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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 RADICAL EUROPEAN MASTERS & UK CUP FINAL ROUNDS, SNETTERTON Johnston and Moseley win two on route to the title Derek Johnston had regular partner Stuart Moseley alongside again as his double win made it a second successive title for the Nottinghamshire based Geordie. There were dramas for Roger Bromiley before the race had started. Having missed qualifying while his SR8 had an engine change, the works mechanic’s had to pull out all the stops when he dived for the pits on the green flag with a sticking paddle shift. Polesitter Terrence Woodward grabbed the early lead in his SR8, with Johnston joining him in an immediate break. Ben Jackson’s PR6 had made a lightning start to head Tony Freeman’s similar car, but both were soon reeled in by Richard Fearns SR8 and fell to him on laps three and four respectively. Manhal Allos’ SR8 was next to chase down Freeman, which left Mike Gardner, Colin Noble and Paul Thomas to battle it out nose to tail in the Supersports class. While Allos stormed past Freeman for fifth on lap six, a lap later it was all change at the front too. “The plan had been to stay behind Terrence and leave it to Stuart in the second half as usual, until he went wide at Riches. Then I changed my mind I wanted to lead and give him the easy job for a change,” said Johnston. As Johnston started to consolidate his lead over Woodward, “I was struggling with understeer again. It was OK when the tyres were new, but got worse as they wore in,” said Woodward. Jackson also began to close again on Fearns for third. “I spun on oil at Sear and then outbraked myself at Russell,” Fearns explained. Jackson was back into third from Allos, but Gardiner managed to take Freeman as they all negotiated Fearns stationery car, and the duelling Noble and Thomas had both gone through before Fearns recovered. As the pitstop window approached Fearns had managed to work his way back to fifth, while Freeman retook Gardner. But the second half was more settled with Moseley easing through to victory by over 11 seconds from Ross Kaiser in Woodward’s car. “I was nearly caught out on the oil at the beginning of my stint and outbraked myself a couple of times too,” said Moseley. “I was too restricted in cornering, as we still had high speed understeer,” Kaiser replied. Fearns was set for third until he misread a pit signal. “It was a black and white warning flag and though it was a drive through so I came in,” he explained. The delay was enough to hand third to Allos, but he still held onto a clear fourth. Noble secured another class win and the class title, after Gardner pitted early to retire with a broken driveshaft. Despite starting from the pitlane Bromiley/Rob Wheldon still came home sixth, ahead of Phil Abbott/Simon Fish’s SR3. “What a lovely car to drive, so precise and the chassis was really rigid in a good way. It’s the real business,” said Fish. With Thomas/Loughran out early with a broken rear spoiler and a diff that “gave out,” Paul McClughan/Alex Kapadia, Ben/Michael Jackson and Simon Garmston completed the finishers. RESULTS RACE 1
Masters Class: Johnston/Moseley; 2 Woodward/Kaiser; 3 Allos; 4 Fearns; 5 Bromiley/Wheldon. Supersports: 1 Noble; 2 Abbott/Fish; 3 McClughan/Kapadia; 4 Garmston. Invitation: Jackson/Jackson. Fastest lap: Moseley 1m03.668s (110.33mph). RACE TWO Johnston was first out of the blocks from the start, with Woodward, Allos and Bromiley in contention too. Allos had an early spin dropping him to dead last, as Johnston and Woodward had rocketed clear by the end of the second lap. Bromiley came under pressure from Jackson, with Fearns and Duncan Williams chasing. Gardner had edged clear in seventh and Supersports leader, as Loughran, Sean Balfe, Noble and Fish ran nose to tail for eighth. Williams upped his pace and began to close on Fearns, while Noble took a cursory look at Balfe’s inside at Russell before thinking better of it. Fish outbraked himself at the Esses and fell off the back of the train, as Allos’ SR8 began to pick off the SR3’s as the pitstop window approached. But Bromiley’s exuberance had got the better of him as he threatened Woodward for second. “I nipped inside at Sear went wide on the grass and it was downhill from there. I damaged the rear splitter and scuffed the battery casing, so the box broke and we started to lose power, but I was pleased to have had the pace to get there,” he said. “That was easier today in my head, we just went out to win,” said Johnston after handing a healthy lead to Moseley. “It was hard work for me, I just willed myself to stay ahead of Roger and then he’d gone,” Woodward replied after handing his second placed car to Kaiser. Bromiley had pitted in fifth behind Jackson and Fearns, but it was a lengthy stop and Wheldon was soon on the retirement list. Fearns emerged from the stops in second, But Kaiser charged by to retake second in Riches on lap 27. Moseley cruised home with nearly 30 seconds in hand over Kaiser. But there was worse to come for Fearns. “Only three laps from the end and I was safe in third and picked up a puncture,” he explained. Alex Mortimer/Gardner therefore not only dominated their class, but shattered the lap record and were third overall. “It just felt easy today the car was perfect and we were cruising,” said Mortimer. Allos was also a casualty, “we think it was the scavenge pump, particularly through Coram. It cut out and I pulled off then it was Ok and I went again, I tried to retire a few times,” he said. Freeman had also spun from a possible podium place. “Driver error I am afraid, I lost the back end when I got on the marbles at Riches,” he explained. Thomas made it past Balfe on lap 36, only to hit trouble with a couple of laps to go, “I had got through at Coram, pulled a gap and then had fuel pump problems,” he explained. So Balfe was left to take fourth, “it was hard work and my first race of the year. I was strong in some places and weak in others and it showed,” he said. Thomas/Loughran were still classified fifth ahead of Noble and Fearns, while the Jackson’s just made it home with a blown headgasket. Allos and Williams were also classified as finishers. RESULTS RACE 2
Masters Class: 1 Johnston/Moseley; 2 Woodward/Kaiser; 3 Fearns; 4 Allos. Supersports Class: 1 Gardner/Mortimer; 2 Balfe; 3 Loughran/Thomas; 4 Noble. Invitation class: 1 Jackson/Jackson; 2 Williams/Freeman. Fastest lap: Moseley 1m03.807s (110.13mph).
