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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk Performance N Economy Chip Tuning Sports/Saloon Car Championship 2009 Rounds 11&12, Oulton Park, September 26th 2009 Wood wins while Robert rules Ric Wood brought the curtain down on this championship with two comfortable wins in his Vauxhall Calibra, but although red flags brought prematurely halts to both races, Robert Spencer’s two class wins crowned him 2009 Champion. It was to be a crucial qualifying session for Paul Dobson and his Mazda RX7 if he was to remain in the hunt for overall Championship honours. Playing his Joker for the penultimate race of the season doubled any points earned, so he needed to capitalise on the opportunity to chase down leader Spencer’s Locosaki. “The class win is pretty straight forward” admits Dobson, “but I’m going all out for the Championship win. There’s nearly 20 points between me and Rob but he has scores to drop and he’s already played his joker.” Starting race one in 8th place did not make it the easiest of quests. Spencer lined up third and first in his class. Class A leader Darren Smith didn’t have the best of starts to the final weekend where he would win or lose his title bid. “The throttle stuck open at Old Hall on his TVR Tuscan and there was nothing I could do about it” he said. “We should have it fixed in time to qualify for race two though. We had a big mishap at Anglesey as well last month so this is the first time back out after a big rebuild!” he added. Early dramas in the pits turned up the heat for Graham Brindley. A split fuel line caused a fire in the engine bay of the Ford Escort RS2000 – swiftly extinguished without causing significant damage. “A spare part is two hours away, but we’ll do what we can to get out later” said Brindley’s nephew and mechanic. In a display of inter-Championship off-track chivalry, Class A racer Colin Vickers offered an air line to help clear away fire extinguisher residue noting “I shouldn’t be giving you this – I’m 4th in reserve and I want to be out there, he said!” Vickers himself set a time good enough for 19th position should he get a race, but still struggling with setup. “It’s a new car this year” he said about his Ford Capri. “I’ve only done a few races in it and it’s still not right. It’s like driving on ice.” Paul Ingram’s frustrations with his Ford Fiesta continued thanks to an engine sump gasket failure. In his second season racing, Dave Maries struggled down in 31st on the timesheet with an intermittent loss of power “but it’s only the second problem I’ve had,” he said while his mechanics tried tracing the problem with the Westfield. Meanwhile his brother Chris continued his run of new-found speed to line up in fifth place with his MK Indy, after only running for four laps. “I’m up there where I should be so I’m leaving it alone,” he said with the car sat on its lonesome. “I know when I’ve done a good time, so there’s no point bombing around when I don’t need to” he explained. Pole position though went to Ric Wood in his V8 Vauxhall Calibra with a time of 1m 48.976s, just over half a second quicker than the Class B car Caterham R400 of Robert Chalmers, which lined up alongside on the front row. On this occasion Chalmers Jnr comfortably out qualifying father Alistair, who was only seventh. Now getting to grips with his car after Mallory Park, Wood was still expecting more time to come from his machine after running with “the wrong springs on”. Dennis Crompton headed the E class runners in 9th overall and John Spencer - as the sole F class runner – rounded off the pack and started from the back row. Race 1 A capacity grid of thirty-four starters for the International Circuit at Oulton Park lined up to open the day’s racing with Autumn sunshine bearing down on the Cheshire track. Patrick Smyth’s Elan stalled as the rest of his fellow racers set off for the green flag lap. He managed to start the race from the back of the grid only to retire four laps in. Wood struggled to get the power down from his 6900cc engine at the standing start and got swamped by the comparatively lighter racers around him, dropping down to tenth place at the first corner. Instead it was Spencer’s Locosaki at the front down to Cascades, closely followed by Robert Chalmers, Chris Maries, Peter Davies and Alistair Chalmers. Iain Gorrie’s Westfield XTR2 failed to complete a racing lap though, thanks to what transpired to be a blown fuse. “But it’s only our second event with the car and we’re learning all of the time” he said. It only took until the end of lap one though before Wood was up into fifth position, and two laps later he was in the lead where he would remain unchallenged. “They all had a bit of a scrap and I didn’t want to get in the way of that at the start” said Wood. “I leave them to it, let mine warm up and away I go, picking them off one by one! Plenty of racing was going on behind though, with Davies the man on the move up into second place by the end of the second tour, only for him to retire a lap later with suspicious sounds coming from beneath the Caterham’s bonnet… The runners also lost Alistair Chalmers on the same lap, his clutch giving way and without a spare, put an end to his race weekend. But second through to fourth had begun to pull away from the rest of the field by a 12 second margin on the fourth lap. Paul Dobson headed the rest, fending off Cam Forbes’s Westfield and Danny Keenan’s MK Indy. Andy Robey looked like he was enjoying himself in thirteenth place in his BMW M3. He was involved in a great three-way fight with Brian Dean’s Westfield and Kingsley Ingram’s ex BTCC Mazda 323F through to the end. Robey and Dean frequently trading places whilst also having Ingram large in their mirrors. Coming around to complete their seventh lap, Dobson, Forbes and Cryer’s Caterham were absolutely nose to tail and shaping up to be a great fight to the flag over fifth place – as was the battle between the Vectra’s of Simon Parker and Derek Kelly-Cooper for 15th spot and Duncan Auckland’s Rover, James Auckland’s Capri, Graham Brindley (back out after his morning fuel fire) and Craig Odams’ Vectra for 19th place. Unfortunately the race couldn’t run the full distance when the red flags were displayed during the eighth lap. An unfortunate Chris Maries being the victim, his MK Indy Busa RR landed upside down at Knickerbrook after barrel rolling out of fourth place. “He was coming up to lap me on my right side” explained his brother Dave “and then another car suddenly appeared on his right – so he was in the middle of us. He just clipped my right rear which sent him up and over.” Chris was taken to hospital with a broken left forearm which and a punctured lung from a broken rib. James Aukland made a visit to the pits just before the race stoppage with damage to the front right of his Capri. Contact between him and the green Class F Peugeot 205 (now driven by Paul Ingram) causing the damage and the Peugeot sporting a rather concaved drivers door. The race was not re-started and so it was classified from the end of lap seven with Wood taking the winning laurels with a comfortable 10 second lead and a fastest lap time of 1m 45.383s. “It was a bit lonely out there but I still race myself. I can’t just get out in front and sandbag, I’m still pressing as hard as I can – I’ve still got to try, it’s what I do!” said Wood. Spencer was a comfortable second, from Rob Chalmers, while ex Kit Car Champion Steve Owen impressed in his debut in the Championship coming home in fourth place with his Westfield. “It’s my first race in that car as well as in this championship so I’m pretty chuffed with that!” he said. “I’m going to turn out next year in it – it runs pretty well but there’s a couple of little bits we can look at over the winter to improve it a bit more.” Dobson kept his title hopes alive in fifth, while Forbes just held off Cryer for sixth, Keenan and Paul Woolfitt’s Z Cars Mini were equally close in eighth and ninth, with Smith completing the top ten. Crompton’s luck held out for a change in 11th and Robey finally saw off Dean for 12th. Ingram managed to split up the Vectra Challenge, following Parker and Kelly-Cooper home in 16th, but heading Hurst. Duncan Aukland won the family battle over brother James, who had Craig Odams’ Vectra splitting them and Brindley’s crews hard work was rewarded when he survived in 20th place. Newcomer John Seery was next home in his Sylva Phoenix, from Dave Maries, Rawlins, Paul Sampson’s Suzuki SC100, Nicholas Bartlett’s road going Lancia Delta Integrale and finally Brian Allen’s XR2i and Paul Ingram in the Spencer 205 Gti. RESULTS 1 Ric Wood (Vauxhall Calibra) 7 laps in 12m39.527s (89.31mph); 2 Robert Spencer (Stuart Taylor Locosaki) 12m50.208s; 3 Robert Chalmers (Caterham R400); 4 Steve Owen (Westfield SE); 5 Paul Dobson (Mazda RX7); 6 Cam Forbes (Westfield SeiW); 7 Kevin Cryer (Caterham Seven); 8 Danny Keenan (MK Indy); 9 Paul Woolfitt (Z Cars Mini); 10 Darren Smith (TVR Tuscan). Class A: 1 Wood; 2 Smith; 3 Graham Brindley (Ford Escort); 4 James Aukland (Ford Capri). Class B: 1 R.Chalmers; 2 Owen; 3 Forbes; 4 Cryer; 5 Brian Dean (Westfield SE); 6 Dave Maries (Westfield SE). Class C: 1 R.Spencer; 2 Keenan; 3 Woolfitt; 4 John Seery (Sylva Phoenix); 5 Paul Sampson (Suzuki SC100). Class D: 1 Dobson; 2 Andy Robey (BMW M3); 3 Simon Parker (Vauxhall Vectra); 4 Derek Kelly-Cooper (Vauxhall Vectra); 5 Mike Hurst (Vauxhall Vectra); 6 Duncan Aukland (Rover 3500SE); 7 Craig Odams (Vauxhall Vectra); 8 Dave Rawlins (Vauxhall Vectra); 9 Nicholas Bartlett (Lancia Delta Integrale). Class E: 1 Dennis Crompton (BMW M3); 2 Kingsley Ingram (Mazda 323F); 3 Brian Allen (Ford Fiesta XR2i); no other starters. Class F: 1 Paul Ingram (Peugeot 205 Gti); no other starters. Fastest lap: Wood 1m45.383s (91.96mph). Qualifying Race 2 There were no real surprises for the second qualifying session of the day, except for the fact that most people opted to sit out the latter part of the session. Once a satisfactory time had been set, most chose not to risk anything that may jeopardise their chances in the first race – which followed less than 45 minutes later. Wood took pole once again, shaving over two seconds off of his Q1 time and 1.736s quicker than Robert Chalmers. Whilst father Alistair Chalmers had run a time good enough for third, his grid place would be empty due to race one’s clutch failure. Rob Spencer again headed the Class C runners in fourth overall from Chris Maries. Davies and Owen were next up, with Dobson equalling his earlier pace to top the Class D times in eighth, with Ingram the quickest of the Class E runners in 10th. John Spencer remained the only Class F representative at the tail end of the grid. Race 2 Thirty-two cars took to the start for the 2009 season finale. The third row was completely vacant following the expected non-return of Chris Maries, but Davies was also a no show, unable to recover from race one’s retirement. However, waiting in the wings was Colin Vickers as a reserve. Hinde’s Vauxhall Vectra didn’t quite make it for the start but ground to a halt at Knickerbrook and dispensing oil on the track. A short delay ensued for marshals to declare the track safe for racing and Hinde’s Vectra