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WSM RACE NEWS updated 12-07-05
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Zolder 03-07-05 - report from Jim Lowry Five “Equipe” GTS regular competitors took advantage following the trip to Dijon and stayed over as guests of the MG Competition / Holland group for a 30 minute race at the following weekend’s European Historic Grand Prix at Zolder.
The MG Competition / Holland series caters for more modified MG cars similar to the MGCC BCV8 Class B cars, but it was Tom Smith in his FIA specification MGB who took pole position, the race win and set fastest lap. For several years the Dutch group have been trying to beat the apparently impossible 2 minute lap, and during the race Tom dutifully spoilt their dreams with an outstanding 1.58.2. Malcolm Johnson’s FIA MGB also managed to beat the 2 minute barrier and finished a well deserved second overall.
Rob Cull’s MGB failed after a strong run in the top ten with clutch failure and John Andon struggled with an incurable misfire in his Triumph TR4.
Regular “Equipe”GTS competitor James Willis had a good mid-field run, also securing two class wins in the FIA European FIA GTS championship in his ex-works MG Midget Coupe at the same meeting.
Provisional plans are afoot to hold a round of the “Equipe”GTS series at this venue in 2006. Watch this space . . . |
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Grand Prix De L'Age D'Or 25-26 Juin 2005 Venez voir courir l'histoire circuit de Dijon-Prenois The Crown Has Slipped . . .
Practice
- blisteringly hot conditions prompted a keen
eye on temperature gauges and thirty six qualified, from polesetter
JC's 1m44.072 to Jean Claude Wilmart's 2m10.703 with an obvious problem.
Tom Smith (1m44.382) and Malcolm Johnson (1m46.744) maintained their
2005 form - Peter Edney (1m47.004) 4th Race - After a rolling start, Cottingham eaked a lead of 19 seconds over Smith, with Lambert Senior proving his competitive urge remains to edge Malcolm Johnson to 4th and son Mark to 5th. The gravel trap near the end of the lap caught the unawary, and the twisty roller coaster nature of the track meant that passing opportunities against well matched opposition were limited. Ron Watt took some punishment in the drivers door area but still managed 11th, while the green MGA of Graham Coles went well to 12th, and Michael bloody VanOfen pipped the WSM MGB with two laps to go for a deserved 14th . Gabriel Kramer kept his Morgan tantalisingly out of WSM reach, Paul Freeman still could not cure the misfire that he brought from Australia, and James Willis got 11 laps before a DNF with mechanical woes. Not many were too disappointed to see chequered after 30 minutes as temperatures in the coupes were pushing 35-40 degrees. Drive of the Day - Rob Cull made 6th fastest lap and sprinted up the order from the back before finishing 16th, a technical glitch dropping him from 9th with five minutes left and fortunately one place behind the WSM . . ********************* Extras
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Christophe Wilmart, left, raises a can and a smile, amongst many through the week-end with his unique interpreting.
Above . . "Stay behind me Monsieur and I'll cook for you at Brands . . " Rob Cull confirming that the way to a mans heart is through his stomach.
left to right - Mark Way no 41 in assembly area foreground - Rob Cull & Terry Patchett muse - Brian Lambert no 46 foreground - Christophe advises - John Bussey no 52 & Graham Bates no 63 foreground - TP has everything in hand.
left to right - Simon Gurney steps up for cheek to cheek action - Ron Watt imitates a buffalo at a water hole - Tom Smith settles graciously for the silver medal - Brian Lambert makes another clean getaway An awsome circuit that compared to a Brands/Cadwell/Knockhill mix. Mind boggling to think of F1 cars doing their stuff at the limit with such little margin, and to watch the big guns strut their horsepower during our week-end was spectacular. Thanks to the early bird Equipe grid arrivals who insisted on staying in the spacious paddock outside the track - although crammed with goodies, the area within the circuit looked a nightmare to operate from. And last but not least, JC will forgive me for stumbling across this pre-Camilla item and including amongst our luminaries. Never let it be said that Equipe GTS spectators are not well dressed . . On to Brands Hatch August 13th / 14th for a double header Equipe GTS week-end. |
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29th May 2005 -
Equipe Get
Tom Smith
at Mallory
more race pix, courtesy of Paul Webb, at wsmcars In Competition. |
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May 15th 2005 - Chequered Equipe GTS at Donington
GTS may well stand for 'Get Tom Smith' if he dominates any more races in this fashion, cruising home at a scorching Donington Park to win the Equipe GTS 30 minute race and his second GTS of 2005.
