Grass Autotest – 5th June

Event details

▪ Date: Sunday 5th June
▪ Venue: Irelandton, Twynholm
▪ Results: pdf link >here<
▪ Points: updated after Rd 7 >here<

Event Report

There was fantastic turnout of 25 entries for the second Solway Car Club Grass Autotest of the year on Sunday, taking place at Irelandton again with the kind permission of the Graham family.

Class 1 (under 1400cc FWD):It was Grant Carson who was the man to beat in the Nissan Sunny, leading the class from the off. Team-mate Peter Game came closest to him, lying less than a second behind after Run 3, but it was the MG ZR of Rab Henderson who muscled in to finish in the middle of the Nissan Sunny sandwich, just 1.47 seconds behind Carson after the 6 timed tests. Peter Game and Aaran Ferguson brought the Nissan Sunny home 3rd and 4th, with Autotest returnee Jake Henderson finishing 5th in Class. Niall Cowan Jnr was 6th and Top Novice in the Rover, ahead of Jack Gaffney, and David Drummond in the Fiesta in 8th. Ashley Thomson showed an increase in pace and confidence on only her second time out, finishing just ahead of Elaine Murdoch. Previous Junior Boy Champion Dugald MacGregor brought along friends Sean Carruthers and Lochie Reid, and they all made it round in their Peugeot 206.

Class 2 (over 1400cc FWD): In the battle of the Nissan Micras, it was Richard Dickson who initially lead the class, before taking a cone penalty and allowing Karen McCarney to take the class lead. After a steady start, Thomas McCarney’s four fastest times were enough to elevate him into an uncatchable position, winning by almost 17 seconds in the end, over Richard Dickson in 2nd, with Nancy Dickson 3rd. Karen McCarney took 4th after a puncture dropped her down the order. 5th went to Ron Orr in the Mini, who spent the day chasing down daughter Grace in the same car, to overhaul her by just 0.5seconds in the end. Jack Houston and Alan McMorran rounded off the class in the Ford Puma.

Class 5 (Specials): In the shared Buggy, Glen Cunningham showed the others a clean pair of heels, taking a 10 second lead over Keith Riddick and Scott Peacock. He dropped behind Riddick after Run 4 and those were the positions they would finish in, as all three missed the final Test 6 due to mechanical issues. New member Claire Harvey only completed one run before a mechanical DNF in her Mini Special.

After six runs, Thomas McCarney took the overall win by over 10 seconds, with Grant Carson in second, closely followed by reigning Club Champion Rab Henderson. First Senior on the day was Thomas McCarney, with Nancy Dickson taking first Lady and top Novice going to Niall Cowan Jnr. We welcomed new members Sean Carruthers and Lochie Reid, who enjoyed their first taste of Autotesting.

Thanks go to the Graham family again for the venue, to Norman Gowans & Glen Cunningham for Timing & Results, to Scott & Keith for Organising, and to all that helped set up and tidy up at the finish.

The next event will be a Grass Autotest on Sunday 26th June – more information here.