Curborough Championship

Championship Results 2018 Round 7

The BMMC August event had a full entry, 31 of whom were Curborough Championship contenders. A few squally showers kept everyone guessing about changing track conditions all day, but most runs were dry.
Having spent the day before the event practicing, Sara Holland showed ‘practice makes perfect’, by knocking over 3 seconds off her previous best Figure of Eight time, and getting under the class record, to take 2^nd, just 0.65sec adrift of Steve Wood, both in MGZR’s.
A slightly depleted entry in Class Sc saw the Clio of Paul Glendenning also under the Sc class record to take the win from Craig Tock in his Type R, with Neal Bateman in his Fiesta ST in 3^rd.
The four car Sc class for large capacity std cars went to Simon Parkin in the Cayman R, from the BMW M3 of David Paisley, with Warwick Bourton 3^rd in his Focus ST3.
Class 2L for road going Lotus cars saw a win for Martin Roberts, from David Whiteley both in Elise’s.
A close thing in 2B kit car class saw John Caldicott’s Caterham R300 take the win by 0.09sec from Terry Dutton in second in his HPC Caterham!  Third and fourth respectively were the Westfield’s of Matthew Haynes and Robert Swadkin.
After a few electrical gremlins in practice, Graham Harvey took the win in the small capacity Mod Prods, 3a, 1380cc Mini scrap from Stuart Ballinger in second and Stuart Gadd third.

The large capacity Mod Prod class, 3b, produced another win for the shared Metro of Owen Cule, and Dean Radcliffe, with Dean producing a P.B. to take second. Tom Harding claimed 3^rd in the Golf GTI from Rob Needham’s Escort MK1 in 4^th.
A six car 4B Mod Kit Car class went to Mark Williams in the Westfield Megabusa, from Gary Bunn’s Westfield 2.4L. 3^rd and 4^th went to Gary and Mark’s co drivers, Derek Hodder, and Phil Williams, respectively. Mark also collected the “Fastest Curborough Championship” entrant trophy.

A big thank you to all of the officials, and marshals, getting through the large entry smoothly, especially with the morning’s changeable conditions and the Tannoy system deciding to play up!
With just the final round to go, many class positions are still up for grabs, as well as the overall places, as a few competitors on good points scores are “coming up on the rails” still needing to add their sixth round scores.
Current top six.

1. Steve Wood ( 122) MGZR
2. John Caldicott (119) Caterham R300
3. Paul Glendenning (117) Clio Sport
4. Mark Williams (115) Clio Sport
5. Martin Roberts (113) Lotus Elise
6. Matthew Haynes (113) Westfield

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the SDCC final Championship Round on September 9^th, or perhaps practicing at the “Curborough Classic” event on the 8^th , the day before?

Steve Wood

Championship Results Round 6

Round 6

The MCMRC August event was the replacement round for the cancelled first round of the year, and attracted a full entry, and 36 Championship contenders, which reduced slightly on the day with a few late cancellations due to the weather forecast. After a wet start to the day however everyone got the opportunity of at least one dry timed run as the day progressed.
A six car Class Sa, got the meeting started with a win for the MGZR 1.4 of your scribe, with Bob Smith second in his Fiat Panda 100hp and David Pattison third in the SDCC Academy 1.4 ZR. Sara Holland won the Ladies award in her MGZR.
Jack Twomey broke the record again in Sb in his Ford Puma.
As usual, a great entry in Class Sc produced a really close contest again with the Clio of Paul Glendenning taking the win by 0.02sec from Craig Tock in his Type R! Third went to Neal Bateman in his Fiesta ST, pushing Mark Williams back to an unusual fourth place in his Clio by 0.09sec!
A close 1a, saw the win go to Julian Fishwick’s Mini, turning the tables on Keith Waters’ Metro for the first time this year.
The road going Lotus class, 2L, went to Richard Prince by 0.12 sec from Martin Roberts, both in Elise’s. Leonard Bennett took third in the Elise he shared with Richard.
Great to see Terry Dutton returning to take a win in the 2B kit car class in his Caterham HPC. Second was Matthew Haynes’ Westfield, just pipping John Caldicott’s Caterham by a couple of tenths. John deserved a “competitor of the day” award having had to unexpectedly fix the car’s electrics before setting off and only arriving after first practice, even with the dismal weather forecast, which had caused a few late cancellations.
Graham Harvey took the win in 3a in his 1380 Mini .
The large capacity Mod Prod class, 3b, was really well supported and swapped class leaders all day with the weather changes! The Metro GTI of Owen Cule eventually took a clear win with a time that was over 2.5 secs clear of Tom Harding in 2^nd in the family Golf GTI, with Dad, Andy 3^rd, 0.3secs behind.
FTD went to David Large in the Radical, who’s earlier requests in the rain for a grid girl with a brolley didn’t get any results!

