August 2006


Monday 21st August 2006
I've been sent some brilliant photo's taken at Barkston Heath by Jerry Sturman. Many thanks Jerry! The images are 3000pixels wide, but worth the wait as the detail in the photographs is fantastic. You can see the water pouring off the car.
Barkston Heath August 2006 Barkston Heath August 2006
Sunday 13th August 2006
Barkston Heath was very very wet today. I unloaded at around 8:15AM and within minutes of getting out the tow car my clothes were soaked through. The weather during the day was wet, cold and quite windy, and there were further outbreaks of torrential rain all day. Some competitors didn't even unload their cars. I saw several turn around and leave the venue in the morning. I cant see the point in travelling to an event, to then leave because of the weather. Its only rain!

On my 1st timed run I sat on the line just as a Monsoon unleashed itself on the Lincolnshire countryside. I ran a 77s lap (having run a 68 in practice), which put me 5s behind Graham Millar in his Vauxhall engined Mk2 Escort. The next run we were luckier with the weather, and I ran a 65s run, and Graham managed a 66, so I took 1st in class, and set 3rd fastest time of the day. Quite a good recovery, considering the conditions. Some competitors had further runs, which didn't count towards the Midland Speed Championship, and sure enough they went quicker, and eventually I fell down a few places overall, but neither Graham or Ian (Fiat 500), or the Radical SR4 could go beat my 65second run, which I was quite pleaed about. The Fiesta is going to need a really good clean in preparation for Cadwell Park in September (17th), for which my entry has been accepted. And I'm pleased to report that the single wiper conversion worked brilliantly; in fact, I reckon its better now than the standard setup with two wipers!
(7.6MB) 1st timed run, in monsoon conditions, 77seconds
(5.1MB) Fastest timed run, 65seconds

Barkston Heath Sprint, 13th August 2006

Monday 7th August 2006
Fordfair at Silverstone yesterday appeared to be a huge success. Blessed with fine weather, and thousands of fine examples of Fords collectables, you were just spoilt for choice. The concours competition brought out some amazing cars, some of which are shown below. The XRTWO.COM stand had a great collection of Mk1's and 2's, as did most of the other club stands. Support for the Fiesta seems stronger than ever. I was on the 30 Year of the Fiesta exhibit, which wasn't as well attended as I'd hoped. Still, it was in a good position, central to the event, and there were plenty of onlookers. Track action was non stop all day, with a very busy 0-60 sprint. And there were plenty of trade stalls and a huge autojumble. If you didn't go, you missed out.
Ford Fair, Silverstone, 6th August 2006