Sebring Sprite 3000 Mk1 3000 M

2023 Speed Race Reports

Championship sponsored by Bill Rawles Classic Cars and Peter May Engineering

The 2023 championship will include 14 rounds with 9 hill climbs and 5 sprints. Scroll on down to see the race reports shown in latest first order:

Rounds 3/4 Loton Park - 13/14 May 2023

(Report by LC Branch and Pics by Jackie Baker)

The weather forecast was fortunately inaccurate as it was fine, dry and sunny most of the weekend. We had an excellent class of 17 Healeys including the 9 Sprites of Shand/Shand, Casson, Mohr, Nutland, Tewson, Gardner, Giles and Owen. The 2 Jensen Healeys of Lane and Baker, 2 100's of Ducker and Berry and the 3 3000's of Giles, Shand and Edwards. We also had two new drivers to Loton in David Nutland and Mike Mohr (Mike had in fact been before but a few years ago and not in his Sprite - pictured right). A mention must go to Murray Shand for getting his 3000 repaired in under 2 weeks so that he could be out at Loton - probably helps owning a garage.

The Saturday event was run as a scratch event - where the fastest driver wins and on the Sunday it was run as a target time event - where each driver is given a target or their previous best time and the driver who beat their target by the most wins.

Saturday morning practice went well with no mishaps. In the Sprite class it was Steve Casson out front with a best time of 63.74 from Max Shand in 64.25, Mike Mohr was next and getting the hang of the course very quickly posting a very swift 67.17, from Garrow Shand in 68.79, Rob Owen in 69.78, Phil Gardner in 70.26, Claire Giles in 71.01, John Tewson in 71.37 and David Nutland learning the track in 76.83.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, it was Paul Baker leading with a 63.75 from David Lane also in a Jensen Healey in 67.45, from Michael Berry in 68.43, Murray Shand in 69.69, John Ducker in 70.75, Ed Giles in 72.64,and Huw Edwards in 72.74.

In the Libre class, Nav Bhamra posted a 68.29.

After lunch the timed runs got underway in bright sunshine. In the Sprite class after both runs were complete, it was Max Shand who leapt to the front with a best time of 63.80 to record a pb - releasing the rear brakes - see pic above - did make a difference! However, Steve Casson was having gear shift problems and could only manage a 64.10, some way off his hill record time of last year. Mike Mohr showed he is a class act in extracting a 65.59 from his pretty Sebring Sprite given he hasn't driven at Loton for some time. The next 6 cars all finished within a second of each other, but it was David Nutland who jumped up the list from 9th after practice to take 4th with an excellent 68.62, from John Tewson in 68.70 (click here to see his run), Garrow Shand in 68.73, Phil Gardner a whisker behind in 68.75, Claire Giles in 68.81 and Rob Owen in 69.09.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, the first timed runs went off without incident but after the second timed runs two cars had problems at the same bend, namely 'Fallow' at the top of Cedar Straight. First Michael Berry's engine stopped mysteriously although he got it going again to complete his run, but a little later Ed Giles (pictured right) came into the braking area at the fastest part of the track at Fallow only to find that his brake pedal went to the floor - no brakes!! - so his car went straight on and hit the bank which launched the car into the air before coming to rest on its wheels. Ed was clearly shaken but fortunately unharmed but his car was seriously damaged, so it was loaded onto a low loader and brought back to the paddock to play no further part in the weekend.

The Big/Jensen Healey class finished their second timed runs with Paul Baker setting a new Jensen Healey record of 62.46 from David Lane who took second in 66.59 holding off a determined pb challenge from Michael Berry in 66.70. Murray Shand finished with a best time of 70.63, to be just ahead of Ed Giles's first run time of 71.31 - a personal best, John Ducker was next in 72.34 and Huw Edwards could not beat his practice time with a best of 75.26.

In the Libre class, Nav Bhamra finished with a best time of 66.24.

So the results for the Saturday scratch event was:

Sprite class: 1st Max Shand, 2nd Steve Casson, 3rd Mike Mohr, 4th David Nutland, 5th John Tewson, 6th Garrow Shand, 7th Phil Gardner, 8th Claire Giles and 9th Rob Owen.

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Paul Baker, 2nd David Lane, 3rd Michael Berry, 4th Murray Shand, 5th Ed Giles, 6th John Ducker and 7th Huw Edwards.