Published by Peter Scherer for Radical Sportscars, September 28th, 2009.
SILVERSTONE 13 Sept 2009 Sims in the Sunshine at Silverstone Reigning McLaren Autosport BRDC Young driver of the Year Alexander Sims gave a display of his undoubted talents, by taking his works run SR8 to a double victory on his sports car racing debut. The UK Cup and European Masters annual UK get together assembled a magnificent 39 car grid. Derek Johnston/Stuart Moseley’s SR8 lined up o pole for the first race, 0.5secs quicker than Sims, while John Stanley/James Swift’s SR8LM shared row two with Terrence Woodward/Ross Kaiser’s SR8. Summer had arrived again as the cars lined up, blue skies and sunshine plus rising temperatures as the cars began their formation lap. For Sims it was his first rolling start, but it was four abreast in the charge to Copse, with Moseley, heading Sims, Kaiser and Stanley. The top three had started to pull clear after three laps, leaving Stanley in a solitary fourth. Jeff Collier’s SR8LM was next up, with Jamie Patterson’s similar car consolidating sixth after taking Cameron Macdonald’s SR8 on the second lap. But there had been early casualties with Christian Drop spinning his SR8LM at Copse on the opening lap, where he was collected by Ross Allen’s SR3. “I was over ambitious, spun and was hit,” admitted Drop. “He was spinning and I couldn’t avoid him,” added Allen. Patterson continued to close on Collier and Sims began to set his sights on Moseley’s lead. Macdonald was an early pit visitor to sort out his gear selection, which moved returning former UK Champion Richard Ince up to seventh in his SR8. Ben Jackson was flying on his debut in the PR6, while the SR8’s of Phil Abbott and Filip Berg-Nielsen began to close up in ninth and tenth. Moseley had slowed a little on lap six, which left the top three covered by only 0.7scecs. Sims seized his chance and led out of Becketts., with Kaiser almost following. “An inspection cover came adrift and got under my feet, so I had to back off a bit,” said Moseley. Kaiser made it through a lap later at Abbey but Sims lead continued to grow. Ince closed on Patterson, but they held station too until the pitstops started on lap 10. Woodward emerged with the lead over Sims, Johnston, Alex Kapadia in the Collier car, Swift, Patterson, Roger Bromiley in for Abbott and Austin Kinsella having taken over from Ince. Kapadia soon picked off Johnston and both he and Sims started to reel in Woodward. Sims went back ahead into Stowe on the 18th lap, despite Woodward doing his best to fightback at Club. “After he took me I got him back and he went around the outside and got me again, he is good,” admitted Woodward. Kapadia was next to threaten which left Johnston solo fourth. Having taken second on lap 20 Kapadia continued to close in on Sims, but as the Euroseries F3 ace took the flag, Kapadia was still 2.892secs adrift. “I was surprised but please how it went, I was hoping for a comfortable race but when my exhaust broke it got a little closer. The SR8 wasn’t dissimilar to a single seater with the downforce and it’s a lovely car to drive, but you just have to brake a bit earlier,” he said. “Jeff did well in his stint and handed it to me in reach of a win. I caught Derek and Terrence but reckon we were two laps short in the end,” said Kapadia. Woodward held onto a clear third, with Patterson claiming fourth from Johnston with a couple of laps to go. Swift, Bromiley and Kinsella were next up, before SR3 class winners Bassam Kronfli/Christophe Hissette in ninth. “The car felt really good and we had no problems at all,” said Kronfli. Manhal Allos completed the top 10 in his SR8. Mike Gardner/Alex Mortimer had to settle for second in the SR3’s after a delayed pitstop. “I came in almost touching the class leader, we should have won but couldn’t restart and lost 30secs,” Gardner explained. Charles Loughran/Paul Thomas were third in class on the road, but a two minute penalty dropped them to 10th leaving Jordan Grogor/Andrew Howard in third, from Andrew/Jeremy Ferguson and Colin Noble. Giorgio Rosa had over 34secs in hand over Tatiana Calderon in the SR5’s and Don Patterson/Don Morrison took the PR6 class after the Jackson’s made a couple of stops. RESULTS, RACE ONE:
