BCCC Round 5 Glanusk Estate.

There’s not a great deal that can be said about the Glan Usk Cross-country venue that I haven’t really covered before. It was in the same, picturesque location, sandwiched between the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons and the venue still offered views of Welsh history – agricultural, social (Tretower) and industrial (the Llangattwg escarpment). It’s hilly, but offers a stark contrast to the previous round at Sweet Lamb.
Glan Usk isn’t desolate – it’s verdant and welcoming, and it’s teeming with life.
Sniff around and you’ll find sheep, birds, mice and voles and owls: lots of owls. And trust me, there nothing tastier than chowing down on an owl pellet.
I like this place. It was a fitting venue for the opening round of Britparts 2009 British Cross Country Championship, and it would be a fitting venue for round 5. At Easter the weather was dry, but this time it would be damp at times, and raining at others. The challenge was different. It was also make or break in the Championship. If Tim Dilworth was going to win the crown he needed this victory, and he was feeling positive (mind you, he’d just become a father, so that might also be bringing his mood up, too). Richard Kershaw however was intent on keeping that crown. He didn’t need to win, but he needed to make sure he was ahead of Tim – so victory might be his only option. It was definitely all to play for. I also had a nagging feeling that the course was going to have some say on the matter, too.

And what of the course itself? It started pleasantly enough – the start-line was nestled in a wooded copse and the cars would launch from here and career along the top edge of the pasture, following the dry-stone wall, into and out of a second copse. The ground here was rutted and in the wet offered little grip. The course then dived through a patch of scrubland, complete with leggy plants (yeah, they weren’t going too last long) that ended abruptly with a hole in another dry-stone wall. There was a harsh little drop here over tumbled stone – speeds would be low as the course took a tight left-paw turn over the rocks and headed down hill. Grip was at a premium here, but that wasn’t important until making the right paw turn onto Cat B at the bottom of the drop.
The Cat B track was going to be fast, but care was going to be required over the myriad of yumps and potholes the track presented here. Between them, the walls of trees and shrub, and the loose nature of the surface, this was going to offer some ‘excitement’! At a small clearing, the course left the Cat B and tumbled down a muddy gap in the trees. And it continued down hill – in so many ways! It was rough and it was wet and it was as slippery as warm slobber on a sheet of teflon. Better still, the course threw a couple of heinous hair-pin bends into the mix. The trees here were immaculate, but I could see that situation changing tomorrow! Once at the bottom of the hill, the track contoured around the hill and again it was littered with yumps and potholes.
This time however there was a bank on one side and a steep slope on the other, that was more than capable of swallowing an errant race-car whole and spitting it out again very much the worse for wear. The likelihood of this would be limited by the skill of driver, and the Championship drivers weren’t short of talent in that department, but this would be offset by a level of grip best described as ‘perilous’.

The course now wound its way up hill and it continued it the same style. A respite was offered from the earlier assault by the main uphill troll. A Sharp right-pawer would take the cars up a cobbled track – it was still slippery, sure, but it was fairly clear of mud and at least the tyres now would be able to do their stuff without getting clogged. Despite the gradient, the speeds up here at Easter were monumental, with some cars showing a rate of climb that was rivalled only by Eurofighters and frightened squirrels up trees. Once this rise was crested things got really technical with a treacherous ‘sting-in-the-tail’ section. The course leaped up to the left and treaded its way through the trees. This time there was no Cat B – it was just the leaf littered firebreak and standing lumber. If wings were going to be lost , this was going to be where it would happen. Terry Day had laid out three 90 degree bends in here to add to the woes. It was also very rough. The flying finish marked the boundary between the hellish woodland and the security of open pasture. Unlike Sweet Lamb, there were going to no high-speed high-jinx across the line – it had to be kept clean other wise two substantial gate posts were going to make their presence very much known.

It might not be the quickest course of the Championship in terms of average MPH, but it was likely to feel like it. It was claustrophobic, it was slippery and it looked like a car breaker. It favoured the brave and the precise. The careless? Well, it would take them round the back and beat seven bells out of them. Like the Terminator, it would show no mercy, it didn’t understand pity, and it would not give up.

