The Pasture Blaster 2021
Oh wow, what a day! After what seems like forever, we have pulled off another Grass Autotest at Popham Airfield. At short notice we were able to get the Pasture Blaster up and running, and, although being set for the same weekend as two major AutoSolos, we were delighted to attract such a strong entry.
Of course no event like this could ever run without a team of dedicated and capable marshals. In no particular order I would like to thank Emma Perrat, Wendy Gallop, Eddie Gale, Mike Hall, Mike Dalgarno, Lee McCoy and Roy Cuthbert. Thanks to you all stepping up to officiate; the event ran smoothly and efficiently, and with excellent humour and banter as to be expected at a Basingstoke Motor Club event. Thanks guys!
Additionally I want to thank Sue Shawley and Chris Martin, our ever ready results team. Numbers were crunched perfectly as expected and presented accurately and on time. Perfect! Also seen from time to time, generally looking for something to do was our thankfully redundant steward, Chris Pratt. If he was busy I would have to have done something very wrong. Thanks to all of you!
Unseen heroes need recognition too. Without the hard labour put in by Roy and Tim Cuthbert, Danny Middle and Chris Pratt on Saturday, there would be nothing set up, no cones to race around and nowhere to call event HQ. Thanks so much for your input.
So finally I come to the competitors. Thank you so much for coming to play. This was an important day for the club, resuming our sport at Popham, and your support is greatly appreciated. The opening tests proved to be ‘well slippy’ as expected. Virgin grass in the morning will always be like ice, as it holds on to the dew. Sadly Roy Cuthbert’s Citroen C1 blew a wheel cylinder on his first run at his first test, and proceeded to pump brake fluid everywhere but where it was meant. With no option but to retire, Roy donned a Hi Viz vest and mucked in to marshalling. However, others were struggling too. Karl Boulton had difficulty with a very low Mini, which seemed to be continually bogging down. The terrain of course being somewhat bumpy at this early stage did little to help. A puncture spoiled a very un-enjoyed performance, and together with a generally unwell feeling, Karl also retired (We hope you feel better tomorrow Karl).
Other competitors though, were having a fab time. Some surprisingly fast times were popping up, and right from the start, the top 5 were swopping ‘fastests’ with really close performances. This trait stayed in play all day with the lead changing over and over. Very quickly the courses dried out and together with a bit of scrubbing, times continued to get better. The leaders were Aston and Taron Bell in Astons 1700 Puma. Closely pursued by Danny Middle in his similar Puma and Richard and Joe Bailey in a very well driven Ford Ka. Also in this mix was Paul Vaughan, pedalling his shared Suzuki Swift as swiftly as he could, but sadly succumbing to a puncture, forcing both he and Vicci Vaughan to retire also.
The remaining crews battled on, still swapping places to the bitter end. With so much hanging on the final run, passionate cries could be heard over the roaring engines, but the end was nigh, and so the results were set. With three awards to present, only the award winners get a mention here. Well done Aston Bell, taking the pot for 1st Production Autotest. Equally well done to Joe Dalgarno for taking 1st Autotest. Congratulations to Taron Bell for a well-earned FTD. With just 1.1 seconds finally separating the brothers Bell, it really was a close finish.
Well that’s it for the AutoTesting scene at Basingstoke Motor Club for this year. It has been an odd couple of years with lockdowns and lack of venues, but with the use of Popham Airfield now available to us once more, and the promise of another venue too, we look forward to plenty more of these events next year.
For the full results click HERE
Oh wow, what a day! After what seems like forever, we have pulled off another Grass Autotest at Popham Airfield. At short notice we were able to get the Pasture Blaster up and running, and, although being set for the same weekend as two major AutoSolos, we were delighted to attract such a strong entry.
Of course no event like this could ever run without a team of dedicated and capable marshals. In no particular order I would like to thank Emma Perrat, Wendy Gallop, Eddie Gale, Mike Hall, Mike Dalgarno, Lee McCoy and Roy Cuthbert. Thanks to you all stepping up to officiate; the event ran smoothly and efficiently, and with excellent humour and banter as to be expected at a Basingstoke Motor Club event. Thanks guys!
Additionally I want to thank Sue Shawley and Chris Martin, our ever ready results team. Numbers were crunched perfectly as expected and presented accurately and on time. Perfect! Also seen from time to time, generally looking for something to do was our thankfully redundant steward, Chris Pratt. If he was busy I would have to have done something very wrong. Thanks to all of you!
Unseen heroes need recognition too. Without the hard labour put in by Roy and Tim Cuthbert, Danny Middle and Chris Pratt on Saturday, there would be nothing set up, no cones to race around and nowhere to call event HQ. Thanks so much for your input.
So finally I come to the competitors. Thank you so much for coming to play. This was an important day for the club, resuming our sport at Popham, and your support is greatly appreciated. The opening tests proved to be ‘well slippy’ as expected. Virgin grass in the morning will always be like ice, as it holds on to the dew. Sadly Roy Cuthbert’s Citroen C1 blew a wheel cylinder on his first run at his first test, and proceeded to pump brake fluid everywhere but where it was meant. With no option but to retire, Roy donned a Hi Viz vest and mucked in to marshalling. However, others were struggling too. Karl Boulton had difficulty with a very low Mini, which seemed to be continually bogging down. The terrain of course being somewhat bumpy at this early stage did little to help. A puncture spoiled a very un-enjoyed performance, and together with a generally unwell feeling, Karl also retired (We hope you feel better tomorrow Karl).
Other competitors though, were having a fab time. Some surprisingly fast times were popping up, and right from the start, the top 5 were swopping ‘fastests’ with really close performances. This trait stayed in play all day with the lead changing over and over. Very quickly the courses dried out and together with a bit of scrubbing, times continued to get better. The leaders were Aston and Taron Bell in Astons 1700 Puma. Closely pursued by Danny Middle in his similar Puma and Richard and Joe Bailey in a very well driven Ford Ka. Also in this mix was Paul Vaughan, pedalling his shared Suzuki Swift as swiftly as he could, but sadly succumbing to a puncture, forcing both he and Vicci Vaughan to retire also.
The remaining crews battled on, still swapping places to the bitter end. With so much hanging on the final run, passionate cries could be heard over the roaring engines, but the end was nigh, and so the results were set. With three awards to present, only the award winners get a mention here. Well done Aston Bell, taking the pot for 1st Production Autotest. Equally well done to Joe Dalgarno for taking 1st Autotest. Congratulations to Taron Bell for a well-earned FTD. With just 1.1 seconds finally separating the brothers Bell, it really was a close finish.
Well that’s it for the AutoTesting scene at Basingstoke Motor Club for this year. It has been an odd couple of years with lockdowns and lack of venues, but with the use of Popham Airfield now available to us once more, and the promise of another venue too, we look forward to plenty more of these events next year.
For the full results click HERE