Where was Everybody?

Sunday June 5 was a much better day than the weatherman promised. We expected rain and it even stayed pretty cloudy at first but turned out to be a perfect day to drive your British car. This particular Sunday was scheduled to be the Austin Healy Club autocross at Cantera Warrenville. This usually falls on the Memorial Day Sunday but most of the Healyites were in Champaign last weekend. Having missed the previous events our club organized including the Spring Tour and the Chicken Rally, I couldn’t stay away. Fearing the inclement and authentic British liquid humidity the weatherman predicted, I kept the hardtop on Old Bumble hoping no one would recognize us.

When we (Bumble and I) arrived at Cantera at precisely 9:00 a.m. the course had been all set up and there were a gaggle of cars all parked right smart in a row. I saw a BMW Mini Cooper, a VW Golf 24R, a Scion Tci before the Healy’s. Didn’t I read on our web page only British cars older than 1980? Sure I did. Well, you know me, I put up a little squeak about it, but they just said they’d take anybody’s money. I shoulda called Wilbur to bring out his/her Mini.

The rest of the cars were Healy’s. For the most part the big red roadsters. One or two Sprites as usual too. One even had a hardtop. My car’s buddy. I went up to register and I was driver number 11. For the strangest reason I felt our club didn’t care about this event. Then our illustrious Secretary, Doug Carlson, drove up in some red MG TF he must have stolen, and gave me the encouragement I needed. The day even brightened more when Russ Mehaffey and his son Steve drove in Amy’s little white A. Together the three of us could mop the field. Until this white and red racy looking Caterham putted in and I knew my goose could be deep fried. I then asked Russ to help me get my hard top off.

Most autocrosses are not spectator events. This one certainly was. Watching Doug in that red MG TF cruise around was delightful. It was like slow motion. Matter of fact it WAS slow motion. I didn’t write down any times but his grace was only surpassed by the sand of the hour glass. Or the falling of the leaves. On one run he knocked down a cone only to look back from the cockpit to watch if fall as he motored through the next gate. Oh how I wish I had it on video. So graceful. Overall the course was small and tricky. We each got five timed runs. Times were in the 32 second area for me. 34 for the big Healys. 33 for the Sprites. At first the Caterham did a :40 and I wondered if he didn’t have a car beyond his means, but by his third run he was much quicker than anyone else. He eventually broke 30. I sure never did. But he had race tires and didn’t know any better. Russ and Steve each drove the A and I think Russ got the better of his son. That’s the way it’s supposed to be of course. They were also a pretty sight on such a delightful day and the MGA sounded marvelous. And by the way, the boys in the import Tuner cars did pretty much in the 33 and 34s and were pretty clean kids. We didn’t intimidate them and they couldn’t humiliate us either. They had a lot of fun. They stayed for the awards at the Red Robin. They ordered water.

Sorry I don’t have all the times for a complete report. I didn’t even know I’d write this until my conscience got the best of me. I woulda taken more pictures had I thought. The Healy Club thanked us all for turning out. I mentioned our clubs next autocross there is coming soon and invited them boys out for anuther whuppin’. Yeh Ah did! Think they’ll come? Naw! -