Sunday 9th August saw the Isle of Wight Car Club hold an event at The Isle of Wight College in Newport for the fourth round of their MSA autotest championship.
With perfect weather and a plethora of competing vehicles which included two Dutton kit cars amongst other unusual machines, the day looked set to be one of the season’s highlights.
The IW College offers the club one of the largest sealed courses, but with the expanse comes danger in the form of high curbs, as a few drivers unfortunately found out later in the day.
Andy Williams set the early pace in his Special and was the first to record a time under 60 seconds. This was soon cut down to size by a committed Russell Thomson in a borrowed Caterham 7 recording a time of 55:13 on his first run.
It quickly became clear Russell was the man to try and catch as he looked simply, at one with the Caterham. Richard Weaver in his Mk1 Escort came attacking with his usual flamboyance but it was to no avail as the Caterham remained uncatchable for the rest of the day.
Jai Nolan finished joint second in the same Caterham, with Toby Allen and his Elise once again showing consistency and proving good value for his last seasons’ ‘Up and Coming’ Trophy win.
It was very refreshing to see a another lady driver in action, with Rebecca French showing remarkable composure in a powerful rear wheel drive Nissan, considering her novice credentials.
The majority agreed that the driver of the day was Richard Mitchell for hustling his ageing Dutton into 8th place upsetting far more expensive and supposedly more poised machinery in the process.
Final Top five positions
Russell Thomson – 53:65 (pictured top)
Jai Nolan – 54:92
Toby Allen – 54:92
Andy Williams – 55:07
Richard Weaver – 55:48
Overall championship positions
Russell Thomson – 99 Points
Matt Trott – 99 Points
Toby Allen – 97 Points
The next event will be an Unsealed Surface Event on the 6th September, venue TBC. Please check the online calendar for more details.
Finally we would like to extend our thanks to both the landowners for use of the track and our sponsors.
Image: Bright Wight Images