Above, WSM Midget of Jim Lowry WSM interest lay with the close
proximity on the grid of the WSM MGB Below, MGA of Jon McDonald
Above, Spitfire Le Mans of Colin Elstrop and TR4 of Allen Ross-Jones Post match awards hosted by series
organiser Christophe Willmart included Equipe GTS grids have established a well deserved reputation that has become a lure to more. Well prepared machinery, close racing and convivial company are the not so secret ingredients that have lead to oversubscribed grids. Above, Jim Lowry celebrates 40 + 10
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26-04-05 Equipe GTS
Snetterton CSCC April Race Meeting Virgin Radio Classic Rock Equipe GTS 30 minute race Tom Smith headed the practice
times for the thirty-two car grid at 9am on a sunny Sunday
The race was a cracker and went
to qualifying form, but only after Oliver Bryant set fastest lap and
finished a hairsbreadth in arrears to Tom Smith. And so it went on Post match details revealed the unlucky Jim Lowry had retired his WSM Midget after 6 laps, Linda Pearcy improved her lap times by a massive 10 seconds, and there were seven retirements, twenty five finishers and fourteen seconds between fastest and slowest lap of the race. The WSM MGB finished 11th (1m 31s) with a new engine being carefully treated.
Thanks to Jim Lowry and Christophe Willmart of Equipe GTS, and WSM thanks to Paul Woolmer for his liberal spreading of expertise throughout the week-end. Onwards and upwards to Donington on Sunday May 15th for the Equipe GTS half hour race . .
and DW-S (left) and Ted discuss
the WSM drivers failings . . more Snetterton pictures at 'In Competition' courtesy of Paul Webb |
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21-03-05 A blown head gasket
spoilt WSM 210's Silverstone entry in the hands of Clive Cocks. After
a good practice session (aided by a GPS unit to show him the way round,
right) a Click here for pictures at WSM - In Competition
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10-10-04 Memorable You never
forget your first - Clive Cocks made his racing debut
at the Jaguar Car Club organised Top Hat event in WSM 210 - and with
Cobra, E-Type, Mustang and GT40 for company, it was literally a baptism
of fire. Practice for the 45 minute enduro was
Thanks to all the marshalls, and to Julias Thurgood and the Top Hat team who produced a fitting tribute to Mallory's 'First Lady' of motorsport, the late Edwina Overend, and to Miles Townsend, a regular Top Hat competitor who drove his last race in 2003. Not a bad end to a season that kicked off on March 21st at Donington with the MGTeam - 2005 should see WSM's 202, 207, 210, MGB and Sebring BXN out racing together. Great prospect. Mallory In Focus . . courtesy of photographer Paul Webb
Eeeeee Type . .
Clive Cocks in 210 - "Must hang in there . ."
Pedal and metal meet under Clive's foot on start/finish straight in WSM 210
" . . Thought Mallory was clockwise . . ? "
" WSM 301 & Lotus 23 kissed and made up at Shaws . ."
" . . Bob Pepper's GT350 Coupe sending messages Apache style to the pits . . "
Under duress, Clive Cocks was kind enough to share his innermost thoughts of a first race : - 10th October 2004, a date that will stay with me forever. Not only is it the day before my 29th wedding anniversary, but it also created the same kind of feelings as 29 years ago.."WHY AM I DOING THIS ????". But just as 29 years ago, I am glad I did. 7.30am at Mallory Park,
Leicestershire, cold but dry, at a Top Hat racing event with me and
WSM 210 entered in race number 2. The first outing for WSM 210 in many
With signing on done,
licence handed in and tyres, oil and water checked it was time for practice.