recovered to a safe place. Robert Spencer once again led into Old Hall at the start, as Wood struggled to get away once more, but he was still third on the run down to The Avenue to Cascades, before getting ahead of Rob Chalmers at Lodge to claim second. Now provisionally trailing the Championship by just one point, Dobson had his third consecutive Championship title in his sights, but a charging Steve Owen moved him down a place second time around into Old Hall for sixth. With Championship leader Smith in 15th place though, all wasn’t yet lost. Dobson got his head down and fought back though – back up to fourth by the end of lap two. Unfortunately his good fortune was to last less than two laps later, retiring with an electrical problem on his Mazda RX7. Wood had the lead by the end of the second lap, which left Spencer and Chalmers to fight it out over the remaining podium positions. Chalmers eventually found a way past into runner-up spot on the third tour and managed to fend off Spencer’s challenges to the flag. Further down the order Hurst’s race grew to be just three laps old and ending in the tyre wall at Old Hall. In challenging Kelly-Cooper for 18th pace, he ran a little wide onto the grass and lost traction which left him a passenger to the scene of the accident. Parker again enjoyed a fraught battle, hanging onto the bumper of Duncan Auckland for 14th, but a failed passing attempt on the fifth encounter let Robey and Kelly-Cooper take advantage Parker. Meanwhile the top three runners had settled into a race rhythm, with Wood pulling out an advantage of 16.8s on the eighth lap. Once again though, the race was cut short of its intended 20 minutes + 1 lap duration with the red flags being deployed to stop the race at the start of the ninth lap. Paul Sampson had spun out of the race at Cascades and his car was deemed to be in an unsafe position. On the countback, Wood claimed the victory spoils again – joined on the podium for the second time by Chalmers and Spencer. “It’s been a perfect day really” said Wood. “The car didn’t do anything wrong, I didn’t do anything wrong and because I played my joker in race one have taken the Class A title too so – for the number of races I’ve done – is good, he said.” “That was a bit of a quiet one” said Chalmers. “Once I got past Rob, it was just a case of being consistent, clean and tidy, hoping Ric would have a problem – which he never does – and just bring the car home. The car’s in one piece, everything’s pointing in a straight line for the Birkett 6 hours in a few weeks, I got a few more pots and a few points – I’m happy, said Chalmers.” With Dobson’s retirement and two strong finishes by Rob Spencer, it was Spencer though that took overall Championship crown. “I’m a bit disappointed with that last race coz I had to back off a bit – thinking of points rather than racing, but apart from that a perfect day” commented Spencer. “I didn’t expect to be Champion at the start of the season, it’s just happened! I’ve not had a single problem all season – and I’ll be back for more next year,” he said. “The trouble is though you get spoilt by it really when things go right. Things can only get worse – you can only go backwards!” he mused. Owen managed to escape to claim fourth, with Woolfitt, Forbes and Cryer somewhat closer behind. Crompton kept Keenan at bay for eighth and Smith once again completed the top ten. “The incident this morning made me think a little bit so I’ve been a bit circumspect today” admitted Smith upon taking Class A runner-up spot. “The main prize today though is that it’s still in one piece!” Just outside the top ten Kingsley Ingram’s ongoing development of the Mazda proved successful, as did Gorrie’s Westfield in 12th, just ahead of Dean’s older version. Robey and Duncan Aukland left the Vectra trio of Odams, Kelly-Cooper and Parker to fight among themselves, and Brindley matched his first race result in 20th, just ahead of Rawlins in the final Vectra. Vickers, Seery, Bartlett, Allen and John Spencer completed the finishers. RESULTS 1 Wood 7 laps in 12m47.597s (88.37mph); 2 R.Chalmers 13m01.494s; 3 R.Spencer; 4 Owen; 5 Woolfitt; 6 Forbes; 7 Cryer; 8 Crompton; 9 Keenan; 10 Smith. Class A: 1 Wood; 2 Smith; 3 Brindley; 4 Colin Vickers (Ford Capri). Class B: 1 R.Chalmers; 2 Owen; 3 Forbes; 4 Cryer; 5 Patrick Smyth (Lotus Elan); 6 Dean. Class C: 1 R.Spencer; 2 Woolfitt; 3 Keenan; 4 Iain Gorrie (Westfield XTR2); 5 Seery. Class D: 1 Robey; 2 D.Aukland; 3 Odams; 4 Kelly-Cooper; 5 Parker; 6 Rawlins; 7 Bartlett. E: 1 Crompton; 2 K.Ingram; 3 Allen; no other starters. Class F: 1 John Spencer (Peugeot 205 Gti); no other finishers. Fastest lap: Wood 1m47.122s (90.46mph).
Issued by Peter Scherer for BARC (NW) September 29th, 2009
Round 10, Mallory Park, September 13th 2009 Maries marks MK Indy’s maiden win Chris Maries not only celebrated his first win of the year, but also a first outright win for the MK Indy marque. 25 cars set out for qualifying, but Maries just had the edge to claim pole by 0.614s from Paul Dobson’s Mazda RX7. “The car is like it should have been all season, it handles well and turns into corners,” said Maries. Championship leader Robert Spencer was only 0.02secs adrift of Dobson on his home circuit, “I had a bit of understeer but just couldn’t get a clear lap,” said the Locosaki driver. Alongside was Alistair Chalmers in his Caterham CSR, who found similar problems. “No I struggled to find clear track too,” he added. Fifth best was a delighted Danny Keenan in his MK Indy, on his first visit to the Leicestershire parkland circuit. “Everything was fine, but I surprised myself a bit,” he reckoned. He had Robert Chalmers’ Caterham R400 alongside. BMW M3 racer Andy Robey was another who was surprised by his position. “Everything felt OK but I never really got going,” he said. Iain Gorrie’s new Westfield completed row four “It’s getting better,” he said. Chris Thomas was next up, fastest of the Z Cars Mini’s. “Paul Woolfitt lent me his spare tyres and then I out qualified him,” he explained. Completing the top ten was Cam Forbes’ Westfield, “it was Ok but a very messy session after two stoppages,” he explained. The first red flag was when Stuart Morris’s Ford Sapphire expired at Shaws Hairpin, followed later by a second stoppage when Peter Codd spun his Honda CRX at Gerards. Heading row six was Woolfitt’s Z Cars Mini, followed by Colin Vickers’ Ford Capri, Piers Grange’s Sierra XR8 and Simon Allaway’s Lotus Esprit V8. “The clutch died on me and I hadn’t driven the car for two years, “Allaway pointed out. Duncan Aukland’s Rover 3500 shared the eighth row with Paul Sampson’s Suzuki SC100, while although Dennis Crompton’s BMW M3 qualified 17th, he was sidelined with more gearbox maladies. Down in 18th was Championship sponsor Ric Wood back out in his Vauxhall Calibra V8. “It’s got worn out tyres, I haven’t driven it for three years and not been here for about eight years,” he explained. No one was more surprised than Ralph Underwood to have Wood alongside him, “he is stealing my thunder at the back,” said the TR7 V8 driver. Also down at the back was Chris Allanson, “it’s a brand new car and we finished it at 7pm Saturday evening. It’s got a new aero package for more front end grip, but it’s made it very nervous and we need to lose some grip now,” he explained. Dave Maries headed Westfield driver Brian Dean, while David Rawlins’ Vauxhall Vectra and Codd brought up the rear. GRID Dobson C.Maries+ A.Chalmers Spencer R.Chalmers Keenan Gorrie Robey Forbes Thomas C.Vickers Woolfitt Allaway Grange Sampson Aukland Wood Crompton Allanson Underwood Dean D.Maries Codd Rawlins Morris Race As the lights went out Maries held his advantage from pole, to head Chalmers Snr, Spencer, Dobson and Keenan into Gerards. Dobson shot past Keenan into the Esses and quickly put Spencer under threat too. Robey, Thomas, Chalmers Jnr, Woolfitt and Forbes completed the top ten at the end of the first lap, but it was desperately close throughout. Dobson was on the move again ousting Spencer for third on lap two, while Chalmers Jnr got the better of both Robey and Thomas to hold sixth. As Maries started to build on his lead, Dobson lined up Chalmers Snr for his next challenge. As the Caterham drive responded, Spencer closed in to rechallenge Dobson again. Forbes was also on the move, up to eighth by the end of lap three at Thomas’ expense, leaving the Mini driver to fend off Grange and Gorrie. But one of the duels of the race had begun to emerge by lap five with Keenan and Chalmers Jnr side by side at Shaws, before Chalmers went by into Devils Elbow. Back at the front it was plain sailing for Maries, while Dobson was right on the limit in his quest to demote Chalmers Snr, which only brought him under more pressure from Spencer, who was forced on the grass as he took a backmarker through the Esses. Dobson ‘s persistence paid off when he grabbed second on lap eight, with Spencer following a lap later at the Esses. It was another 10 laps before Spencer’s pursuit of Dobson finally paid off, taking second into Shaws before reeling in Maries, who had been clear from the start. The once safe lead disappeared and on the last lap it became a dash for the line, with Maries holding on by 0.109secs. “I had him covered. The others early battle helped me get away and the traffic worked for me. It was my best start too,” said Maries. “A good race, so close in the end, I wish I had got Dobbo earlier, as it may have made a difference,” Spencer replied. Chalmers Snr came back to snatch third from Dobson on the last lap, “I got him at the Hairpin, I had hit traffic early on and couldn’t get back in touch,” said Chalmers. “There was no chance of me staying with those kit cars, I was bouncing all over the place but lost my places at the Hairpin,” Dobson replied. Keenan finally won his duel with Chalmers Jnr for fifth, after a terrific scrap and numerous exchanges. “That was my best race so far, my arms are hurting now and I couldn’t wait for the flag,” said Keenan. “My tyres went off while I was battling with Danny, so I thought safety first and backed off a bit,” added Chalmers. Wood carved his way through to seventh from Gerards on lap 18, after tailing Grange for a couple of laps, “once we got going it was fine, just needs some tyres on it,” said Wood. With a lap to go Grange lost eighth to Forbes. “I caught him when he had a slide at Gerards and I nipped by on the inside. But a lap later I got it wrong at the same place and he took me back,” said the Westfield driver. Gorrie also made a place on the last lap when he ousted Robey for 10th. “I was disappointed, I was low on fuel but that didn’t really affect it,” said Robey. Vickers and Allaway were fairly spread out in 12th and 13th, while in 14th Underwood was delighted, particularly as he finished one place ahead of Aukland. “It’s getting faster and beating Duncan is like winning the championship for me,” he said. But Aukland’s sideways Rover had problems near the end, “the clutch has packed in I think,” he said. Woolfitt was off the pace in 16th followed by Rawlins and Dave Maries. Thomas coasted into retirement with four laps to go to join Codd, Sampson, Allanson and Dean on the retirement list. RESULTS
Fastest lap: Spencer 49.023s (99.13mph).
