Once again the weather gods were on our side for last Sunday’s meeting and we were pleased to be able to put on another Sunny North Shropshire (DRY) meeting, how fortunate we are this year, it’s been horrible in Whitchurch today  As with the rest of the country the ground is rock hard, the track was watered on Saturday and Sunday before the racing started, however, Dust was inevitable and I am sure that unfortuntely it spoilt a few people’s day, Martin tried his best on the water bowser but the Dust just wasn’t behaving yesterday.

The turn out was quite good considering it was a pre-BAS weekend and we are now so close to the nationals for alot of drivers, the meeting gave the opportunity for the drivers going to the nationals to be “pre-nationals scrutineered” and to collect their nationals information packs. Don’t forget if you have not been pre-nationals scrutineered or received your nationals information pack you need to get in touch with Ernie Ashley on 01948 663415 as soon as possible. 

I think only class 4, 5 and 10 were thin on the ground but apart from that nice full grids, we had alot of away drivers coming from Leewood, North Wales, BC and York, thanks to you all for travelling to North Shropshire and I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Once Me & Jacko had arrived at the track I did a stint in the signing on van and once it had quietened off I asked Pat for permission to leave so that I could take some pre-race photographs… soon after asking I sneaked away and got chance to wander the pits with my trusty Kodak, take a look at the gallery section to see if you were caught on camera, someone somewhere will have been missed I’m certain of that, but have patience I will be trying to do more photos next meeting on the 15th August 

After the drivers meeting racing got underway soon after 11.30am, overall the meeting ran pretty smoothly with the unavoidable delays for track watering, we had a couple of roll overs later on in the day and Ernie the Chairman decided to test his own personal section of Armco out (Again… ) this was in his first race, looking on the bright side due to the damage Ernie did to his car meant that we gained a full time marshall for the rest of the meeting

The highlights of the day for Jacko was he noticed Tom Chadwick was driving very well~up until his last race when he unfortunately ended up in an incident which was probably dust related, for me Driver Style of the day goes to BC18 Lady Junior Special Driver who had a very nice style of driving and I am sure you are a future champion. Class 1 and 2 seemed to be going very fast yesterday, the track conditions must of suited you, some drivers were saying the track was perfect others said it was cutting up, just goes to show how you get differing opinions from different classes/drivers. We do want to get some more work done to the start line as grids 1 & 3 seem to be suffering quite abit, we are hoping this work can be done before the next meeting on the 15th August. The last Juniors race was very entertaining and the top 5 or 6 cars were all equally challenging for 1st position, unfortunately it didnt quite end without a casualty with NS999 Raife Mcdonald coming off the worst. Never mind, there’s always next meeting. Geoff Berrisford provided some entertainment to those watching by the start line by wheeling off the hump up the start straight, if we ever did Santa Pod style drag racing it would be VERY entertaining please Ernie let us

I think the Most Pleased Award should go to Maurice Powell NS44 who seemed to be having a great day, even if he did try to use his lady’s undergarments as a balaclava I don’t know who substituted the balaclava but it will make us all smile whenever we see him from now on He also discovered that he had no tape in his roll offs, which is bad when your in class 9 Other problems of the day were Ian Roberts NS225 came to the line when he noticed his fuel pump was noisy and then he remembered in time that there was no fuel in his car, so he dashed off to refuel, we held the race for him as we would do for anyone as its just for fun at the end of the day. Gary Merton NS119 managed to pop a driveshaft on the start line and Ernie Ashley NS143 also left part of his break disc on the start, he thinks that contributed to his mishap on the top bend, we’ll never know for certain  I do collect all “treasure” found on the start, I am planning to take a photo at the end of the season just so you can see how many important bits & bobs get left behind in the dust & fume cloud !

