After a very hot Saturday, the Sunday for the Round 1 MSCA Supersprint at Mallala dawned cool with a couple of showers, which was relief for the drivers, organisers and the officials that the Sprite Club had to supply to assist with the running of the event.

With 81 entries there was a good field of cars, from race bred vehicles to road registered cars. The Sprite Club has five entries with the Super Sprite of Dean King, Lee Kernich in the Tiger Clubman, Pat Miller in the Waler Clubman – after a few years in the shed, David Tye in the Lotus Elan and Andrew Wald sharing his Hyundai Excel with Robert Searle. Andrew Box from the Austin Healey Owners Club added to the Healey connection with his Dodge Special.

Dean and Turbo Rotary Super Sprite was quick out of the blocks, though there were a few slower laps (and one spin) as wider front tyres added to the turn in and cornering ability of the Sprite. Mixing with the Porsche GT3 the Sprite almost topped the time sheets with a 1:14:9666 lap

Consistent Lee Kernich and the Tiger Clubman picked up where it left off last year lapping quickly throughout the day. Have some dices with Jason Armstrong’s Mini Cooper S made a great spectacle of old vs new (vehicles! – not the drivers!) Lee set a 1:23:8105 lap during the last round of the day.

Competition Secretary Pat Miller dusted off the Waler Clubman after a few years and lapped faultlessly through the various rounds. Have a few good tussles with similar speed vehicles allowed under Super Sprint rules provided Pat with a few smiles during the day. Pat put the Waler back on the trailer after posting a good lap of 1:26:0512.

David Tye has the Lotus Elan lapping in the 1:27:5639 during the day, often leading a pack of differing vehicles with each round. The Lotus sounded and looked good on the track, showing it’s Colin Chapman engineering at its best.

Andrew Wald kept the Hyundai on the black stuff all day, sharing the car with Robert Searle. I know one (or two) of them did have a spin at Turn 2, but the car number made it hard to determine who was trying that bit more! Andrew set a 1:41:7908 – while Robert did the unspeakable and set a faster time of 1:38:0091, showing the reliability and fun that can be had in one of these vehicles.

Andrew Box in the classic left hand drive Dodge Special lapped very well, showing a surprising amount of grip in the Turn 1 & 2 complex. Andrew went on to set a 1:32:0093 lap.

Thanks the MSCA and the Organising Committee, and our own Sue Stephenson for the important timing duties during the day.

The next event is the Peter Hall 6-Hour Relay Sprint on the 4th May, with the Round 2 event back at Mallala Circuit on the 22nd June – so mark your diaries and get your backside trackside!

PS: Allow the videos to download so they play smoothly without buffering.