Fast, high-grip
Mallock rewards
committed driversHAWKIN
S“Marcus Bicknell had watched me take a convincing win in the
wet at the fi rst round at Pembrey,” she says. “He off ered me a drive
in his Clubmans car at Snetterton three or four weeks later at a
fraction of the cost of Formula Woman. From that, Chris Hart
came along and off ered me a great deal to buy his Mallock. So
I bought a Clubmans car in 2007!”
The opportunity was very much down to multiple Clubmans
champion Evans, as he knew Mallocks inside out and even knew
the car that Hayward was buying. He led the preparation and
the couple spent many hours in the garage working on the
Rover K-powered, front-engined sports-racing car.
Time and funds limited Hayward to occasional outings until
a life-changing experience encouraged her to consider a full
championship campaign in 2012. “That was the fi rst season I
decided I wanted to have a proper go at it,” she says. “It coincided
with my cancer diagnosis. I went for surgery in February 2012
to have bowel cancer removed. It does focus your mind about
what you really want to achieve and I really wanted to have a
go at the championship.” Seven years on, the cancer checks
reveal a so-far, so-good outcome.
She became one of the fi rst women to make a mark in Clubmans,
although Divina Galica did fl irt with the category and Leslie Wood
was quick in the family Mallock, while other women have
campaigned Mallocks on the hills with success.
“I remember forking out for a brand new set of slicks at Croft,
which I’d never had before. I’d been using second-hand tyres from
the Gibsons [a long-standing Clubmans racing family]. I put it
on the front row alongside Daniel Gibson and it was the best
qualifying result I’d ever had. It was following him that got me onto
the front row and I remember him taking Sunny In and Sunny Out
practically fl at and I kept up with him, having not realised I could
take those corners that fast!
“I had a good season and fi nished second in the championship.
That was the start of me really pushing myself and getting a lot
closer to the limit. They are such brilliant cars and fantastic fun
to drive. I just love Clubmans. In 2014, I sort of threw it away by
missing the fi rst round while we were out of the country and
I ended up losing the title to Howard Payne by one point. It
was a big relief last year when I fi nally won the championship.HAWKIN
SHayward is taking a
break from racing in
2019 but will be back40 AUTOSPORT.COM 22 AUGUST 2019
MICHELLE HAYWARD