A big thank you to all of the officials, and marshals, who did a splendid job in the changing conditions, with the larger entry than recent years at this meeting. Also a shout for SDCC member Derek Wallbank for doing a splendid commentary job!
After the sixth round, some competitors will start dropping worst scores at the next round, but many positions are still up for grabs!

Current top six.

1. John Caldicott ( 117) Caterham
2. Mark Williams (115) Clio Sport
3. Matthew Haynes (113) Westfield
4. Martin Roberts (112.5) Elise
5. Robert Smith (111.5) Panda sport
6. Jack Twomey (111) Puma

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the BMMC event on August 25th, remember it is a Saturday, so don’t turn up late!

Steve Wood

Report on Round 5

Championship Results 2018 Round 5

The second SDDC event of the year, was a two lapper, and as usual, attracted good entry, even with another minor motorsport event taking place a few miles south at Silverstone! and most drivers appeared sober after Saturdays’ England footy win! The summer still held on and a few Class records were broken, as the track surface temperature pushed over 40 degrees after lunch.
Class Sa got the meeting started with a win for the MGZR of your scribe, with Bob Smith second in his Fiat Panda 100hp and Sara Holland third in her MGZR,  Sara also claiming the Ladies award on the day, being nearest to her class’s record.
Jack Twomey took the honours and new record in his Ford Puma in Class Sb with, Tim Griffin second in his Fiesta.
As usual, a great entry in Class Sc produced a really close contest again with Paul Glendenning taking the win by 0.23sec from Mark Williams, with Paul’s co-pilot Wayne Park, taking third. Neal Bateman, (Fiesta), Paul Gough, (Clio), and Craig Tock’s Honda Type R were 4th, 5th and 6th respectively, all with 0.3s!
The Class Sd Porsche battle went to David Tilley, from Simon Parkin, both breaking the old class record in the process! David Paisley took 3rd place in his BMW M3.
A close 1a, saw the win go to Keith Waters’ Metro, from Julian Fishwicks Mini.
The Lotus class, 2L, went to Martin Roberts in his Elise.
The regular good entry in the 2b kit car class was slightly reduced by unfortunate last minute cancellations of Terry Dutton and Robert Swadkin, but saw John Caldicott winning in his Caterham R300, from Matthew Haynes’, 2nd, and Simon Price, 3rd both in Westfields.
Graham Harvey returned from “another” Holiday, to record a win in 3a from Stuart Gadd , both in their mod prod 1380 Mini’s.
With a typical “Curborough” helping hand from a few other competitors, the Metro GTI of Owen Cule was repaired and took the win in 3b, after a major coolant hose failure in practice! The Escort of Rob Needham claimed 2nd, with the Golf GTI of Tom Harding 3rd.
FTD went to Stuart Bickley in the 1100 cc single seater class, from Steve Potter in his OMS.
A big thank you to all the officials, and marshals, especially the start line marshals for running a great event in the extreme heat.
As we approach the 6th round of the 8, as usual, there are quite a few contenders vying for overall championship honours, and quite a few Class positions changing every event. Also this year with an unusually high novice entry, plenty to play for the Annual Paul Green Jewellers novice trophy at the end of the season!
I hope to see as many of you as possible at the Mid Cheshire event on August 12th, which replaces the cancelled S&HMC meeting at the start of the year,

Steve Wood

2018 Curborough Sprint Championship supported by PJS Sports Cars and Paul Green Jewellers.

ROUND 4

Sheffield and Hallamshire’s two lapper attracted 43 Championship entries. The summer was still in attendance making for some good times again. Despite some timekeeper issues, the Club managed to get 3 timed runs in for everyone.

Class Sa got the meeting started with a one, two for the MGZR’s  of your scribe, and Sara Holland respectively, with Bob Smith third his Fiat Panda 100hp.

A good entry in Class Sc saw a really close contest again with Mark Williams taking the win in his 197 Clio Sport, from David Chestertons’ 182 Clio Sport. Just 0.02 sec split Neil Bateman’s Fiesta and Paul Gough’s Clio 197 in 2^nd and 3^rd.

The Class Sd Porsche scrap was another really close call, with the 718 boxster of David Tilley taking the result by 0.03 sec from the Cayman R of Simon Parkin! Warwick Bourton took 3^rd in the Focus ST3.

In 1a Keith Waters’ Metro Advantage just pipped Julian Fishwick’s Mini by 0.16 sec.

In the predictably well supported 2b kit car class John Caldicott’s Caterham took the win as in the previous round from Oliver Swadkin’s Westfield. Matthew Haynes’ Westfield pushed Oliver very closely in third, with Paul Evans taking fourth.

