INGLATERRA - PONTEFRAC POSTATE CANCER CHARITY RACE

26th March 2023

Eight teams registered in support of this very worthy cause.

The home club were well represented with Ponty Bros (Ian and Phil Prout), Bob Martin’s Dog (Bob Childe and Martin Shaw), Woteva (Geoff Snaith and Mick Troughton), Gram PLM (Pete Taylor and Malcolm Crocker), CMG Pontyslot (Charlie Gooding and Graham Burke) and half of Walmington on Sea (Paul Bucknell with NLSME’s Bob Hallums). The other visiting Teams were Classic Masters (Paul Harwood, Aston Offer and Mike Ovens) and AAA Classic Racing (Dave Austin and Ray George). The cars were 1/24th Production cars with a range of FK motors up to Hawk 7 spec and all fitted with Betta Porsche 917 Shark Fin bodies. Most teams opted to run up to date chassis with just 1 team, Walmington on Sea opting to run an old style chassis in the interests of drivability (it may have been a Trinity, but I honestly don’t know). Leicester Electric (Andy and Sam Smith) were unable to attend, but very generously insisted on paying their entry fee to swell the funds raised for the charity.

The race was run for a total of 2 hours per team so there were 2 rounds of 4 x 15 minutes. Just prior to racing starting, the prize for best presented car went to Bob Hallums for a David Piper Betta Porsche 917K Shark fin. The prize was donated by Paul Harwood.

Segment 1

CMG Pontyslot took an immediate lead with 147.60 laps that they were never to lose with Woteva 2 laps behind and Ponty Bros a further 4 laps down. Classic Masters were next on 137.29 with Bob Martin’s Dog 12 feet behind them. Walmington on Sea were 6th on 127.64 with AAA Classic Racing just 32 feet behind them. Gram PLM were 8th on 113.85.

Segment 2

AAA Classic Racing passed Walmington on sea with everyone else staying where they were. CMG Pontyslot’s lead had grown to 7 laps. There were no mechanical drams for anyone at this stage.

Segment 3

Graham Burke evidently didn’t get the memo about this being an endurance event and set off like a shot from a gun! His score of 151.40 was the fastest run of the day and gave CMG Pontyslot a 17 lap lead that they never looked like losing. Woteva extended their lead over Ponty Bros to 8 laps and Classic Masters had a 17 lap advantage over AAA Classic Racing.

Segment 4

CMG Pontyslot had another good 146 lap run in the last segment before the break and Ponty Bros posted the fastest run in this segment closing to within a couple of laps of Woteva. Everyone else more or less maintained pace and station.

After a 30 minute break for lunch the race resumed at about 1:15. This segment was notable for 2 things.Ponty Bros closed to within half a lap of Woteva and the segment had to be stopped for about 30 minutes after a Pete collapsed on the rostrum. An ambulance was summoned and he was taken to hospital. He has since been discharged and we hope to see him at the club when he’s feeling better. The race resumed after about 30 minutes.

Segment 6

CMG Pontyslot extended their lead still further and Ponty Bros passed Woteva for second. Things were very close with 2nd to 4thcovered by only 15 laps. Still no major malfunctions for anyone and the race continued to be a close one.

Segment 7

Woteva reasserted themselves in this section beating CMG’s score by 23 feet and overtaking Ponty Bros who appeared to have a little braid trouble losing about 5 laps as a result. Classic masters had also closed on Bob Martin’s dog a little with the gap being about 18 laps.

Segment 8

The leaders coasted home to a comfortable win finishing 37 laps clear of Woteva and 50 clear of Ponty Bros. around 2 minutes from the end of the race, Classic Masters suffered the day’s only major breakdown when they crashed and knocked the motor out of their car. There wasn’t sufficient time to repair it but they had a big enough lead over AAA Classic Racing for their 5thplace to be safe. So it was a win for CMG Pontyslot from Woteva, Ponty Bros, Bob Martin’s Dog, Classic Masters, AAA Classic Racing, Walmington on Sea and Gram PLM.

Winners CMG Pontyslot, Charlie Gooding and Graham Burke

Second place went to Woteva, Mick Troughton and Geoff Snaith

Third placed team was Ponty Bros with Ian and Phil Prout

The racing was close and competitive all day and held in a great atmosphere with plenty of banter. We raised £255.00 from a combination of entry fees, a prize draw and Dave Austin very kindly donating a percentage of the kit sales he made to the charity. The podium places received framed pictures of classic Le Mans cars, body shells and decals. We’d like to thank our sponsors, Betta and Classic, SCD, Painted by Paul and Big Als Decals for their generous support and also Andy and Sam Smith for insisting on paying their entry fee when they were unable to take part.