We had a few first timers out on the track on Sunday, NS95 Tom Henry made his debut in his Junior Mini Saloon and Rebecca Millington had a go in NS92 on a Ladies class one day licence, you both did well and I hope you come back next meeting for more of the same. NS218 William Spencer Logan has now switched from Junior Mini Saloon to Junior Specials and I must admit he seemed quite at home. All the juniors whether it be saloons or specials always give it their all and Sunday’s racing was no exception, keep it up

On behalf of the North Shropshire Committee I would like to thank everyone that helped to get the track set up in readiness for Sundays meeting, your help is appreciated, without you all the meetings could not take place. I would also like to thank everyone that helped out in some way on Sunday, remember our next meeting is probably going to be the biggest meeting of the year for North Shropshire, so if you can help in anyway either leading up to the meeting on the day (15th August) please volunteer, we will need you

Anyone taking note will of noticed that me & Jacko have kept to our swopped jobs, Jacko doesn’t mind starting the races, whereas I prefer his job, so for now thats how it will stay hopefully. Special thanks goes to Alison Spencer who volunteered to help Pat with the lap scoring in the 1st half of the meeting, with Keith & Jenny Lenton helping in the 2nd half, we really do need to get this position filled by a permanent person, if you are a little bit interested but are unsure on whats involved please just give Pat a call on 01948 663415 and she will be more than willing to explain the job, you can be male or female and as said previously no qualifications are necessary, just a willingness to help is required. I know I keep going on about this job but I am sure there is someone out there thats just itching to get involved

Finally I would just like to add that these comments are my own and not necessarily the comments of the North Shropshire Committee, if you have any highlights of this or any other race meeting and you want them to be included just get in touch with me @ startlinem@talktalk.net

Thats all for now folks, see you on the 15th August, I cant wait, them F600′s sound just perfect on the line Emily.

SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Sunday 11th July 2010 Race Meeting.", url: "http://www.northshropshireautograss.co.uk/?p=626" });

I posted on the yorkshire dales forum in the week leading up to Sundays meeting advertising the meeting as “Scorcher @ North Shropshire This Sunday“. I think we can all agree that it was a Scorcher ! I don’t know who was the busiest the Ice Cream man or the Water Bowser What a change to last years weather !! and doesnt it make all the difference when the sun shines.

A downside to the meeting was that we still havent got a permanent lap scorer.. we cannot start the meeting until someone volunteers so if you are reading this and want to get involved please call Pat to discuss the job, its a vital part of the race meeting and we need someone to fill this position permanently. Fortunately volunteers came forward at the drivers meeting and the job was covered but this is not the ideal situation to be in. If you know someone who could do it please tell them to volunteer. Thanks

Compared to the qualifying rounds there was not as many cars in attendance, but this is to be expected nowadays. This didnt affect the racing in anyway and lots of battles were happening in all classes. Well done to all drivers from the league and visiting drivers for making the effort in the searing temperatures to come and race!

Some of you may of noticed that me & Jacko swopped jobs for the day, am I allowed to say that I didnt enjoy the last race meeting too late as I already have anyway Jacko suggested we swop jobs for this meeting and we did, and I enjoyed it much better.. Jacko seemed to get abit stressed at times doing the start button but he kept everyone under control on the start I think, the first aiders suggested to me that he should have some Green Tea at the interval I enjoyed myself anyway

The meeting ran very smoothly with a few delays but nothing major, we did have a few incidents out on the track where the ambulance was in attendance, but fortunately it was not required.

Highlights of the day from the startline was definately the class Eights. Full Grids and Total Committment from all drivers ~ Top Marks and of course the ever popular Junior classes, both saloons and specials were closely fought for, so closely fought were the races that you all seemed to be getting lots of re-runs in and we hope you enjoyed the extra racing you all got

Seeing Ben Gould in his class 6 against the class 3′s was interesting to watch , there were a 5 day licenses out on the track throughout the day who gave it their all ~ I hope you all enjoyed your day, if you would like to join north shropshire please give me a call on 01948 666936 and I will send your forms out straight away

We managed to run some 6 lap open races at the end of the meeting, thanks to all drivers that stopped to participate in these races, we like to make sure you get plenty of racing in whenever we have the opportunity.

No photographs I am afraid as I have a Frozen Shoulder, hopefully will be better for our next race meeting 11th July (better had be ) and I will take some photos then.