Issued by Peter Scherer for BARC (NW) September 15th, 2009.
Rounds 8&9, Anglesey, August 08/09th 2009 You can’t see the Wood for his Speed! Championship sponsor Ric Wood made his first visit to the current Anglesey circuit format and came away a double winner in his ex-DTM Opel Astra. Wood secured pole for Saturday’s race by 1.801s over Rob Spencer’s Locosaki. “I am disappointed not to be on pole, but just keeping things simple,” said Spencer. It was an all Chalmers second row though, with father Alastair’s Caterham CSR only 0.446s quicker than son Robert’s R400. “This is a lovely circuit, but I was too early on the brakes in some places and too late in others. So I need to pick things up a bit,” said Alastair. Chris Maries headed row three in the first of the MK Indy’s. “The steering column came loose so I had to back off, a bush had fallen out. I had understeer and my arms were nearly crossed, plus I had trouble getting used to my new varifocals too,” he explained. Alongside was Darren Smith in his TVR Tuscan. Next up was Cam Forbes’ Westfield, “Yes everything was intact and it felt really good,” he said. Danny Keenan’s MK Indy was alongside, “I got a misfire and cut the session short,” he said. Just behind was Chris Allanson’s Z Cars Mini. “We made a few minor adjustments to the rear end and they seem good,” he reckoned. Paul Dobson’s Mazda RX7 completed the top ten, but cut his session short, “saving tyres.” Robbie Birrell was disappointed with his time, despite qualifying his Caterham 11th. “Slower than testing, so I need to go faster,” he reckoned. Paul Woolfitt’s Z Cars Mini was next, fractionally ahead of Dennis Crompton’s BMW M3. “OK at the moment, but it’s getting a bit warm, both me and the car,” said Crompton. Back in 14th was former champion and returnee Iain Gorrie in his newly built Westfield Hayabusa. Andy Robey was making his first visit to Anglesey in his BMW M3 but headed the eighth row from David Rawlins’ Vauxhall Vectra. Kevin Cryer’s Caterham headed the next, “I got that misfire again and it wouldn’t run full throttle,” he said. Chris Thomas’ Z Cars Mini was alongside. Michael Hurst in the second Vectra was tenths quicker than Colin Vickers Capri, which itself was marginally quicker than Duncan Aukland’s Rover. “It’s still an animal it even slides on the straights, but it’s fun,” said Vickers. “I took a leaf out of brother James’ book, a bit sideways,” replied Aukland. Completing the 26 car line up were Dave Maries’ Westfield, newcomer Stuart Morris in his Ford Sapphire, Paul Ingram’s Fiesta, debutant Elliot Coward’s Z Cars Mini and Peter Codd’s Honda CRX. GRID RACE 1 ^Wood+ Spencer A.Chalmers R.Chalmers Smith C.Maries Keenan Forbes Dobson Allanson Woolfitt Birrell Gorrie Crompton Rawlins Robey Thomas Cryer C.Vickers Hurst D.Maries Aukland Ingram Morris Codd Coward Race 1 Spencer rocketed away at the start, to head Rob Chalmers initially, until father Alastair took up the pursuit. Despite Wood’s Astra not being built for standing starts, he was into third by the end of the opening lap. “I was nearly caught out at Rocket, everyone braked earlier than I expected,” Wood admitted. Rob Chalmers settled in fourth, from Dobson, Maries, Allanson, Smith and Keenan. At the front though Wood made up for lost time and led out of the Banking, before making a decisive break. There was chaos at the Corkscrew though, after Maries and Allanson collided on the second lap. “I had got past Chris and then he tagged my back wheel, I spun and couldn’t start the engine again,” said Allanson. “I had been in third briefly after a good start, I wasn’t trying to fight off Chris and although I was on full lock I was still on the kerbs, but he turned in too early before he was clear and flipped me round, it bent the chassis and the wishbone,” Maries replied.
Smith was therefore up to sixth, from Keenan, Woolfitt, Birrell and Forbes, with plenty more changes on the horizon. With Wood going ever more into the distance, Spencer started to come under attack for second. Smith shot past Dobson for fifth into Rocket, while down in ninth Forbes just had the lead over Birrell and Crompton. Chalmers Snr snatched second on lap four but Spencer stayed with him, “when I backed off for a yellow flag I lost out to Alastair’s power when it cleared,” said Spencer. Chalmers Jnr closed on them both, as well as have Smith edge nearer to him. But back in sixth Dobson was on his own, similarly Keenan in seventh, while Woolfitt headed Birell, Forbes and Crompton in a four way fight for eighth. Smith was up to fourth by the end of lap six, but further down Woolfitt was slowing. “I got a touch on the rear bodywork from Robbie Birrell and it pushed it onto the tyre, for a while the cockpit was full of tyre smoke,” said Woolfitt. “We both went for the same bit of track and I spun,” Birrell admitted. Both Forbes and Crompton had gone by before Birrell recovered, with Woolfitt down to 11th and under immediate pressure from Gorrie. With Wood cruising to a comfortable win of over 36 seconds, most of the positions were settled by halfway. Spencer regained second on lap seven. “Alastair got held up by a spinning Mini and I got him back,” he explained. But Chalmers Snr was still a comfortable third as Smith was kept busy holding Chalmers Jnr at bay. “I only backed off for a second but it was enough,” said Alastair. “That had been hard at the start as I got stuck behind Ric, even young Robert got me for a while,” he added. “It was a really good race and we’ve move on a lot. But I was so busy defending fourth I couldn’t think about moving up,” Smith replied. Dobson and Keenan remained on their own in sixth and seventh, “happy with that after panic in the assembly area when we found a hose rubbing on a pulley,” said Dobson. Forbes successfully kept Crompton at bay for eighth, “I could see Dennis in my mirrors most of the race, but had some catching to do after a terrible start,” said Forbes. “I could just about stay with Cam until my tyres went off,” Crompton replied. Birrell held onto tenth with Gorrie 11th and relieved to finish on the cars debut. “The engine temperature was up and I was on maximum revs on the back straight, but it’s early days,” said Gorrie. Cryer had started to close on Robey and took 12th place from him on the 10th lap, only to lose out again with a lap to go. “I started OK and then got boxed in and lost time getting past the two Vectra’s. I swapped twice with Iain, then dropped two places at the end in traffic,” said Cryer. He settled in 13th after retaking Woolfitt on the run to the flag. Hurst had fellow Vectra driver Rawlins pursuing him, “I psyched myself out at Turn One with a lap to go and spun off,” Rawlins explained. Thomas was next home with Vickers clinching 17th after an entertaining duel with Aukland. Dave Maries had a dice with Ingram until the Fiesta’s engine seized, leaving Morris, Coward and Codd to complete the finishers. RESULTS RACE 1
Race2 It was a change from the International circuit to the Coastal one for Sunday’s race. Spencer grabbed pole from the mornings qualifying, “I don’t think Ric could have been trying,” he said. But Wood was still second quickest after pitting early due to the amount of traffic. The Chalmers shared the second row once more. “Robert is so competitive. I should be quicker but don’t know where or how,” said Alastair. “It’s just nice to have the car back how it was before all the mishaps. It’s fun to be quick and reliable,” Rob replied. Smith headed the next row from Allanson, while Keenan once again had misfire problems. “It started OK and then came back at the end again,” he explained. Woolfitt was alongside having repaired the previous days damage, while Birrell and Dobson were fractionally apart on row five. Gorrie and Forbes had troublefree sessions but although Crompton should have lined up 13th, his BMW had snapped a driveshaft in the diff. Cryer also had problems, “the oil scavenge pump belt came off and I lost pressure,” he explained. Robey, Rawlins and Hurst were next up, before Chris Maries in a lowly 18th. “We did what we had to but it’s still understeering and lifting a wheel out of most of the corners,” he said. Thomas and Vickers shared the 10th row, with Aukland, Dave Maries, Morris, Coward and Codd completing the lineup. GRID RACE 2 ^ Spencer + Wood A.Chalmers R.Chalmers Smith Allanson Keenan Woolfitt Birrell Dobson Gorrie Forbes Crompton Cryer Rawlins Robey Hurst C.Maries Thomas C.Vickers D.Aukland D.Maries Morris Coward Codd With Ingram already absent from the previous day’s race and Crompton a casualty from qualifying, 24 cars lined up for the afternoons race. Spencer, Allanson, Alastair and Rob Chalmers, Keenan, Dobson and Woolfitt led the field away. The Chalmers’ Caterham’s both shot past Allanson on the run up to Rocket. Chalmers Snr had just taken the lead at Church on the second lap when Allanson touched the grass and came back across the track on two wheels, before being collected by the unsighted Smith. The impact was heavy and the race was immediately red flagged. “I thought I had held it, then it snapped as I rejoined the tarmac,” said Allanson, who escaped with a badly bruised knee after contact with the steering column. “I had seen Chris go off and nearly sideways, then lost sight and didn’t anticipate his change of direction,” Smith explained, after bending his steering such was the impact! From the restart Spencer kept the Chalmers at bay at the end of the opening lap, but it was Rob in second from father Alastair. “I had the lead in the bag and gave into pressure on the Banking and spun, too much throttle,” said Rob. “He spun right in front of me so I just hoped he got out of the way as I wasn’t lifting,” Alastair replied. In the confusion Wood emerged with second