NO RACING ON TUESDAY 28th DECEMBER 2010
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all our members, note that there will not be any racing on the Tuesday between Christmas and New Year so this should give plenty of time to get your cars in top condition for 2011, which starts on Tuesday 4th January with the first round of the winter league.
CHRISTMAS FUN NIGHT
The final race meeting of 2010 was the Christmas fun night and by popular demand there were two rounds of caravan racing.
Several members had spent some time constructing vehicles especially for the event, others used in previous years had been spruced up – even Mike Simpson had a redesigned upvc tow bar on his trusty van.
Before the racing the rigs were judged by the chairman Stacey, the best prepared caravan award going to Alwyn Hodges, Michelle Snowden was runner up and Louis parker third.
It was time for the racing and two rounds of caravans followed. As usual the racing was very entertaining with the driving testing and some of the caravans not standing up to the strain of racing on the very fast track. David Statham was in devastating form storming round the track to win by ten laps from the rest of the field. Robert Hambridge was second and Richard Parker third.
Food was then the order of the day with curry, sausages and chips being served.
Next everyone was on the track for “musical carpets” – similar to musical chairs but cars having to stop on A4 size areas placed around the circuit, one less than the number of cars! Early rounds saw many of the more experienced drivers eliminated and we eventually got down to the last three, Lee Bishop, Daniel Williams and David Statham. David was first to be knocked out leaving a very competitive head to head between the last two, after a frantic scramble for the last refuge Daniel was the winner.
The final event was football, goals being set up at opposing ends of the hall and using a large foam football battle commenced. It soon became obvious that it was very difficult to propel a football in the right direction with a mass of other cars arriving from all directions. Even so three quick goals were scored by one of the teams and it all looked a bit one sided when they increased their lead to 7-3. A great comeback then occurred and with batteries failing the score with 20 seconds to play was 7-6 and the goal under serious attack again. As the seconds ticked away the ball would just not cross the line so the score line remained.
After putting all the equipment away the trophies were presented for the fun night, autumn league and super league, the loudest applause going to Louis Parker the winner in division 2 of the autumn league.
What a great evening, as the year is now nearly over we all look forward to racing in 2011.
AUTUMN LEAGUE FINAL RESULTS
Lee Bishop missed the final round but with five rounds of maximum points was the runaway winner of division 1 on 311 points, Mike Simpson was second with 288 and Daniel Williams third on 275.
Division 2 was very competitive and the winner after a great performance in the final round was Louis Parker scoring 282 points. Michelle Snowden took second place with 260 points and Craig Foster third on 250.
Trophies will be presented at the Christmas fun night on 21st December.
AGM Tuesday 30th November – Club has a new Chairman
Stacey Atterbury was elected as Club Chairman, taking over from Richard Wroughton who takes up the role of Vice Chairman.
I am sure that Stacey will do an excellent job and be able to count on the support of all the members.
CHRISTMAS FUN NIGHT– TUESDAY 21st DECEMBER
This will include “caravan racing” so it is time to make any repairs to your existing ones or get constructing, it is also planned to have a “football” event and there will be some hot food available so don’t be late as I am sure it will be a great evening.
The trophies for the Autumn league and Super-league will also be presented.
AUTUMN LEAGUE ROUND 6
Lee Bishop was in unbeatable form winning all of the qualifying heats and the “A” final achieving 58 laps of the circuit and beating David Simpson by just 0.21 seconds – that was a close finish!
Daniel Williams won the “B” final with 47 laps ahead of Michelle Snowden on 45 laps.
The “B” final was a very close race, the lead changed several time but Alwyn Hodges came out on top to win with 27 laps 10 seconds ahead of Ben Petchey with the same number of laps.
Lee has a large lead in the league division 1 having won 5 of the 6 rounds with maximum points. In division 2 Louis Parker leads with 206 points, Alex Barry is second with 190 and Michelle Snowden third on 183. With four more rounds to go the situation could change.
TEAM EVENT – TUESDAY 2nd NOVEMBER
Sixteen drivers in four teams with two per team racing at any one time on a very fast oval shaped track for two 35 minute duration rounds meant that everyone had to be on their toes all of the while to avoid a disaster.
In round 1 Michelle Snowden set the pace with an incredible 269 laps, next best was Zach Clements 186 and Fabien Gayraud 161. With Callum Sissons also achieving 149 laps team 4 were the clear leaders on 516 laps followed by team 1on 420 laps.
With hot dogs, chip butties (thanks Stacey) and drinks available during the break between rounds all were refreshed and ready to race again.
This time it was Daniel Williams who completed the most laps, equaling Michelle’s first round total.
The racing was very quick and most teams had spells where they could not keep two cars on the track at a time due to mechanical failures and batteries running flat. This all added to the excitement.
Final results were:
Winners (1021) Daniel Williams, Michelle Snowden, Chris Snowden, Callum Sissons.
Second (921) Mike Simpson, Zach Clements, Alex Barry, Alwyn Hodges
Third (818) Fabien Gayraud, Richard Parker, Louis Parker, Ben Petchey
Fourth (585) Robert Hambridge, Tom Wright, Craig Foster, Jennie Petchey
Trophies were presented to the winning and second place teams, the prizes for Halloween fancy dress went to Louis Parker and Ben Petchey.
LEE IS THE LEAGUE LEADER
Lee Bishop remained in unbeatable form for round 5 of the autumn league and stretched his lead in division 1 to 21 points at the halfway point, with a total of 10 rounds and the best 8 scores to count the title is not his yet though!
After the three qualifying rounds the positions were:
Division 1
Lee Bishop 74 laps, Mike Simpson 45 laps, Robert Hambridge 43 laps, Daniel Williams 43 laps.
Division 2
Fabien Gayraud 40 laps, Michelle Snowden 38 laps, Alex Barry 34 laps
The finals were next racing for eight minutes so concentration was at a premium on the fast circuit.
The “C” final was first and a very good drive from Louis Parker took him to an easy victory on 47 laps, second was Alywn Hodges on 32 and third Ben Petchey with 13 laps.
The “B” final was very close, Richard Parker and Michelle Snowden setting the pace for the first six minutes, disaster then struck as Michelle’s car broke down allowing Richard to cruise to an easy win with 65 laps. Alex barry took second place on 57 and Tom Wright third just two seconds slower.
The “A” final was fast and furious with the lead changing several times during the race, Lee Bishop was the victor with 74 laps, Daniel Williams second on 71 with Mike Simpson taking third place a further lap behind.
FIRST MEETING AT STANTON VILLAGE HALL
The first race meeting at the Buggy Clubs new venue was held on Tuesday 28th September and proved to be a great success. Robert Hambridge was on top form being the fastest qualifier and hence taking pole position in the “A” Final with 33 laps. David Simpson achieved the same number of laps and was only 0.71 seconds slower with Lee Bishop and Mike Simpson a further 2 laps down.
The 6 minute finals proved to be very close with Rob maintaining his form to win on 43 laps, David Simpson finished second on 42, Mike and Daniel Williams 41.
The “B” Final was won by Fabien Gayraud on 34 laps, with Tom Wright and Richard Parker close behind on 32 laps.
Michelle Snowden had a convincing win in the “C” Final, achieving 31 laps, Callum Sisson was second on 24 and Alwyn Hodges third with 23 laps.
The Autumn League restarts next week, see the events page for all the details.
NEW VENUE – STANTON VILLAGE HALL
Burton Buggy Club has secured a new venue to race each week at Stanton Village Hall situated on the A444 (see location map).
The first weeks racing on Tuesday 28th September will be free, so get your batteries charged up ready and please be there for 6-40pm.