19th and 20th April Pembrey Race Weekend.
Pembrey Circuit - 1.456 Miles with 8 turns including the notorious Hatchets Hairpin (best viewing position Hatchets or Spitfires)
Rounds 2 and 3 Race Report from Pembrey on the 20th April
A small entry of 28 drivers made their usual early season trip down the M4 for the first double-header meeting of the season. The grids may have been small but all the regular front runners were present and keen to prove themselves and to get some early season points on the board.
Class B
Paul Haylett and Ben Short, who were involved in a crash at Silverstone, both managed to get their cars repaired in time for this meeting. Stratton Mackay was hoping to repeat his Silverstone success and Lee Sullivan was looking to take his first MGOC win after some recent near misses.
After the qualifying session, Stratton Mackay was on Class B pole followed by Short and Sullivan. In the first race Mackay managed to put a bit of a gap between himself and the rest of the pack but the race was red flagged on lap 3 when Arthur Mackay spun at Senna Esses and stopped in the middle of the track.
After a bit of confusion amongst the marshals regarding Stratton Mackay’s grid position, the race was re-started over a reduced 7 laps. Sullivan made an excellent start and briefly nosed ahead of Mackay but he locked his brakes and Mackay re-took the position. After a close race Mackay took his second win of the season by 0.8 secs from Sullivan with Short a further 20 metres back in third place. Paul Haylett finished a further 10 secs behind in 4th place just ahead of Paul Naish whose immaculate ZS120 was a welcome addition to the grid.
The second race saw Mackay, Short and Sullivan start in the same positions. When the red lights went out, Mackay made an excellent start with Short and Sullivan following close behind. On lap 3 Short closed in on Mackay down the pit straight and took the inside line and braked very late into Hatchetts Hairpin to take the lead. Short held a narrow lead until lap 6 when he ran wide onto the grass at the very fast Woodlands Corner allowing both Mackay and Sullivan to edge past. Mackay went on to take his second win of the day by 0.8 secs from Sullivan with Short recovering well to take 3rd place. The ZS 120 of Naish reversed the tables on Haylett to take 4th place with Robinson, Halsall, Perkins and Arthur Mackay completing the list of finishers.
Class Z
The ZR160 of Dave Mellor took pole position by the tiny margin of .009secs with Simon Byrne alongside on the front row with Silverstone winner Gary Smith on row 2 ahead of Nick Golhar and newcomer Julian Morris.
Byrne made a perfect start to lead into Hatchetts Hairpin but Mellor and Smith were right on the leaders bumper and looking for a way past the vastly experienced Derby driver. Mellor made a slight error on lap 3 allowing Smith through and the Summit MG driver soon began to close on Byrne. By the end of the shortened 7 lap race, Smith had closed the gap to just 10 metres but Byrne held on to take an accomplished win from Smith with Mellor a few lengths back in 3rd place ahead of Golhar and Morris who nipped past Dixon at the last corner to take 5th place in his first ever race in the ZR.
In Race 2, Byrne started on pole with Mellor next to him on the grid with Smith and Golhar on row 2. Byrne made another excellent start and dominated the early laps to built up a sizeable lead ahead of his rivals. Byrne was well in control at the front but the battle for 2nd place was much closer with Mellor and Smith fighting hard for 2nd place. Byrne continued to dominate proceedings and went on to take his second win of the season from Smith with Mellor finishing 3rd a full 200 metres ahead of Golhar, Dixon and Morris.
Class A
Former MG Maestro driver Will Sharpe continued to show Class A that he means business by taking Class A pole position in the ex-Gary Smith 1275 Midget almost three seconds ahead of John Kimber with Malcolm Hill, Phil,Waterman, Kevin Broadley and Chris Flooks further back. The dark horse of the race was the MGB of reigning Champion Jim Baynam, who would have to start the race from the back of the grid after missing the qualifying session.
Sharpe soon established a commanding lead but all eyes were on Baynam who was closing in on Sharpe and took the lead at Hatchetts Hairpin on lap 6. Despite his best efforts, Baynam couldn’t break away and for 4 laps there was never more than a couple of lengths between the two cars. It all changed on lap 10 when Sharpe pressured Baynam into a slight mistake at Dibeni and, as the MGB took to the grass, Sharpe took full advantage and went on to take a hard fought win. Baynam recovered to finish 2nd a full 22 secs ahead of Kimber.
For race 2, Sharpe again had pole position ahead of Waterman, Kimber, Flooks and Baynam who again had to start from the back of the grid. Malcolm Hill was missing from the grid after failing to cure a serious misfire problem.
Sharpe made a clean start but Baynam had made an remarkable start from the back of the grid and was on the Midget’s bumper as the cars entered Hatchetts Hairpin for the first time. At the start of lap 2, Baynam briefly nosed ahead exiting the Hairpin but what was looking to be a titanic race ended when the MGB retired with a clutch problem. Sharpe cruised to a comfortable win ahead of Kimber, Waterman and Flooks.
Class F
Stuart Plotnek qualified in pole position, echoing his Silverstone achievement. Martin Wills qualified alongside him on the front row with Ian Evans and Ian Deaves on row 2 ahead of Paul Naish and Robin Walker on row 3..
As the red lights went out, Plotnek remained virtually stationary after trying to start the race in 3rd gear. Wills took an early lead but Plotnek was carving his way through the field and took the lead on lap 5 and soon pulled out what looked like a race winning lead. The battle for 2nd place raged on with Wills, Evans, Naish, Deaves and savage all covered by little more than a few cars lengths. Plotnek went on to take an impressive win with Evans taking 2nd place ahead of Deaves, Wills, Naish and Savage these four cars being covered by just a few lengths after 12 laps of breathless entertainment.
In the second race Plotnek again started on pole position with Wills alongside him. Evans started on row 2 next to Naish with Deaves and Wills on row 2.
This time, Plotnek selected the correct gear and made a perfect start to take an early lead ahead of Wills and Naish. Evans had dropped to 4th place but was driving well and moved up to 2nd place on lap 4 ahead of Wills, Walker, Savage, Deaves and Naish who was recovering after dripping down the order on lap 3.
Plotnek went on to take a comfortable win a full 6 secs ahead of Evans with Wills in 3rd place ahead of Naish and Deaves after another entertaining battle.
Points after Round 3
Class A Class B Class F Class Z
Will Sharpe - 52 Stratton Mackay - 61 Stuart Plotnek - 58 Simon Byrne - 49
Jim Baynam - 37 Lee Sullivan - 56 Ian Deaves - 49 Gary Smith - 47
Phil Waterman - 36 Mark Halsall - 33 Martin Wills - 42 Dave Mellor - 39
Chris Flooks - 26 Ben Short - 32 Ian Evans - 36 Nick Golhar - 32
John Kimber - 24 Paul Haylett - 26 Robin Walker - 28 Julian Morris - 22