It also succeeded in making it look like I was wearing knee-high tan boots. Big, clodhopping boots. I had feet under the clag, but I wasn’t going to be cleaning them. Hell no, I have people for that kind of thing!

Things may have looking tough for the competitors, they were also looking tough for Dobes. Following my resounding victory over the ‘Ruffwear’ lead at Sweet Lamb, I found myself on the end of a spangly ‘Rogz’ lead. It was as tough as old boots (and as a reformed habitual chewer, I speak with some authority on the matter – Merrels, La Sportivas, Scarpas, I’ve gnawed the lot). I couldn’t break it, and I couldn’t slip the latch either. This could be a serious crimp on my weekend at this rate.
So Friday night was spent fastened more securely than I was comfortable with to the humes Land Cruiser. Man, I was in a foul mood. I watched people arrive, and set-up and unload cars, and visit the XoX stand. They were eating burgers and stir-frys whilst I had a bowl of ‘Eukanuba’ (Rottweiler mix, for those that are interested). I wasn’t happy. Well, I guess it wasn’t all bad, I got to spend the evening with the humes and ‘She-of-the-Family’ does a good line in pleasing scratching. But it wasn’t the same.

Saturday morning was actually quite chilly, the clouds of Friday had broken throughout the night and temperature had nose-dived. It was cloudy now, but it wasn’t raining. The dampness of yesterday still hung in the air and I was betting the course was still wet. I had plans to make however. Yesterday my lead proved pretty ‘Dobe-resistant’ so I needed a method of getting the hell away before it got fastened to my collar and I got fastened to a Jap off-roader. I was going to have to move fast. Really fast. ‘He-of-the-Family’, came to the back of the wagon, lead in hand. I braced myself against the rear seats and tensed. He opened the door enough to reach in and as his paw approached I made my move. I pushed off the seat and barged through the opening. I hit the ground and ran. It was downhill to, so the advantage was mine – the grass may have been wet but four-paw drive, claws and a heart the size of a coconut gave me the edge. He was on his arse too, which kinda helped. He said a naughty word. First stop for me – friendly competitors and XoX. There were pickings to be had and they were good! The bacon was soft and the sausages moist, without being greasy, and still mostly mustard free. Check this – I even managed to find some black pudding going begging – now that was a quality find.

Anyhoo, the morning was moving on and the drivers were asked to assemble for drivers briefing. I had a quick sniff around the start crew and didn’t get a lot (mostly not dog people, I’m learning) apart from one lady who smelt of expensive soap and dog hair. I trotted around the wall, passed the Flying Finish crew (all one of them) and entered the woodland, travelling WD. I was shortly met by a 110 and 90 travelling through so gave ‘em plenty of room. I found a quiet spot overlooking the course and lay down and waited.
Just over from me was an amiable chap with two Dobes of his own, and a friendly (if slightly aloof) pair they were. They did seem slightly under the thumb though, but hey, it takes all sorts. I took note of their leads and thought ‘about two minutes and I’d be through that’.

It was about 5 past 10 when Richard Kershaw brought his no.1 Pug-a-like up to the line. It sounded crisp and revved cleanly – as expected his car prep was well up to par. The seconds ticked down and the revs built and then, boom, he was off the line. The engine note stuttered and jumped as the Richard struggled to find traction on the damp grass, but despite this, as his engine noise faded he was making strong progress. He came roaring up the track and showed a masterclass in car control as he threw his red rocket into the final woodland. Even with the lack of mud on the cobbles below my vantage-point his tyres were outfaced by the wet rock, but damn me, he was going some. I heard him burst out into the field behind me and I clicked the stop watch. 10.54. Nearly 11 minutes for six miles; compare that to Sweet Lamb. It really was tough out there.
On a positive note, whilst the going must have been tough, most of the drivers came past me. Unfortunately, on a negative note, Brian Farmer didn’t. He’d proven at Sweet Lamb that his new diesel powered Pug-a-like was quite a force to be reckoned with – certainly more so than his previous Warrior buggy, but his luck had deserted him. I couldn’t get the whole story but ‘He-of-the-family’ saw the whole thing, and he was unnerved by it. Brian’s car had tumbled multiple times down the track. Both Brian and co-pilot were shaken but unhurt. Again, in testament to build quality and safety standards, whilst the car looked like it had been given a hard time it was mostly intact. It was insufficiently intact however to allow it to continue and Brian was forced to retire after only one run.
He’s a smashing chap, is Brian, and he’s not deserving of the kind of luck he gets – here’s hoping he has a better time of things at the next round.

