NORTH WEST LAWN MOWER RACING ASSOCIATION
Race Report from the Founder Members Testimonial
Meeting ~ May 14th/15th
In honour of all the NWLMRA’s founder members, the
club held a Testimonial Meeting at Little Morton, near Retford.
The event was a huge success and culminated with John Gill
being awarded the Founder Members Testimonial Award
#31 Daz Whitehead’s lap of the track
“On Saturday, we ran on the short track. This was pretty
tight and a little bumpy but it was generally ok. From the
start line we had a straight, which went into a long double
apex right-hander. You had to be on line here otherwise you
would end up being thrown even further off-line on the bumps.
Next up was a short straight which fed into a very tight right-left-left-right
combination. This got faster during every race but it was
still a tricky little corner. A short straight followed which
fed into a very fast right, which opened out into a straight
for a couple of seconds of rest. Next was a long fast right
which was tighter than it looked. This fed into an easy left
and back onto the main straight. Lap times were around 23
seconds for the quickest drivers.”
Round 5 – Saturday 14th May 2005
First up was the Points Race for Group 4 and Group 2. The
Group 2’s set off first, closely followed by the Group
4’s. At the end of the first lap #7 Andy Little had
the lead, but coming into the first corner, #66 Andy Howard
stopped, causing #4 Dave Askew to crash into the back of him.
Both drivers rejoined the race but were at the back of the
pack. Onto the Lap 2 and the order was #7 Andy Little, #100
Phil Davies, #64 Mark Rostron, #4 Dave Askew, #12 Martin Shaw
and #66 Andy Howard. Dave Askew passed Mark Rostron on Lap
4, and Phil Davies on the last lap to take the win in Group
4. Andy Little won in Group 2 Wheels, while Martin Shaw picked
up maximum points in Group 2 Roller. Andy Howard retired with
a trailer problem
Group 3’s were next and there was drama at the start
as #31 Daz Whitehead couldn’t line up on the start line.
This was eventually traced back to dirt in the carb, but it
forced him to complete the race on tick-over. From the lights,
#86 Ian Carter led ahead of #69 Matt Randall, #44 Sheldon
Webster, #96 Scott Evans, #11 Sam Shaw and #31 Daz Whitehead.
Matt Randall took the lead on Lap 2 and never looked back,
taking a comfortable win from Ian Carter. Scott Evans, standing
in for Chris Randall came third ahead of Sam Shaw and Daz
Whitehead. Sheldon Webster retired on Lap 8
The Grand Prix was next and all 12 mowers lined up for the
start. This was a very busy race with many drivers being held
up on the tight and narrow track. #69 Matt Randall led the
first lap from #86 Pete Collishaw, #31 Daz Whitehead, #4 Dave
Askew, #7 Andy Little, #44 Cameron Hill, #11 Sam Shaw, #100
Phil Davies, #64 Mark Rostron, #96 Scott Evans, #66 John Parden
and #12 Martin Shaw. The opening laps saw lots of frantic
overtaking and running wide as drivers fought to get to the
head of the pack. Matt Randall was an early casualty rolling
his mower after 11 laps, allowing Daz Whitehead to take the
lead. Cameron Hill retired a lap later after completing just
12 laps. At the end of the race, the chequered flag went to
Daz Whitehead, who was just ahead of Matt Randall. Pete Collishaw
and Dave Askew remained on the lead lap as all the drivers
covered 26 laps. Andy Little dropped 1 lap. Phil Davies and
Scott Evans both dropped 2 laps. Mark Rostron dropped 3 laps,
while Sam Shaw lost 5. John Parden and Martin Shaw both covered
20 laps, 6 less than the winner
Round 6 – Sunday 15th May 2005
On Sunday, the races were run on the big track, this was about
650 metres in length and at drivers briefing it was decided
that the Points Races would only be 5 laps. This track was
definitely a test of top-end in an engine and top speed in
a mower
The first race was Points for Group 2 and Group 4. #7 Andy
Little led the first lap from #4 Dave Askew, #100 Phil Davies,
#64 Mark Rostron, #66 Andy Howard and #12 Martin Shaw. Phil
Davies took the lead on Lap 2 and battled to the flag with
Dave Askew, eventually winning by a couple of seconds. Mark
Rostron picked up a solid third place in Group 4. Andy Little
took Group 2 Wheels honours, while Andy Howard won Group 2
Roller from Martin Shaw
In Group 3, #69 Matt Randall cruised to another victory ahead
of #86 Ian Carter. #44 Cameron Hill came through the pack
from fifth on Lap 1 to take third at the flag. #96 Scott Evans
picked up fourth, ahead of #11 Sam Shaw. #31 Daz Whitehead
struggled around the track with a sick engine to pick up some
championship points with sixth and last place
The Grand Prix was next up, and everyone started together.
