Gang Warily 2003.
This was perhaps the most memorable race meeting for a long time. So much happened that I cannot think that anyone did not enjoy themselves, but then, perhaps you can't please everyone.
For myself, it was the first time since Weston Park 1992 that I have been to a race meeting and not been the main commentator. It was a very strange feeling. Throughout the weekend I kept on thinking that I should be commentating but Barry Oakley very capably deal with this and having thoroughly enjoyed himself intends to do more in the future. Why wasn't I commentating? Well there is something that I like to do even more. Racing. Anyway, more about that later but, at this point, I must thank Lorraine Polfrey. For those who do not know, she has been lap scoring for the commentators for some time. On her lap charts she makes note of any unusual happening in a race. The charts are given to me at the end of the meeting and help enormously in the preparation of the meeting report. At this meeting, as I was not commentating, I did not see all of the racing, so Lorraine's notes are even more important. Thanks Lorraine and I hope that you will continue with this as perhaps, just perhaps, I may not be commentating so much in the future either.
To those that missed Gang Warily, the first thing that people noticed was the course was being run anti-clockwise for the first time. A lot of the reeds and lakeside vegetation had been removed so that the full length of the lake could be used and an extra bit of the field on the Fawley side was included as well. The GPS reading showed that a lap was just on half a mile.
Nowhere on the course could you relax. The first corner was very difficult, as there was quite a steep adverse camber. If you got it right you had a fast transition onto the water. If you got it wrong you were sliding down the hill towards the catch netting whilst others were overtaking you on the inside. Leaving the water, the ramp was quite steep and by the end of the weekend the number of craft that had grounded out had worn away a lot more soil so that when approaching the bank it looked more like a cliff than a slope. This proved the undoing of several craft that got it wrong. Across the finishing line in front of the spectators, of which there was a good number, the course was fast with rolling bumps. Combined with an unpredictable and gusty breeze made this difficult for the faster craft and several overturned.
About 70 hovercraft were brought to the meeting. A few did not operate but, nevertheless, a very good turnout. In addition there were at least three cruising craft, or four if you count John Gifford's. So a good field in all the formulas and especially in Juniors which had nine craft in the final race.
So on to the racing. F1. Full of incidents. Tony Goldney (4) must have thought it was going to be his meeting. With the acceleration of his four-stroke engine the course was ideal. Into the lead in the first race he held this for six laps only to have to pull off the course, so finished fifth. Next race finished sixth but that was it for the weekend. Steven Milligan (15) was another that didn't complete the weekend. In Race 3 the craft flipped over. Neither the craft nor Steven was fit to continue, Steven having damaged his shoulder. Rob Trussler (22) took a major step forward, in fact the biggest step you can take. First time in F1 having previously raced in F25. Not an easy first meeting for him. His craft flipped over in Race 3 and then in Race 5 he hit a marker and the craft somersaulted. A red flag both times. Mind you, in the re-run of Race 4, which had also been red flagged, he did finish second so he is obviously not a quitter. It was Luke for Z Racing (6) that caused the red flag in Race 4 when the craft spat him out on the exit from the water. Having won Race 1, Luke never finished higher than fourth in the other races but, with mixed fortunes for most, he did enough to finish the meeting in third place. In the re-run of Race 4 Daniel Newton for Pintail Racing (2) came off the water and stopped . His steering seemed to have been damaged as, when he restarted, he could not stop the craft spinning round. He tried very hard to control it but was considered a danger to others and was black flagged, not far short of the line. He was allowed to finish after the leader had taken the chequered flag. That was essential as otherwise he would not have got any points for that race which would have meant that Mathew Drake for Team Drake (9) would have won the meeting instead of Pintail Racing (2). This was a good meeting for Mathew. He won Race 4 and the weekend finishing place of second, I think, must be his best result for a long time. Mind you, from memory, Mathew has always performed well at Gang Warily. Must be the right type of course for him.
