Results

Event: 19-Jun-2016

Note: BPLD = Best Performance by a Lady Driver, BPYD = Best Performance by a Young Driver, Max = Maximum penalty for incomplete test(s), DNF = Did Not Finish

Report

Competitors were greeted with another breezy day for the Orkney Motor Clubs fifth autotest of the year. A field of thirteen entries, including another new member, lined up for two different test routes. With each route being run twice, there is an opportunity to improve and save valuable time.

Mechanical difficulties during the first runs meant that two club regulars were ejected from the time sheets. Father and Son duo, Roy and Jordan Brown were unable to complete enough runs to be awarded a finish forcing them to head home in search of replacement parts.

Faring little better was Ian Spence in the seemingly reliable Honda Civic which had accompanied him and Ross Mackie at the previous few events. With Ross using up the last of the clutch plate in his fourth run, the car was unable to move under its own power and Ian was also landed with a DNF, unfortunate as his pace earlier in the day was good.

The newcomer of the day was awarded an impressive top ten finish thanks to a fault free drive. Katrina Skea drove a smooth and tidy race from start to finish and she had obviously heeded the warning from the more experienced members, avoiding penalties as she manoeuvred the course markers with precision. A little more practice in the Johnny Mackay prepared MG ZR and she may be competing for a ladies trophy soon.

Running in 8th and 9th positions were Vauxhall Corsa drivers Sweyn Worthington and Shane Kingston. Both competitors drove well, trading times with one another throughout the day. Equally, they both picked up twenty seconds in penalties for striking course markers meaning the shootout out for final honours came down to pure pace. Sweyn came out on top in the end, but only just, with one second separating the pair.

Taking up the next two places was Ross Mackie who had once again entered two vehicles with close rival Ian Spence. Although he managed four clean runs with it, Ross struggled to find pace with their newly acquired Toyota Celica and to turn to the Honda Civic for championship points. Unfortunately he picked up a catalogue of penalties, leading to fifty seconds being added on to his final time, and he had to settle for a highest placing of 6th.

5th position went to Karen Laughton, running in the loaned MGTF. Karen’s growing confidence in the car showed as she made the most of the handbrake, spinning around the tighter sections of the courses. After the final run, she ended up level on points with Ross but as she received less than half the penalties, was given the higher position, a well-deserved reward. To top it off, she also received the trophy for the Best Performance by a Lady Driver.

The top four finishers remained the same as last week with just a single position change. Ian Spence was once again the one to miss out on a podium spot. Despite getting off to a bad start, receiving two wrong route penalties in the first test, Ian recovered well and considering an ineffective handbrake put in some excellent times. Johnny Mackay was the competitor to take 3rd place for the second week running. Gliding his MG ZR around the tests with his usual flare, he tried his best to match the pace of the rear wheel drive cars ahead of him, but hitting a course marker during an impressive slide ended his chances of securing a first win.

That meant that the top position shootout was between brothers Aaron and Andrew Moar, a familiar sight at Caldale. Andrew looked to have the win in the bag for the second week in a row in his Reliant Scimitar as he took fastest times in tests one and two, pulling a lead of five seconds. Fortunes changed in test three however as Aaron went round seven seconds faster than Andrew, he pulled further ahead on the final test to take his second win of the year with his MGTF and the championship lead.

The next event is in a fortnight, Sunday the 3rd of July, the first of four consecutive weeks. The full event calendar and further information can be found at www.orkneymotorclub.co.uk, thank you to Mr Brian Laughton for use of the site.