking up crowd support as the days wore on!
#31 Daz Whitehead’s lap of the track
“Saturday’s track was run clockwise and had a
good long straight to start with, the ground fell away at
the first turn, with a particularly tricky, off camber, very
long right handed corner. There seemed to be no easy way to
take this corner other than by scrubbing off almost all of
your speed from the main straight. This fed into a short straight,
then a tight right-left combination. This was bumpy off line,
so you needed to be neat and tidy through here. Next up was
a short straight, and a flat out left-hander over a couple
of massive yumps, before hard braking for a fast uphill right
hander that opened out to a short straight and flat out right
hander before picking up the main straight again. Lap times
were around 30 seconds for the leading drivers.”
Round 7 – Saturday 28th May 2005
The opening Championship Race of the day was for Group 2’s
and Group 4’s. #4 Dave Askew led #64 Mark Rostron away
from the line and cruised to an easy win. The #64 had been
suffering technical problems throughout the day, and we expect
to see and new L-drive fitted shortly. #24 Dave Smith made
his first appearance of the new season but struggled to match
the pace of #7 Andy Little who went on to claim another class
win. #12 Martin Shaw was the only Group 2 Roller entrant and
duly took his 10 points for a class win
Next up were the Group 3’s. #96 Chris Randall was using
a rebuilt engine and it showed as he beat brother Matt off
the line and controlled the race for the win. Matt Randall
on #69 was second ahead of #31 Daz Whitehead, #11 Sam Shaw
and #44 Sheldon Webster. Sheldon stopped after 5 laps but
rejoined 3 laps later
The Grand Prix was a busy race, with #96 Chris Randall leading
the first lap from #69 Matt Randall, #31 Daz Whitehead, #7
Andy Little, #4 Dave Askew, #64 Mark Rostron, #44 Cameron
Hill, #24 Dave Smith, #11 Sam Shaw and #12 Martin Shaw. Chris
Randall stalled on Lap 4, allowing #69 Matt Randall to take
the lead, #31 Daz Whitehead to take second, and #7 Andy Little
to take third. Chris battled through the pack, to retake third
on Lap 6, and second on Lap 9. Mark Rostron and Cameron Hill
both retired with problems on Lap 9. Matt Randall won the
race, covering 20 laps. Chris Randall and Daz Whitehead finished
on the lead lap. Andy Little and Dave Askew both dropped one
lap, while Sam Shaw dropped 3. Dave Smith was next along 4
laps down, and Martin Shaw was last of the finishers, 6 laps
down
Round 8 – Sunday 29th May 2005
For Sunday, the track was virtually unaltered, but it was
run in the opposite direction. Most drivers seemed to prefer
this and said that the track was quicker this way round
As is usual for 2005, the opening event was the combined
Group 2 and Group 4 Points Race. Six mowers lined up for the
start, 2 from Group 4, 2 from Group 2 Wheels, and 2 from Group
2 Rollers. #4 Dave Askew had the easiest time, as #64 Mark
Rostron retired before completing his first lap. #7 Andy Little
was competing against #24 Phil Brooks (standing in for Dave
Smith) and Andy took a comfortable victory. #66 John Parden
beat #12 Martin Shaw in their battle for honours
Group 3’s were next, and it was #69 Matt Randall who
led from the line, ahead of #31 Daz Whitehead, #96 Chris Randall,
#44 Sheldon Webster, and #11 Sam Shaw. #96 Chris Randall seemed
to be on a mission as he took second place on Lap 2, and the
lead on Lap 4, before cruising to an easy victory. #31 Daz
Whitehead stalled on Lap 3, and lost about 15 seconds and
third place to Sheldon Webster. Matt Randall was second at
the line, ahead of Sheldon Webster, closely followed by Daz
Whitehead, with Sam Shaw in fifth
The final Championship Race of the day was the Grand Prix,
with #69 Matt Randall taking the hole-shot to lead at the
end of Lap 1 from #31 Daz Whitehead, #44 Cameron Hill, #7
Andy Little, #4 Dave Askew, #24 Phil Brooks, #11 Sam Shaw,
#66 John Parden, #96 Chris Randall (who stalled on the opening
lap), and #12 Martin Shaw. Once again, the #96 was flying
as he picked his way through the field to take 5th on Lap
2, and 3rd on Lap 4. Second place took a little longer coming
on Lap 8. #31 Daz Whitehead had a small problem on Lap 8 costing
him 2nd place, and relegating him to 4th behind Dave Askew.
Phil Brooks and Andy Little had a very good race in Group
2 Wheels, with Phil eventually coming out on top after passing
Andy on Lap 14. Matt Randall won the race from Chris Randall,
Dave Askew and Daz Whitehead, as they all completed 22 laps.
Phil Brooks and Andy Little were 5th and 6th, and both dropped
1 lap. Cameron Hill completed 19 laps, while John Parden retired
with a broken roller after 18 laps. Sam Shaw also completed
18 laps, 2 more than Martin Shaw
Crash of the day went to John Parden, who rolled the #7 machine
when fighting for the lead of one of the afternoon races.
It left John winded and sore, although he claims he was acting
for the concerned onlookers in the crowd!
Round 9 – Monday 30th May 2005
To try and lower the amount of dust in the air, the track
was both watered and altered to take advantage of the greener
area’s of the site. Once again, this seemed to get the
thumbs up from most drivers, as the track was quicker than
the previous day
A combined Points Race was run with all classes racing together.
#69 Matt Randall led from the lights ahead of #96 Chris Randall.
Both drivers pushed hard with Matt eventually winning out
from Chris. #31 Daz Whitehead took 3rd. Andy Little, Dave
Askew and Martin Shaw all picked up class wins. Cameron Hill
raced instead of Sheldon Webster who had injured his wrist
the previous day
The Grand Prix was next up, and was slightly processional
given the reduced number of mowers in the race. Only 8 drivers
took the start, with #69 Matt Randall taking the lead from
the lights, and remaining unchallenged all the way to the
flag. #96 Chris Randall, #31 Daz Whitehead and #4 Dave Askew
all remained on the lead lap, and covered 24 laps in the 10
minute race. #7 Andy Little dropped 1 lap, while #44 Cameron
Hill dropped 3 laps. Sam and Martin Shaw dropped 4 and 5 laps
respectively
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