The plan was to do a few steady laps and purposely keep close to the
rear of the grid for the race (120% race time rules did not apply to
this race) The plan worked too brilliantly as I was slowest and last
on the grid ! Tony went into quiet
mode as the race approached, as I went into pale faced frustration mode.
Wife Sue (bless her forever for putting up with this) wanted to be left
alone. The final call for cars in race number 2 was blaring over the
loudspeaker as the last nuts and bolts were tightened Pic courtesy of journalist Claire Furnell Sitting in the assembly
area facing the grid leaders was Engines revving, red
lights went out, clutch released and we were off. Remarkably well even
if I do say so myself, and with more experience (and nerve) I think
I should have taken the Lenham.So this was it. Forty five minutes of
concentration. The raceleaders quickly caught and lapped me (far too
many times).Consistency was my byword and after the compulsory pitstop
where I was cruelly manhandled by Paul and Graham out of the car and
back in again, we were off on the second stint. Time to push on but
trying to stay with an experienced driver in a car slower than Will I do it again ? Yes, (wife permitting)
and WSM 210 |
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Oulton Park - 6th September 2004 A Friday afternoon thrash from Liverpool to Bedfordshire to collect the WSM MGB and back to Cheshire to drop the trailer with Geoff Hill in Longdendale was rewarded on arrival in the paddock with the intoxicating smell of bbq and wine. New to the MGTeam with his recently completed roadster, Rob Cull catered for an appreciative MGTeam gathering and cooked his way into pole position. The MGTeam's grid at the 750 Motor Club meeting may have been down on numbers from the MGCC July Silverstone count of twenty-nine but the 2.7 mile International circuit at Oulton Park ranks amongst the best in the country for non-stop involvement and entertainment value. Forty five minutes racing and pit-stop at the uprated Oulton facilities beckoned. Two very different generations
of sportscar car Oliver Bryant topped the 11.10am practice on Saturday with a 2m 08s, followed by Tom Smith 2m 09s and James Cottingham 2m 10s. Of the MT1 class, Andrew Actman lead at 9th in 2m 17s, Bob Allen a worthy 11th with 2m 21s in his underpowered MGTC after a recent engine change and James Willis, his event again blighted by mechanical woes, did not practice. An unimpressive 2m 25s for 15th from the WSM MGB was the result of a new rattle, subsequently found to be a disconnected speedo cable rotating beneath the car, and MGTeam organiser Jim Lowry rounded up drivers without transponders. The MGTeam were carded
as race number seven which gave time to wander the trackside interior
and enjoy sunshine and racing. The plunge down Cascades and subsequent
appearance over Hilltop and through Knickerbrook is entertaining, and
seeing who was flat or not through Island Bend was educational. A leisurely
stroll was interrupted by a message that the race Click on picture, Ron Watt and DW-S talk MGB turkey in the paddock. At least we had an
excuse for a lousy start, but every cloud has a silver lining and we
finished the second lap behind Terry Bryant in his white MGA. For seven
laps we fought nose to tail, while Rob Cull got away and Bob Allen closed
up behind. Huge fun factor but a solution needed. The answer came with
the pits opening for compulsory
 stops
between 15-30 minutes into the race and clear track then beckoned. Lap
times came down, as interpreted by DW-S pit crew thumbs up, but a spin
through Cascades lost time that may have brought us up with Andrew Actman
in 8th. The Cottingham MGB had the pace, a 2m 08s on lap 8, but similarly
a spin cost places to 5th. Oliver Bryant brought home the bacon - 2m
07s best - with Brian Lambert 2nd and Malcolm Johnson 3rd. Andrew Actman
finished 8th, (best 2m 16s) the WSM MGB 9th (2m 15s) and Bob Allen 11th
(2m 18s).
A competitive and enjoyable race to sign off the WSM MGB's season for 2004, and the WSM still had enough puff to beat DW-S in the Audi back to Liverpool to catch the 7pm ferry, while the MGTeam look ahead to dune dodging at Zandvoort in a few weeks. click on |
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BRDC Summer 500 . . Whizzo in Wuzzum - Some combination.