The Lotus class, 2L, went to Scott Bennett, from Martin Roberts both in Elises.

The battling Minis in 3a saw a win for Stuart Gadd from Stuart Ballinger.

The Larger capacity mod prod class, had a good entry again, and saw a second win for Owen Cule in the Metro. Rob Needham claimed second in his Escort, with the Golf GTI of Tom Harding third.

On their own again in 4b, The Williams’ family Westfield Megabusa Mark taking the win from Dad Phil, and also claiming FTD on the final third run from the Radical of David Large.

In the roadgoing period defined class, Rowland Turner took his Escort mk1 Mexico to a win over the mk4 Spitfire of Paul Cheshire.

Note: Due to welcoming more novices this season, just a reminder that the Championship Stickers should be on the car to score points, AND,  that, if at any of the rounds a club gives 3 timed runs, then only the first two ever count towards the championship points, rather than the clubs’ class awards on the day.

Also a Very BIG thank you note from the Championship organisers to S&HMC, who have been running events for the Championship since 1998, even though their club is really Rally based with not many S&HMC members doing sprints.

I hope everyone has ensured that they have arranged their holidays so that they can make the SDCC round on July 8^th, and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible then,

Steve Wood

Championship Results 2018 Round 4

2018 Curborough Sprint Championship supported by PJS Sports Cars and Paul Green Jewellers.

ROUND 3

The Annual Owen M.C. Graham Hill Memorial Sprint attracted a good entry, and 35 Championship entries. The summer returned and was ideal for a few Class records to be broken, and a few burnt arms and necks.
Class Sa got the meeting started with a win and a new class record for the MGZR of your scribe, with Bob Smith second in his new Fiat Panda 100hp and Sarah Holland third in her own new ZR, after using the SDCC Academy ZR last time out.
Jack Twomey had an entertaining day in his Ford Puma in Class Sb with his four runs recorded as: FAIL, FAIL, new class record time, FAIL !
The 10 car Class Sc was a really close contest again with Paul Glendenning taking the win by 0.11sec from Mark Williams, both Clio Sport pilots breaking the class record. Craig Tock’s Honda Type R was 3rd, and Paul Gough’s Clio 4th. 5th and 6th respectively, as in the previous round, were Neal Bateman’s Fiesta and Wayne Parke’s Clio, split by 0.04s sec!
The Class Sd Porsche Boxster scrap went to David Tilley, from Steve Barrow. Sitting the Class out this week, Warwick Bourton did a stirling job in the commentary hut!
A really close 1a, saw the win go to Keith Waters’ Metro, from Julian Fishwick’s Mini, with Martin Domleo 3rd in his Fiesta, all three split by 0.6 sec.
The Lotus class, 2L, went to Martin Roberts in his Elise.
In the usual decent sized 2b kit car class John Caldicott snatched the win on the last run by 0.04 sec from Oliver Swadkin. Matthew Haynes’ Westfield took third from Simon Price by a slightly bigger margin, with Robert Swadkin fifth.
Graham Harvey returned from his hols, to record a win in 3a in a class of 3 Minis. Second and third respectively were Stuart Gadd and Stuart Ballinger.
A really good 3b had a returning Owen Cule take a good win in the Metro. With a couple of HSA championship interlopers in second and third, Tom Harding and Dean Radcliffe had to settle for fourth and fifth.
The Williams’ family Westfield Megabusa’s first outing of the season saw Mark taking the win from Dad Phil.
Unfortunately all of the Libre and racing car classes were only single entry, but FTD went to Chris Green in his 1600 OMS with a time of 53.11sec.

THE USUAL IMPORTANT NOTE AGAIN TO ALL Championship Entrants; As you have seen again this week, with many Championship contenders coming out to play in most rounds this year, events do get over subscribed, and most clubs take entries are on a first come basis if they do get full, so it is just another reminder get your entries in early!

Also a note for the many novices we have in the Championship this year, that in previous years class positions have been decided at the end of the season after tied points, on count back positions in each round, so doing more than 6 can be important!

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the S&HMC meeting on June 24h,

