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NEXT ROUNDS CROFT, JULY 19/20
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Charteris is class of the field in Classic Clubmans at Croft Championship leader Mark Charteris couldn’t be matched once again during the eighth and ninth rounds of the BARC Classic Clubmans Championship at Croft. The delighted series leader taking a pair of crushing victories to further strengthen his stranglehold on the Class A title. Charteris did almost get into trouble though on the ninth lap of race two, when a spin could have cost him dear. Ordinarily it would have meant curtains for the series front-runner, but with such a large advantage at that point, he rejoined still in the lead. RACE ONE Charteris earned a dominant pole position in his Mallock Mk 20B, exactly seven 10ths of a second clear of Peter Harper’s similar car, while Dave Facer took class B pole. As the lights went out Charteris lost out to the rapid Harper off the line, but the series leader soon resumed the lead and was never headed from that point on, as he took a remarkably comfortable 13 second victory. With the track still damp following earlier intermittent rain, conditions proved a little tricky. But Charteris didn’t put a wheel wrong as he streaked to an unchallenged win over Steven Chaplin’s Phantom and John Harrison’s Mallock. The top four pulled well clear of fifth placed Robin Booth after just four laps, but second placed Harper was then forced out of the race on lap six with mechanical troubles, promoting Harrison to second ahead of Chaplin, who was chasing hard. On lap 10, Chaplin’s pressure finally paid off as he made his way past Harrison, to move into second and that’s how the order would remain behind Charteris, who eased to his fifth win of the campaign. It later transpired, Harrison was battling with a misfire so third place was a decent result. “I’m rather delighted!”, said Charteris at the end of round eight, “We weren’t sure about the tyres at the start, we went for wets and I thought at the start of the race it had been a bad choice. It turned out to be the right one though – it’s a fantastic win.” Bob Crozier ended the encounter in fourth place, a long way ahead of Booth with Sam Lancaster rounding out the top six. In Class B, David Facer was far enough ahead in terms of championship points at the end of the first of the day’s two races, to seal the title with three rounds still remaining in the 2008 season – even though a puncture ended his involvement in the first race on the eighth lap. Paul Marshall took the Class B honours, a notable achievement in only his third ever car race. “Dave (Facer) taught me everything about the track over the last few days, so I have to thank him, as he also runs my car and puts it together”, said Marshall, “To win is great, I’m overjoyed.” RESULTS
Class winners: Marshall. Fastest lap: Chaplin 1m27.310s (87.61mph).
RACE TWO Charteris started the second encounter from the front, alongside Chaplin – but another success was never in doubt. Harper was unable to take the start in race two as a result of the broken axle he suffered during the earlier encounter. Off the grid it was pole-man Chaplin who rocketed into the early lead with Charteris in second. But the dominance of the latter soon told, as he made his way to the front just two corners into the race. John Harrison also got by Chaplin on the run to the chicane and he looked particularly quick as the race entered the second tour. The top three of Charteris, Harrison and Chaplin started to pull well clear of the rest, with Robin Booth leading the pursuers. On lap five, the top three remained the same, but behind, fourth placed Booth was coming under great pressure from Bob Crozier. On the approach to Tower, Crozier steered his Mallock Mk 11 past into the top four and that’s where he would stay to the chequered flag. While passing backmarkers as the race entered its seventh tour, Charteris lost some of his time advantage to Harrison, who threaded through a little easier. But it wasn’t enough to allow him to get truly on terms. Even a lap nine spin for the runaway race leader at the complex couldn’t stop him, rejoining still in command. Harrison, however, had dramas of his own as he lost second to Chaplin on the same lap, although he did recover the place shortly after. In the end, Charteris won by almost 10 seconds in his Mallock Mk 20B from the Mk 21 of Harrison, with Chaplin third in his Phantom P79. Crozier, in fourth place, was the only other driver to end the race on the lead lap. Two spins for Dave Facer, and one for fellow Class B runner Marshall, showed how hard they were trying. But Facer held on for the victory – Marshall retired on lap four. Alan Davenport and Jeremy Banks were second and third in class. RESULTS
Class winner: Facer. Fastest lap: Charteris 1m23.835s (91.25mph).
