In between the odd spots of rain and the thrill of the action out on the track, we managed to have a poke around the Modified Live show that accompanies each Time Attack round, and although as far as the Modified Live franchise goes, it appeared to be a fairly small affair, but it certainly didn’t stop us picking out some of the highlights from the day.
Let’s face it, no one is local to Anglesey circuit, unless of course you count the sheep and cattle that are farmed in its surrounding fields, so we were never expecting hoards of vehicles and clubs, but a few did make the journey including PH Cruise who probably had the largest stand of the day and Kroozinnorthwest who, let’s face it, never ever miss a Modified Live event… they are part of the furniture!
Walking round the club cars a few caught our eye, non more so than the stunning classic Mini packing ‘90s Vauxhall power and wearing striking graphics! The Purple Silvia in the drift pits caught our eye along with the WRC kitted Impreza wagon, a very rare sight I’m sure you will agree! PH Cruise provided a couple of smart rides including a 106 Rallye and an old skool cool mk2 Astra GTE and Kev from our friends at Autopro Motorsport was demonstrating his freshly wrapped new project E46 BMW, wearing a lovely satin grey wrap! The rally spec Evo 4 and a trio of MX5s that we found were also worth noting along with the ever growing posse of stunning VX220s that Jimmy White manages to bring along with him.
Of course Kleers were once again supporting the show and shine competition and after a slow start, entries arrived from around the site providing some good competition and a high standard of cars covering all the classes! Sharon Holmes was yet again a winner with her airbrushed C2 claiming the Best Modified prize. Steven Whittle’s Nissan Skyline R34GTR is one of those cars you scribble down in your imaginary dream garage, Bayside blue paintwork, lashings of carbon fibre and some tasty tuning mods, it was certainly no surprise winner of the Performance Modified class!
Best Euro went to James Rhodes, who was a slightly late entry, but his clean, well stanced Astra fought off the VWs to claim the win and Rhys Walters’ Subaru Impreza was the eventual winner of the JDM class. The ‘80s Classic trophy was scooped up by Thomas Williams’ Fiesta mk2, although the subtle retro styling works well on his ride it packs new school Zetec power, all carried out to an immaculate standard.
Meilyr Owen was the biggest winner of the day, his VW Type 3 left me scratching my head, my hatred for VWs took a backseat and the classic enthusiast in me won with Meilyr’s car, blowing my mind to the standard of work that had been carried out, the quality of the finish and the way it was presented and came as no surprise to me that he not only collected the prize for Retro Modified but had to brave the rain for a second presentation as he picked up the Best In Scene trophy too. In all honesty my knowledge of VW Type 3s could have been written on a toothpick until I saw this car, since then I have learnt a little more about them… which has made my admiration for Meilyr’s grow even more!
Traders were few and far between, with Pro-R being the largest, displaying their tuned Imprezas and bar Total Car mags, Super Pro and Cosworth that was about the only place you could spend your cash, unless you wanted a nice warm meal from the onsite Cafe! This allowed more emphasis to be put on the teams competing, with the tuners bringing a few demo cars to have in the paddock, including the Airtec team and their Mk2 Focus RS. We are, of course, expecting this all to change when we head later this month to Snetterton, as the final draws in expect full crowds, a big show and shine entry and bustling paddocks! We’re sad to see the end of this season… but excited at the prospects of what we’re going to find!
Words – Ollie // Pictures – Ollie