Thanks to everyone that helped out getting the meeting set up, PA System, Ropes, Rubbish Bags, Rolling the Track, Watering the Track, Putting Signs out, Gate Duty, Scrutineering and Signing On. Thanks to everyone that helped out runnning the meeting, Lap Scorers, Grid Positions, Marshalling, First Aiders, Picking up Rubbish etc… if I’ve missed any jobs out sorry, but thanks to everyone who helped, no matter how small something is if you helped out in some way then its very much appreciated by all of the committee. 

The write up of the racing is very much my own personal opinion, if you have a story to tell about todays race meeting or if you have a highlight of the meeting that you would like to be added onto the website please email me @ startlinem@talktalk.net

SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Sunday 23rd May Race Meeting.", url: "http://www.northshropshireautograss.co.uk/?p=562" });

I’m sure everyone was watching the weather with interest the week before the meeting, all this volcanic activity seems to be affecting our great british spring weather, cold ~ wet ~ sunny ~ cold ~ windy… so a mixed bag in the weather in the preceeding week. Sunday was lovely and sunny, no rain & a brisk breeze to blow the dust away…. Apparently where Jacko was standing was “tropical” I can say that where I was stood was similar to the end of a wind tunnel and I was completely frozen all day… but hey ho, at least it was dry.

Firstly, on behalf of the NS Committee I would like to express our thanks & gratitude to everyone that volunteered to help run the meeting, has to be said that Ernie had to get tough to get the help in some areas, but it worked and the meeting ran much better than the 1st one of the year, so thanks to you all for your help with gate duties, scrutineering, signing on, lap scoring, towing vehicles, rubbish collecting, setting up ropes, first aiding and last but by no means least “the marshalling”.

Anyway you know who you are !

***** Thanks *****

The day started by Ernie gathering all NS members together to discuss the plan for covering marshalling for the day.  Once that was sorted racing could get underway,  as this was the last qualifing round for the shropshire league the day ran relatively smoothly without too many re-runs or major incidents.

Highlights of the day for me were: the class 10′s were awesome, Class 3′s & 7′s impressive as always and seeing the panic in Ernies eyes when he realised the 3′s were on the startline without him was entertaining !! as if we’d start without you ! Class 4 seems to be abit short on numbers this season, however with only 2 cars in the races Mike and Steve still fought each other hard.

Thats about all for now, no pictures from todays racing but if the sun shines in 2 weeks you can be sure I will make the effort !

Don’t forget, if you are reading this and do not know how to get involved with helping run the meetings just get in touch with anyone on the committee page, we are always in need of willing volunteers, if you are interested in motorsport this is a good opportunity to get close to some Local Action !!

Bye for now. Em.

SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Race Meeting Sunday 9th May 2010.", url: "http://www.northshropshireautograss.co.uk/?p=539" });

After the wet build up to our first race meeting I expect most N.S members were getting abit twitchy about how the weather was going to be for our Qualifier… especially with STAR having no alternative but to sadly cancel their qualifier. As you are probably aware the scenic location of the NS track is not suited to wet conditions leading up to the meeting specifically for getting people off the field once racing has finished. Well… fortunately the weather gods were on our side for once, after last year it was with huge relief that the day was perfect. Sunny, Warm and the Wind blowing in the right direction (most of the time!) we couldnt of asked for a better day

Ernie and his team had been busy in the weeks leading up to the meeting, I think it was mainly Ernie & Pusher who we have to thank for the new double armco section (mind you it was Ernie who tested it last year   Apart from a marshal post being dinked the track survived the meeting without any major damage, which is always good.

We did have a delay due to an incident that needed Ambulance attendance in the spectators area, I am sure that everyone wishes Ian a speedy recovery.  We also had an unfortunate problem with Diesel for the tractor (in that it ran out of diesel … oops) and I think the major problem was with NS members not preparing to volunteer for marshalling this is not really very good as the meeting dragged on till nearly 7pm. Mostly my own opinion but I did find it hard to believe that with the meeting obviously running behind schedule I think only 2 NS members came forward to marshall.

