Jake's Place 2003.
Arriving at the site on Friday afternoon after a wet drive, I was greeted with a sea of mud that I could only negotiate with my car and caravan with the help of some kind pushers. I had visions of Whittlesey 2000 and dreaded the thought of how everyone would get in, let alone out of the place. However, my worst fears were not justified as a very strong drying wind and not too much rain over the weekend dried everything up nicely.
This is the first time that we have been to Jake's Place. Straightaway I will say that it is not the easiest of courses, very much favouring the experienced driver. About two-thirds of a mile in length, the course packs in features that demand intense concentration so you cannot relax for a second. A very strong wind also added to the hazards and caught out both inexperienced and experienced drivers alike.
The most major feature was the "long hill". It is just a straight rush up and down again but, therein lies the problem. Going up, the F1 craft in particular, were going very fast by the time that they got to the top and, going into the wind, the front of the craft became very light when throttling back to take the turn so that many became vertical on occasions. Coming down the hill, the speed also built up rapidly and this had to be controlled at the bottom where there was a chicane designed to slow the craft down for a safer entry back onto the lake. The methods of dealing with this problem seemed to range from not going fast in the first place, through standing the craft on its side, to not making the chicane at all. I am sure that many of the drivers also became slightly religious at times, praying to get round the chicane and not hit the very substantial bales of straw used as markers.
A really good turnout of craft, about 50, with up to 20, yes 20, entering the Novice/F25 races. This really looks good for the future. On the other side, however, only one Junior took part.
So what was the racing like? Fabulous. Thrills and spills in virtually every race.
The Novice Races were a good example, of the thrills and spills particularly that is. Well, with twenty craft, including the two F25s out, for the first race of a new season, it was always going to be interesting. Jake Cooper (99) admitted to me that his idea for dealing with the big hill was to take it flat out. I am not sure he should have told me this as, being on the commentary, I could not help concentrating on his effort each time round. For several laps he got it quite spectacularly wrong but after that mostly appeared to be one of the faster novices down the hill. Thanks Jake. The entertainment value was superb. Vic Webber (77) in hi ex-Russ Pullen's Flying Fish craft also entertained. Until he mastered the chicane at the bottom of the hill he was on the island so many times that I thought he was trying to claim squatters rights, much to the consternation of the nesting geese. Keith Dyson (36) should not really have mentioned on the website that he got the truck crasher of the year trophy in 2001 as he seemed to be going for the same trophy in hovercraft racing. After a coming together on the lake he rammed the island very hard and later ended up in the wood on the outside of the final turn. Simon Gleadall (18) didn't come out of it unscathed either but, nevertheless, enjoyed his first ever stand on a podium, despite having competed in several types of motorsport before hovercrafting. Steven Milligan (15) only entered the first two races, winning the first, than having re-qualified went out solely in F1. Another who re-qualified was Nick Long (116) who has a Daniel Turnbull F3. He was very fast and proved this in his first F3 race by finishing fifth after starting from the back of the grid.
It was good also to see Tony Broad (125) make it to the top of the winners podium. Surely you must be near to qualifying now Tony. Really, so much went on in Novices that I think I could write a long article solely about them but, to move on.
F1. Just eight craft competed but spectators had value for money. Daniel Newton for Pintail Racing (2) seemed to be reasonably comfortable on this course and won every race, putting up the fastest time of anyone. However, you cannot take it away from Daniel Turnbull (11) for trying with a best lap time of just two-tenths of a second slower. There was never really much between them on the course and when in race two Daniel Newton hit a straw bale, Daniel Turnbull had nowhere to go. The resulting crash saw Daniel Turnbull's craft smashing down on top of him. The crash helmet, although trashed, obviously did its job well. The crash could well have put off some people, but not Daniel T. He was out for the re-run although he took it easy, coming in sixth. In Race four, everyone I think thought that he had the race in the bag, but when in the lead, on the final bend, his thrust engine cut out. So desperate was he to win that he tried to push the craft over the line but the windy conditions seemed to defeat him. Robin Brickles (3) weekend ended very abruptly on the first lap of the first race when his craft was caught by the wind and turned over in a most dramatic way. Team Drake (9) came along with their re-engined craft. It went well for Mathew although his best finish was third.