Charteris serves up a Classic! Silverstone National victor Mark Charteris was undoubtedly the quickest of the BARC Classic Clubmans drivers in race conditions on Saturday afternoon – but the St. Albans racer also had to rely on a little luck in order to emerge with the spoils. In qualifying, Peter Harper put his Mallock on pole position, with a best lap of 1m 08.825 seconds (85.72mph), with Ray Mallock alongside on the front-row and Charteris and Steven Chaplin comprising row two. At the start of the race, Harper led away from pole and managed to fend off Mallock through Copse for the first time, but the latter found a way through at Becketts. Things went from bad to worse for Harper soon after though, when a spin at Luffield relegated him to fourth position. Into lap two, Mallock held the lead from Charteris with Chaplin third, Harper fourth and Mike Hickson in fifth place. A couple of laps later though, Charteris was in a position to challenge Mallock and he duly went through into the lead at Brooklands. Well clear of their pursuers, the top two soon started to lap back-markers which looked, at one point, set to cost Charteris his lead. At the end of lap six as the duo ran through Luffield, Charteris gesticulated furiously as three battling tail-enders baulked him and allowed Mallock to close. Into lap 10, Charteris was again blocked by back-markers which gave Mallock the chance to dive inside at Copse. Running side-by-side all the way through Becketts, Charteris managed to hold his lead – that is until lap 12 when more drama occurred. Having broken away from Mallock, Charteris pitched his MK20B car into a spin on entry to Brooklands so his rival gratefully inherited first place. With the gap to third substantial, Charteris was able to rejoin in second position and after a couple of searing laps he got back on terms with Mallock. On the 14th and final lap, the pair served up a grandstand finish and as they ran through Luffield and out of Woodcote, Charteris managed to get slightly better drive to grab the win by a fraction – 0.079 seconds to be precise. Mallock was very respectful of his rival, just giving him enough room to avoid contact – great action. “It was a good race, I’m really pleased to win and especially so after the spin”, said Charteris at the conclusion. Mallock concurred “That was a really enjoyable race, great to finish second – it was very close over the line!” In Class B, Robert Beazer achieved his maiden class pole position with the sixth fastest time overall but come the race, David Facer won out by 1.5 seconds. Richard Fry won Class C. Results
Class winners: David Facer (Mallock MK18BW); Richard Fry (Mallock MK8B). Fastest lap: Charteris 1m03.438s (93.00mph).
Issued by Peter Scherer for the Clubmans Register
Harper wins two from two He may not have featured among the top points scorers prior to Brands Hatch, but reigning champion Peter Harper enjoyed his trip down from Yorkshire and was the dominant force all weekend. Fastest in qualifying, he was headed in race one, but fought back mightily en route to a brace of victories. RACE ONE This first of the weekend’s races was cut by a lap to 16, after an extra green flag lap became necessary when Jared Wood’s Class D Batten Mk 1 stopped on the warming up lap. His throttle return spring had broken and although he was able to carry out repairs and join in late, his over-revved engine cried enough a few laps later. The Phantom of fellow front row man Steven Chaplin initially headed Harper’s Mallock on the dash to Paddock, but Harper quickly asserted himself. Now seemingly in charge, albeit not by much, attention switched to the second place battle in which John Harrison got the better of Chaplin on lap five. A surprise awaited Harper who lost the lead on lap eight, when he was baulked by a backmarker. Local man Harrison took full advantage to grab the lead. This really fired up Harper whose initial response was to try and respond quickly. As they exited Graham Hill Bend on lap nine, Harper ran wide and clipped the grass, surrendering vital speed on the run down to Surtees. Chaplin gleefully took his chance to wrest second as they swept into the left hander. A few laps later, Harper pulled the move of the weekend when he passed Chaplin and Harrison in a stunning manoeuvre as they went down into the daunting Paddock Hill Bend. Chaplin briefly grabbed his chance to oust Harrison from second spot, but he was having none of it and retook the place a lap later. Points leader Mark Charteris, Malcolm Jackson and Ian Mitchell rounded out the top six while David Facer’s Mallock was left with a comfortable run to Class B honours after the shadowing Mike Sales fell victim to a backmarker. Facer got past the slower car which moved over to give him room, but unfortunately had failed to spot Sales who had a car directly in his path. It was an option of hitting the slower car or a trip into Clearways gravel trap and Sales chose the latter. “It was a shame as a class win was there for the taking,” he reflected. Bob Yarwood secured Class C honours while Wood’s demise left Class D without any finishers. Among the other non-finishers, the most significant was Ray Harper whose swirl pot split on the opening lap, showering the engine with hot water. RESULTS
Class winners: Harper, Facer, Bob Yarwood (Mallock Mk 8). Fastest lap: Harper 48.141s (89.63mph).