The die had been cast and times for the run told as interesting story. Richards was good, but it was only good enough to plant him in third spot. Tim Dilworth had stopped the clock some 16 seconds quicker and his 10.38 put him at the head of the leaderboard. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Dan Lofthouse and his roaring LD4 Proto in second, that honour had gone to a very on-form Ian Rochelle in the no.8 Millington powered Mattseratti. He may have only pipped Richard by one scant second but he’d nailed his colours to the mast - convincingly. The lower weight of his car really showed and I’m sure he was finding traction a problem, but even with his cars ‘arse-happy’ tendency he pieced together a really good lap.
And Dan? He’d had a bit of mare of things – the course wasn’t being kind to him. Despite this he still pulled a solid time out, even if it wasn’t in the 10 minute slot. His 11.16 was still 16 seconds quicker than his next nearest car (a hard charging and rock-steady James Webb with his R4 Milner Protruck), now, if he could get a trouble free run he would be a lot closer to the lead time. He was still a threat to the number one spot, even if the narrow nature of the course wasn’t going to favour his driving style.
Another driver who’s inherent style was at odds with the course was the amiable Justin Birchill in the distinctive, yelping, no15 Pug-a-like. He had to reign in his usual exuberant style and maybe reigned in a little too much. Even so, he was going some, but a tyre flapping about on the rim wasn’t going to help his progress. Whilst his 11.37 wasn’t his fastest time, it was well earned given the run he’d had.
Eight spot saw the last of the sub 12 minute times and it went to ‘King of the live-axles’ Colin Gould and his smart, grey, no.10 Wildcat. It’s a comparatively heavy and bulky car for the course (thank dog, no one had brought a Nemesis along!) but he still made it work for him.
I’m not having a downer on the Bowler product family – they’re blindingly good vehicles, but this isn’t quite the natural environment for them. They designed for a different type of event. The fact that dudes like Colin can still make them work really quite well in the cramped and greasy woodland is a testament to their design and robustness, and Colins driving. I’m sure the owners would want one, but there’s no room for Dobes in the back!