place to chase down Spencer, from Chalmers Snr, Dobson, Woolfitt, Chris Maries, Birrell, Forbes, Cryer and Robey. Out already was Hurst with his gearbox failing at the start, Gorrie with a broken chain plus Keenan and Codd too. Wood charged ahead through Turn One on the third lap, but Spencer had Chalmers Snr all over him for second. Further down the order Chalmers Jnr had already mounted a recovery, picking off Cryer and Robey. While Wood eased his way through to a double win. Alastair Chalmers made it past Spencer into School on the fourth lap and gradually consolidated his hold on second. But it was Rob Chalmers who came battling through to fourth. He took Forbes at Rocket on lap four and two laps later ousted Woolfitt, after he too had gained when Chris Maries had his engine blow. “I was having a great duel with Paul Woolfitt, pulled a gap and then the engine went going into the Banking,” said Maries. Dobson was a little more of a challenge for the Caterham driver, they swapped twice in one lap before it was settled exiting Peel on lap eight. Dobson held onto a clear fifth with Woolfitt in sixth. “After Chris got me I was still chasing but couldn’t catch him, I admit I did have a chuckle when I saw him pull off,” said the Mini driver. Birrell was an early retirement. “I had been chasing Chris Maries, he left a gap and I stuck my nose in it and was left on the wrong side of the track and spun. I rejoined but had no oil pressure so pulled off,” he explained. Forbes, Robey and Cryer had another racelong scrap. Forbes had the advantage throughout but was almost caught by Robey at the end for seventh. The BMW driver had taken Cryer four laps earlier after threatening for much of the race. “It was fine I knew I was going to hold Kevin off too,” Forbes reckoned. “I made a fighting comeback but nearly ran out of fuel,” said Robey. “When I was catching Cam I thought he had slowed, but it was me going too fast and I lost ground by going wide on the approach to the Hairpin,” added Cryer. Rawlins followed Cryer home to complete the top ten, with Vickers a solitary 11th. Aukland clinched 12th after being harassed by Thomas’ Mini. “I was catching Duncan again until my throttle stuck open,” said Thomas. Dave Maries, Morris and Coward completed the finishers. RESULTS RACE 2
Issued by Peter Scherer for BARC (NW) August 12th, 2009.
Rounds 7&8, Croft, July 11th/12th 2009 Spencer unstoppable There was no stopping Robert Spencer, his Stuart Taylor Locosaki was unbeatable on the annual visit to the North East, taking a double win from pole position. The sun was out and it was dry for the 25 car entry to set out for the morning qualifying session. Spencer set his pole time on the first flying lap, but it was all very close behind. Chris Maries’ MK Indy and Peter Davies’ Caterham R400 were only 0.2secs adrift of the poleman. Alongside Davies on the second row was Alastair Chalmers Caterham CSR, “I hit the tyres again at the chicane like last year after it understeered wide. It broke a bottom arm,” he explained. Paul Dobson’s Mazda RX7 headed the third row, I had another oil leak and it made me more sideways than usual, especially on the grass,” he said. Chris Allanson’s Z Cars Mini was alongside, fractionally quicker than Dennis Crompton’s BMW M3. “We didn’t finish rebuilding it after Oulton until this morning. It was finally right and then jammed in sixth gear, so the gearbox is in pieces,” Crompton explained. Robert Chalmers was disappointed to be down in eighth, “I must try harder and we need a bit of fettling on the set up,” he reckoned. Kingsley Ingram was next up with his ex BTCC Mazda 323F, which last saw service in this Championship with Nick Cresswell at the wheel. “It’s a learning curve, it’s getting steeper but going in the right direction now,” he said. Cam Forbes’ Westfield rounded off the top ten, “I lost the front mudguard as it started to disassemble itself,” he explained. Danny Keenan’s MK Indy had the clutch pedal sticking. “It was soon sorted though,” he said. He had Kevin Cryer’s Caterham alongside, while the seventh row was all Mini with Paul Woolfitt heading Jeremy Snowden. There were the usual dramas for Darren Smith’s TVR Tuscan on his first trip to Croft. “I must test before racing,” he said repeatedly. “I had no idea where the track went and got lost when I spun at the Complex,” he added. But Duncan Aukland got further than last year. “I caught fire in the assembly area, but took it easy today bedding in brakes, my first new ones this year,” he said. He had Christopher Thomas alongside in his Z Cars Mini, first time out for nine months. Paul Sampson had fixed his Suzuki SC100’s suspension after problems at Oulton, to head the Vauxhall Vectra’s of David Rawlins and Mike Hurst. They were followed by Ralph Underwood’s TriumphTR7 V8, Bob Claxton’s Renault 21 Turbo, Dave Maries’ Westfield and Brian Allen’s Ford Fiesta XR2i, before Andy Robey’s BMW M3 brought up the rear after a problem with tyres. Race 1 Crompton was the only casualty from qualifying and so it was a 24 car line up for Saturday’s race. As the lights went out Spencer led the charge to Clervaux, from Maries, Allanson, Dobson, Chalmers Snr, Davies and Forbes. Davies edged ahead of Chalmers before the end of the opening lap, while Woolfitt, Keenan and Chalmers Jnr slotted in behind Forbes to complete the early top ten. Into the pits though was Thomas, having picked up a front puncture on the opening lap. On only the second lap the lead pair made a break, but were still running nose to tail. Maries made his move at the Complex, and as they exiting for the run to the Hairpin he was marginally ahead. Dobson had taken Allanson for third around the outside at Tower, while behind them Davies and Chalmers Snr were running virtually as one. Further down the order Keenan had slipped up and dropped from ninth to 13th, which put Cryer into the top ten as he chased down Chalmers Jnr. Spencer regained the lead into Sunny on the next lap, as Davies demoted Allanson and started to set his sights on Dobson’s third place. Behind sixth placed Chalmers A it was nose to tail with Forbes heading Chalmers R, Woolfitt and Cryer, while Snowden started to lose touch in 11th. Although the lead duo were out on their own, it was far from settled behind. Chalmers A took Allanson for fifth on lap four to resume his duel with Davies. Woolfitt and Cryer both moved up to, as Chalmers R spun at the Hairpin. Robey was also making good progress into 12th by lap four, after working passed the recovering Keenan, before taking Snowden a lap later. As Spencer started to increase his lead, Davies had a couple of glances on Dobson’s inside, as Chalmers A waited in the wings and Allanson started to drop back. Cryer was also ready to make a move on Forbes, having battled past Woolfitt, after both had demoted Chalmers R. Davies finally ousted Dobson on lap six, with Chalmers A following a lap later. Although Allanson was still a safe sixth, Cryer slipped past Forbes at Tower, but both had Keenan closing in. Spencer cruised through the remaining laps to take victory over Maries by just over two seconds. “I didn’t know this track at all, it was hard and very wild,” said Spencer. “That was the best start I have had all season. I knew if I harried him he would go grasstracking, but he didn’t and wouldn’t slow down either. The car was much improved, but I am sorry to say Robert was braver than me,” said Maries. The battle for third went almost to the flag. On the tenth lap Davies, Chalmers A and Dobson arrived at the Complex nose to tail. Dobson went into fourth at the Hairpin, but Chalmers retook at Clervaux. But a lap later Dobson clipped Chalmers rear at the Hairpin and spun him, but Davies then made a wild exit and seemed to be heading for the pitwall, but recovered his composure to clinch the place. “I didn’t make too good a start, but I was better at braking than Alastair. When I nearly lost it I didn’t know whether to head for the pitlane or the track but held it,” he explained. The contact with Chalmers had broken Dobson’s oil cooler. “I caught up again when Peter and Alastair started fighting, but then I hit Alastair at the Hairpin,” admitted Dobson. Allanson had moved back into fourth after Dobson’s retirement, but was caught and passed into the Complex on the last lap by the recovering Chalmers. “That was so entertaining with Mr Davies, he was lurid at times. I had to back off for self preservation,” said Chalmers. “My brakes started to fade from halfway and then when Alastair caught me the long straights didn’t help much,” Allanson replied. Keenan got passed Woolfitt with six laps to go and had a great final duel with Cryer, before claiming sixth on the penultimate lap. “I am chuffed to bits with that, but I did run over the back of Cam’s car at the start and the lost my engine cover,” admitted Keenan. Cryer completed the top six, “I had a good race with Cam for six seven laps and then with Danny but I had to let him go,” he said. Forbes vacated seventh after 12 laps. “I was doing well with Kevin but was caught Dobbo’s oil and he got away. Then I spun at the chicane and couldn’t restart,” he explained. With Woolfitt out a lap later with a broken driveshaft, Smith came through to eighth after a mid race duel with Ingram. Robey also closed but was handed a jump start penalty, but still retained ninth after taking Ingram with a couple of laps to go. “I just got into it and started passing cars,” said Robey. Snowden was a solitary 11th and likewise Aukland in 12th. The Vectra duo of Hurst and Rawlins were next home, ahead of Underwood and Dave Maries, who spent most of the race wheel to wheel. Sampson was 17th with Rob Chalmers 18th after pitting with a misfire. Claxton and Allen completed the finishers.