I hope that NS members understand that we are all volunteers and we give up our time to run (hopefully) a good race meeting for you. We are not paid. Yes it is our choice to give up our time, but when an appeal is put out on the speakers for marshalls, with the racing stopped until people come forward and to only get 2 NS members I think it is beyond belief and is taking the mick abit… we normally put up with minimal help at normal meetings but Sundays meeting was hopefully an exceptional set of circumstances which snowballed into major delays that hopefully wont get repeated at our next meeting.

Anyway… thats my moan over with. Please help if we ask, we only ask because we need it.

The highlights of the day for me were Ernie Ashley NS143 (chairman) winning the 1st Class 3 race, we knew you could do it Ernie Well Done.

Then Derick James SR3 won the next class 3 race, well fought for as it was a full grid, deserved & very entertaining!

NS123 Rian Rowland showed some good racing spirit after having a heavy shunt yet still coming back out to race afterwards.  

NS83 Gareth Williams was absolutely flying off the start, I honestly felt like I was working on an aircraft carrier out at Sea when his Class 5 started off the Grid right next to me ..

We had quite a few cars doing controlled wheelies off the start line, particularly grid number 1 seemed the best grid for lifting front ends, must of the been the grip in that grid on the day? We think the post in the ground on the start line worked okay and as the starting bungee has been lowered for this year we hope everyone will see it better.

Special thanks goes to Lyndon Williams for some excellent flag waving on the bottom marshalls post.  I hope helping out made up for not racing?

Most races had full grids and on behalf of the committee I would like to thank all of the away drivers that made the effort to travel to NS, apart from the unfortunate delays we hope you enjoyed your visit and you will return in the future. I would also like to thank everyone that DID help in some way on Sunday, whether it was before the meeting started, during the meeting or afterwards it was appreciated.  Our next meeting is on Sunday 9th May, if you are reading this and would like to get involved with helping to run the meeting please just get in touch with any of the committee. You are Very Welcome to join us!

The club points will be updated as soon as possible once they are available.  Thats all for now Folks !

SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Sunday 11th April 2010 Meeting.", url: "http://www.northshropshireautograss.co.uk/?p=482" });

Already the last race meeting at North Shropshire has been & gone, its been a difficult year with the weather being against us for 2 meetings, so its no wonder the year seems to have gone quickly.

We had a dry meeting yesterday, a very good turn out which was a good way to end the year. The racing started on time and we had plenty of fast and very close racing which is always interesting for the spectators! Class 2′s, 3 and 7′s put on a good show and the Juniors were as eager as ever!  The club points from the days racing will be updated as soon as they are available.

Our chairman Ernie provided some entertainment when he got “dusted out” in his 2nd race and ended up checking the strength of the armco posts. Luckily he wasnt badly hurt and came back out racing later in the day. The Dads got a chance to race the Junior Specials which was good to see and the club marshalls race was also run.

A nice surprise was seeing some old faces, Mark & Shirley Lawrence, Tizzer and Dave Evans (obviously I dont mean that you’ve aged at all! but it must be 7+ years since we have seen you)… anyway it was nice to see you all there and we hope you enjoyed your return visit to North Shropshire and we hope to see you again next year

Martin had made a new start line for us, so now instead of pulling the bungee and ducking for cover when it gets cut we have a very efficient upwardly shooting start, which to re-set only takes one short pull with one finger! I must admit that in the past it has took me until about Thursday the following week to recover from pulling the bungee, this morning when I got up I couldnt tell I had done the start line, apart from the dodgy ankle of course!   its funny how you get used to doing a job a certain way, my foot kept trying to start the races and anyone watching may have noticed me going to the wrong start post a few times ! I hope the drivers liked the new start set up, we know one or two struggled to see the rope and this is something that will be discussed at the next committee meeting and we do have more plans for the start line next year as we struggle with the start grid wearing. 

So thats it for 2009. Track work is planned for the closed season, if you would like to get involved please tell Ernie so that he can let you know what is planned.  Keep your eye on the website as the dates for next year, the Club AGM and League AGM dates are still to be announced. Your vote does count at the AGM’S so we always recommend that you attend, its your way to try to make sure your opinions are listened to, plus if you fancy joining the committee its your opportunity to be voted on

Thanks to everyone that helped out this year, whether it was picking up litter, rolling up ropes or marshalling all day, no matter how large or small the job your help is appreciated by the committee.

