Magnolls' Farm - 2007

After a grueling journey for some to get to the race, a great weekend's racing followed.
Bob Beech tells all.

It took us over eight hours to get to this meeting but, over the course of the weekend, we heard of many others who struggled for much longer. The weather was to blame. Wind and torrential rain, believed to be about a month's rain in one day, caused numerous hold-ups on the motorways, which were flooded in places. Coming back on Monday, it was also raining until Birmingham, when it dried up. As a result two hours were trimmed off our outward time. But the weather during the racing itself was not too bad. Most of the marshals had on their wet weather gear but this was more because the dark clouds threatened rain rather than the few spots that actually appeared. The wind was gusty though and caught out several drivers.

Get one turn wrong and you were completely off line...

If you have not been to this site before then the course is situated on the side of a hill. From the start grid you rush down and then up to a one hundred and eighty degree turn around a telegraph pole. This was the scene of numerous coming togethers as drivers tackled the corner on different lines. A short straight and then sweep left onto and across a very shallow lake to then sweep to the right around a marker. Then climb the hill. Quite steep with some very large rolling bumps that the faster craft were flying straight from one to the next. At the top, turn ninety degrees to the right, along a short straight and then again a ninety degree turn to the right to rush down the hill. On the hill you sweep to the right and then to the left. This second turn was quite tricky for some as with an adverse camber and wind in your face, many craft were lifted up and turned round. Then round a sweeping turn to the right and over the finish line. While it seems to be a relatively short course, you cannot relax for a moment so that most drivers I spoke to described it as a challenging course to drive quickly. Get one turn wrong and you were completely off line for perhaps the next two. One bonus for spectators is that they can view from an elevated position so that they can see all the course and, for those that did brave the weather, they were given some exciting racing to watch.

In Formula 1, Daniel Turnbull (1) continued on from where he left off at Gang Warily by winning every race so that he now has a comfortable 13 point lead in the seasons championship. Team Gill (2) was also consistent finishing in second place for each race. Many were looking forward to the appearance of Bryan White's new cruiser/racer. It is stretched Eagle Mirage hull powered by a BMW 1000cc four stroke engine with a separate lift engine in the front. It is BIG but certainly not slow. Obviously it is not going to win races with the likes of Dan Turnbull around but nevertheless it went as good as it looked and took fifth and fourth places in its two races.

It is BIG but certainly not slow...

Mark Neale (28) had an eventful time in Formula 1. In the first race his craft dug in on the water throwing him out just onto the land. He jumped up to run away only to find that track suit bottoms do not necessarily stay up very well in such circumstances. A red flag was called but, I understand, this had nothing to do with the tracksuit. Race 3 saw Mark causing a restart and then in the last race two of his three silencers fell off. I think he must have gone home feeling in need of a good rest.

Chris Barlow (17) also appeared in Formula 1 with his Formula S craft, all shiny and new. A couple of third place finishes proved that it has a good turn of speed although he possibly missed out in the second race when he missed the grid due to one of his two rudders coming adrift while going through the paddock.

Keith Smallwood for Team Vortex (10) showed an incredible turn of speed with his F1X craft having two wins in this section. John Rees for Big John/Little John (18) had the other two wins but lost out on sharing the meeting when he was trailered off the start grid for Race 2 with lift engine problems.

Team Beez (32) won all the Formula 2 races. Storm Hovercraft (36) had two seconds and two thirds to take second place. Bryan White for Tilley White Racing (39) might have equalled Jamie but for not getting any points for Race 3.

The Formula 3 racing was really cracking. The first race saw David Lovegrove (141), Tony Broad (133) and Barry staples (140) battling hard with the lead seemingly changing every lap. David though came out on top as he did for the other three races. Tony and Barry finished in second and third places for the weekend. Ian Finch (176) appeared for the first time in Formula 3 with a TZR powered eagle but was not able to race until Sunday.

Formula 35 is run in with Formula 3. Heather Black for Team Vortex (211) won this section although I think she would like somebody else to race against.

