1970 January Whitehead Tests

HAGAN PIPS WOODSIDE

This account and photos by Esler Crawford appeared in Motorweek dated 17th January 1970.

Last Saturday the driving test “circus” moved to a completely new venue for their activities. This was the car park – three car parks in fact — at Whitehead and a very successful move this turned out to be with a large crowd of spectators watching 30 drivers in action.

Five tests carried out twice was the programme and at the end of the day most people were well pleased with Clerk-of-the-Course Alan Bridgham’s offering. The battle for the outright win was between the M.G. Midgets of Harold Hagan and Ian Woodside with the former just getting the verdict by two fifths of a second and thereby reversing the recent Omagh result on the Saturday after Christmas.

Third was Robert Woodside in a somewhat off-form Beach Buggy and even had he not clouted two pylons he would not quite have challenged the two leaders.

UNIQUE

Test one took place on a rather unique surface — loose gravel mixed with seaweed. However this appeared to cause Hagan and Ian Woodside little trouble and they shared FTD with 58.0. Robert Woodside was next with 159.0 and Ken Shields had a very good time of 60.0 with his VW1500.

Shame will not permit me to divulge the driver of the Beach Buggy who demolished most of the pylons in the “wiggle-woggle” in this test, but part of my excuse was a sticking throttle! The second test was short but very spectacular and enjoyable. Here Charlie Irwin took the honours with 30.4 followed by Robert Woodside (31.0) Ian Woodside (31.2) while Hagan fell a little behind with 32.4.

Ian further increased his advantage in test three which involved a fairly complicated series of line crossing. His time was 35.2 to Hagan’s 36.6. However Hagan pulled back 0.6 of this on test four with Charles Crawford (M.G. Midget) and Derek Boyd (VW 1500) sharing third place while Robert Woodside had a line fault.

However, the last named was back on form in test five with 33.8 while Boyd continued to show good form in 34.4 and Frank Robinson started to get the hang of Beach Buggy motoring with 35.0.

IN THE LEAD

Thus at the halfway mark Ian Woodside led the field with 201.0 but Hagan was hard on his heels with 202.8 while Robert Woodside seemed to be out of the running with 208.4.

On the restart Hagan immediately reduced the deficit by 1.4 in taking test six in 58.0 with Robert Woodside a second slower. This was the test in which Lee Lucas’s Viva decide to call it a day with transmission trouble. Billy Orr sportingly offered the loan of his identical (well almost) car and Lee finished the event in this.

It was the turn of “King” Woodside in test seven with 29.0 to Ian’s 30.0 and Frank Robinson’s 31.0. However it was test eight which cost Ian Woodside a win – he got off line slightly at the finish and had to take a second cut to avoid a pylon losing two seconds to Hagan in contrajst to being 1.4 seconds faster the first time.

In the penultimate test Hagan gained another 0.6 and Robert Woodside dropped further back with a slow time after also having to have a second go at a line.

The Ferguson brothers Mini succumbed here to a broken differential and eventually went home on the end of a tow rope. Michael Ford-Hutchinson’s Cooper S gave out with clouds of steam and although it eventually did the last test, it too was towed home.

The last test went to Charles Crawford (34.0) and Derek Boyd finished with a flourish in 34.2. Hagan had 34.8, Ian Woodside took 35.0 and young brother had his second penalty for a pylon – not his day.

The results — calculated by the hard-working Maurice Johnston – confirmed Hagan as the narrow winner. And with his clutch just about gone Harold was glad there wasn’t another test. Ian Woodside was second, Robert Woodside third, Charles Crawford fourth and Charlie Irwin just pipped his much improved brother Ken by 1.4. But perhaps the most pleased man of the day was Derek Boyd who at last got the better of his great rival Ken Shields in the VW Class.

RESULTS

1. W. H. Hagan (M.G. Midget) 403.0;
2. I. Woodside (M.G. Midget) 403.4;
3. R. J. Woodside (G.P. Beach Buggy) 414.4;
4. C. S. Crawford) (M.G. Midget) 419.4;
5. C. Irwin (BMC Cooper) 422.0 (Class winner);
6. K. Irwin (M.G. Midget) 423.4;
7. D. D. Boyd (VW 1500) 429.8 (Class winner);
8. W. K. Shields (VW 1500) 439.2;
9. J. Lyons (Wolseley Hornet) 442.8 (Semi-Expert Winner);
10. R. Mullen (BMC Cooper S) 443.8;
11. W. D. C. Grant (BMC Cooper S) 444.4;
12. F. A. Robinson (G.P Beach Buggy) 447.2;
13. A. Lucas (BMC Mini) 447.4 (Class winner);
14. J. K. McNinch (BMC Mini) 459.0.