RACE TWO The best race lap from Saturday’s encounter decided the grid positions for race two, but this too became a 16 lapper following a first lap stoppage. It was caused by front row man Harrison, who trying to anticipate the lights had crept forward. He checked the momentum, but when he did go, the differential broke and left him stranded. The next five rows managed to squeeze past the stricken car, but for the next three men, who were unsighted by cars, suddenly ducked and dived, until it ended in contact. Thankfully there were no injuries, but as well as Harrison whose car was hit and pushed across the track to the pit wall, out were Tony Harman (front suspension), Alan Davenport (rear suspension) and Richard Fry (front suspension). Harper led all the way in the re-run, while Charteris initially ran second under intense pressure from Chaplin, but then spun into the Druids gravel trap while trying to pass a backmarker. Chaplin was later passed by Jackson, who drew well clear of the ailing Chaplin, his engine sounder ever rougher as the race wore on. Chaplin had enough in hand to hang on to third spot from Ray Harper who salvaged something from the weekend with fourth place. A bit further back Mitchell and Bob Crozier rounded out the top six. Facer was again best of the Class B cars while Sales enjoyed an incident free run this time to take second, albeit well adrift of the class winner. Mike Gurr was third, just inches ahead of Robert Beazer. The startline incident left Class C with just one starter, Yarwood doubling up on his win of a day earlier. Wood’s engine problems on Saturday had sidelined him and so Class D was devoid of any starters on Sunday. RESULTS
CW Facer; Yarwood. FL P.Harper 48.825s (88.37mph).
Malcolm Jackson ‘marks’ Chateris’s card to inflict his first defeat of the year
pic Paul williams Former Champion Mark Charteris suffered his first defeat of the season, when Clubmans veteran Malcolm Jackson claimed the victory laurels at Mallory Park. There had been little to separate the pair during qualifying, Charteris claiming pole by 4/1000ths. John Harrison’s Mallock and Steve Chaplin’s Phantom were equally close on the second, all four covered by only 0.524secs. Mike Evans and Mike Hickson shared row three, with Sam Lancaster and Robin Booth next up. Dave Facer outqualified Clive Wood to head the class B runners by 0.16secs, Ian Mitchell was a close third. All 21 cars made it through qualifying, but defending champion Peter Harper was down in 12th having only completed one lap before his Mallock expired. It was Charteris that made the best of the start, to head Jackson, Harrison, Chaplin, Harper and Evans. Harper had already made up seven places on the opening lap, and picked off Chaplin for fourth on the second. As Jackson started to close in to challenge Charteris for the lead, Harrison responded to any threat from Harper and started to consolidate his hold on third. But Chaplin came back too and recovered his earlier lost place from Harper on lap five. A lap later it was all change as Jackson had turned his marginal deficit into equally marginal lead. But Harrison benefited from the exchange too, with less than 05.secs covering all three. After one more lap of all three running nose to tail, Harrison snatched second only for Charteris to take it straight back. Despite the intensity of the battle Jackson had to work hard to make his escape. Charteris closed again towards the end, but Jackson still had over a second in hand at the flag. Although Harrison was third on the road, jump start penalty dropped him to fourth behind Chaplin. Harper, Evans, Hickson, Booth and Lancaster held station behind, while Wood took the class B honours by only 0.5secs after being shadowed for most of the race by Facer. Mitchell and Robert Beazer completed the top four in class B and class C went to Bob Yarwood, comfortably clear of Richard Fry.
RESULT 1 Malcolm Jackson (Mallock Mk20B) 14 laps in 10m49.689s (104.72mph); 2 Mark Charteris (Mallock Mk20B) 10m51.104s; 3 Steve Chaplin (Phantom P79); 4 John Harrison (Mallock Mk21); 5 Peter Harper (Mallock Mk20B); 6 Mike Evans (Mallock Mk16); 7 Mike Hickson (Mallock Mk20B); 8 Robin Booth (Mallock Mk20B); 9 Sam Lancaster (Mallock Mk20); 10 Clive Wood (Mallock Mk20B). Class A: 1 Jackson; 2 Charteris; 3 Chaplin; 4 Harrison. Class B: 1 Wood; 2 Dave Facer (Mallock Mk18BW); 3 Ian Mitchell (IM MkI); 4 Rob Beazer (Mallock Mk18). Class C: 1 Bob Yarwood (Mallock MK8B); 2 Richard Fry (Mallock Mk8B); no other starters. Class D: no starters. Fastest lap: Harper 45.048s (107.88mph).
