Within minutes of arriving at the Chivenor paddock, I had been greeted by several old friends and I was made to feel welcome. But it was also apparent that more than half the entry were new young talent and I would have a lot of swotting to do. It was amazing to see just how many of the old faces were still actively involved in the sport - if I start naming names, it would read like the "who's who" of westcountry speed events.

While the outside of the commentary box was a familiar sight, the inside was awash with modern technology - Captain Kirk of the US Starship Enterprise would have felt completely at home.  It was all a far cry from the pen and paper system I used to use in my heyday. At the helm of this futuristic chamber was time-keeper Peter Locke, with his trusty lieutenants, Jackie and Rachel, who, incidentally were a great help to me later in the day. The whole event simply ran like clockwork and I have to say that I never, at any point, regretted returning from exile. 

You may be interested to know that the event was filmed by Andrew Crowle and DVD's are available by emailing e-motion@talktalk.net

If you would like a full set of Chivenor results, you can download them from http://www.ndmc.org.uk/