With excellent conditions on Saturday, fast times were set in practice so hopes were high for quick runs on Sunday. However, the British weather intervened with drizzle first thing and more rain at lunchtime.

With a decidedly mixed forecast for the morning, I stayed near the bottom of the course for the two practice runs. Using the 24-120mm zoom enabled me to get a wider view of the cars. It’s interesting to note that some competitors, perhaps most notably Robert Kenrick who is getting in the Top 12 Run Offs with his BMW bike engine powered Raptor, sat out the morning.

Heading to the paddock to catch up with Caroline proved timely – unlike some other venues, Shelsley has shelters for the cars which can be very useful for everyone when the wet stuff starts falling from the sky.

Saturday had proved to be very productive for Caroline – setting a new personal best of 28.29 secs – she commented “We believe we have got on top of the new damper set up that was holding us back a little earlier in the season”

Hillclimbing rarely stops for the weather so it was time to make important decisions about which tyres to use. Caroline said – “Slicks will usually still work on damp tarmac so it needs to be really bad to go to full wets. 

By the time of Caroline’s second practice run the drizzle had stopped and the warmish ambient temperature meant that slicks were the order of the day. Once they are cleaned for maximum traction, teams wraps the tyres in clingfilm – swiftly removing it as they come up to the start line.

Slicks proved to be the right choice for that run as Caroline set a 28.40 secs – again under her previous personal best and just 12/100ths slower than Saturday. This is a sport measured in fractions of a second.

I also tried out a new spot not covered in the PistonClick spectator snapper guide – the terrace which overlooks the start line - for the last few cars before the lunch break. It’s a great and different shot, but the rain returned.

The afternoon qualification runs decided who would be taking part in the Top 12 Run Offs with the rain during the lunch break leaving wet but drying tarmac. 

I was not disappointed with Adam Greenan achieving the almost impossible task of placing the car at right angles to the road. Fortunately, there was no damage and he, and sharing driver, Andy Greenan, were back out in the next runs.

Caroline chose wets for first event run in the afternoon - this was interrupted when Rob Anscombe the driver ahead lost it at Bottom Ess. The red flags flew and she had to abandon her run and return to the bottom and start again.

Wallace Menzies took the win for the first Run Off by 0.05 sec hitting a modest 142 mph at the finish line with Alex Summers and Dave Uren in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

The second qualifying runs for the second Top 12 Run Off were then underway and I headed to the terracing above Bottom Ess. There’s sometimes some kerb hopping here - whether intended or not !

Caroline was back on slicks for the final run of the day achieving a low 29 second run and 110 mph across the finish line. She explained – “a still slightly slippery track and a wobble at Crossing were the reasons why I lost time on the last run.”

Qualifying for the second Run Off of the day, Richard Spedding had been setting excellent times in his Raptor powered by a supercharged 1340cc engine. 

With British Championship events up north and in the Channel Islands over the next few weeks, the next time I will see these cars in action will be back at Shelsley in August – it will be interesting to see the shape of the Championship by then. We will also catch up with Matt once he is back behind the wheel.