F2 was a real battle between last year's National Champion Michael Brickles (41) and the European Champion Chris Barlow (62). Chris had engine problems in the first race and just cruised around. Finishing in eighth place he, therefore, was playing catch-up on points for most of the weekend. The two finished with just one point between them with Chris the winner. Lee Willars (45) came in third. However, he won the fourth race in a very strange way. Chris Barlow was in the lead on the final bend when his engine cut just, literally, a few yards short of the line. In fact from the commentary position we were not sure whether he had crossed it, or not. With Chris pulling the craft forward Lee just managed to sweep past in time. Chris ended up second. Richard Wiles (587) was consistent in finishing each F2 race in seventh place, apart from the first race when he finished fifth, to take the F503 first place trophy.
F3 racing was also brilliant. John Bucknall (118) for Storm Hovercraft - yes, John Bucknall - came first. This is the first time that he has won a race let alone a weekend. After nine years of trying. A really good weekend for him. Well done John. Mind you I think he must think himself lucky as he, and Jamie Lewendon (113) for that matter, both had problems and did not make the start of Race four. Luckily for them, the race was red-flagged and they both made the restart. To John, the points were crucial, as at the end of the weekend he was only given the winner's trophy because he had three wins to Lewis Webb's (144) two. They both finished with 102 points. Lewis started the weekend relatively calmly as he was still getting used to his craft, Daniel Turnbull's F3 winner from last year. I commented that he appears to be a fast but rather unspectacular driver who does not often catch the commentator's eye. By the end of the meeting however, everything had changed. He was really trying hard and was seen to stand the craft on its side on several occasions. Scott Tilley (105) won the first race and came second in the following two. After that he had to settle for thirds behind the battling John and Lewis. Nevertheless, he finished third overall.
F3 saw several crashes caused by a blustery wind. John Bucknall was first in Race one hitting a straw bale head on, just in front of the commentary position. The craft stopped very abruptly and John head butted the straw bale very hard. The crash helmet obviously did its job. Rupert Baker (106) did the same thing to the same bale in Race two. This reshaped the front of the craft somewhat. Rupert did it again in Race four leading to the most serious looking accident of all when Barry Staples (140) could not avoid Rupert and the craft went up in the air and crashed down on top of him. Everything stopped for perhaps three-quarters of an hour whilst medical treatment was given to Barry on the course and he was taken to hospital. However, the following morning he appeared at briefing as if nothing had happened, afterwards put the guard back on and got on with his racing. Some people seem prepared to do anything to get a bit of attention!!
In F25, Rachael Gifford (201) appeared in a new craft. She had teething problems with this but, nevertheless, still won the weekend from the only other F25 driver, Andy Deacon (203), who seemed to have a lot of trouble getting onto the lake at the bottom of the hill. For some reason he stopped on several laps just onto the water and on one occasion jumped in to pull the craft to the bank.
Matthew Gifford (2) was the sole contender in Juniors. To make it interesting for him in one race, Andy Deacon returned to his childhood days (some, however, rather unkindly said that they didn't think that he has really left them!!) and went out to give Matthew someone to race against. Rachael would have gone out as well but her new craft was no longer operating. Just one driver in Juniors may not seem to be a good sign but, do not despair, there are several new and returning drivers in the pipeline so, with a little bit of luck there should be a reasonable turnout at Gang Warily.
The Opens had a maximum of seven craft in the races and all finished each race too. Ed Hurn for Eagle Hovercraft Team (1) came second in the first race but otherwise won the other five. In the individual Formulas, Dave Polfrey (42) won F2 and Jamie Lewendon for Storm Hovercraft (118) won F3.
So, the overall impression of Jakes Place was that the race-course was very challenging but on the whole drivers seemed to like it. Although there were a number of accidents, many of these were connected in some way to the blustery weather conditions. I, personally look forward to returning.
On another tack, we had a new commentator. Lyndon Ford came to join me and although it was only the second race meeting that he had been to, he showed tremendous enthusiasm for the job. So much so that he rose to the challenge of commentating right the way through one of the Junior races, when there was only the one driver on the course. Not an easy task. Well done, Lyndon and we hope that you can make it to more meetings in the future.
So, on to the next meeting, at Gang Warily, where the Southern Branch is hoping to provide you with a few surprises.
Bob Beech.
News Update from Jake: Goslings hatched and happy!