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Following on from the previous three successful Stratos UK Motorsport Weekends in 2001, 2002, and 2003, the Stratos UK Motorsport Weekend was held at Abingdon as part of the Abingdon CARnival Weekend. The dates for this year’s event were Saturday and Sunday 12/13 June 2004.
Those of you who had been to 
either of the two previous events
knew
what to expect – a full weekend of exciting motorsport, and the company of a
hoard of Stratos enthusiasts, and although numbers were slightly down on
previous years, we were not disappointed by the quality of the turnout.
Last year, Jerry Bailey, in his Martini car, clinched the STRATOS SPRINT TROPHY, leaving all other contenders trailing in his dust, while Richard Gibbons came home victorious in the RALLY.
A series of circumstances meant that several Stratos were absent form the rally this year. David Watson's Stratos was being rebuilt following an major accident on a previous rally. Tony Aylott was out of the country on business and unable to attend. Gary Lomas' Stratos was undergoing work on the rear suspension. Andrew Deering was in the process on selling his Stratos.
This meant that Richard Gibbons was the only Stratos competing in the RALLY this year, but he did the Stratos enthusiasts proud by overcoming soaring temperatures ( a major issue if you drive a Stratos ) to successfully finish the rally in 22nd position out of 100 starters.
Sixteen Stratos attended the SPRINT on the Saturday, and many Stratos enthusiasts were there to inspect the cars and watch the Stratos taking part in the SPRINT.
Jerry Bailey had won the SPRINT for the two previous years, but several drivers were trying to take away his crown.
John Rutter was back to try again, but he was hampered by having to drive his Stratos to the event, and would therefore be competing on road tyres, whilst most of the other Stratos would be running on racing tyres.
Nico Alonzi had picked up his car only the previous evening from Chris Smith's garage, where it had been fitted by larger brakes to help his on-track performances. With no opportunity to test the brakes before the first runs, he had a steep learning curve ahead. Nico had also brought his other Stratos Replica all the way from Holland to display it.
Phil Dolby was running his car on racing slicks for the first time this year, and was hoping to see an increase in competitiveness from the stickier rubber.
Rob Sanderson had on completed the SVA test on his car a few days prior to the event, and so had little opportunity to do any testing, but he was determined to enjoy himself in the car, and push it to its limits. However, being fitted with only a 2litre engine, he was going to at a severe power disadvantage compared to the other cars which were all sporting 3litre engines.
David Watson had arranged to drive in the Hennessy Racing Evolutione Stratos, but an engine problem during a testing session meant that the car was unable to attend. An attempt to locate another drive in an alternative car (not a Stratos) was doomed to failure when the head gasket failed on the car as it was being driven to scrutineering.
In an extremely sporting gesture, Jerry Bailey offered to allow David to use Jerry's Martini Stratos, so the Stratos enthusiasts were treated to seeing the Martini car twice on each run. He was later seen with his head in his hands, mumbling under his breath, when Dave spun the car on the second run of the morning.
Everyone had an successful morning's sport, especially Rob Sanderson who put in a blistering first timed run in his 2litre car, and, after the morning session, it was once again Jerry Bailey leading the timesheets.
| No. | Driver | Vehicle | Practice 1 | Practice 2 | Timed Run 1 | Timed Run 2 | Best Time |
| 147 | Jerry Bailey | Hawk Stratos HF3000 | 57.03 | 55.58 | 54.58 | 55.47 | 54.58 |
| 147a | David Watson | Hawk Stratos HF3000 | 57.72 | 68.8 | 56.68 | 56.31 | 56.31 |
| 148 | Phillip Dolby | Transformer Stratos HF3000 | 59.99 | 59.16 | 58.19 | 58.04 | 58.04 |
| 145 | John Rutter | Hawk HF3000 Stratos | 60.83 | 59.58 | 61.03 | 59.66 | 59.66 |
| 143 | Rob Sanderson | Hawk Stratos | 66.66 | 58.55 | 64.30 | 65.37 | 64.30 |
| 144 | Domenico Alonzi | Hawk Stratos HF3000 | 63.42 | 63.91 | 63.77 | 500 | 63.77 |
The afternoon session commenced with a convoy run, where the drivers could familiarise themselves with the afternoon course, and the drama began almost immediately.