Steve Wood

Championship Results 2018 Round 3

2018 Curborough Sprint Championship supported by PJS Sports Cars and Paul Green Jewellers.

ROUND 2

The usual SDCC Championship figure of eight sprint was oversubscribed and attracted around 45 Championship entries. As it was Bank holiday weekend, I was away stuck in traffic! so any wayward driving will have avoided my comments!
Class Sa got the meeting started with a win for Bob Smith in the Fiesta, from Sarah Holland in the SDCC Academy MGZR.
Class Sb had all 3 championship contenders entered, and saw a win, and a new class record for Jack Twomey in his Puma.
The 10 car Class Sc was a really closely contested event with Paul Glendenning taking the win from Mark Williams, both in Clio Sports. Craig Tock’s Type R was 3rd, and Paul Gough’s Clio 4th. Fifth and Sixth respectively, were Neal Bateman’s Fiesta and Wayne Parke’s Clio, and all five were split by just over 0.7 sec!!
Class Sd saw a Porsche 1,2,3, with Simon Parkin first, David Tilley second and Steve Barrow third.
In 1C Steve Smith spoilt the Championship party by taking the win in his Imprezza, from the similar mount of John Murphy, with Andrew Chesterton third in his Evo.
The Lotus class, 2L, saw another win for Scott Bennett from second placed Martin Roberts, both in Elises.
In the usual large 2B kit car class Matthew Haynes’ Westfield pipped John Caldicott’s Caterham by 0.24 sec to take the honours, with Oliver Swadkin 3rd in his Westfield.
With Graham Harvey away, wading through “sunny” Weymouth, Stuart Ballinger took the small capacity Mod prod class in his Mini , from Stuart Gadd.
The Rally car class went to William Rushton’s Escort from Matt Walk’s Fiesta.
With the weather interrupting the second runs of the latter classes, many of those competitors chose not to run, and results were all down to the first runs.
In Libre Cars, 6A, Steve Barnard took the win from the Radical of David Large.
The eclectic mix in Period defined road cars, went to the Anglia of Simon Cooper, from the Spitfire of Paul Cheshire, with Roland Turner’s Escort third.
Sara Holland took the Ladies Award, and FTD went to Ben Waine in his 1100 Magnum.

THE USUAL IMPORTANT NOTE AGAIN TO ALL Championship Entrants; As you have seen this week, with a good Championship entry this year, (now up to 63), and some of the remaining events also being rounds of other championships, events do get over subscribed, and most clubs entries are on a first come basis if they do get full, so another reminder get your entries in early for the events you want to do!

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the Owen meeting on June 10th,

Steve Wood

Championship Results 2018 Round 2

2018 Curborough Sprint Championship supported by PJS Sports Cars and Paul Green Jewellers.

ROUND 1

And they are off, eventually!

The lack of any MSA available timekeepers meant the usual April S&HMC round had to be cancelled, so for the first time in 19 years the championship started off late, with the May BMMC round. The two-lap event attracted a really good Championship entry of 45, and, seemingly, also the summer!

Class Sa kicked off the season with a win for the MGZR of your scribe, with the double driven Fiesta of Tim Burrill and Bob Smith in second and third respectively split by 0.3secs.

The newly introduced Sb, (1401 to 1700cc) saw a great start for novice Jack Twomey in his Puma, setting a new class record.

The big, 12 car, entry for class Sc, had Mark Williams instantly adapting from his Boxster and recording a debut win in his Clio 200, from the similarly mounted Wayne Parke in second. Dave Chesterton’s 182 Clio was third, just pipping his co-driver Matt Walk in fourth by 0.28sec.

Class Sd had Porsche’s 1st and 2nd, with Simon Parkin in his Cayman, from the new 718 of David Tilley. 3rd was the Ford Focus ST of Warwick Bourton.

Class 1C saw a win for the Impreza of John Murphy.

The well supported kit car class, 2B, went to John Caldicott’s Caterham, from the Westfields of Matthew Haynes and Oliver Swadkin respectively who were split by just 0.1sec!

In class 3A, Graham Harvey led home a Mini 1,2,3 from Stuart Ballinger 2nd, and Stuart Gadd 3rd. Stuart Gadd also deservedly picking up the events’ best presented car award.

The four-car road going Lotus class went to the Elise S1 of Scott Bennett, from the S2 of Martin Roberts.

Tom and Andy Harding took the family Golf GTI to a one – two in the larger capacity Mod prod class.

In the road going period defined class, Roland Turner picked up the win in his Escort Mexico, (after a fraught few mechanical issues on his way to the event), with the Bond Equipe of Paul Cammerer and the Chevette of Scott Russell 2nd and 3rd respectively.

FTD was claimed by Steven Potter in his newly acquired OMS.

The Championship organisers would like to say, a BIG thank you to new sponsors for 2018, P.J.S Sports Cars and Paul Green Jewellers.

With entries still coming in we now have 61 to date, which is already a slight increase from last years total.

IMPORTANT NOTE TO ALL Championship Entrants; Hopefully you will all have seen that the Championship committee have been able to replace the cancelled round, with the Mid Cheshire MC Figure of Eight event on August 12th.

All of the rounds now have links from the Curborough website for the regs and entry forms.  A Reminder that some of the events are also rounds of other Championships and so may get oversubscribed. Most clubs take entries in date entry order so please get your entries in early for the rounds you are intending to do to avoid missing out!
Hope to see as many of you as possible at the next round, the SDCC round on May 27th,                                     Steve Wood