RESULTS RACE 1
Race 2 The grid for Sunday’s race was taken from the second fastest lap of qualifying. It was still Spencer and Maries on the front row, but it was Maries turn to take pole. Davies and Alastair Chalmers were on the second row, with Dobson and Robert Chalmers sharing the third. Allanson and Ingram were on the fourth row with Keenan and Forbes completing the top ten. Crompton wasn’t the only absentee however as Allanson couldn’t get his Z Cars Mini started in the assembly area. But at the back there was an addition, Andrew Wilson’s Toyota Starlet. Spencer again made the best getaway, with Chalmers A, Maries, Davies, Chalmers R and Dobson in line through Hawthorn. Maries took second at Sunny and Dobson was up to fifth as Chalmers R was already showing signs of his recurring misfire. Keenan lost seventh to Snowden into Tower and Sampson limped into retirement after only one lap. The lead pair made another early break, as Chalmers took Davies for third at Clervaux and Dobson began to shadow them both, in a repeat of their three way fight in race one. Keenan had regained his advantage over Snowden for sixth, but Forbes, Woolfitt, Cryer, Ingram and Smith had all started to up their pace too. While the lead duo circulated almost side by side Dobson took Davies for fourth at the Complex on lap three, before returning the gesture a lap later. In the meantime their exchanges had allowed Chalmers Snr to consolidate third. Keenan was also a clear sixth after Snowden pitted on lap four, but up seventh came Ingram, after ousting Woolfitt at Clervaux. Maries continued to threaten Spencer until the ninth lap, when his brave attempt to challenge for the lead on the inside of Clervaux, ended in the gravel leaving Spencer clear. “Until then I just couldn’t get rid of him, that was much harder,” said Spencer celebrating his second win of the weekend. Chalmers managed to hold onto second but shared an eighth lap exchange with Davies, who finally broke the tow after getting out of shape at the Complex with a lap to go. “Everytime Peter tried to pass I had him covered today. He did get by a little but only a sniff,” said Chalmers. “What a fantastic weekend but the engine temperature was 100 degrees at the end so I think the engine’s gone,” Davies replied. Dobson finally fell back from the battle and had to defend his fifth place from Keenan. The MK Indy driver was rewarded for his efforts when he successfully challenged Dobson around the outside of the Hairpin on lap 11. They changed again briefly but Keenan held it over the last lap. Ingram understeered off at the Complex with three laps to go, but still retained a comfortable sixth. Smith got passed Woolfitt to secure seventh into the Hairpin on lap 11, but had Cryer closing again as they took the flag. “I made a few more basic schoolboy errors, but was fairly cautious,” said Smith. “That was great today,” Woolfitt added. “Everyone was just out of reach for most of the time, then I got Paul at Tower and lost it again,” said Cryer. Forbes had again challenged in the top ten, but left in dramatic fashion. “The front mudguard stay broke and jammed the front wheel after the Esses,” he explained. Robey completed the top ten, followed by Aukland, Hurst, Thomas, Rawlins and Dave Maries, who were all a lap down. Wilson was settled in 11th until he slowed towards the end, finishing 17th behind Claxton. Underwood and Allen were the final finishers, after Chalmers R stayed in the pits with his worsening misfire. RESULTS RACE 2
Fastest lap: C.Maries 1m30.437s (84.59mph).
by Peter Scherer for BARC (NW) July 14th, 2009.
Round 6, Oulton Park, June 20th Chalmers triumphant return Alastair Chalmers made a triumphant return to the championship in his rebuilt Caterham CSR, in a red flag interrupted race that saw seven of the 31 starters eliminated on the opening lap! Qualifying The track was fairly wet for the mornings qualifying and it was novice Adam Morgan that secured pole in his Ginetta G50. “It was quite greasy and then as it got drier the tyres went off, so I hope it’s dry for the race,” he said. Robert Spencer’s Locosaki was second quickest, “it melted my wets as it was too dry at the end. No real problems though,” he reckoned. Despite only having finished the cars rebuild on the Thursday evening before the race, Chalmers was fairly happy with third best. “Daz & Rob did a great job as we hadn’t tested or anything before qualifying,” he explained. Completing the second row was former XR2 racer Jan Van Nierop having his first race for a couple of years. His ex 1991 French Supertourisme title winning car only had slicks so the team had everything crossed for the race. Chris Allanson’s Z Cars Mini had constant rival Chris Maries alongside again on row three in his MK Indybusa. “I tried to look after my wets just in case. Apart from being a bit loose at the back it was fine,” said Maries. Surprisingly down on seventh was Champion Paul Dobson. “I was bedding in my brakes and took it steady,” said the Mazda RX7 driver. He was joined on row four by the Silhouette Vauxhall Tigra of John Morris. “I had overfilled with oil and it got onto my brake pedal and so I missed it a few times,” he explained. Danny Keenan was next up in the second MK Indy. “I much prefer the dry, but if I had been brave I could have gone for slicks,” he reckoned. Dennis Crompton’s BMW M3 completed the row. “I was on slicks, same as Paul Dobson and Chris Allanson. Had a few slides but got round,” he said. Duncan Aukland had a couple of “moments” at Island in the damp, but still headed row six in his Rover 3500SE. For Darren Smith it uneventful for once. “It was getting dry before my wets got any temperature so I just did a few laps. It’s academic where I qualify anyway, as I always fall back at the start,” he said. Paul Woolfitt’s Z Cars Mini and David Rawlins’ Vauxhall Vectra shared the next row, from Tom Andrew’s Seat Leon Cupra and Kevin Cryer’s Caterham. “I only just finished putting it back together last night, so it’s a shakedown and it seemed OK,” said Cryer. Simon Parker’s Vectra, James Aukland’s Capri, David Hinde’s Vectra and Robbie Birrell’s Caterham completed the top 20. “I just want to take it steady this time, it’s my last race of the year,” said Aukland. “I had no grip with my wets, understeer one way and oversteer the next,” added Birrell. Graham Brindley’s Escort headed the 11th row from Mike Hurst’s Vectra, while next up was championship debutant Brian Dean. The ex Kit Car racer was taking time out from the Westfield Series with his Sei. Andy Robey was another struggling for pace and grip with his BMW M3 down in 24th. Ralph Underwood was back with his TR7 V8 and just had the edge over Colin Vickers’ Capri. “I lowered it a bit and rebuilt the front wing, but don’t know if it works yet,” said Vickers. Peter Wann’s Westfield, Bob Claxton’s Renault 21 Turbo, Dave Maries’ Westfield, Darren Scholes’ VW Golf Gti and Phil Hall’s Banks Europa completed the line up. “I overfilled the gearbox and spit it out, so just trundled round,” said Hall. Race There were no casualties from qualifying but after one lap seven cars were out of action. As Morgan struggled away from pole, Spencer led Allanson, Van Nierop and Chalmers into Old Hall. Rawlins had spun his Vectra though and chaos followed. “I just lost it and thought I had missed everyone,” he said. But the Capri’s of Vickers and James Aukland were both immediate victims, while Birrell had an off at Cascades as he tried to avoid the spinning Smith. “I went on the grass to try and get round but hit the tyre wall,” he explained. With the track partially blocked red flags were expected, but the leaders were already coming through to complete the lap before the lights came on. The result was that Dean braked to avoid the cars in the road and was collected hard in the rear by Crompton. “It’s a bit ironic as I came here from Westfields to avoid damage,” said Dean. From the restart Spencer again led the way from Chalmers, Dobson, Allanson, Van Nierop and Morgan. Chalmers dived ahead on the second lap as the gap to third grew quickly. Maries headed the chasers after Dobson’s engine let go and Morgan rode over the back of Allanson at Lakeside. “There was oil down from Paul Dobson, we were tight when I touched the oil and Adam hit me. It wasn’t his fault,” said Allanson. So although Chalmers began to build a lead, Spencer, Maries, Keenan, Woolfitt and the recovering Allanson, minus rear bodywork, had all closed up, while Van Nierop had his eyes on Aukland’s seventh place. Aukland’s defence not only allowed Van Nierop to breach it a lap later, but Parker’s Vectra too. Spencer eased clear again in second but