Sounds like a mythical beast saddled with a cartoon character. Barry
Williams stepped into WSM 301 for the Dinner next door to the BRDC gin palace gave us a chance to catch up with Healey driver David Smithies and commentator Neville Hay, while the unmistakeable figure of Jack Brabham also enjoyed a spectacular buffet. Carriages arrived and departed at 1.00am, leaving the Wheeler, Davidson and Wilson-Spratt party to be chucked out by the weary bar staff . Thanks to Paul Woolmer for his help with the WSM's, Barry Sidery-Smith, Jim Lowry, Christophe Willmart and the MGTeam for organising the grid, and to Guy Loveridge for his sponsorship of the Sportscar race. Fingers crossed that the resuscitated BRDC Summer 500 becomes a regular fixture once again. |
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Donington Park 21-03-04 The 750 Club event at
Donington featured TheMGTeam race, entries including MGA, TA, TC, MGB
and the Reliant Sabre Six of John Leslie. Although practice was dry,
race conditions were initially atrocious. WSM 301 qualified 2nd in class
1m 39.9, 15th overall for the ½ hour race to Tim Patchetts MG
TA 1m 38.4, but Andrew Top notch event from TheMGTeam and sponsors Ridgard Classic Seats – like Arnie, WSM will be back. |
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Top Hat In Top ‘Octane’ Gear. . Contrasting
fortunes for WSM at Castle Combe for the Easter Monday meeting. A cracking
twenty nine car qualifying grid for the one hour European Historic Sports
Car Challenge with Shelby Cobra, Ferrari 365 GTO and
WSM fuel tank brimmed (please note) F1 style start lights set off a hectic first twenty minutes. A brief safety car period then bunched it all up again before pitlane became Piccadilly Circus. WSM301 looked to have Class D stitched up with 1.27 laps against Miller/Jardine’s 1.30, and spent most of the race warding off the mighty 3.8ltr Jaguar HL special of Brown/Tart - the WSM better on brakes/bends but lacking cc’s on the motorway bits - lots of cut and thrust until the WSM ran out of four star six minutes early. The six gallon capacity that fuelled an hour at Mallory with a gallon spare was not enough for an hour at Combe, so the Jardine/Miller MG Midget crew celebrated class success.
The Shipman/Hales Crossle took the overall win and new series sponsors Octane magazine in the shape of David Lillywhite saw a large Bank Holiday crowd entertained in some style. Historic endurance racing was a novelty to Combe but organiser Julias Thurgood confirmed that the Top Hat events had immediately been asked back for next year. Writer of the Year 2003 Marcus Pye in Autosport (April 15th) wrote . .”For once the local championship shootouts were overshadowed “ . . Plus Old & New Acquaintances . . Great to bump into WSM connections at Castle Combe. Joe Cox, Healey race co-ordinator was running a beady eye over the Top Hat grid which included Chris Clarkson and Julian Bronson in the famous Healey 3000 DD300. Ian Wilson of autographracing.co.uk was caught at the other end of the lens with David Lillywhite of Octane magazine. |
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At home with Octagon’s Big Week-End . . Silverstone July 24th & 25th 2004
What’s Bernie’s beef ?
Brilliant facility, great track layout, easy access. First time back
in seven years and the home of British motorsport is unrecogniseable.