Libre class: 1st Nav Bhamra.

Click here to see a compilation video of the cars on the Saturday.

Claire Giles had expertly organised an excellent evening at the Old Hand and Diamond pub for the nearly 30 drivers and partners/friends.

Early the following morning a group of drivers helped get Ed Giles's 3000 onto a borrowed trailer so that Jon Giles (Ed's cousin) could drive Ed and his car to the Cameron Emporium in Farringdon for Joe Mackrell to take a look at the damage and decide on a course of action. Jon then had a return drive to Loton, hand back the borrowed trailer then collect Claire's (wife) Sprite and drive home. Jon did over 9 hours driving that day - what a superstar. Yet another example of Healeysport competitors helping one another when things go wrong - long may it continue.

On Sunday morning our second day's racing at Loton Park got underway in slightly cooler weather, even though we were in a different part of the paddock and with a new set of race numbers - I'd be surprised if that happens again!

We had the same drivers and cars less Max Shand and Ed Giles, but this round was a target time affair.

After practice in the Sprite class it was Steve Casson quickest in 63.11 from Mike Mohr in 64.49, Claire Giles in a very good 67.60, with Garrow Shand a whisker behind in 67.97, John Tewson in 68.67 ahead of his previous best, from Rob Owen on 68.71, Phil Gardner in 69.81 and a surprisingly tardy David Nutland in 73.04.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was the black Jensen Healey of Paul Baker out front in 64.35 from Michael Berry (pictured above) in 66.65 who had leap frogged David Lane in 68.18. John Ducker had a best time of 69.93 from Murray Shand in 70.50 and Huw Edwards in 71.20.

Nav Bhamra posted a best practice time of 66.70.

On to the timed runs and in the Sprite class, it was Steve Casson out front with a best time of 63,20 (click here to see his run) but with handling issues on his newly built Lenham GTO he was not getting near last year's times. Mike Mohr posted a very quick 64.20 and a pb from Claire Giles who got very close to her pb with an excellent 66.29. Garrow Shand pulled out all the stops on his last run to record a pb time of 66.98 to stay ahead of John Tewson in 67.41 (also a pb), Rob Owen in 67.76 (a pb), Phil Gardner in 67.93 and finally David Nutland in 71.75 - was his cold getting the better of him?

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, Paul Baker finished with a best time of 63.09 (click here to see his run) from Michael Berry in pb time of 66.50 but Murray Shand took over 2 secs off his previous day's time to finish with a superb pb time of 68.04 to leap ahead of David Lane in 68.07. John Ducker finished with a 69.26 and Huw Edwards in his best time of the weekend of 70.85.

In the Libre class, Nav Bhamra posted an excellent class record time of 63.91 on his last run.

As this was a Target Time event, the results were as follows:

Sprite class: 1st Garrow Shand (pictured above), 2nd Rob Owen, 3rd Mike Mohr, 4th Phil Gardner, 5th Claire Giles, 6th John Tewson, 7th Steve Casson and 8th David Nutland.

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Murray Shand (pictured right), 2nd Paul Baker, 3rd John Ducker, 4th Michael Berry, 5th David Lane and 6th Huw Edwards

Libre class: 1st Nav Bhamra

Overall, a great weekend's hill climbing at one of the top hill climb tracks in the UK in dry, sunny and warm conditions. Our next event is at Prescott for the one day Historique event for classic cars on Saturday 27 May. Be there if you can make it.

Click on the links to see the full results from this and all events this season. To see all the pictures, in-car and outside videos go to our Gallery page. If you want to see the sprint and hill climb records for each class and venue, then go to the Big Healey and Jensen Healey records and the Sprite records pages.

Want to start Sprinting and Hill Climbing?

If you own a Healey or Jensen Healey and you like what you see on this website and want to find out more then click here to take a look at our Beginners Guide. If you want to get involved, then send an email to Paul Baker our Championship Organiser at competitionsec@austinhealeyclub.com New drivers are always made very welcome.

Rounds 1/2 Anglesey - 29/30 April 2023

(Report by LC Branch and Pics by Jackie Baker)

After our last foray to Anglesey last April when the weather was not very kind we were hoping for better conditions for this wonderful and scenic track. Perched on the edge of the Irish Sea the weather can be changeable to say the least. Fortunately, we were blessed with two days of virtually dry tracks and at times sunny weather.