Run two kicked off and again Daddy Dilworth had the bit well and truly in his teeth. A drying track and a well paced drive saw his car stop the clock with a 10.13 – 25 seconds faster than his first run. Richard however knew he had to beat Tim and pulled a brilliant 10.19 out of the hat. That was 35 seconds off of his run one result and moved him into second spot with 22 seconds to make up. Dan had found form and kept trouble free and his 10.27 and like Richard, climbed one place up the leader board. He may have 30 seconds to make up to equal Richard but given 1) how the course was changing, 2) how it was eating significant quantities of tyres and 3) Dan’s balls-out driving style, this was quite feasible.
James Webb also had a meteoric increase in speed and took fourth fastest with a 10.34 – a time that puts him right back amongst the ‘big-boys’. It also reinforced his fifth place overall. Following a nightmare first run, Chris Hammond had found his feet and the quick line and delivered a 10.35 and had moved in one feel swoop from unlucky 13 overall to 6th. His R5 Protruck now sat only 1 second behind its older brother that James was driving. James and Chris have been team mates since before I was pupped, but there’s a third member to their jovial outfit, and that’s Ian Rochelle.
In a remarkable feat of consistency, Ian had brought his ikkle buggy home in 10.53. It was a good time, but with the stark improvement of everyone else he had now dropped one place from third to fourth. I don’t know where he lost his time, because he came passed me at a hell of rate of knots.
Birmingham’s Steve Smith puts in good performances – he’s controlled and clean, and that cleanliness had paid of. A good time on run one (ninth fastest), and then a seventh fastest in run 2 with a 11.37 saw him quietly and calmly move into seventh spot on the leaderboard. It was early days, but if could keep that up he would be getting a very just reward for his efforts, both on the track and off - his car is Shar-pei ugly, but its immaculately built and prepared. It’s not quite as ‘individual’ as his previous car (like his current one it was designed and built by co-driver John Griffiths), but it’s still pretty distinctive. I mean, his last one had the kind of face only a lorry tyre could love. Still in this game you get marks for effectiveness and not prettiness (this is a race series, not a dog show) and Steve was earning some top marks!
Eighth fastest time of the run went to a surprise top-ten visitor. Bob Seaman is a ‘trophy’ class driver with another R4 Milner. Last year he had a terrible time of things suffering from a number of rolls and a major car fire. This year though, he’s found his feet and he and co-driver JJ are putting in some really good performances – really good. His time gave him a good spot in the top half of the field and he was now kicking it with more experienced players. I wondered just how far he could go if his car, and his nerves, held together.
For Colin, things didn’t go quite according to plan on this run. His 12.13 wasn’t a bad time but it didn’t really tell the whole story. Less than half way around the track his front, left paw shock absorber and spring had decided enough was enough and made a very effective bid for freedom. It was found several hours later however it hadn’t faired well since leaving the relative safety of the front of the Bowler. From the shape of it, and the tyre marks on it, it needed some instruction in road safety, as well as a new rod and case.

Run three saw Tim again take fastest time with a 10.11. Richard answered with a 10.16 – it closed the gap on a run by run basis, even if it moved them fractionally further apart on the leader board.
Chris Hammond nailed a 10.21 to climb another place on the board. James Webb, whose place he took had an absolute mare of a run and was only just able to limp his Protruck over the finish line – he had plummeted down the leader board to a miserable 18th spot. Ian again proved that ;consistent; works and put in yet another 10.53 and consolidated his third spot. Whilst he was now 1.10 behind Richard in second, he still held a comfortable 48 seconds over the combined talents of Dan Lofthouse and Johnny Koonja in fourth. D and J had had a torrid run and a couple of punctures had left them with an undeserving 11.44. Still, fourth spot overall still gave them something to work with. Colin Gould had been shaving chunks off his run and 11.31 gave him sixth quickest time.

At this point it’s worth mentioning Martin Gould and his venerable, gruff sounding Mattseratti. Usually he’s a feature of the top ten, and his first run time popped him squarely into 6th spot. His second run had been a complete disaster being plagued with minor mechanicals and punctures and he was lucky just to be able to limp his sickly racer home. His third run was even worse and he ended up stranded on course, being forced to take a maximum time. His 6th place had turned into 21st overall with little hope of a top ten finish.
I like both Martin and co-driver Si Kerfoot, and it was gutting to see their plight. Whilst his 4th run wasn’t the fastest it at least started to repair the damage done to his standings by the previous runs.

