Results

Event: 14-May-2017

Note: BPLD = Best Performance by a Lady Driver, BPYD = Best Performance by a Young Driver, Max = Maximum penalty for incomplete test(s), DNF = Did Not Finish

Report

Sunday the 14th of May played host to the Orkney Motor Clubs third autotest of the current season, and with a pick-up in entries, it provided an afternoon of entertaining viewing. Once again, the new event organisers had produced a set of even trickier courses in an attempt to satisfy the drivers. A drier day provided an opportunity for drivers to try their dry set-ups. A flurry of wrong route penalties had the organisers scratching their heads as the results were not finalised until well after the event.

In the end, sitting at the bottom of the standings, in 12th position was Corey Eddington, returning for the first time this season in her shared Honda Civic. She drove well, showing her usual control, and using the handbrake in key areas, but, as she was one of the drivers to suffer heavily from penalties was unable to climb up the order.

Next up was Johnny Mackay in his MGZR with an uncharacteristic final placing despite some impressive manoeuvres. He drew the unfortunate short straw before the first test, meaning he had to navigate the route with little time to prepare. As he entered the complicated section, he appeared to get completely lost and decided to cut his losses and return to the pits. In hindsight, a poor decision as the resulting maximum time penalty was made even more damaging by other drivers racking up multiple wrong route penalties.

Just entering the top 10 with their first joint entry of the day was Ian Spence and Ross Mackie, this time a Volkswagen Passat. Despite the obvious disadvantage posed due to its significant size and weight, the pair did well to fling the car around the course, even producing some impressive J-turns. It was Ian who was able to take the higher, 9th position, a man seemingly unbeatable in the unconventional cars.

8th position went to Shane Kingston, who had the misfortune of facing the second route first. As he gets more events under his belt, he is beginning to show more and more experience at the wheel of his Ford Fiesta, and as usual, he improves significantly as the day goes on. A little more aggression would surely see him climbing further up the order in future events.

Taking 6th and 7th positions was Ella Spence, as she borrowed seats in the remaining two cars of the Spence-Mackie duo. Despite using two completely different cars, she was able to demonstrate excellent control throughout the day as she switched between the Mazda MX5 and the Ford Fiesta. On this occasion she seemed to favour the Fiesta as she remained penalty free in it, and picked up the award for Best Performance by a Lady Driver.

Luckily for Ian Spence, he was able to fend off his younger sister as he finished the day one place ahead in 5th. Few drivers are able to make a car look as nimble around the track as he judges the obstacles with precision without sacrificing an ounce of speed. He also was one of the drivers to fair slightly better in the penalty stakes, showing the value of the smaller car.

Spectators were in for a treat as Ross Mackie entered his, long anticipated, Mazda MX5. The first shakedown of the agile little sports car appeared successful as he took home 4th position, just missing out on a podium place. Ross began to get to grips with the tricky rear wheel drive format as the day went on, showing some impressive slides in the last two tests. Some key modifications will without a doubt see Ross fighting for the top spot with the Mazda before the season is out.

On the bottom step of the podium was Andrew Moar in his Reliant Scimitar. With a new handbrake to try out, he was hoping to continue on with his winning trend of 2017. He put on his usual display, sliding his nimble car around the cones, the new handbrake allowing him to seamlessly transition between obstacles. Despite putting in some quick times, he must have been relieved to finish as high as third as he also racked up a substantial amount of penalties.

2nd place went to Adam Eddington, for the third time this season. Returning from mechanical dramas at the last event, his Honda Civic seemed back on its game, putting in quick times as he handbraked his way around the courses. He was looking to challenge for his first win of this season until he went wrong on test 3. In the end, another excellent haul of points that will surely prove vital at the end of the season.

The biggest trophy of the day went to Alan Tait who returned with his Vauxhall Corsa. Alan drove without fault throughout the day, and was the only driver to completely avoid picking up penalties. He took the fastest time in tests 2 and 3 to finish with a decent margin over second and third positions. With the experience behind him, he will, as always, be a force to be reckoned with as the season goes on.

With the organisers setting a benchmark with the new, trickier courses, the pressure is on to keep the drivers on their toes for the next event, Sunday 28th May. New members and spectators are always welcome with more information, and the full event calendar being available at www.orkneymotorclub.co.uk, thank you to Mr Brian Laughton for use of the site.