What A Scorcher!

What A Scorcher!

Forrestburn Speed Hillclimb 27th – 28th August 2022

Two new records were set on the hill over the weekend during perfect conditions both on and off track. With an entry of 75 the paddock was buzzing, Forrestburn at its very best. James Stronach as Clerk of Course gave the maximum number of runs to competitors to the thrill of spectators as every class battled out their places in this round of the Scottish Sprint and Hillclimb Championships

A special welcome goes out to the two newest drivers – both in their teens – Amy Park and Matthew Wood, both delighted with progressively quick times and sub-60 firmly in their grasp next time. The Haggisses were again flying with a 1,2 in A3, and an almost full complement of MX’s provided most of the entertainment on track. In a fitting tribute to Peter Locke, Mark Scoular drove his RX8 in an incredibly close battle with Grainger Robertson in A2.

The first new record was set by Stuart Reid in his Peugeot 205 in class B2 with an impressive 46.54s and Charlie Fraser honed his times for a new record in C3 of 46.01. With some very close times between the two Raptors in C5 the next round will be very interesting indeed.

A fabulous turn out of 12 cars in  D1 saw 6 Spridgets on the start-line, all very closely matched (Stephen Coopers Frog-eye excepted being almost impossible to catch) however the D3 historic class became progressively depleted as the weekend wore on, but that didn’t dampen spirits in the top paddock.

Great to have Billy Cater join the team at Forrestburn as new Secretary of the Meetings and a massive thank you to every single volunteer, whether marshal or official who made the event run like clockwork – thank you!

Track Photos by Dominik Miturski

MSCC Member Spotlight No1

MSCC Member Spotlight No1

Ben-Jackson

As a new feature, we have decided to pick a club member every month throughout the off-season and ask them questions on their experience and past motorsport history.

We have kicked this feature off with Ben Jackson from Carluke. Ben is 19 years old and has some track experience already. Ben was spotted at one of our members track day here at Forrestburn Hillclimb driving a Citroen Saxo VTS very well. We have previously posted the video of his run on our Facebook and the Club website.

Below is the conversation we had with Ben.

Q. How did you find out about Monklands Sporting Car Club?

A. I found out about MSCC through a friend Robert Stuart who has previously attended the track days in his red classic turbo mini and now the Clio 182. He recommended it to me and my dad as he thought it was one of the best track experiences you could get around here!

Q. What got you into motorsport or trackdays in the first instance?

A. I’ve always been into cars since I was tiny so grew up watching Top Gear and all sorts on the TV. So naturally, the next step was to go and race cars!

Q. Do you have a car and what do you think about competing in hillclimbing?

A. Yeah got 3 actually! 1.1 Saxo as a daily, Peugeot 306 GTi6 as the toy/weekend car (currently undergoing a full engine rebuild done by myself and some others) and a newly acquired Mk2 Astra project. Competing is really appealing to me, to be honest, and if I had the funds I would definitely go ahead. The only thing holding me back is the cost of building a competitive car and all the expenses relating to safety equipment.
Ben's-306-GTi-6-Restoration

Q. Is cost the only factor holding you back from having a go at the sport?

A. Yes and no. I don’t have much time at the moment juggling a part-time job and university also. Plus having 3 projects myself is a lot! If the cost wasn’t an issue then I’d more than likely be competing.

Ben's-306-GTi-6-Before Restoration

Q. Do you have any other hobbies?

A. Yeah I do a lot of Remote control car racing. I usually race at a wee club called Lothian Radio Controlled Car Club. Basically based on LMP cars, they’re little 1/12th scale electric cars that are raced on a special type of carpet. Setting them up got me into basic real car setup and has taught me a lot over the years.

Q. Sim racing has been the new big thing for younger people these days, especially throughout lockdown. Is this something you have been doing also?

A. Yeah lots! Sim racing has always been a massive thing to me. Been doing it since I was very young. Sim racing definitely taught me everything I know about driving, saving slides like oversteer etc and also car set up too.

Q. Are you planning to attend track days next year at Forrestburn or elsewhere?

A. Yeah I plan on doing as many as possible at Forrestburn, Kames and the odd Knockhill trip too. I would love to get to some tracks down south like Brands Hatch or Oulton Park but need to build the GTi6 back up before I would tackle those.