Keenan lost out to Woolfitt and Allanson in the battle for fourth. Allanson ousted Z Cars team mate Woolfitt a lap later and started to cast his net towards Maries. Van Nierop was on his own too in seventh, but had Cryer and Smith carving through the field behind. Morris had worked his way up ninth but spun at Lodge, which also delayed Smith’s charge too. “I had spun at Cascades in the first part and then went though the gravel at Lodge before getting back on,” said Smith. Chalmers eventually took the flag over 12 seconds clear. “It was a good clean move when I got ahead, but can’t remember where it was,” he said. “I was never going to get any closer, as my clutch, brakes and tyres were all running out,” added second placed Spencer. Only 0.021secs parted Maries and Allanson in third and fourth, “it was gifted I suppose. I had terminal right hand understeer but it was OK to the left. I need to match the tyres more,” said Maries. Van Nierop made it into fifth at Old Hall with three laps to go, “that was the hardest race I have ever had, but the car was stunning,” he reckoned. Woolfitt retained a well deserved sixth with Smith finally settling in seventh, after taking Cryer on the last lap. Parker had a number of exchanges with Aukland before ninth was settled in his favour. “It was survival, as Darren spun in front of me at the first start and left me facing oncoming traffic. Then he spun in front of me again at Island,” said Aukland. Morris recovered from his earlier spin to take 11th, with an uncharacteristically off pace Robey 12th. Brindley and Andrew had a great duel for 13th which finally went the way of Brindley’s Escort, while Hurst, Underwood, Claxton, Dave Maries, Hall and Scholes completed the finishers, after Keenan was blackflagged from a promising sixth. RESULTS
Class A: 1 Van Nierop; 2 Smith; 3 Brindley; no other finishers. Class B: 1 Chalmers; 2 Cryer; 3 John Morris (Vauxhall Tigra); 4 Dave Maries (Westfield SEi). Class C: 1 Spencer; 2 C.Maries; 3 Allanson; 4 Woolfitt; no other finishers. Class D: 1 Parker; 2 Aukland; 3 Andy Robey (BMW M3); 4 Tom Andrew (Seat Leon Cupra); 5 Mike Hurst (Vauxhall Vectra); 6 Ralph Underwood (Triumph TR7 V8); 7 Bob Claxton (Renault 21 Turbo). Class E: Darren Scholes (VW Golf Gti); no other starters. Class F: 1 Phil Hall (Banks Europa); no other starters. Fastest lap: Chalmers 1m30.993s (88.06mph).
Issued by Peter Scherer for BARC (NW) June 22nd, 2009.
Round 4, Oulton Park, May 23rd
25 years of the championship were celebrated in fine style. Many former champions were present and they were greeted by over 40 cars, which necessitated two classes being run in a separate race. Fittingly it was current sponsor Ric Wood’s that took the victory spoils in his ex DTM Opel Astra. Robert Pritchard’s Caterham Vauxhall secured pole, but he was unable to race after a collision towards the end of the qualifying session. “I got my braking wrong into Knickerbrook, went across the grass and hit Matt Jones’ Mini. The chassis is bent and the front suspension broken,” he explained. Wood was 0.390s slower but was having trouble meeting the noise limits. Race debutant Adam Morgan was next up in his Ginetta G50. “I am pleased with that, but I am here for signatures,” said the Historic rally regular. Ian Hall’s Darrian should have been alongside, but was another qualifying victim. “It’s a major engine problem and losing a lot of oil,” he said. Paul Sheard brought his Ginetta G50 out for the first time in the championship to head row three, with defending champion Paul Dobson’s Mazda RX7 alongside. “I had a big moment at Knickerbrook when I was bedding in the clutch. I used too much kerb and it even made the marshals run,” he reckoned.
After a lengthy absence former XR2 Champion Richard Casey was back with his Mini, having replaced the supercharger with a turbo and built a new six speed gearbox. “I damaged the front and steering though hitting Bob Claxton’s Renault,” he said. Patrick Smyth was another returnee, surprising even himself with his Lotus Elan’s reliability. Dennis Crompton’s BMW M3 was also on song and completed the fifth row. “It’s beautiful now,” he said. Having only started circuit racing last season Cam Forbes continues to get quicker in his Westfield SEiW. “The only thing not working properly was my in car camera,” he said. The first of the Vauxhall Vectra’s was alongside with Simon Parker at the wheel, but Andy Robey’s BMW M3 managed head Parker’s rivals David Rawlins and Derek Kelly-Cooper. “We are still developing the car but it’s getting better every time,” said Robey. Another former sponsor and returnee Richard Winter was alongside Kelly-Cooper with his Banks Europa 62 GTR. “It’s 18 months since my last race, the car is like an old pair of slippers, but the clutch is slipping,” he explained. Duncan Aukland’s trusty Rover 3500SE headed the next row from David Hinde’s Vectra. “I tweaked the geometry a bit and went the wrong way,” said Aukland.
Having debuted now BMW powered Capri at Cadwell, Colin Vickers headed
row six, from Mike Hurst’s Vectra. Peter Wann was delighted and
surprised to have his Westfield just behind. Ralph Underwood’s TR7 V8 was finished on the eve of the meeting, while the grid was completed by Tony Glover’s Nissan 200SX, Dave Maries’ Westfield Sei, Brian Allen’s XR2i, Bob Claxton’s Renault 21 Turbo and Matt Jones’ Mini. Nicholas Bartlett’s Lancia Delta Integrale started from the back after his qualifying was cut short with a red flag, after he went off at Old Hall after two laps. “It was my first race meeting, first time on slicks and I just skated off. I am glad the damaged wasn’t too bad as I drove it here on the road,” he said. With Pritchard and Hall both absent, Winter elected to start from the pitlane and Wood from the back of the grid, which effectively left Morgan on pole for his race debut. As
the lights went out though Morgan sat almost stationery as his wheels
spun, leaving him fifth into Old Hall, behind Dobson, Sheard, Davies and
Chalmers. Smith soon picked off Chalmers and took Morgan too into Old
Hall on the second lap. Davies briefly held third into Knickerbrook, but
outbraked himself, while at the front Sheard By the end of lap three the lead had reduced substantially, while Smith was flying in third, having shaken off both Morgan and the dueling Caterham’s of Davies and Chalmers. But Wood lay in wait having charged from the back row of the grid into ninth, only to pick off Chalmers, Forbes and Crompton on the next lap. Morgan came back to challenge Smith again for third, but Wood’s progress was unrelenting, taking Davies and Morgan on consecutive laps. Sheard (right) snatched the lead on lap six, but rather than focusing his challenge to retake the lead, Dobson found Wood’s Astra looming ever larger in his mirrors, as the top five shot past the pits line astern. Wood made his decisive move into Knickerbrook on lap seven and eased his way to a comfortable victory. As Sheard consolidated second, Dobson was absorbed into a battle with Morgan and Smith for third. But on lap 10 Dobson ran out of brakes. “Into Knickerbrook it was pedal to the floor, then it came back before there was nothing at Druids. Darren and I touched and we both went off,” he explained. “Yes new tyres would have been prudent, but it didn’t matter when I had a little off at Knickerbrook before joining Paul in the gravel at Druids,” Smith replied. Morgan was set for third until he spun too, “I lost it at Island,” he said. Davies finally shook off Chalmers to clinch third and class victory, before Morgan recovered in fifth. “A podium at last after far too long. I had a great race with Rob but I had the edge this time,” said Davies. “I had a misfire that kept clearing. Then I got ahead of Peter and it went flat again,” Chalmers replied.
Forbes had an untroubled run to sixth place, despite having Crompton
shadowing him for much of the race. “Brilliant, but that little sports
car was just too quick up the hills,” said Crompton. “It must have been good, I feel battered but the car is fine. I could see Peter and Rob ahead but just couldn’t catch them,” added Forbes. Smyth caught them both after only five laps, but failed to make any further progress. “I watched them battling but it was a bit too close to get involved after two years without starting a race, but I had brakes too this time,” he said. Casey pitted from eighth after 11 laps leaving Parker and Robey to complete the top ten, having swapped places on lap nine when Robey spun. “It was Druids I had a full 360, but chased Duncan’s Rover once I got moving again. Aukland succumbed within a lap, but still held onto 11th and was the last unlapped runner.
