April 22nd/23rd/24th - Marvellous Manx . .

A hugely enjoyable and slickly run three days of sprint and hillclimb events was just reward for a mountain of work carried out by Manx Motor Racing Club organisers - good weather, knowledgeable marshalling and enthusiastic spectators were the icing on MMRC's cake -

Governors Sprint - The change from the awkward Bray Hill arrangement, to a blast up the TT course past the Grandstand and through Governors Bridge was a brilliant concept and met with almost universal approval. The only change suggested by drivers in large and small machinery was to smooth out the chicanes which were set too deep into the side roads off Glencrutchery Rd - it was more autotest than sprint and detracted slightly from the spectacle. John Holt's MG Midget (right) took out the Governors cones, but overall an incident-free evening kept the schedule on track. Local Jaguar and MG dealer David Mylchreest was fastest classic in his MGB, with overall fastest to Andy Hardy's Caterham Seven

The Sloc Hillclimb - An extended course caught many off guard first time out, but again it was an improvement on an already challenging climb. The bumpy nature of the A36 provided nerve jangling moments, and high in the list of entertainers were local Dave Musgrove's rapid Mini (right), and the outrageous Hyabusa-engined Mini of visitor Allan McDonald (left). Fastest classic went to Steve King's Ford Escort Mk 1 and Steve O'Donohue was fastest overall in a Caterham Seven.

Lhergy Frissell Hillclimb - The jewel in the MMRC crown drew crowds to Ramsey Hairpin and The Gooseneck for the largest field of the three days. From Andrew Harrington's delightful MG J2 Midget with 847cc, to 5.7 litres of awesome GT40 behind Jonathon Gough, the sensation factor was omnipresent. The Caterham jockeys were predictably in the hunt, with Paul Dangerfield putting up FTD, and the thundering Chevrolet Camaro of Tim Boles topped the classics despite pal Bob Ridgard's tinkering (right).

The MMRC award for the Overall Post-1981 champion deservedly went to Andy Hardy, the effervescent host from The Courthouse in Douglas, while Overall Classic Pre-1981 was headed by Tim Boles (left).

The Northesk Trophy for the Best Team Effort went to Team Nil Desporandum, consisting of Nick Cussons, Adrian Kermode and David Mylchreest.

Pit & Paddock

Good to see Spridgeteer Eric Grundy returned from French exile - although I seemed to be the last to know . .

Resident Michael Savino (left) had wife's Peugeot 205 GTI in action and not his 600bhp battleship . .

John Bate and Jonathon Gough resisted GT40 mischief on the Mountain as in 2008 . .

The Dutton Phaeton of Tom Babbs (right) emitted a mighty V8 rumble . .

Adam Smith's Fraser Nash Supersports soundtrack was spectacular . .

Action photographs © Paul Hardiman 07770 502221 or click on here