#31 Daz Whitehead failed to complete the opening lap with
a now even-sicker engine. Meanwhile at the front, #69 Matt
Randall controlled the race, ahead of #4 Dave Askew. #100
Phil Davies, #86 Pete Collishaw, #96 Scott Evans, #7 Andy
Little and #44 Cameron Hill as they all completed 8 laps.
#64 Mark Rostron, #66 John Parden and #11 Sam Shaw all dropped
1 lap, while #12 Martin Shaw dropped 2 laps
The 2005 Championship Standings after Round 6 are:
~
Class 4
#100 Phil Davies 38 points
#4 Dave Askew 36 points
#64 Mark Rostron 35 points
#8 Kev Grimer 26 points
Class 3
#69 Matt Randall 40 points
#96 Chris Randall 35 points
#31 Daz Whitehead 34 points
#11 Sam Shaw 28 points
#86 Ian Carter 27 points
#44 Sheldon Webster 26 points
Class 2 Wheels
#7 Andy Little 40 points
Class 2 Roller
#12 Martin Shaw 29 points
#66 Andy Howard 21 points
Grand Prix
#31 Daz Whitehead 94 laps
#11 Sam Shaw 88 laps
#96 Chris Randall 86 laps
#69 Matt Randall 85 laps
#7 Andy Little 84 laps
#4 Dave Askew 80 laps
#44 Cameron Hill 68 laps
#100 Phil Davies 67 laps
#64 Mark Rostron 64 laps
#86 Pete Collishaw 53 laps
#12 Martin Shaw 48 laps
#8 Kev Grimer 45 laps
#66 John Parden 45 laps
Founder Members Testimonial Meeting Award
A mini-championship consisting of a series of races was held
on the Saturday and Sunday which included races on the Short
Track, Drag Races and sprint and endurance races on the Big
Track
A handicapping system was in place to allow all the drivers
to have a fair chance at winning the award. This allowed the
#4, #69, #44, #66, #11 and #31 to all take race wins over
the weekend. Many machines were shared between drivers making
the handicapping system were hard to co-ordinate
At the end of the first day, #69 led from #4, #31, #7, #66,
#64, #44, #96, #86, #11, #12 & #100. Sunday saw the #31
retire from a strong third overall position. With one race
to go #69 and #4 had tied for the lead on 74 points. The final
race was a 30 minute endurance race. Matt Randall on #69 elected
to do the entire race himself, while Daz Whitehead and Steve
Richardson were going to split their race into 2 short stints.
Matt led from the Le-mans start and built up a gradual lead
ahead of Steve Richardson. At the 15 minute mark, Matt had
a lead of 12 seconds, but this extended to about 30 seconds
when the #4 swapped drivers. Matt’s lead was short lived
though as he lost a front wheel with about 8 minutes to go.
The race win and the Testimonial Meeting Award went to the
#4 John Deere, which had been driven by Dave Askew, Steve
Richardson, Daz Whitehead and Jason Whitehead over the weekend.
The trophy was presented to #4’s owner/builder John
Gill at presentation along with special awards for Eddie Randall
and Lol Hatton, who were the final two Founder Members of
the club to stand down from the Committee
Results of the Founder Members Testimonial Meeting
Award
#4 86 points
#69 77 points
#44 66 points
#66 64 points
#7 61 points
#86 60 points
#96 56 points
#64 52 points
#11 51 points
#31 47 points
#100 34 points
#12 26 points
The next NWLMRA event will be at Barnard Castle Steam
Fair, on Barnard Castle Showground over the weekend of 28th/29th/30th
May
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