Back on track
Tim enjoys a season finale and gets the seven-port on the circuit.
The final race for this year was the A-Series Challenge as part of Julius Thurgood’s HRDC series. I elected to do this as it gave me a chance to go to Donington – my second fave circuit. It’s a nice different flavour, racing with other pre-'66 types of A-Series stuff, but for complication there was a load of sports cars in with us, including some five-litre V8s.
Only the chance of heavy rain would keep us Mini-boxes near the front, so I dutifully took my African rain stick, which when shaken, should encourage the stuff to appear. I must have either got the wrong technique or have been sold a dud. Dry it was.
Appearing too were Rich Hawcroft and Pete Crewes. The last time we were together at Blyton Park, we got told off for 'racing', but this time we were allowed! Practice was busy with a full grid. I managed to get a quicker lap in than Pete and we started seventh and eighth. In the race the order was reversed, but still, we were winners of the A-Series challenge and got lovely trophies to boot .
As part of the HSCC season, there's an end-of-term non-championship race for closed wheel cars. That meant I could get my seven-port car in, and I decided to go for it.
I hadn’t raced it for eight years so we had a frantic update session. I got there and it decided to run on three cylinders. Time ran out, so I qualified for the required minimum three laps and came in to fix it. Julian Harber and photographer Stuart jumped in and sorted a faulty plug so I started at the back. The motor wasn’t sparkling and five-year-old road tyres meant roadholding was scary, but I got round in one piece.
Pete and Tim's Minis in amongst the sports cars and big V8s.
Tim's African rain stick. Must be a dud...
Neat trophy for winning in the HRDC A-Series Challenge.