Interclub Challenge Round 9 – Motorkhana at Willowbank (HSCCQ)
By Shane Murphy.
The final round of the Interclub Challenge for 2016 certainly had a Formula 1 air to it, with a number of categories going down to the line, with motorkhana points being critical.
In order for the team to be as prepared as possible, Dick secured a full copy of the CAMS Motorkhana Test Book, all 87 pages worth. Enough said.
LCQ fielded six car/driver combinations;
Phil Hart – Porsche 911
Liam Philp – Caterham 7
Ken Philp – Caterham 7
Dick Reynolds – Caterham 7
Daryl Wilson – Caterham 7
Shane Murphy – Lotus 7
With a promise of a 30 degree day looming, early runs were going to be critical before the heat took its toll, except of course for Liam who has youth on his side. Being a relative newcomer to this type of competition, the test names are intriguing and the test layouts are somewhat daunting. However, in practice they make sense, well to most of us anyway.
The six tests were Mickey Mouse, Eighty-Eight, Dragon Fly, Craziest Square, Double Hat and Plum Crazy. Apparently Dragon Fly is not often used due to its tricky nature and difficulty in speedy execution.
Two competition areas were designated with three ‘tests’ per area, and two runs per test. Therefore we each had 12 runs in total.
Ken and Pauline Graham in their Datsun 1600 showed the field how to do it, however our Phil Hart in his GT3 was not far behind at the end of the day’s competition, finishing third overall. Overall, we finished in first place outpointing a strong Porsche contingent. Placings included Liam in 8th, Shane in 10th, Dick in 11th, Ken in 17th and Daryl in 28th – a strong team effort.
Highlights of the day included some magnificent navigation skills (you know who you are) and many creased foreheads when contemplating the next sea of blue and yellow flags.
A fantastic day out and a great event to finish the 2016 Interclub Challenge on. Next week the presentations, which I suspect will be a very Lotus affair. Congratulations and thanks to Keith and Mary and all the team at the HSCCQ for hosting such a great day.