Leader Jerry Bailey, returned back to the service area with a snapped clutch cable, and, as this is a time consuming item to replace on a Stratos Replica, it appeared that both he, and David Watson who was sharing the car, could be out of the event. A sterling effort by Jerry, his service team, and many of the other Stratos enthusiasts on hand, got the cluch cable replaced, and the car mobile again, although because of the temporary nature of the repair, the car was difficult to drive due to gear selection problems.
The time taken to repair the car meant that both Jerry and Dave missed the practise runs, but were able to complete the first afternoon timed session. After these runs, an inspection of the clutch mechanism revealed more damage, and it was decided to abort the final timed runs to avoid more damage to the car.
Still more drama was to unfold, and yet again it was clutch related.
At the end of the second practice run, Nico Alonzi returned to the service area with a badly slipping clutch, and had to retire his car at that point to avoid more damage.
Phil Dolby, John Rutter, and Rob Sanderson, completed the afternoon session without drama.
Despite the gear selection problems caused by the clutch cable, Jerry Bailey managed to post fastest time for the afternoon session.
| No. | Driver | Vehicle | Practice 1 | Practice 2 | Timed Run 1 | Timed Run 2 | Best Time |
| 147 | Jerry Bailey | Hawk Stratos HF3000 | NTR | 53.56 | 49.70 | 500 | 49.70 |
| 147a | David Watson | Hawk Stratos HF3000 | NTR | NTR | 50.96 | 500 | 50.96 |
| 145 | John Rutter | Hawk HF3000 Stratos | 51.89 | 52.02 | 67.36 | 51.16 | 51.16 |
| 148 | Phillip Dolby | Transformer Stratos HF3000 | 51.74 | 51.39 | 51.23 | 51.38 | 51.23 |
| 143 | Rob Sanderson | Hawk Stratos | 59.23 | 58.86 | 55.92 | 56.88 | 55.92 |
| 144 | Domenico Alonzi | Hawk Stratos HF3000 | 58.81 | 55.66 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
So, when the times for the morning and afternoon sessions were totalled at the end of the day, it was once again Jerry Bailey at the top of the table. That's 3 years running that he has been victorious in the SPRINT - congratulations Jerry!!!
| No. | Driver | Vehicle | Morning | Afternoon | Combined Time | Position |
| 147 | Jerry Bailey | Hawk Stratos HF3000 | 49.7 | 54.58 | 104.28 | 1 |
| 147a | David Watson | Hawk Stratos HF3000 | 50.96 | 56.31 | 107.27 | 2 |
| 148 | Phillip Dolby | Transformer Stratos HF3000 | 51.23 | 58.04 | 109.27 | 3 |
| 145 | John Rutter | Hawk HF3000 Stratos | 51.16 | 59.66 | 110.82 | 4 |
| 143 | Rob Sanderson | Hawk Stratos | 55.92 | 64.3 | 120.22 | 5 |
| 144 | Domenico Alonzi | Hawk Stratos HF3000 | 500 | 63.77 | 563.77 | 6 |
Awards were presented at the Oxford Spires hotel, and we were all honoured when Ron Pellat agreed to present the awards.
For those who are not aware, Ron was the Chief Mechanic with the Chequered Flag team, who rallied a Stratos during 1970s, and he was on hand to help Andy Dawson to a historic win in the Mintex International Rally in 1976. Ron currently works for McLaren, maintaining their collection of historic Formula One cars.
Ron was guest of honour at the Stratos Enthusiasts Club dinner which was held in the Oxford Spires Hotel on the Saturday evening, and he enthralled everyone with stories of rally a Stratos in the 1970s.
Once again, everyone had a fabulous weekend of Stratos Motorsport, and left the event counting the days to go to the 2005 event.
More details about the 2005 event are available from:-
David Watson, 81 Preston Road, Wembley, Middx, HA9 8JZ, UK
Tel: 020 8385 2644
Fax: 020 8723 6867
Mobile: 07976 672987
Email: stratos@stratossupersite.com