Just as things were improving for Martin, they were taking a nosedive for Chris Hammond. He left the line on run 4 with all guns blazing, but he never got around to my spot of the world. He was another victim of the course and required a recovery, thereby taking a maximum time. His problems were also terminal for the car and he was forced to retire. After Chris’s woes, it was good to see that there were less issues for most on the run (apart from Tim, who suffered a puncture but didn’t let it slow him down).
Bob matched his previous run time (an 11.55) and worked his way into 8th spot overall. Steve Smith put in another strong time – his 11.46 was eight fastest time for the run and consolidated his seventh spot on the overall chart.
The lime-green (or for the unkind amongst you – ‘snot yellow’) Pug-a-like driven by Ian Bartlett was nestling snugly in 6th overall, helped no end by two seventh fastest times on runs 3 and 4. It’s good to see him so far up the leaderboard; he’s worked hard to prep the car and he’s now showing it’s real potential. Sixth fastest time on the run went to the inimitable Colin Gould and the bellowing wildcat. His 11.09 saw him move one spot up the leader board to a strong 4th overall. Although still in 4th spot overall, Dans run 4 times was 3rd fastest overall and he reduced the gap to Ian to 28 seconds. Ian made another 10.53 run but was going to have make improvements to his time if he wanted to either move forward or protect his third spot from the hard charging ‘Lofthouse and Koonja show’. Richard suffered a puncture on this one, but he was till able to bring his slightly errant Pug-a-like home in 10.23. When combined with the blistering 10.03 put in by Tim and co-driver Anthony Brinkman, Richard now had a 47-second deficit to make up.

Colin had got his head around the course and was making in roads into moving up the leader board. I heard the revs on his Bowlers v8 motor rise and I heard the car launch. I then also heard a startling ‘bang’. His car pulled twenty metres away from the start line and rolled serenely into the service park under the influence of gravity. They took a maximum time for the run and dropped to 16th overall.

Ian must have been determined to break his consistency and beat his 10.53. Unfortunately that wasn’t what broke. He was well into the course when the old issues of the cars fragility reared their unwelcome heads. A front suspension arm snapped and it was Ians skills that prevented a big accident from happening. He was recovered from the track, taking a maximum time undoing all his hard work earlier in the day. Worse news was still to come as he was forced to retire for the weekend. This course had taken its toll on the car and I was beginning to dread what would happen at the final Championship round at Driffield: a venue renowned for being utterly merciless to vehicles.
I’m still worrying now, truth be known. However, one mans problem is another mans opportunity and both Bob and Steve moved up the leader board one spot to take 6th and 5th spots respectively. Bobs progress was also helped by 6th fastest run time. Stepping into 7th was the everso slightly surprised Phil Ibbotson in the mad looking Metro 6R4 replica.
He’s had some rough luck this year, but so far his stubby little racer was pounding around the course in fine style. More importantly, Phil was holding it all together. This left 8th spot open and it was duly filled by Martin Cox whose manages to get more speed out of his little v6 motor than it really should be capable of. His times weren’t the fastest, but once he’d got his early maladies out the way he proved admirably that in order to finish first, first you gotta finish. And Martin makes a speciality out of maximising reliability, driving just inside the capability envelope of his vehicle. He pushes hard, yes, but not sufficiently hard to break things. He’s not a reckless man, and he gets the results.

Anyroad, Ian Bartlett had moved into 4th overall and had a gap of 24 seconds separating him from Steve in 5th. The problem was the 4.50 cushion Dan had in third – a situation helped by an awesome 10.01, which was good enough for second fastest run time.
Whilst Tim can, for all practical purposes, ignore one puncture – the two he picked up on this run did slow him down a tad. Not much, mind you, but enough to only get third fastest run time with 10.11 (judging by his time though, his beadlocking rims are definitely the way forward!). It was Richard that took fastest run for run 5, and damned convincingly too. Tim had come close to breaking into the 9’s, Dan had come closer.
Richard? Man, Richard took the 10 minutes barrier and reduced it to rubble. His blistering 9.42 was the fastest time of the day and closed the gap between himself and Tim to 18 seconds. I’ll bet even Richard raised a smile with that one.

So, it had been proved that times starting with a ‘9’ were feasible, and first blood had gone to Richard. The question now was could Tim answer it and maintain his lead? The answer on run 6 was a resounding ‘no’. Tim drove cleanly and precisely and stopped the clock with a 10.03. Richard again took a 9.48, closing the gap between them to 3 seconds. Richard’s progress was starting to look relentless. However, proving that it wasn’t going to be a two fight for honours on the round, Dan took his LD4 by the scruff of his neck and threw it around the course in glorious style and was duly rewarded with 9.53 – welcome to the sub 10s, Dan!