Classic Clubmans Donington Park 13 April 2008
pic Paul Williams Mark Charteris was made to work exceptionally hard had Donington Park to retain his unbeaten record for the season. But with rivals John Harrison and Peter Harper failing to reach the chequered flag, it was win number three for the 2006 Champion. “I can’t believe I had got pole,” said Charteris after qualifying. His Mallock was over a second up on Peter Harper. “I was going for a quick one at the end and just got caught in traffic,” Harper replied. Third best was ex Supersports racer John Harrison, making his Classic debut in an immaculate Mallock Mk21. “It’s been rebuilt over the last three years. I had the wrong diff in and my visor misted up too,” he said. Alongside was Malcolm Jackson, making his seasonal debut too. Steve Chaplin’s Phantom shared row three with Ray Mallock. “My fastest was just not enough. I had brake problems too and the pedal went to the floor,” said Chaplin. Ewan Bason was next up with the Myers Special. “I am still looking for some more time, but it’s going well,” he said. Mike Hickson had problems though, “the battery keeps going flat, I didn’t have time to stop though,” he explained. Gavin Childs decided to change the carbs on his Gryphon after qualifying, “it just wouldn’t run sweet so we are going back to the old ones,” he said. Geoff Cogan made it an all Gryphon fifth row, while Robin Booth’s Mallock just headed Dave Facer class B Mallock. “I spun twice though at Goddards,” said Facer. Rob Beazer, Ian Mitchell, and Alan Davenport completed the class B runners, while Sam Lancaster’s class a Mallock and Bob Yarwood’s class C version completed the grid. RACE As Harper and Charteris charged into Redgate from the start, they both ran wide and Chaplin was able to snatch second. Mallock slotted into fourth and Jackson just had fifth after running side by side with Harrison through Goddards. The lead trio pulled out an early gap and Chaplin tried a challenge into the Esses. Harrison and Jackson took their duel past Mallock and soon reeled in the lead group. Charteris really started to push Chaplin and his defence finally faltered at the Esses on lap three. A lap later Harrison had third at the Esses and Jackson was poised to follow as Mallock started to lose touch. Chaplin claimed his lost place back into Melbourne, but Harrison came by again when they reached Goddards. But it was all change at the front when Harper spun at McLeans and rejoined in fifth. He quickly retook Jackson but Charteris, Harrison and Chaplin were clear. A lap later Harper had an indentical spin which was just avoided by Jackson, only to recover and slam the wall on the exit of Goddards. “Something must have broken probably the diff,” Harper explained. “I nearly hit Peter when he spun the second time, then Ray got by when I stopped but I got him back at Melbourne,” Jackson explained. Charteris’ attempts to build a lead came to nought as he was unable to shake off Harrison. “Once I got into my stride I really enjoyed it,” said Harrison. They were having a terrific wheel to wheel scrap until Harrison’s gearbox went bang exiting Goddards on the penultimate lap. “I messed up the start but knew John would give me a hard time,” said Charteris. With Chaplin pulling off with no brakes too, Jackson came home in second, from Mallock, while Childs just held onto fourth from the fast finishing Hickson. “I had to pull off the brakes had gone. It was vibrating, at first I thought it was the diff,” said Chaplin. “it was a good race at the end, I lost a bit at the start when Malcolm got sideways,” Hickson added. Bason had lost out to Hickson in the closing laps but still retained sixth, well clear of Cogan’s spluttering Gryphon. Booth and Lancaster were next home with Facer completing the top ten having dominated class B. Harrison and Chaplin were still classified 11th and 12th, while Beazer, Yarwood, Mitchell and Davenport completed the finishers. RESULT
Class A: 1 Charteris; 2 Jackson; 3 Mallock;4 Childs. Class B: 1 Facer; 2 Rob Beazer (Mallock Mk18); 3 Ian Mitchell (IM MKI); 4 Davenport. Class C: 1 Bob Yarwood 9Mallock MK8B) no other starters. Class D: no starters. Fastest lap: John Harrison (Mallock Mk21) 1m37.552s (92.25mph).
Classic Clubmans Thruxton 24 March 2008 A chilling wintry blast greeted a small but select grid for the opening rounds of the year, celebrating Thruxton’s 40th anniversary. Former Champion Mark Charteris claimed a double win in his Mallock, while Ray Mallock had to surrender pole position with engine problems, and defending champion Peter Harper had a troublesome weekend too.
