The weekend of June 8th and 9th 2002, saw the second running of the Stratos UK Motorsport Weekend in conjunction with the Abingdon Motorsport Carnival, at Dalton Barracks in Oxfordshire.
Unfortunately bad weather reduced the number of attendees this year, but the spectators were thrilled to be able to see some extremely well prepared Stratos, and talk to their owners. Many Stratos kit builders had travelled down to the event to have the opportunity to pick the brains of those who had already done the hard work, and were now out enjoying the fruits of their labours.
On the program for the weekend were a SPRINT on the Saturday, and awards for those displaying cars, an evening of Stratos videos, and then on the Sunday a RALLY and awards for those displaying cars.
Saturday started off cloudy but dry, and for the initial
familiarisation runs for the SPRINT, the drivers had arranged to take passengers
around the SPRINT course in exchange for a Charity Contribution. AND some of the
passengers more more than they expected. 
Mick Worrall, being driven around in David Watson's Stratos, was treated to some fierce braking on the exit of the hairpin to avoid a wheel bouncing down the road!!!
Phil Dolby was treated to the experience of being in Jerry Bailey's Stratos when the wheel fell off!!! AND then he helped to repair the car so it could continue in the SPRINT!!
So before anything had really started, it looked like the 5 car Stratos entry was down to 4 cars - NOT SO.
A few wheel studs borrowed from David Watson, the use of a vice and hacksaw in another competitors trailer, and some excellent assistance by Phil Dolby and Scott McGill, saw Jerry's "Reliant Robin" Stratos returned to full health.
Some close racing then continued throughout the morning, with all of the Stratos getting faster and faster, and never more than fractions of seconds separating them.
At the lunch halt, after the 4 runs over the Bentley Course, Jerry Bailey was out in the lead by exactly 1 second, with David watson, John Rutter, Gary Lomas and Roland Casebourne all battling hard just behind him.
The afternoon was 4 runs over the Abingdon Course, and this was a much faster course. Again, all the Stratos were closely matched - until the final run, when Jerry Bailey drive a blindingly quick run to be over 2 seconds faster than any of the other Stratos.
At the end of an excellent day's sport, Jerry Bailey took the
laurels for a well deserved victory - although there were mutterings about
illegal servicing (Only joking!)
The awards were presented at 17:00 hrs, with Jerry Bailey taking the Stratos Sprint Trophy for 1st Overall in the Sprint, and Panos Panayiotou taking the award for Best Stratos.
After the awards, everyone met up back at the Oxford Spires Hotel for food and drinks, and an evening of videos. At midnight, the bar was still occupied by Stratos owners!!!!
Sunday dawned overcast and windy, with threatening rain clouds.
4 Stratos was competing in the RALLY and had 95 miles of Special Stages to look
forward to. The roads were already damp from overnight rain, and the competitors
were keeping a wary eye on the cloudy conditions. 09:00 arrived and the rally
got underway.
There was drama for the Stratos contingent on the very first stage, when David Watson and Andrew Stacey came to a halt 10 miles into the first stage with a broken joint on the rear suspension.
Richard Gibbons and Phil Clift set the early pace on the first
stage, to be the leader of the remaining 3 Stratos, but on the second stage they
were slowed with overheating problems, allowing both the other 2 cars to be
slightly quicker. At the end of Stage 2, Richard and Phil decided it was time to
retire rather than risk damage to the engine by continuing, so the Stratos
contingent was now down to only 2 cars.
This left the Stratos of Tony Aylot and Jan Leach in the lead by
just 5 seconds from the Stratos of Gary Lomas and Carol Whitehead. BUT there was
still a long way to go - over 75 stage miles still remained!!!
THEN, the heavens opened, and everyone got soaked in the ensuing
downpour. But still the 2 remaining Stratos were going out on the stages and
setting consistently quick times. Throughout the morning, Tony and Jan managed
to keep Gary and Carol at bay.
By lunchtime, we decided to present the award for Best Stratos Of The Day, as many of the Stratos owners were considering making an early exit, as they were going to have to drive home in the appalling conditions. This award went to Phil Dolby.
The afternoon continued with more torrential rain, and still the 2 Stratos were battling it out in the attrocious conditions.
At the end of the day, victory went to Tony Aylot and Jan Leach,
with Gary Lomas and Carol Whitehead coming second, although great tribute must
be paid to both crews for even managing to finish the rally in such bad weather.
So that was the end to a great weekend.
Congratulations to the victors
Jerry Bailey in the Sprint
Tony Aylot and Jan Leach in the Rally
Lets hope they're coming back to defend their titles, when we do it all again next year.
It should be the weekend of 7/8 June 2003
Hope to see you then!!