F2/503. 14 craft out in these races and very competitive they were too. Michael Brickles (41) won the four races over Saturday and Sunday but pulled out on lap 3 of Race 5 with apparent engine problems and did not reappear. So Michael had to settle for fourth place for the weekend. Not having had enough racing in F1, Conrad Beale came out for Team Beale (568) with a 503. Had some brilliant fun dicing with Richard Wiles (587) also with a 503. They were very close together in several races, in fact, in Race 3 they were so close that, whilst Conrad was trying to overtake, they got locked together rounding the buoy. Conrad came off the better from this and went on to take fourth place with Richard fifth. Nice to see though that Richard finished the weekend in third place. Just shows that a 503 can still give tremendous fun and driven well a good result as well. Race 4 was another close race for Conrad. This time he got Alex Walmesley (82) on his tail on lap 2 but managed to keep him there for the rest of the race despite Alex making a do or die last dash for the line. At Gang Warily, it is not always the most powerful craft that win races. If the driver of a slower craft sticks closely to the racing line it makes it very difficult for anyone to overtake. Lee Willars (45) finished second for the weekend. He won the last race and finished either second or third in the other races apart from Race 4 when he pulled off the course with a lot of skirt segments loose having just completed the minimum number of laps to gain any points. This race result proved his undoing for the weekend as the low points from this race meant that he had to settle for second place behind David Polfrey (42).
F3. 14 craft again in F3 although Ewan Black for Team Black (103) didn't get any points despite struggling out for both Races 1 and 2. It was Lewis Webb (144) that won the weekend having won five of the races. Beating Lewis in Race 4 was Rupert Baker (106) who otherwise finished second in the other races. So a good battle between those two. Scott Tilley (105) finished third despite having an excursion into the trees when he spun on the water in Race 3. A poor start for the weekend for Nick Long (116) saw him only complete three laps in Race 1, Otherwise he finished fourth or fifth in his races to finish fourth overall. Kevin Foster (188) appeared in F3 for the first time having just qualified. 447 powered all weekend using Workmate - see later - on Saturday and Sunday and then his new craft on Monday.
FJ. Didn't we all get worried at Jake's Place? Only one junior at that meeting. But at Gang Warily? 10 Juniors and 9 craft out in the final race. That's better. Rumour has it that many were tempted to the weekend by the prospect of being a television star as the BBC arranged to do filming all day Saturday. Anyway, it was good to see them all. Matthew Foster (J19) won the first five races, in Workmate, and the weekend. Matthew was really pleased with this as he had never won either a race or trophy before. Having got enough points to win the meeting from the first five races he then transferred to his new craft so that his brother Colin (J20) could drive Workmate. And didn't he do well. Colin had not raced before, nor driven the craft before taking his test, but he drove the last race as if he had been driving for years. Very smooth and he finished fourth having started from the back of the grid. Quite a weekend for the Fosters. It was also good for Peter Dawson (J8). He also had never won a race before Gang Warily but did the final one. He also had his best weekend result finishing second. Tom Long (J16) raced for the first time and finished third overall. A good result for him. Another new face was Richard Parson (J12) driving a 447 powered craft. He had not done a lot of driving before the meeting and, therefore, very sensibly, took it easy. He only did the last three races but, nevertheless, showed a growing confidence. Natalie Cooper (J10) also raced for the first time. Very nervous at first, nevertheless, with a little bit of quiet practice on the lake at the end of Sunday, she successfully finished both of the Monday races. Well done Natalie. Also out for the first time was Lizzie Edwards for Team Building (J14). A good weekend for her, finishing all her races. Regrettably I do not have a note of the names of the drivers of the Bearwood College craft (J17) but I understand that they also were new drivers. Congratulations to them as well.
Novices. A total of 14 craft. Simon Gleadall (18) was the sole entrant in the F1 class. Picking his way round the course, however, was apparently not easy and he went home with a bit of rebuilding work to do. Mind you this still did not take the smile off his face. However, he didn't feature in Race 4 as, when he went to start his thrust engine on the two-minute board, the pull start cord broke. The remainder of the racers seemed to have 447s, 503s and TZRs so the racing was close. In F2 Robert Walmesley (61) triumphed with Jake Cooper (99) second and Kevin Eastwood (59) third. Louise Beale (89) came out in the first three races and started well in Race 1 holding third place for the first four laps. Then things seemed to go wrong ending up with her pulling out of Race 3 on lap 3 not to be seen again. Jonathan Tall (72) raced his Eagle for three races but his weekend came to an end on the trailer in Race 5.