Mallock set a cracking pace during wet qualifying and took pole in his Mk18B by just over 1.5secs. “It was going just great and then in the closing minutes I pulled off with a cracked cylinder head. We had to send back to base for a spare and worked overnight, just hoping it would be OK,” he explained.
Charteris shared the front row, “I just wasn’t fast enough and got messed up on my last lap,” he said. Steve Chaplin’s Phantom head the second row, “it ran beautifully after we had done some work on the engine over the winter. The only problem was the crutch strap was a bit tight, so I was reluctant to brake,” he reckoned.
Down in fourth Harper also had problems. “I struggled a bit, sliding all over the place. Then it just died on me when the rotor arm broke going through Noble,” he said. Antony Denham’s Doris was next up, “she wintered well on the front lawn and we put the engine in during the week, everything seemed OK,” he confirmed.
Gavin Childs’ Gryphon was sixth best, “well I survived with no real problems and it was getting better,” he said. Clive Wood headed class B in seventh, “all good” he reckoned as not only was he contesting the two Clubmans races, but the Formula 2 double header and the Classic FF2000.
Down in a disappointing eighth though was Mike Hickson, “terrible on 10 year old wets. No confidence, just awful but kept the car is in one piece,” he concluded. Dave Facer struggled on with a misfire too in his class B Mallock.” It was a top end misfire, otherwise I wasn’t too far off Clive,” he said.
The final class A cars were Ian Mitchell’s CTG and Bob Crozier’s Mallock. Tony Harman secured the penultimate place with his Haggispeed, “well that’s the new engine run in and I have remembered which pedal is which,” he said. The grid was completed by Alan Davenport’s Mallock, “I had a tankslapper into the infield at Segrave on the last lap, it was very wet there,” he explained.
RACE
Only 12 cars made it out onto the grid for the 9.10 start, as the hard work by the Mallock team was in vain as the polesitting car still had water pouring from it when they fired it up.
From the start it was Charteris leading Harper, Chaplin and Childs through Allard. The lead duo soon broke clear and Harper made a challenge for the lead exiting Church. It was soon all over for the defending champion though, when he pulled off at Cobb on the second lap with another broken rotor arm. Charteris was left in the clear from Chaplin, but Childs, Hickson and Denham were as one for third. Denham made it past Hickson into Noble on lap five and was right on Childs tail as they arrived at the chicane. A lap later Denham had third at Noble, but as Hickson mounted a challenge on Childs, he caught a kerb, wrecked his nose and was forced pitwards with a broken radiator. Charteris eventually took the flag over five seconds up on Chaplin, with Denham retaining a comfortable third. Childs held onto fourth and Mitchell was fifth, despite being caught by Crozier in the closing laps. Wood kept Facer at a safe distance to top class B in seventh, while Davenport and Harman completed the finishers, after Harman had a mid race spin.
RESULT
Class A: 1 Charteris; 2 Chaplin; 3 Denham; 4 Childs. Class B: 1 Wood; 2 Facer; 3 Davenport; 4 Harman. Class C: no starters. Class D: no starters. Fastest lap: Charteris 1m17.712s (109.14mph)). RACE TWO Harper and Hickson made it onto the back of the grid for the second race, so it was 12 cars again lining up for the start. Charteris, Chaplin, Childs and Denham arrived at the Complex line astern on the opening lap, with Harper already up to fifth. Although the lead quintet made an immediate break, Charteris still managed to stretch out an early lead. Harper picked off Denham on the second lap and got alongside Childs at the chicane. They touched and both continued with Harper finally going through at Cobb. Hickson was also on the move, taking Mitchell for sixth into the chicane on the second lap, but was already some distance adrift of the lead group. While Harper attempted to close the gap on Chaplin, Denham and Childs had a couple of swaps and changes for fourth. But there was no catching the lead pair who repeated their results from the morning race. But Harper not only had rear wing damage from his touch with Childs, he had picked up a misfire too. Denham had managed to shake off Childs and reeled in Harper. Into the chicane for the final time they were side by side, but Harper won the drag to the flag by 0.6secs. Hickson settled in a solitary sixth and Crozier snatched seventh from Mitchell on the last lap. Wood again had the legs of Facer for ninth and class B, while Davenport and Harman enjoyed a racelong duel at the tail end. RESULT
Class A: 1 Charteris; 2 Chaplin; 3 Harper; 4 Denham. Class B: Wood; 3 Davenport; 4 Harman. Class C: no starters. Class D: no starters. Fastest lap: Charteris 1m16.636s (110.67mph).
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