The MGCC
Friday – 5.45am off to the Liverpool
ferry. 10.00am on M62 to collect WSM’s. To the newlyweds in Whittlesea
(Peterborough), collect WSM 301 and deliver with Claire to trackside
Silverstone 3pm to put tents up. Off to Woolie’s Wonderland in
Bedfordshire, pick up WSM MGB and convoy back to Silverstone with WSM
202 and the ‘Mars’ car. Traffic jams and hot weather cause
‘Mars’ car to boil over. Transfer Junior Woolies to my car,
abandon Senior Woolies to fate on A43. Lizzie (left) says she loves
me. Arrive Silverstone 8pm, Andrew Roberts welcome party at the gate,
tents partly up, Claire sizzled and sozzled. She does’nt love me
– see attached WSMStone3. Senior Woolies arrive later. Install
the fleet in MGCC marquee’s. Text messages galore from MCL at Le
Mans re sun, champagne
Saturday – Never could sleep in bloody tents. Early start anyway for signing on, scrutineering, sort transponder and spanner WSM 301. Meet David Howes, owned a red WSM in 1960’s – can only be XPP or VLY 540 – David will search for pix. Mega interest dawn ‘til dusk in 793 XPP / WSM 202 up for sale. Practice on the International circuit for Midget race and could’nt drive a nail. 1m 56s would’nt have troubled the fire tender. Engine and mechanics fine but something amiss – loads of understeer and Copse unfathomable. Have I forgotten how to drive on Yokohama’s ? Concensus is lower tyre pressures. Sponsor Andrew Actman also disappointed – his times not bad but three in the class bust lap record. Catch up with MG’s Chris & Mavis Parker – both aviators yet Mavis the most nervous race spectator – and MGCC stalwart Brian Rainbow. Actman Midget Race – car transformed by tyre pressures.1m 50s laps. Four cars damaged and out in first lap fracas. Make a few places in six laps, Graham Prosser and Ian Staines in Midgets contest ownership of our patch of track vigorously but misfire kicks in and lose them before 8th lap chequered – several moments squeezed onto grass and have to keep red mist at bay. Greet Alastair Naylor, a regular Manx Classic visitor in the 1990’s with his gorgeous MG TC’s and adversary in the Thornley Trophy tomorrow. The Woolies and the Sprouts put world to rights in chez WSM with BBQ and beer.
Sunday – bloody tent. Never again. Early morning rain no help. Give the WSM MGB a bleary eyed check over with Paul. Practice for the Thornley Trophy at 12.15pm so explore the extensive offerings infield. Whichever MG grabbed your spokes, from whole cars to a washer, it was there. Met Murray Henderson - racing a Midget later in two-driver race with Ian Hewlitt - who exposed my mechanical limitations by fixing the WSM MGB nearside mirror in 5 minutes. The B goes like a train in practice – 1m 54s reasonably happy mid grid – but like school reports always said “ . . can do better . .” Diff oil all over rear offside, plug popped, temp fix we hope. Met Mike Abbott, an SODC member who hill climbed at Woburn etc with DW-S in the 1960’s, now marshalling honcho. Drove WSM 202 around in case don’t get another chance before change of ownership. German TV want interview – tell them face suits radio better, does’nt translate - I collar Paul, he collars me, safety in numbers at least. We burble and gesticulate as best we can, (see attached WSMStone5). Lizzie still loves me. Naff start for Thornley Trophy race but great scrap with Peter Edney’s MG TB and Bob Allen’s MG TC. Got down to 1m 51s and took 16th place on last lap from Peter and Bob with 27 finishers .Tom Smith and James Cottingham top dogs in MGB’s. Watched Murray and Ian get sixth place in the enduro. Chat with Tom Coulthard. Thank Andrew Roberts and all the MGCC crew, trailer up, nearly forget to return transponder (thanks to Andrew for the legwork), convoy out to chez Woolie asap. ‘Mars’ car breaks down 3 miles out and Claire in the WSM MGB and Paul get stuck on M way traffic. Arrive Woolies, Bedfordshire 7.30pm, abandon cars, dash for Liverpool 10pm ferry with Paul guiding shortcut to A14. Got it, just. Not much legal though, like November 5th in the rear view mirror most of the way. Back to Silverstone next Saturday for BRDC race. Not in a tent. Can’t wait. Thanks to Peter Browning, Maggie Yeadon, the organizing team and all the marshals. Without you none of us get to play. |
the
car was only a reserve entry and did not make the grid but other opportunities
will surely come. In the race, the E-Types buzzed off some 4 seconds
a lap quicker than third placed man Hamish Cook, but down the field
Barry Sidery-Smith scored a worthy 8th place, Neil Hardy scrapped for
12th in the Healey 100 and Allan Cameron 16th in his Healey 100M. The
WSM MGB fought with Christophe Willmarts MGB for 18th place until the
Frenchman’s engine gave trouble and caused retirement. Andrew Actman
was sidelined with half-shaft failure, while the famous Sprite’s
of Chris Clegg and the Martin Davidson driven Jack Wheeler car both
suffered mechanical gremlins. 