We had our best entry ever for Anglesey, with 9 Sprites, 6 x 3000's, 2 x 100's, 2 Jensen Healeys and a Sprite in our Libre class - giving 20 drivers in total and a third of the total entry for the event

We had a new driver to Healeysport in Carl Read in his nicely prepared Mk 2 Sprite (pictured above). This was Carl's first time out competitively in our sport yet his car had engine problems on the way to the track on Friday so we will see how it performs. Also out with us for the first time was Mike Mohr in his very well sorted Sebring Sprite (pictured below), although Mike has been competing in our sport for many years. Richard Mason's 3000 is still waiting for the engine to be completed so Richard is sharing with Trish C-P.

We also had a number of our drivers who were new to Anglesey - namely - Lawrence Maudsley, Garrow Shand, Mike Mohr and Carl Reid in the Sprites, Murray Shand (3000), David Lane (Jensen Healey) and John Ducker (100).

Dave Abram organised 2 double garages for all the cars we had to store.

As last year, we complete two laps of the National circuit per run on the Saturday followed by one lap of the International circuit per run on the Sunday. As the weather was good the organisers managed to fit in 2 practice runs and two timed runs for us, with additional runs on the Sunday if anyone wanted them. For the Championship, the Saturday was a target time event with glassware for the top three in each class and the Sunday was on scratch i.e. where the fastest driver wins.

Practice started on the Saturday morning and after two runs it was Steve Casson leading the Sprite class with a best time of 134.10 from Dave Abram in 134.93, then John Tewson (now an Anglesey resident and pictured below) in 136.85, Garrow Shand in 144.06, Richard Salisbury in 144.99, Mike Mohr in 151.38, Rob Owen in 152.03, Lawrence Maudsley did a 154.70 in his freshly resprayed Sprite and Carl Reid in 192.31. Unfortunately Carl's Sprite had an engine problem that could not be fixed easily in the paddock so Carl decided to retire the car and head back home.

In the Big Healey/Jensen Healey class, it was Pete Walton in his 3000 that lead the pack with an opening time of 34.19 which would have broken the existing track record for a 3000 if it was not practice. Paul Baker was next in his Jensen Healey and recorded a best time of 138.28, then Michael Berry in his 100 in 140.81, Richard Mason in 141.87, Murray Shand in 142.07, closely followed by John Ducker in 142.12, John Richards in 143.84, Dave Lane in 146.70, Trish C-P in 151.05 and Huw Edwards in 160.56.

Nav Bhamra is the sole entrant in the Libre class and he recorded a very quick 138.05.

The timed runs got underway and in the Sprite class Steve Casson was showing what his new Lenham GTO bodied Sprite could do - well he broke the class record with a stunning 133.21 - so the new car is quicker than his old one - good news for all the other Sprite drivers!! See Steve's run here. Dave Abram posted a 135.10, John Tewson 136.90 and a pb, Lawrence Maudsley knocked over 10 seconds off his best practice time to record a 144.58, Richard Salisbury produced a pb time of 145.28, Mike Mohr finished with a best of 147.66 and Rob Owen in 153.48.

Just before the Healeysport classes went out for their final run of the day, the sea mist rolled in over the track reducing visibility, particularly at the end of the Tom Pryce Straight into the tight hairpin. As a result the second timed runs for most drivers were slower.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class it was Pete Walton who ended up quickest with a best time of 135.13 ahead of Paul Baker in 136.91 (a new Jensen Healey record), then Michael Berry (pictured right) in 140.32 (a new Healey 100 record), Richard Mason in 141.65, John Richards moved up the listing with a 142.28, Murray Shand finished with an excellent 143.02, David Lane posted a 146.47, then three drivers very close together - Huw Edwards in 154.04, John Ducker in 154.63 and Trish C-P in 154.74.