F3 section and this is the moment when the tone of this report changes to a more personal one as, for the first time since 1996, I raced. My craft is Workmate, which is an Osprey that used to belong to Russ Pullen who used it, powered by a 377, to do his Novice races. I admired it then as it always seemed to be a well set up craft. Anyway, he sold it and then it came into my possession back in April this year. You will recall from earlier comments that Workmate was also used by Matthew and Colin Foster in Juniors and Kevin Foster in F3. It was brilliant. Never missed a beat all weekend. Because I was so tied up with the BBC film crew on the Saturday I didn't have time to race. However, with a sixth, third and two fourth place finishes overall in that order in the other races I picked up the third place trophy in F3. Brilliant fun. I didn't even mind the enormous bruise that came up on my elbow caused when one craft came over the top of me on the Holbury turn. I also almost got involved with Kevin Eastwood on lap 6 in Race 4 when he thought he would try and overtake me on the inside on the Centre turn. Admittedly there was the room for the manoeuvre but unfortunately just at the wrong moment he was caught by a gust of wind that blew him into the marker and he was thrown out. He and the craft were obviously not severely hurt or damaged as he was able to carry on. Mark Allman (171) raced his very potent Yamaha powered craft and won Race 4 but he made contact with too many things so went home with a craft needing major surgery. David Maybrick (146) came out in Toni Staples craft in Race 3 but I never saw him again. The last I saw of Toni Staples (148) in Race 4 was when she came off the water and went straight into the hedge. Bit of a shame as she had a good second race, finishing third overall. Tony Broad (125) and Steve Ryder(112) finished first and second in that order in the F3 section, which is the same as how they finished at Jake's Place. Won't happen again though as Tony is now qualified for F3.
F25. Three craft. Rob and Marie Trussler and Conrad Beale were Team Tizzler (202). And yes, Conrad did go out so he competed at every senior level except F3. They were first. Second was Rachael Gifford (201) and third, the team of Heather Black and Simon Kearle (216). As the F25s race in Novices I had first hand the experience of having to overtake them. It is amazing how well they go with only 25 hp to play with, in many of the races putting to shame craft with twice the horsepower. Mind you driver ability comes into it as well, of course.
In the Opens there was very close racing between David Polfrey (42) and Ken Rigley for the Eagle Hovercraft Team (1). They always seemed to have been together but Ken only got the better of David in the last two races. They finished second and third overall which puts David in the lead for the season's championship, but only by two points from Ken so hopefully we will see this battle continue at the next meeting. Pintail Racing (2) won the weekend with five out of the six outright wins. With his own F1 craft not working, Tony Goldney (182) came out in Sue and Sid's F3 craft in four of the races. He earned enough points to finish in third place in the F3 section.
Well I think that covers all the racing, but not all the weekend as there were several other things going on as well.
Perhaps the most significant other thing was the cadet (8, 9 and 10 years old) training session that we held after racing had finished on Sunday. We had fifteen youngsters in the craft in all. I must admit that I was a little surprised, but very delighted, with the number. Luckily we had eight craft in all and thanks to those who provided them. Each youngster went with an adult to a separate area of the field to practice. Most drove two-up although a few who showed more confidence were allowed to drive on their own. They did very well and must be congratulated. There is no doubt in my mind that this experiment was a huge success. You only had to see their faces to realise this and it must be repeated. It was done in such a way that the youngsters were able to proceed at a rate at which they felt comfortable. It was not daunting in any way. They have, therefore, had hovercrafting introduced to them in such a way that it is not frightening and, hopefully, if we continue to encourage their interest they will want to be the junior and then senior drivers of the future. I have written to the Competitions Committee proposing that we allow the cadets to operate at every meeting, the racing schedule permitting, where the site is suitable. Hopefully, we will get the decision before the next race meeting. In the meantime, I congratulate the youngsters who were James Parson, Rhianon Black, Bronwen Black, Natalie Smith, Laura Broad, Daniel Sweetman, Francesca Ryder, Jamie-Lee Pye, Cameron Tarbie, Darrell Tarbie, Rebecca Cooper, Brid Kemp, Barney Kemp, Sarah Gill and Stevie Gill.
Youngsters were also involved during the paddock open periods. Bill Baker and Geoff Sweetman very kindly gave rides to any who wanted to have a go. Many thanks to you for this and again many smiling faces.
After racing on the Sunday, rides were also given from Calshot Beach by John Gifford in his Griffin 8000. Disappointingly, I missed out on this so hopefully someone else will report on what went on. However, I do know from the people I spoke to about it that all the trips were well supported and proved enjoyable.
And don't forget the barbecues on Saturday and Sunday evenings. Food and beer in plenty and a merry time was had by all.
So there we are. Gang Warily over again for another year. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves and we look forward to you all returning again next year.
Bob Beech.