After a rather overcast and damp start to the day the sun broke through and with a few hours the sun had burned off any remaining dampness. The weather in the afternoon, meant times falling and busy batches.

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By 0900 the paddock was busy and by ten almost everyone had been signed on. With the marshalls, rescue, timekeepers and officials all in place the hill was opened. Early drivers were rightly cautious with the new surface at Karousel and the damp track. It wasn’t long before the course dried and times started to fall.

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The morning session gave opportunities for the new car / driver combinations, new drivers and some regulars to re-establish their knowledge of the hill.

The ladies were out in force, Sarah Fudge left the family Subaru at home and drove a beautifully presented Honda Civic Type R, Jennifer Strangle in the Audi TT, Babs Lubbrook’s red Honda S2000 GT and Hannah Stapley and Stephanie Limb in a misbehaving Datsun 240Z.

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The fastest time of the morning was Adam Steel in his Martlet AS1, who was spectacular particularly at the top of Karousel, with a 32.63s followed by Peter Marsh in the DJ Firehawk.

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By the afternoon, the hill was drying and the drivers / car combinations were starting to come together. Times started to fall as confidence grew.

Adam and Andy Greenen returned with a “new” silver Honda Civic Type R. The new Mazda MX5 class brought some new cars and faces who’ll be back in April. There will be more about that in the April preview.

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The Porsche 997 Cup of Tim Painter and Andrew Fraser put in some good times. Although this may be the last outing for the car as they have entered something different in the April meetings.

Babs Lubbrook’s red Honda S2000 GT saw off Sarah Fudge in the Honda Civic Type R. But Jennifer Strangle in the Audi TT was the fastest lady. The Stapley / Limb Datsun 240Z finally decided to behave, with Stephanie beating Hannah by just 0.34..

Fastest time of the afternoon, and the day, was Simon Marsh at 30.45, officially. Although it was suggested that someone may have forgotten to switch the numbers over! Peter recorded a 31.08.. Adam Steel improved his time and was third fastest.

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Now testing is over, it’s competition time. See you all in April.

Ben Stapley, Gurston’s Chairman, was very happy after an extremely busy day and “thanked the drivers for leaving the newly seeded grass at Karousel intact”… We should also mention those who came over on Saturday to complete the hill set-up.

We would like to thank everyone who made the day possible, particularly Linzi, Barbs and Rachel for their help in the office, the marshalls, timekeepers, scrutineers and officials without whom we couldn’t run the meeting. Thanks to Ashley Wood Recovery, who had a busy day dealing with relatively minor breakdowns, TSL Timing for providing the timing, Insight Medical Services for the rescue crews and Peter Curtcher of Ringwood PA.

Anthony Record – Gurston Down Press Officer – BARC SW