Mere Brow '97 Race Report

The track is a difficult combination of a long fast water strait behind an island then a big jump across a causeway into another tiny pond with an impossibly narrow exit through trees and bushes (The Funnel) turning left onto the finishing straight. Important to remember that the pit lane straddles the finish line going in the opposite direction- so that pitting during a race may loose a lap already raced. The course runs anticlockwise which is unusual.

I crashed heavily here last year - hitting the bank sideways at the entrance to the causeway jump and was thrown from the craft.

Practise was uneventful except that on the entrance to the first corner there were some quite bad bumps which cause the craft to rock sideways - the rolling action was made worse by a cross wind. First time around I had the craft virtually on its side! before finding a better line through the bend.

Race 1
	The weather on Saturday was quite good with the wind moderate on the lake and not causing me grief. Those craft running less lift or very light hulls (Pythons mainly) were having some minor handling problems. The front row of the grid was Stephen in pole position then Woody, Luke then me. We all got good starts and at the first corner (90 degrees left) I was behind Stephen. That really was the running order for this race with us running down through the trees to the water transition and the long sweep left around an island back to land at the causeway.
	The jump over the causeway was huge - at least three feet drop onto the water with the craft landing with a crunch if the balance during flight not exactly right. Since the Eagle hull I use has more lift than most, hull damage didn't occur. Stephen and Luke both had floor problems. The photo left shows me mid jump with an altitude of 2 feet plus under the craft with Woody chasing hard. Speed at this point is about 35-40 MPH I guess. Immediately after landing we have to slow down for a tight left (remember we have no brakes so this proves difficult).
This is what you see from the cockpit - the water to the right of the picture is a puddle (photo taken early Monday) the pond is not really visible at all, completely hidden from view as is any craft stalled on the pond. You have to have complete trust in the Race Marshals signals when driving through this blind jump and transition. The fencing running across the picture is the catch netting which slows the craft without much damage. The net supports are held in place by hefty wood posts which demolish a craft very easily. The tower to the right is used by the commentator. The race finished Stephen first, me and then Woody.
Race 2
	Between races Woody reset the fan blades and found a lot more power. He beat me to the first corner trailing Stephen. I really couldn't get close to either of them but picked up second place when Stephen slowed with engine problems. The photo opposite was taken of me just after landing from the causeway jump. Race finished order Woody, me then Stephen.
Luke had massive problems when he ploughed in and sank. The internal buoyancy aids just kept the craft at the surface of the lake although virtually submerged. The front underside and floor section had ripped away during the plough in which put paid to further racing with the Python Kawasaki for the weekend. He still has last years craft (Eagle Rotax) in the family - now being raced by his Mother!! - which he used to race in the remaining events (which picked up steady points). The white stuff in the photo is the polystyrene used as buoyancy
Race 3
	I won this race. First race win ever. Preparing for the race we had a panic when we came to start the engine only to find that the pull starter had self destructed internally and wouldn't turn the engine over. Dad and a few friends pulled together to do a very fast conversion to rope starting ! I was just about in front to the first corner but Stephen ducked up the inside and slammed the door. I came off the power and and thought that I missed him but after the race some of his crafts paintwork was on the front of mine! My craft is not as fast on top speed as Stephens or Woody's but has got very good acceleration and in bad weather conditions is more forgiving to drive with less tendency to plough in (Dad, Eagle and I worked hard on this) so when the wind got up across the lake I had the better racing package and overtook Stephen and Woody when they ploughed in. (I did not have one single plough in all weekend - most other light weight or low lift craft did, no matter what the formula) Photo left kindly e-mailed to me from Roy Webster who was a soggy spectator - Thanks Roy are you going to take shots at Stanford?! Shot is (I think) of the approach to the causeway with me overtaking Luke in the "T" craft

Race 4

The weather had deteriorated to such an extent that the high cross wind pushes you towards the steep and unforgiving bank at the approach to the causeway. The racing was hard with Stephen, Woody and me very close on the first corner, almost in contact with each other. We stayed like this until Woody ploughed in, infront of me and managed to regain control as I passed and from hereon in we were literally side by side. This race proved to have many obstacles, such as crashed craft. This made racing more interesting and competitive. But, Woody got the edge on me by about 10metres over the chequered line. This placed me third, Stephen first and Woody Second.

The wind was so bad that Simon was spun out into the trees on the fairly straight run down to the first transition - the photo shows him inspecting the landing point!

This placed Woody and I in joint first with Stephen third because he was having problems.

Practise, Monday. The weather was absolutely terrible with "stair rods" falling from above. The wind was not as strong as the day before but was in a very tricky direction. Morale was low with only a handful of drivers in all formulas risking practise. I was one and found driving very tricky because approaching the water drop you needed to be slowing down and the wind was pushing you along which made most craft plough but me, with lots of lift, didn't and found it hard to slow down because of the tail wind. Then I approached the water drop and flew of it and felt the wind trying to push the nose of the craft into the water. Also by the third day the "funnel" surface had been affected by all of the driving and had a steady slant into the catch netting, so full throttle was needed to prevent from being sucked in. I did three laps like this and came in not looking forward to racing.

Only one race took place on the Monday and it was not our formula. (Luckily!). Many craft had crashed and the Marshals were dripping wet - even their radios had gone down. A Drivers Briefing was called and a hand count was held as to how many wanted to continue racing - not a single hand was raised. Racing was cancelled for the second time in Hovercrafting History. So results were based upon the two day racing. Woody and I finished joint first with Stephen third and Simon Oakley fourth and Luke, who had had severe bad luck throughout the weekend, fifth.

For the rest of the day all drivers helped to dismantle the course before prizegiving.