MASON TAKES BRILLIANT WIN

Tim Mason managed to upset the Top 12 apple cart for the first time this year when he comprehensively won the morning run off at Harewood some 0.41 seconds ahead of the opposition who were led by Roger Moran's new Pilbeam V6. It was a solid win on pure merit with no wet/ dry conditions coming into play.

Inkberrow driver Mason flew up the hill keeping a massive amount of speed through the long left handed Farmhouse Bend even though he lost out through the trap up to the finish with 109mph compared to 119 of Junior and 117mph of Coventry. Amazingly the massive speed through the penultimate corner came from Tim stalling before he dipped the clutch to get the engine back into life! It was then a long run off for Mason who went as second car up, so it was a long wait, but he was over the moon to have beaten Wight Jnr for the first time this year. The paddock shared Mason's joy. Mason had to wait again all the way through the run off in the afternoon after he was the first car up, but car by car people failed to meet his 52.96 second mark... until the very last run when Wight Jnr nearly took the July 1995 record of 51.74 with 51.78. It was a very clean and quick run - well worthy of the BTD.

Mason: "Very happy with the day. Junior did a good run at the end there and I could not have beaten that, but considering that this is not one of my favourite places I am pretty chuffed."

Junior had a miserable morning - all morning - including a very uncharacteristic spin on his last practice run meaning he slipped to fourth place in the morning run off.

Wight's team went over everything on the car during the lunch break after the 2001 champion said, "The car felt different on every corner so I hoped it is not a shocker going off.... we were slightly baffled. I've not had that before, but maybe the tyres are curing in a different way to what we were used to with the cross ply ones. At the start of the run this morning the front would be biting in with the rear lose, only for it to change the other way at the end of the run so the back was biting to push the front. However... not really helped by leaving the line with my visor not snapped shut! The last run was more like the car I know bringing me back to enjoying the car unlike I did this morning."

Roger Moran had another good day at the office in only his third weekend in the car with a best so far this season second to Mason in the morning even after a big moment coming out of the long left handed Farmhouse, and then a third in the afternoon. He was very happy indeed with the result from the whole weekend actually.

Tim Coventry once more had trouble for the third weekend in a row with the gearbox jumping out of gear. It happened at Loton, Prescott, the first runoff at Barbon, and then the second run off at Harewood that meant through the esses he had to push it into gear a couple of times after it popped out, only for the back to come around and push the front onto the grass and off the road. At walking speed he kissed the nose of the Gould into the tyre wall and another zero pointer was unfortunately on the card for the Falmouth resident. Shame as when he finishes he finishes well, but the gearbox problem is costing him precious places in the title hunt meeting by meeting.

Simon Durling was fifth in the morning even though he made a, "mess of the last corner," but went one better with fourth in the afternoon. Having Ian Dayson fettling the car - a car that he knows inside out and back to front - and having these new radial Avon tyres has given Simon a real edge this year to be now fourth in the championship.

Groovey Martin Groves growled the ATOL up in the morning with the magical sounded rattling through the trees far away in the valley to be 6th with 116mph through the trap comparing to Jnr's 119 and Coventry's 117. Not quite as quick in the afternoon through the trap and the beam, he is now sixth in the championship. However, joke of the day must have gone to works Pilbeam mechanic 'Mick' who pointed out that with four children, Martin had a mechanic for each wheel of the car, but maybe if Martin and wife Mandy chipped in, they could get a six-wheeled Tyrrell and still be up to speed..!

Overnight, Trevor Willis' left hand had blown up like a balloon after touching the hot exhausts the day before at Barbon, but he amazingly struggled on without so much as a complaint. The day was not eased by difficult conversations getting to the bottom of why he had registered a 'fail' on his first class run even though he reached the top, but a small part of the wheel reportedly went over a line on the outside of the finish - something that is prohibited - and so although the time he did easily qualified for the morning run off, it was disallowed. Shame no one told the commentators in time....

2 litre peddler Willis made sure he did get in for the afternoon, rattling in a sixth place. Hero. Steve Owen took Willis' place instead and was 11th.

Another 2 litre man Paul Haimes just went quicker and quicker all weekend taking 7th in the morning, but just went a little too fast in the second class runs to go straight on at Orchard and not qualify. Alan Warburton was in the first run off and was 12th.

Rob Turnbull nor Roy Lane entered Harewood making it possibly the first time since 1969 that Lane has not been in the top 10 of the championship. He is now 11th.

Deryk Young scored his first points of the year in the Dallara Pilbeam (or should that be Dalbeam or Pillara??!) with a good run to 8th and 7th in the methanol powered car with its lovely popping and banging on the overrun.

Adam Fleetwood took the 1100 record in the morning and went even faster in the first run off to score a ninth, just as he did in the afternoon to now be 12th in the championship. Fantastic.

Ben Butterfield was 10th and 8th in the runoffs and was one of the few to go quite a bit faster in the afternoon over the morning run although he is still awaiting radials from BMTR to go on to the Dallara. There will be a good battle between Haimes, Willis and BB throughout the year.

Jon Waggitt waggit-green Dallara Gould 2 litre qualified for the first run off but was not registered into the Tran-X series as he dialled himself in further to the car that has recently undergone a complete set up change whilst Phil Cooke actually qualified for the second run off but went home. Maybe he did not think he would get into the run off?? Does anyone know?!

All in all it was a good day under near perfect blue skies looking over miles of green Yorkshire dales. A good old Hill Climbing day.

The runners take a break for a weekend and return on May 26th at Gurston Down near Salisbury for some even faster runs down into Hollow bend... 135 mph +......be there.