See you at the Dinner Dance

SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Sunday 27th September.", url: "http://www.northshropshireautograss.co.uk/?p=312" });

Well we finally had abit of weather on our side, with not racing since May at North Shropshire it was nice to get back to Hinton Hall. There was quite a good turn out and plenty of close racing, we had a shower in the afternoon which kept the dust down and the track was in prime condition.

From the start line we can remember good racing in class 1, 2, 7 and Junior Specials. Very close and entertaining to watch, keep it up ! 

As some may know that we had some Very Keen Drivers, as such we got through about 8 bungee’s on the start line ! to keep us on our toes we also had a male driver who could’nt wait to get on the track and decided to go out with the ladies ! (mentioning no names), he ended up with a black flag just after a coneage incident on the bottom bend ! but it did make us laugh on the start line after such a tiring bungee snapping day.

It was nice that we had a visit from Autograss Review Magazine, the lady was busy taking photos throughout the day, please check out their website using the link on this website to see the pictures taken.

The club points have been updated, some of the new additions to the classes are not in the normal uniform state due to the loaned computer that I am using, as soon as Jacko gets me sorted out with another computer I will tidy them up, some classes are very close for the all important end of year trophies, which I am sure will make our last meeting of the year on 27th September very exciting ! 

Many thanks to everyone that helped out at the meeting, if you are reading this and you would like to marshall or help with the club in anyway please just call or email any of our friendly committee members.

Thanks must also go out to Panther Computers in Whitchurch & Market Drayton for the loan of this computer while ours is fixed (or scrapped !).

Results on the day were as follows:

Class One: SR295 Carl Whitfield ~ NS697 Josh Fowler.

Class Two: SR33 Pete Morgan ~ NS48 Stuart Belcher.

Class Three: NS293 Leon Dorsett ~ NS334 Ben Gould.

Class Four: NS71 Simon Lunt.

Class Five: NS76 Paul Darlington ~ SR42 Russell Cashion.

Class Six: NS434 Ben Gould ~ NS121 Ian Rogers.

Class Seven: SR2 Tommy Law ~ NS277 Alan Miles.

Class Eight: NS55 Geoff Berrisford ~ SR88 Drew Butters.

Class Nine: NS4 Johnny Williams ~ NS334 Sam Gould.

Class Ten: NS29 Mike Holroyd ~ P8EM Ian Morson.

Class Eleven: SR227 Dawn Faulkner ~ NS66 Beverley Holland.

Class Twelve: NS121 Carol Rowlands ~ NS122 Teri Rowlands.

Class Thirteen: No Entries.

Class Fourteen: NS11 Julie Thorborn.

Junior Saloons: NS19 Will Henry ~ NS206 Joe Pipe.

Junior Specials: NS151 Tom Chadwick ~ NS155 Matthew Berrisford.

Open Race : Allcomers Winner NS55 Geoff Berrisford.

Rear Wheel Open Winner : NS143 Ernie Ashley.

Front Wheel Open Winner : NS92 Darren Ikin.

Specials Open Winner : NS55 Geoff Berrisford.

Thats all folks ! any stories from this meeting for the website (either for now or future use) will be gratefully received please email them to me at: startlinem@talktalk.net

SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Sunday 23rd August Meeting.", url: "http://www.northshropshireautograss.co.uk/?p=245" });

No results available for this meeting due to the heavy rain on the Thursday & Friday leading up to the meeting on Sunday and a grim forecast for race day Sunday , unfortunately we had no choice but  to cancel this race meeting.

The track is in perfect condition and we look forward to seeing everyone at our next meeting on the 23rd August.

! Keep your Fingers Crossed for some Good Weather !

SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "19th July Results", url: "http://www.northshropshireautograss.co.uk/?p=224" });

No results available for this meeting due to the heavy rain on the Saturday and a grim forecast for race day Sunday , unfortunately we had no choice but  to cancel this race meeting.

The track is in perfect condition and we look forward to seeing everyone at our next meeting on the 19th of July.

SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "7th June Results", url: "http://www.northshropshireautograss.co.uk/?p=31" });