The Vectra’s of Rawlins, Hinde
RESULTS
Class A: 1 Wood; 2 Sheard; 3 Morgan; 4 Richard Winter (Banks Europa 62GTR) no other finishers. Class B: 1 Davies; 2 Chalmers; 3 Forbes (Westfield SEiW); 4 Smyth; 5 Richard Billingham (Mini Clubman); 6 Peter Wann (Westfield Sei); 7 Dave Maries (Westfield Sei); 8 Lee Jones (Mini). Class D: 1 Parker; 2 Robey; 3 Duncan Aukland (Rover 3500SE); 4 David Rawlins (Vauxhall Vectra); 5 David Hinde (Vauxhall Vectra); 6 Tom Andrew (Seat Leon Cupra); 7 Ralph Underwood (Triumph TR7 V8); 8 Bob Claxton (Renault 21 Turbo); 9 Tony Glover (Nissan 200SX); 10 Nicholas Bartlett (Lancia Delta Integrale). Class E: 1 Crompton; 2 Derek Kelly-Cooper (Vauxhall Vectra); 3 Mike Hurst (Vauxhall Vectra); 4 Brian Allen (Ford Fiesta XR2i). Fastest lap: Wood 1m29.293s (89.74mph).
Classes C& F joined in with the Max 5 racers for their race. Chris Maries’ MK Indy took pole from Robert Spencer’s Locosaki, with Chris Allanson’s Z Cars Mini and Danny Keenan’s MK Indy on the second row. The Caterham’s of Robbie Birrell and Matthew Gillbanks shared row three, leaving Phil Hall’s Banks Europa , Howard Hunt’s Mazda MX5, Anthony Hayes’ Mini and Matthew Spencer’s Peugeot 205 Gti to complete the line up.
Allanson built a big lead on the opening lap of the race, after Maries hit Spencer hard in the rear and put himself out of the race. Spencer recovered in second and hauled in Allanson before taking the lead on lap six. Allanson kept the pressure on but finally fell back to settle in second. “Robert got me when I put two wheels on the grass at Clay Hill, then my tyres went off. Keenan was a solitary third until the closing laps. “I had to back off as it had a flat spot,” he explained. Birrell pipped him on the last lap, with Gillbanks taking fifth and Hall sixth, despite doing most of the race in sixth gear. Hayes, Hunt and Matthew Spencer made it to the flag too. RESULTS
Class C: 1 R.Spencer; 2 Allanson; 3 Birrell; 4 Keenan; 5 Gillbanks. Class F: 1 Hall; 2 Hayes; 3 Hunt; 4 M.Spencer. Fastest lap: Allanson 1m32.989s (86.17mph).
Issued by Peter Scherer for BARC (NW) May 26th, 2009. pics Richard Pascal 11/56Motorsport
Round 3, Cadwell Park, April 26th, 2009 In previous years it had sometimes been a struggle to reach double figures on the grid for the trip to Cadwell Park, but a massive 30 car line up not only guaranteed a capacity grid, but had reserves too. It was bright and sunny for the mornings qualifying session, which with 30 cars out once was extremely busy. Two returning former champions topped the times, with Ian Hall’s Darrian T98 GTR securing pole by 0.365secs. “I didn’t think I was quickest. I have cured the old oil leaks but got a new one,” he said. Robert Pritchard’s Caterham Vauxhall was alongside, “I haven’t been in the car for months so it takes some getting used to again. I love this circuit though and have ridden bikes here quiet a lot,” he added. The “evolution” Talbot Sunbeam Lotus of Joss Ronchetti headed the second row. “Everything is working now, but we have still got things to do,” he reckoned. Defending champion Paul Dobson was fractionally behind in his Mazda RX7. “I came in a bit early to save my tyres,” he said. “I really struggled to get a clear lap,” said fifth best Robert Spencer in his Stuart Taylor Locosaki. But up in sixth was the first of Z Cars Mini’s in Paul Woolfitt’s hands. Heading the fourth row was a delighted Dennis Crompton. “We have got rid of the vibration at last, now it’s just me that needs sorting out,” said the BMW M3 driver. Z Cars boss Chris Allanson was only slightly off Crompton’s best, but ninth quickest Robbie Birell was the biggest surprise in his Caterham. Still a novice and considerably quicker than many of the seasoned campaigners. Having repaired BMW after his debut shunt at Oulton, Andy Robey rounded off the top ten. “We have still got a lot of issues with the car, but it much better than Oulton,” he said. Kevin Cryer’s Caterham headed Darren Smith’s TVR Tuscan on row six. “I haven’t been here for years, but everything seemed OK,” said Cryer. “It’s my first time ever and the aim is to go home in one piece,” Smith added. Although Chris Maries was 13th best he only recorded one lap after his MK Indy broke another rose joint. Andrew Wilson was fairly happy with his Toyota Starlet and Paul Sampson had a troublefree session with his Suzuki SC100. Simon Deaton’s Subaru was next but didn’t take up the start, while Duncan Aukland was back after missing the Oulton rounds in his Rover 3500SE. It was welcome back too for Colin Vickers in 18th place, with his home built Ford Capri now sporting a 5 litre BMW engine from an M5. Jeremy Snowden’s Z Cars Mini was next, with Danny Keenan’s MK Indy alongside. But like team mate Maries, Keenan was sidelined after one lap when his diff broke. Cam Forbes had only been to Cadwell once before, to watch a bike race 15 years ago. “It was scary,” he reckoned after qualifying his Westfield 21st. Graham Brindley had tried to lower his Escort a little to help the handling.”It’s difficult as I rally the car as well,” he said. Anthony Wilson’s Mini was next, but Phil Hall was another early casualty when his Banks Europa broke its gearbox. Brian Allen’s XR2i, Dave Maries’ Westfield, Rob Gough’s Mini, John Spencer’s Peugeot 205 Gti, David Rawlins’ Vauxhall Vectra and Ade Vickers Capri all made it out too, but Gough blew his engine, Rawlins lost his exhaust system and Vickers blew a core plug. Race It was poleman Hall that that headed the charge to Coppice after the lights went out, with Pritchard and Dobson side by side for second. But Pritchard had the line into Charlies however. Ronchetti, Spencer, Maries, Allanson, Crompton, Robey and Woolfitt completed the top ten on the opening lap, the latter having been left at the start. Having lost out to Maries through Barn, Allanson tried to retake into Coppice, but was forced to back off. Back at the front Pritchard was all over the back of the leading Darrian through Hall Bends, while Ronchetti began to pile the pressure on Dobson for third. Woolfitt and Cryer were also on the move, demoting Robey on consecutive laps, but passing places were at a premium with such a large field. While Pritchard kept Hall honest at the head of the field, Dobson responded to Ronchetti and consolidated his place once more. But having shaken off Allanson, Maries had Spencer in his sights for his next target and snatched fifth into Coppice on lap four. Allanson also had his mirrors full of Crompton and Woolfitt, while behind them Cryer led a four car train for 10th. Cresting the Mountain for the fifth time Hall struggled for gears and almost stopped. Pritchard was forced to take to the grass but managed to grab the lead as Hall recovered. Allanson lost seventh to Crompton too, while Cryer lost out to Smith, Keenan and Birell in one lap. Hall’s problem had obviously been temporary, but Pritchard still had a slight advantage. But with four laps to go Hall charged back in front and managed to hold his marginal advantage for the remaining laps, taking victory by 0.209secs. Dobson and Ronchetti held station behind, but closed considerably again at the end. “My tyres were going off as usual,” said Dobson. “It was bit lonely, but everything worked and we are all in piece”, replied Ronchetti. Spencer regained a clear fifth and class C win after Maries had another rose joint failure on the eighth lap., while Crompton managed to fend off the constant attentions of Allanson to secure sixth. “It didn’t help at the start when my team mate stalled in front of me. But it was a good scrap with Dennis and just a shame the only time I passed him was after the flag,” said Allanson. After Woolfitt fell away from the sixth place battle, he lost out to Keenan with three laps to go and then Smith on the last tour to complete the top ten. “I kept losing out in traffic,” admitted Woolfitt. “I just needed a target to chase, I kept slowing down when I was on my own,” said Keenan in his first ever car race. Smith found the whole experience of his first Cadwell Park experience “exhilarating.” He can’t wait for a return trip too. Sampson pulled off at the top of the Mountain after his Suzuki expired and Cryer joined the retirements with a couple of laps to go. “I lost it at Barn and hit the armco,” he explained. Birell held onto 11th with Robey 12th after he slipped onto the grass at the top of the Mountain. “It felt Ok then no grip and I spun,” he said. Aukland and Andrew Wilson both made it by Forbes on the 10th lap when the Westfield driver spun at the Gooseneck, while Snowden had a solitary race in 16th. Rawlins, Vickers, Brindley, Anthony Wilson, Dave Maries, Allen and John Spencer completed the 23 finishers. RESULTS
Peter Scherer for BARC (NW) April 28th, 2009. Rounds 1&2, Oulton Park, March 28th, 2009