Run seven was going to be the last run of the day and it was all to play for. Dan was the first car out of the blocks and he set off in grand style, with dirt flying and wheels spinning. His fine start didn’t last and it was 11.54 before he stopped he clock. Richard had another clean run and delivered another sub 10 time – on this occasion a 9.52. It was an object lesson in controlled aggression.
Tim didn’t quite such a good time of things. Neither did Martin Cox. Martins run was going well until an uncharacteristic mistake put him into a roll. His car blocked the track and a cue developed behind whilst he awaited recovery and Tim was caught in that cue. As a result Tim was given a notional time, based on his last clean run - in this case the 10.03. Tim had seen the times Richard was pulling out and was determined to match him, determined to do whatever it took to maintain his lead position. Martins unfortunate roll had scuppered that for today. Richard took the lead by eight seconds, however tomorrow was another day – to ensure the Championship, he had to keep that lead, and as sure as eggs is eggs, Tim wasn’t going to let that happen without a darn good fight. It was only eight seconds, and Tim had already proved just how quick his Scooby powered pug-a-like was.
The leaderboard itself was looking like a dispersed affair. Dan was securely ensconced in 3rd but was 4.26 behind Tim, however he was now over 5 minutes ahead of Steve Smith, who found himself smiling ear to ear. Yes, he was a country mile behind Dan, but he had a goodly distance between himself and Bob in fifth – some 1.39, in fact. Bob had 32s over Ian B with Phil still running strong 14 seconds back, again. Another surprise was found in the shape of Tony Coid who had taken Colin Goulds ‘King of the live-axles’ crown. By driving steadily and carefully (save the first run where he used a tree to remove a wing), Tony now found himself in 8th by the end of the first day. It was a fitting reward for a man who puts such a lot into his racing, and is still prepared to give others a hand too. If you don’t believe me, check out his performance a Baden Hall last year.

Under variable skies, the sun went down and people tended the cars and swapped tyres. I returned to the humes to be greeted with black looks and stern words, most of which I ignored. They still found time to brush the mud of me and roll out another bowl of kibbles and bits.
After last round I decided to give the beer tent a miss and in the end spent a quiet evening milling about and listening for the wildlife – it hadn’t taken long for it to return to the woods, or to poke its head out from whatever hole it lived in.

Sunday morning arrived, bang on the dot at dawn. As the light increased it became apparent that the weather may not be as kind today as it had been the day before. It threatened rain. Much to my surprise I found the back door of the Landcrusier being open without an incoming hand or lead. It seems that my escape from the day before, and previous events has proved I can be just let off. Yeah, I’ll wander, but I’ll always return to the pack. I was being ‘trusted’. I kind of edged away cautiously, not quite sure whether this was some cruel hume trick that was being played out with yours truly as the straight dog.
I got about 10m from the car, turned and legged it, just in case. Suffice to say my first port of call was a passing van tyre (it had been a long night), second stop however was for a quick scour for titbits at XoX. I found a few folk milling about I could bully with my best cuteness and nibbles were had. At about 8.30 I took my leave and headed into the course, this time, stage direction – I’d seen about half the course yesterday and fancied a different viewpoint. Truth be known, something on that course was causing mayhem and I wanted to find out what.

Clearly the dampness from last night wasn’t going to slow anyone down. I was about halfway along the first Cat B track when Richards red Pug-a-like came roaring past doing what looked like 70+ MPH. The car was completely settled despite the pounding the track was providing, that’s when the car was in contact with the deck, - it seemed to be spending an inordinate amount of time airborne. The leaves around me rattled as a shower of debris rained around down briefly.
Tim was the second car to pass – equally as airborne and as equally on it. Coming past me the two looked to be tied neck and neck and I reckoned only the clock would separate them. I wasn’t wrong: Richard stopped the clock at 9.33, Tim at 9.35. The gap between the two of them grew, albeit not by much. Dan came past my location next and like Richard and Tim, he looked ‘on it’, even more so as the shear width of the LD4 filled the track entirely – it was an awesome sight, accompanied by a rumbling, bubbling exhaust note that spoke of boiling lava. The car wasn’t as settled though and whilst it was still ridiculously fast, it didn’t look to have quite the rate of progress as either Tim or Richard. Still, it was a strong drive in challenging conditions and it kept Dan in third spot.
Bob Seaman appeared to be struggling with the Protruck, and I wondered if he had a puncture – the engine sounded okay, but he was definitely not as quick as he had been yesterday. Proof of the pudding was that dropped to 7th overall, moving Phil and Ian up to 5th and 6th respectively. Phil had 6 seconds over Bob, so he wouldn’t be able to rest on his laurels if he wanted to keep that 6th place.