As this was a target time event, the results were as follows:

Sprite Class: 1st Lawrence Maudsley (pictured right receiving award from his partner Lorraine), 2nd Steve Casson, 3rd Garrow Shand, 4th Dave Abram, 5th John Tewson, 6th Richard Salisbury, 7th Mike Mohr, 8th Rob Owen and 9th Carl Reid

Big/Jensen Healey Class: 1st Paul Baker, 2nd Pete Walton, 3rd Michael Berry, 4th Richard Mason, 5th Murray Shand, 6th John Richards, 7th Dave Lane, 8th Huw Edwards, 9th Trish C-P 10th John Ducker

Libre Class: 1st Nav Bhamra

We had heavy rain overnight but the brisk breeze dried the track quite quickly. The first practice run on Sunday morning was in damp conditions but a dry line appeared for the second practice followed by a dry track for the timed runs.

After both practice runs in the Sprite class, it was Dave Abram out front with a best time of 111.31, Steve Casson was next in 15.86, then John Tewson in 118.39 with Lawrence Maudsley just behind him in 118.79 and Mike Mohr next in 119.09. Garrow Shand was next in 125.78 then Rob Owen in 127.46 and finally Richard Salisbury (pictured below) who recorded a 134.74 on his first run and failed to record a time for his second run.

A few more problems appeared with our old cars on the Sunday. Richard Salisbury's starter motor packed up and so we had to resort to bump or tow starts and Dave Abram's Sprite completed both practice runs then got stuck in first gear again - this happened at Goodwood last year, so Dave accepted a dual drive with Nav Bhamra in the orange Sprite.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class it was all very close for the top 5 cars, however, it was Will Richards who led the class with a best time of 114.90 from Pete Walton in 115.13, Richard Mason in 115.17, Michael Berry in 115.46 and Paul Baker in 115.79. Trish C-P was next in 123.30 from John Ducker in 123.39 and Huw Edwards in 125.52, then Murray Shand posted a 133.78 on his first run and on his 2nd run went too fast into Rocket and hit the barriers next to the marshal's post. The car sustained some significant damage, so Murray's event was over. Last up was Dave Lane who recorded 139.25 on his first run decided to change his tyres for a new set and had some wheel nuts come loose on the front left and had to pull off the track.

On to the timed runs and in the Sprite class it was Steve Casson (pictured below) who produced a personal best time of 109.46 to lead from John Tewson also with a pb of 111.01, then an excellent run of 114.39 by Mike Mohr pulled him up to third place, ahead of Garrow Shand who leapt up the leader board with a 115.53, from Lawrence Maudsley with an excellent 116.99, from Rob Owen in 121.03 and a 122.03 from Richard Salisbury. Dave Abram co-drove with Nav Bhamra in the Orange Libre Classed Sprite and recorded a best of 119.22.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class all the cars went much quicker than practice with the top five cars were still very close after the final two runs but the order changed with Paul Baker leaping to the front with a new class record time of 107.89 (click here to see Paul's run) beating Will Richards into 2nd place with a pb time of 108.60. Pete Walton was a whisker behind in 108.94 (also a pb) with Michael Berry posting a new 100 record time of 110.60 and Richard Mason finishing with a best of 111.74 - an excellent result given that he was not in his usual car (click here to see Richard's run) . David Lane knocked 23 seconds off his practice time to finish with a very creditable 116.79 showing those new tyres did make a big difference once bolted on securely. Trish C-P recorded a personal best time of 120.18 (see her run here) from John Ducker in 123.26 and Huw Edwards in 124.02.

Click here to see a compilation video of most of the cars on the Sunday.

As this was a scratch event the results were as follows:

Sprite Class: 1st Steve Casson, 2nd John Tewson, 3rd Mike Mohr, 4th Garrow Shand, 5th Lawrence Maudsley, 6th Rob Owen, 7th Richard Salisbury and 8th Dave Abram.

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Paul Baker (pictured right), 2nd Will Richards, 3rd Pete Walton, 4th Michael Berry, 5th Richard Mason, 6th David Lane, 7th Trish C-P, 8th John Ducker, 9th Huw Edwards, 10th Murray Shand

Libre Class: 1st Nav Bhamra

What a fabulous event with great weather, a tremendous group of drivers and an overall super weekend. A big thank you must also go to Marius for collecting the times, organising the garage space and generally helping anyone who needed a hand with a ready smile over the weekend and for Jackie Baker and Vicki Walton for taking the photos.

Our next event is our first hill climb of the year at the excellent Loton Park near Shrewsbury on 13/14 May. We have over 20 drivers entered, so looks to be a great weekend's hill climbing at this prestigious venue.