The Formula 503 races were really exciting with many hard fought battles taking place all through the field. The determination of the drivers led to chaos at the first turn in the third race. Six of the leading craft had a coming together and most were not able to recover until everyone else had gone by.

It seems to be a long time since Team Topaz (70) did not make the podium in Formula 503 but this was one of those times. The winner's trophy was taken by Steve Walsh (78) driving his Predator. This craft has a good turn of speed and Steve is quite able to handle this to good effect. Conrad Beale and Dan Newton for Team CD (100) had three second place finishes to come in second for the meeting with Meteor Racing (37) in third. Mark Talbot for Topaz (70) had to settle for fourth place having dropped out of Race 3 on about the fourth lap.

Formula Junior saw some close racing. Laura Broad (133) is now a very smooth driver and won three of the four races. But Rhian Black (20) has a very good turn of speed having a 503 for power. She put this to good use at the start of Race 2 when she opened up a good lead. But Laura, with her smooth driving style, overtook her within a few laps. However, Rhian got the better of Laura in the last race to win. Joshua Daly (194) also drives very smoothly and finished the meeting in third place.

...if you missed these you missed some real classic racing...

The Opens. Well, what can I say other than if you missed these you missed some real classic racing. 12, 13, 14 and then 17 craft in these races. Very unusually, we even saw Dan Turnbull (1) entering and he gave Barry Oakley something to lose his voice for in the last race when Dan missed the two-minute board and had to start from the paddock exit. He still won the race. In second place for that race was Team Gill (2) but he had to work hard for this result as Tony Goldney (50) seemed to drive his craft to the very limit to finish in third place. There were also many other battles going on in the field and in amongst these was the sole Formula 35 entry of Heather Black (211). Team Gill (2) finished the meeting the winner with Tony Goldney (50) second and Team Beez (32) third. Notably, 17 craft entered the last race and all finished.

Glen Staig (59) won the Formula 2 novice section. But he did not have it all his own way. Howard Ash (127) with a 503 powered Storm is a very smooth driver which he demonstrated very well by winning two of his three races. Regrettably though, engine problems prevented him entering the last race. Darren Beech (77) was driving a 503 powered Osprey but belt problems prevented him from using full power all the time so he had to content himself with cruising around the course to finish second overall.

Martin Higgins (148) had to travel almost 300 miles to get to this meeting but picking up the winners trophy in the Formula 3 section made it all worth the while. Mind you he could also have picked up the trophy for one of the more spectacular crashes as well. In the last race he had a really close race with Glen whose craft didn't like turning right. On the other hand Martin's 447 powered Storm did. Each lap Martin tried to squeeze past Glen on the telegraph pole first turn and, on the last lap, he succeeded. He then kept the lead but on going round the very last corner before the finish his steering failed. He threw his weight to the right but this was not enough and he crashed at speed into the catch netting just short of the finish. But his momentum spun the craft round and in doing so he went over the finish line to win. Although the crash shook Martin somewhat he didn't mind. Well it was his first race win after all. Sue Parish (191) finished each of her races in third place in Formula 3 but this put her in second place for the weekend. Phil Hall (143) has a TZR powered craft that gave him a win and two second place finishes in his three races. In the fourth race the same craft was used by Nigel Hutchinson (147) who showed a good driving style although he has not completed many races.

So all in all a very good racing weekend despite the weather. And in the evening on Saturday we were treated to music from Tony Broad and his trio. Very good it was too although I must admit that I didn't really need my hearing aids to hear it. Also in the evening we had the prize giving for the Gang Warily meeting. As most will know this was held over due to the weather conditions at Fawley. One award that is presented each year by the Southern Branch is the Tony Vynal trophy. This is not always given to a racing person as it is to recognise good service to the Hovercraft Club and its members and is, therefore, usually awarded to someone who has put in a lot of effort over something. This year it was given to Keith Oakley and the applause given indicated that this was a very popular choice although regrettably Keith was not present to collect it.

So, on to Claydon for our next meeting and hopefully we will have some sunshine for a change.

Bob Beech.

[All photos by kind permission of Paul and Rebecca Taylor of www.hovercraftvideo.co.uk]