Tim was the first off the line on run 2 and to say he was on the limit was an understatement: the speed he came past me was simply astonishing. What his driving style had lost in exuberance and raggedness it had gained in just raw speed. His time of 9.20 proved it. Ian was next out, and although it’s a similar car shape (both being Pug-a-likes) they were quite different under the skin. Tim had eschewed big torque and cubic centimetres for a more WRC-inspired motor. It was a flat four with a big turbo and it was definitely nippy. Ian had gone for more cylinders with a Jaguar v6 and it was powerful. But it wasn’t as quick, however, nothing seemed to slow it down. As long as Ian could keep up the old adage of ‘conservation of momentum’ he was going to keep 5th spot, and in some style, too. I think there’s still some work for Ian to do on the suspension though as the car seemed to be slightly more wayward over the bumps – not by much, but Ian’s got the talent to get slightly more out the car if it’ll let him. Tell you what, he could be another one to keep an eye on next year.
Richard was third car past and it confirmed my thoughts on Ians wagon in terms of stability. I doubt Richards got any more horsepower than Ian, but hell, he was making it work for him. He was as quick as Tim here and certainly looked like he wasn’t going to give up his first spot without a damned hard fight. He stopped the clock with a 9.24 – he was slower than Tim and the gap between them came down to 6 seconds. 6 seconds with 4 runs left – it could get claw-bittingly close.

This was proven out on run 3 with both Tim and Richard determined to get the all-important victory – lest we forget, if Tim won today he had a clean shot at the Championship based on whatever happened at the final round at Driffield. If Richard won today the Championship was, for all intents and purposes, his. Again! Both cars were blisteringly quick, but it was Tim that showered me with more detritus – so either he was moving a tad quicker, or Richard was the better engineer of mud-flaps. Checking the times, he was moving quicker. As a testament to his skill behind the wheel, Tim nailed another 9.20 to the mast. The thought hit me – why wasn’t Tim getting these kind of times yesterday? I think he was driving within the limits of himself and the car – if he could keep it in one piece, whilst just doing enough, then he could secure a risk free victory. He would do what it took to keep Richard behind him and no-more – I could see both benefits and risks in the strategy. The risk was he’d have to drive like the proverbial bat out of hell today to maintain the required times, and to be fair, he was doing just that. It was an awesome display of car control.
Richard howled around the course to stop the clock with a 9.30. Tim had retaken the lead, albeit by only 4 seconds. Yeah, he was back on top, but would he be able to keep hold of the elusive no.1 spot on the leaderboard? If Tim had his own way, you’d say ‘yes’, but Richard would also be adding his tuppence worth to the debate. Now, more than anytime over the last 5 rounds, it was all to play for. I couldn’t take the strain – I needed a wee! God, I love forest rounds, there’s never a shortage of volunteer trees!

As before, Tim was the first car out on round 4. I heard his engine ripping through the woodland and like before he sounded quick. However, he came past me well off line – was this a mistake? He disappeared from view looking increasingly off line and definitely on the brakes – this was going to cost him time and wasn’t looking good. Then I heard the crash, and being honest, I nearly leapt out of my pelt – it sounded big. I legged it through the trees to see what had happened and was greeted by the awful scene of the no.3 Pug-a-like firmly imbedded in the trees. It’d gone headlong into a large tree and spun – it had stopped very, very quickly. The front end was destroyed. I started shouting, hoping to attract some attention and it was with some relief that I was able to watch both Tim and Anthony step out of the car. But my heart sank, not only would this give them a maximum time, but it was the end of the day, and their championship hopes.

