WIGHT JNR TAKES MORE WINS AND RECORD!

Graeme Wight Jnr took the outright Prescott record on his very first class run at Prescott today with a 37.42 second run. Although he didn't manage to get down below David Grace's 37.76 in the first run off he did in the second and so therefore ran off with his 14th British Hill Climb Championship win and 21 points to boot. Jnr chucked the car around in practice and was revelling in the Gould's handling before his counting runs on the Sunday. "That last run of 37.52 was really magic - I enjoyed it so much! I knew it would be quick as it felt quick and that helped it all along! Prescott has been a weird place for me as it took 4 visits to get the Pilbeam right here and now I have four visits and I have got this all sorted now. That's not to say that I was not driving hard in the first place, it is just that it all now seems alot easier.."
He continued..."I found that at Wiscombe the other week too as maybe the car is now soooo good and grippy, I cannot chuck it around as I wanted to, but it is a win." His runs certainly looked swift with Junior squaring off the Pardon Hairpin left hander in order to get a run through the top part of the hill.
The journey back from Gurston took him 9.5 hours last weekend was made all the worse with his Father punching the wrong code into the stereo and then it 'freezing', but at least he is a bit closer this time Second in the Championship Tim Mason went as quick as the car has ever done at the hill, but admitted he never really goes so well at Prescott - a 4th and a 5th for him today may well be dropped scores he said later.
Roger Moran was fighting hard with a brilliant second in the first run off and then a third in the second. He went a great deal stiffer on the rear springs for the second class run although he then put more rebound on the suspension for the run off and found it was not the way to go. "It had a tremendous amount of grip off the line - I could even feel it warming the tyres up that it was good, but oh well, we have to have a bit of play at this time of year with Graeme going into the distance."
Tim Coventry had flown in from The 'States late last night and so had no practice in the car and so admitted to a "fraught weekend", with "lots of mistakes, but a result." 3rd and a 2nd. Hero of the afternoon though has to be Ben Butterfield in the Dallara Gould 2 litre with a fourth place and a 38.83 second run whioch looked so smooth and almost carefree from the spectator area. He is a start for now and the future in the slim little car with the way he gets the measure of hills in very short order considering the short amount of track time per weekend. Top notch.
Simon Durling was happier and looked happier. "The results will say that I have two seconds and that may not sound like much but four sub 40 second runs all day make me feel better about the car - giving me some sort of a platform to work from with it. It just has such AWESOME grip through the fast corners." This is something that Roger Moran has been talking about in the formative parts of the season when he felt as if he was being thrown around the car and then getting black and blue.
Yes, Roger and I have talked about this, but you have to remember that I came from a generation of car that was even earlier to his MP72 (MP58) but I am so glad that I have done the leap even if I am down on power by maybe 60 bhp or something. But I'll tell you that going through the top left hand kink at Shelsley with it flat is quite quite amazing..!"
Rob 2Turnbull managed to get the car sorted from last weekend's gearbox dramas so that was good to see him back in business towards the end of the season as his 5th in the championship looks safe at least from here.
Roy Lane seemed to have an off day - any ideas?
Oliver Tomlin got into both run offs once more and scored in the second too to be one of only four four cylinders to score on the day. Well Done! Now let your Mum let you drive it at Shelsley! (Private joke but I hope she reads it..)
We at top12runoff.co.uk cheer Mark Budgett's effort to get into the second run off and then actually beat Trevor Willis' 2 litre car but the pair of them went home empty handed from the final stanza - although Trevor did get a point for the first run off.
Martin Groves failed to score in the morning with a half spin in the Esses and then went into the gravel at Ettores in the second class run. More next week from Loton Park near Shrewsbury - where Graeme Wight Jnr has NOT been so far this year, but Roger Moran has... mmm.

All the best

Toby Moody