But there was no repeat for Chalmers in the drier second race, as both he and Mike Blomfield’s Sierra crashed heavily under lappery at Druids, gifting Paul Dobson a surprise win as the red flags flew. Practice Chalmers claimed pole by nearly two seconds from Dobson’s Mazda RX7. “It was a nice clear run, just a case of fuel it and go,” he said. “I have made a few changes, like a new paint job and more aerodynamic mirrors, but it felt good and I had loads of grip,” Dobson replied. Blomfield’s Sierra headed row two, “we have just got it fixed after last year,” he said. He had works MK Indy driver Chris Maries alongside. “There was no real power bottom end, but we are making a few tweaks,” he reckoned. Heading the third row was returnee Mark Campbell, having totally rebuilt his Lotus Elan. “It’s the first time out in the car for two years, so it’s more of a shakedown. We had a small oil leak and a slight brake problem though,” he explained. Former co-sponsor Dennis Crompton was next up, but was disappointed with his BMW M3. “I have still got the same vibration in fifth and sixth gear as I had last year,” he explained. Although Rob Chalmers’s Caterham should have been seventh, he was sidelined with a blown engine. “I had spun at Cascades and got back in the groove before there was loads of smoke at Lodge, so I pulled off,” he said. It hadn’t been a good week for Chalmers Jnr, as he had also broken his road cars gearbox and had a hospital stay. Not even his Jenson Button overall’s could change his luck! Robert Spencer was therefore alone on the fourth row in his Stuart Taylor Locosaki, just ahead of sponsor Ric Wood, in his newly acquired Audi V8 Star.”We have only had the car a few days and apart from painting it we haven’t done a thing. It needs transforming, but it’s got a lot of potential,” said Ric, who aims to race it in the Dutch Supercars. Chris Allanson’s Z Cars Mini was alongside Wood, “we finished it last night, more horse power, different tyres and more to come. We are already quicker than last year,” he reckoned. Darren Smith’s TVR Tuscan and Paul Woolfitt’s Z Cars Mini shared row six, Smith is planning to contest the whole championship this year. Kevin Cryer damaged his Caterham’s nose, but lined up on the next row with debutant Danny Keenan in the second MK Indy. Cam Forbes’ Westfield and Jeremy Snowden’s Z Cars Mini completed row eight. “I will just take it as it comes again,” reckoned Snowden. Three former Vauxhall Vectra Challenge cars were entered and Derek Kelly-Cooper was the best of them, heading row nine. He had better luck than David Hinde, whose clutch failed the night before. Colin Robinson MKI Escort was next, before a minute’s gap to Peter Wann’s Westfield. Another newcomer was Andy Robey. The ex Fiesta Challenge racer having his first race for a few years in a BMW M3, converted from a road car and only finished on the eve of the race. “I had no brakes, no set up and lots to do,” said Andy. Phil Hall’s Banks Europa was out for the first time with a sequential gearbox. “I had a few selection problems, but it’s flying,” he said. The second Vectra should have been next to him, but Dave Rawlins had an off and holed his radiator, so joined the absentees. Dave Maries’ Westfield and Bob Claxton’s Renault 21 Turbo shared row 12, while the rest of the grid was made up of Brian Allen’s XR2i, Anthony Hayes’ Mini, John Spencer’s Peugeot 205 Gti, Graham Brindley’s Escort, John Morris’ Peugeot 206 Silhouette, Lee Jones’ Mini and Evan Morris’ XR2. RACE ONE With Rob Chalmers, Rawlins and Evan Morris absent, it was a 28 car line up for the season opener, but Wood elected to start from the pitlane as the rain had continue to fall. As the lights went out Chalmers led the charge through Old Hall, from Dobson, Maries and Blomfield. Dobson’s first challenge paid off as Chalmers overshot at Island, while Allanson came charging into third as they headed for Knickerbrook. But for Campbell it was all over as he pitted after one lap. Blomfield was quickly under pressure from Smith, as it became evident his Sierra was struggling for grip in the conditions. Dobson and Chalmers were starting to go clear by the end of the second lap, as Maries was back up to fourth and chasing Allanson after a spin at Island. Both Smith and Kelly-Cooper had made it past Blomfield, as Spencer, Snowden and Robey closed in too. Cryer was just outside the top ten with a safe distance to Hall, after Forbes spun at Deer Leap. The battle for third became even closer and on some occasions too close. Maries made it through at Cascades but spun again down to seventh, while Allanson also lost out to Smith as they crested Deer Leap. Not known for giving in easily, Allanson retook exiting Old Hall and they shared a couple more exchanges before Smith was able to consolidate. The rain begin to get heavier as Chalmers closed in again to challenge Dobson’s lead. Maries had picked off Kelly-Cooper and Spencer and began to ease ever closer to another conflict with Allanson. As the Z cars chief upped his pace, he began to close on Smith again, but Maries continued to loom ever closer in his mirrors. Chalmers made his move at Cascades on the 10th lap, and by the exit of Island he was in front. “I lost third gear just before Alastair caught me,” Dobson explained. But it was Chalmers win by 0.849secs. “I was tentative at the start but then started to close on Paul. We both outbraked ourselves at Island, but Paul did it once more than me,” he said. Smith held onto a clear third. “It was an auspicious start to my season, so nice to get such a good result. I didn’t even know I was third though,” he explained. Maries claimed fourth minus his front bodywork, after more skirmishes with Allanson. “I spun twice at Island, but wasn’t happy with the contact I had with Chris on a couple of occasions. The final time I got chopped at Cascades, so didn’t back off, hit him and lost my bodywork,” Maries explained. He was later endorsed for the latter. Allanson still came home fifth, with Kelly-Cooper taking a class win in sixth. “I knew it would be good in the wet,” said the Vectra driver. Robert Spencer held onto seventh with Snowden eighth and a surprised second in class. “I was on my own and just stayed out of trouble,” he explained. Crompton recovered from a first lap spin at Island to finish ninth. “Chris Allanson had hit me on the start and then pushed me out at Island, so I had to wait until everyone gone to rejoin,” he said. Robey completed the top ten, well clear of Blomfield. “There was just no grip, but when I saw Ric Wood closing on me at the end I drove a very wide car,” added the Sierra driver. Wolfitt’s Mini followed Wood home 13th, while Cryer was disappointed to be down in 14th. “It was just awful, I really struggled for grip,” he said. Keenan lost out to Phil Hall when his engine expired on the last lap. “I got hit twice by someone and still had a few gear problems,” said Hall. Jones dropped back from a skirmish with Hall after clutch problems, but still made 16th, while Claxton, Wann, Allen, Dave Maries, John Spencer, Hayes and Brindley all made it to the end too.
RESULTS
RACE TWO
It was Chalmers that headed a very close start again, from Dobson, Blomfield, Maries and Allanson, while Campbell was spun at Old Hall. Allanson darted past Maries into Island, closely followed by Spencer, Kelly-Cooper, Snowden and Robey. As the lead trio eased clear again on the second lap, Robey’s race ended with an off at Cascades. “It was 99% my own fault,” he admitted. Maries took Allanson into Lodge and Spencer soon followed, before mounting his own challenge for Maries fourth place. The dry track allowed Blomfield to use all 6.7 litres of his Sierra’s power, taking Dobson into Knickerbrook on the fourth lap, before leading Chalmers over the line at the end of lap four. Wood was also on full song and picked off Allanson, but was promoted to fourth a lap later, when Maries spun into retirement. “A Bottom wishbone broke and it turned right before Knickerbrook,” said Maries. Spencer continued his good run in a strong fifth, after he slipped past Allanson, while Smith and Cryer both ran solo in seventh and eighth. Campbell worked his way back after his earlier spin, taking Forbes for ninth on lap six, both well clear of John Morris’ Peugeot and Crompton. Dobson had kept the pressure on Chalmers for second place after Blomfield built a lead, but when he started to drop back, Chalmers set his sights on a second win and closed down Blomfield’s advantage. The lead pair were nose to tail on the 10th lap when they arrived at Druids. “I indicated where I wanted them to go,” said Lee Jones, “at that speed I didn’t his indication,” Blomfield replied. The Sierra clipped the Mini and took the wheel arch off, before spinning and going airborne, as the unsighted Chalmers piled into him. “It was hard to tell what happened it was so fast. Mike was on the grass, I had nowhere to go and both cars are wrecked,” he said. With the race red flagged, Dobson was a surprised winner. “I had a standard gearbox back in and the clutch was slipping, so yes it was a surprise,” he said. Wood and Spencer completed the podium. “It just ran like clockwork, even better than in the rain in the first race,” Spencer added. Allanson was fourth and although Smith held fifth, Cryer had begun to make inroads when the race was stopped. “It’s a result and nothing was broken said Smith. “So much different in the dry, no problems at all,” Cryer replied. The start was enough for me, I just wanted to head Mike Blomfield for a while and I did, said Allanson. Although Campbell had pitted as the red flags came out, he was classified seventh, with Forbes, Morris and Crompton completing the top 10. Kelly-Cooper was classified 11th on the lead lap, with Wann and Rawlins fairly spread behind. Claxton retained 14th but had Brindley closing too at the end. Robinson, Hall, Jones, Allen, Dave Maries, Hayes and John Spencer all made it to the flag. “I was pleased to finish after my gearbox broke and left me in sixth,” said Hall. RESULTS
Peter Scherer for BARC (NW) March 30th, 2009. pics Paul Williams
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Peter
Davies (left) was more than happy to be seventh best in his
Caterham R400. “It’s my first time out without a problem since the new
engine, but my clutch cable snapped after qualifying,” he said. Darren
Smith’s TVR Tuscan was fractionally slower, “I decided not to use my new
tyres, but reckon I should have,” he said.
Richard Billingham’s Mini was out for the first time this season, while
James Aukland’s Capri made its first appearance since Croft last season,
heading Tom Andrew’s Seat on row seven. 
had
started to edge closer to Dobson’s lead.
(below)
(right)
It
was another huge turnout for this years opening double header at Oulton
Park, with 31 cars vying for the grid. As in 2008 the weather did its
best to make an impact and after dry qualifying it was Alastair
Chalmers’ Caterham CSR that claimed victory in round one as the rain
fell.
Although
both Rawlins and Evan Morris made it out for the second race, Keenan
joined Rob Chalmers on the sidelines for race two, as 29 cars lined up
on a now dry track.