Second car out on the run was Richard and as he roared around the corner he saw the scene of Tims car. He called in the incident on his mobile, made sure Tim and Anthony were okay and continued on his way, leaving the scene with slightly less enthusiasm than he had entered it. He knew the Championship was his for another year – he could take things easy – Dan was 10 minutes behind him by now so all he had to do was to keep the car ‘on the island’ and finish. As said earlier, one mans problem is another mans opportunity, and opportunity had come knocking for Steve Smith who was going to find himself with a pretty secure third overall – if he could maintain his run of trouble-free rounds. His car prep and his innate ability to avoid mistake would stand him in good stead for achieving that goal. Colin Gould was another man finding opportunity calling – he’d overcome his maladies from yesterday and had found his line and as result had made a meteoric rise up the leader board and by the end of the run had overtaken Ian Bartlett on the leaderboard.

The last 2 runs saw Richard consolidate his lead spot. His drives were steady and noticeably slower, but he was doing what he needed to – making sure he completed each lap cleanly. Dan completed his runs, carrying more speed than Richard but clearly enjoying his chance to barrel around the Welsh countryside and speeds best described as ‘licence threatening’. His second spot was well deserved, but it was a lonely one. He was 9 minutes down on Richard and nearly 12 minutes ahead of the surprised Steve Smith in third. I can’t recall an event that had, at times been so tight, yet had finished with such gaps on the leaderboard. It was mind-boggling – but it proved solidly that reliability could be more than a match for outright speed.

Colin Gould ended the day in fourth overall and proved that you can’t keep a good man down. Most people with his luck would have been satisfied with a long night in the beer tent and a quiet Sunday watching the action, but Colin? No chance! There was racing still to be had, and he was going to have it! Bob Seaman had made a clean job of his last few runs too, and his fifth overall was richly deserved, and hopefully a bit of an inspiration for him. He’s now shown he can cut it with the front runners and he would be a valuable addition to the Championship proper next year. Ian Bartlett had settled his on-track battle with Phil Ibbotson and it ended with Ian bringing the no.24 Pug-a-like home in 6th spot, 58 seconds ahead of Phils howling 6R4 replica. Ians brother, Gary, hadn’t had the easiest time of things, but he was able to take a very creditable 8th overall (welcome back to the front end, Gary!) with a 54 second gap to the next man.
That next man was ‘Tomcat Tony’ who, suffice to say, was ‘quite pleased’ with his ninth place. And rounding out the top 10? That went Tim and Anthony. It’s a strange weekend when your last three runs are given maximum times and you can still get a top 10 finish. It was scant reward for their efforts though, but at least they were able to salvage something from the weekend – apart from a horrendous repair bill.

So that was it, as the engine noise died for the final time and bird song returned to the forests two Championships had been decided. The main Championship had been hard fought by all concerned but it was going to go to Richard Kershaw and Graham Broadbent.
The Trophy Championship was a foregone conclusion and it will go to Bob Seaman and John Jennings, ahead of Championship sponsor Paul Myers . Not only had Bob and JJ kept it clean this year, but they’ve also shown, at times, a very respectable turn of speed. I’m glad to see Bobs troubles from last year haven’t dampened his spirit or his enthusiasm.

So the final round will be at the lunar landscape of Driffield. Whilst the Championship won’t be at stake, it will be an all-out fight for a victory. There is nothing else to play for apart from the leaderboard for the weekend. It’s looks to be a good spot for spectating so I’m looking forward to it - it promises to be a hell of series closer!

Oh, out of interest, it wasn’t a mistake that had sent Tim into the trees – it seems a joint in the steering column had broken. How does the old poem go? For the want of a nail ...... Better luck next year guys.

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