Q. Do you see yourself getting into circuit racing or hillclimbing if the chance presents its self? Or maybe both?

A. I’d love to do both. There’s quite a popular class that the 750mc Club run and its basically Saxo VTRs with roll cages doing some really close racing. Would love to get into that and also hill climbs too hopefully.

Q. Back to the point you mentioned before about university, what are you studying and what are your career goals?

A. I’m studying Cyber Security. I want to hopefully be in possibly the financial sector doing a cybersecurity role or even better for the government.

Q. Is there anything you think the club could do to reach out to younger people like yourself?

A. I’m honestly not too sure. I think what you have going at the moment is good as a lot of younger people are constantly on Facebook etc so keeping that active is definitely going to help. I think unfortunately with the rise in young people having access to brand new cars means that they are less likely to try these type of events due to having to use them as their sole mode of transport.

Thank you very much for your time Ben, we look forward to seeing you back out at Forrestburn next year with whatever car you decide to bring.

If anyone would like to participate in the member’s spotlight feature email us at trackday@mscc.org.uk and we will get in touch!

Forrestburn Results: 24-25 August 2019

Forrestburn Results: 24-25 August 2019

forrestburn-paddock-august-2019
This had to be the best ever weather on a hillclimb weekend at Forrestburn. Warm and sunny with temperatures in the high 20s was an ideal setting for many new class records, general good humour and a lot of sitting around gossiping. What’s not to like?

The Saturday event saw two new class records. David Reid in his Subaru Impreza beat the time set by Jac Koumides of 49.85 on 26 June 2010 in Class A3, setting a new class record of 49.21 seconds. Jim Campbell in a Crossle 12F beat Andrew Paterson’s record in the H99 Class setting a new record of 49.80 seconds. Garry Dickson set BTD of 43.04 seconds and Paul Rhodes set 2nd BTD at 44.37. The Saturday results are available here.

Sunday saw four new class records. Derek Rothnie in a Renault Clio set 50.82 in Class A2 replacing the record set by Nigel Galvin of 50.92 in June 2015. Stuart Reid in Class B2 replaced his own record set on 23 June 2019 of 47.19 seconds with 46.97 seconds. In Class C3, Charlie Fraser set a new record of 46.11 seconds in a Spire GT3 Sovralimentato beating Graeme Bremner’s record of 46.13 seconds set in June 2014. In H99, Jim Campbell beat his own record from the previous day to set a new time of 49.53 seconds. Garry Dickson set BTD in his Force RGC at 40.59 seconds and Colin Graham set second BTD at 44.85 in his OMS PR. Sunday’s results are available here.

Forrestburn 24-25 August 2019: Entry List and Final Instructions

Forrestburn 24-25 August 2019: Entry List and Final Instructions

Forrestburn-Paddock-June-2019
The Entry List (download the revised version here) for the August 2019 speed hill climb double-header at Forrestburn is now available to download together with the Final Instructions for the event. If you entered, please check that:

a) you are on the list
b) your details are correct – including the days that you entered for
c) you are happy with the class you are in

Please also be sure to read the Final Instructions – there are some changes from previous Finals which you have to be aware of. If necessary we will issue a revised entry list correcting any errors in a couple of days. If there are any problems please get in touch with Philip Rowlands, Secretary of the meeting – philip@mscc.org.uk

Results, as they happen on the day, will be available in the paddock through digital displays and we also hope to issue Final Results on the Saturday and Sunday evenings here (if possible).

Have a great weekend of motor sport – see you there.

Forrestburn’s Floppy Bollards and the MX-5 Trackday

Forrestburn’s Floppy Bollards and the MX-5 Trackday

forrestburn-floppy-bollards
At the forthcoming hill climb events at Forrestburn on 24-25 August, competitors will see that the Club has installed floppy bollards at some corners to limit excursions into the landscape from the track, to prevent damage to track edges and to limit soil and debris being carried onto the track by tyres.

As a previous Clerk of the Course said frequently:

The black bits are yours, the rest is mine, keep off it!

Also, in case anyone asks, no we are not re-setting hill records:

There is no need to review the records as nothing about the track has changed in any way, only the enforcement mechanisms for any who choose to leave it

All competitors are asked to walk the track prior to the event so that they are familiar with the position of the new bollards. They are also reminded that they are not skittles. Here are some images of the work party installing the bollards and the bollards themselves.
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mazda-mx-5-at-forrestburn
The MX-5 folk organised a Trackday for themselves at Forrestburn on Saturday 17 August – here are some images (note the interlopers)
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