Fastest lap: Sims 1m47.190s (172.628kph). Starters: 39. It was Sims and Kapadia sharing the front row for the second race, with Patterson and Johnston behind. Both Kapadia and Greensall made a flying start and pulled out a sizeable first lap lead, while Sims established himself in third, over Patterson, Bromiley and Berg-Nielsen. As Kapadia became firmly established at the front, Sims started to close in on Greensall, and took second around the outside at Abbey on lap five. “I had a good start and built a lead but kept losing out in traffic and got caught,” said Kapadia. Bromiley was able to consolidate fifth place too, when Berg-Nielsen slipped up on lap six and fell behind Johnston, before coming under pressure from Ince, who had just managed to battle past Allos himself, while Stanley and Woodward closed too. But as the pitstop window approached Kapadia started to come under pressure from the closing Sims. “I got him at Luffield and then tried to pull away,” said Sims after taking the lead from lap 11. The lead was still intact following the stops and it continued to grow. Collier had taken over the second place car, while in third Macdonald had Patterson and Moseley closing in. Patterson was into third at Club and Moseley followed after going past the pits side by side with inches to spare from Macdonald. Sims had a last minute fright before taking his second win of the weekend. “A backmarker spun right in front of me, I slightly touched him but got away with it,” he explained. Collier was still 18 seconds back at the flag, after suffering his own problems. “It was cutting out with fuel problems,” he explained. Patterson was caught by Moseley in the closing laps but still held onto third. “We came hoping just to race, but it was very stressful and both Stuart and I had to drive for the championships,” said Johnston. Macdonald retained fourth, with Berg-Nielsen consolidating sixth over Kinsella during the second half. Allos came home eighth and after starting from the very back Chris Hyman came through for ninth. Swift was a late retirement when they ran out of brakes and Abbott lost time in the pits when a gearbox plug came out, which despite ace mechanic Woody’s charge through the paddock to repair it, cost them dearly. The SR3 class went down the wire with James Saggers/Ross Allen snatching a last lap victory over Mortimer/Gardner. “It was go for it or finish second, but I was alongside a backmarker, we touched and he spun,” said Allen. “Ross had got me at the chicane, he was just too quick after I lost time among some of the SR8’s. But then he smacked another car in front of me and I thought I might get him back. But the car he touched spun and came back in front of me,” said Gardner. AUH Motorsport team mates Kronfli/Hissette and Grogor/Howard completed the top four. Rosa took his second win of the weekend in the SR5’s over Meidinger and Calderon, while the Jackson’s topped the PR6’s. RESULTS RACE TWO:
Fastest lap: Sims 1m46.475s (173.787kph). Starters: 38. Issued by Peter Scherer for Radial Sports Cars, September 14th, 2009.
RADICAL UK CUP Johnston closes in on title after another win with Mosley ROUND 8, CASTLE COMBE Derek Johnston took another step towards retaining his Radical UK Cup title at Castle Combe, when Stuart Moseley rejoined him for a fairly comfortable and dominant victory. Ross Kaiser was quickest during Saturday mornings qualifying, but only 0.5secs ahead of Ben Jackson and the Johnston/Moseley SR8. But as the professional of the team Kaiser’s time didn’t count for the grid and it was Jackson who lined up on pole for the afternoon’s 75 minute race. Johnston/Moseley completed the front row with Terrence Woodward/Kaiser and Nick Adcock sharing the second. Adcock had decided to run the race solo after sharing the works SR8 with Massimo Vignali at Donington. Castle Combe GT regular Manhal Allos had his SR8 on the third row, heading Gary Kane/Tom Ashton’s PR6, but missing from the fourth was Ross Allen, after last minute paddock dramas left his SR3 sidelined for the day. Roger Bromiley/Rob Wheldon’s SR8 was left on its own, with the PR6 of Tony Freeman/Duncan Williams and Supersports class leader Colin Noble in his SR3 on the next row. Former Biduro ace Henry Morgan was back after a lengthy lay off to share Charles Loughran’s SR3 at the head of row five, with fellow returnee John Hewitt sharing the works SR3 with Phil Abbott. Nigel Greensall had SR4 Club Cup racer Rachel Davies alongside in an SR8 for her UK Cup debut, while the rest of the grid was made up of Dan Compton/Chris Brown’s SR3 and Michael Jackson’s PR6. With Allen absent if was quality rather quantity for the 14 car grid, on one of the fastest tracks the championship has on its calendar. As the field rounded Camp the safety car peeled off with Jackson and Johnston both preparing to gain an early advantage as the red lights came on. As the V8 revs rose there was little to separate the duo on the charge up Avon Rise into Quarry. It was Johnston who gained the early advantage though from Jackson, Bromiley, Adcock, Woodward and Allos, with the PR6’s of Kane and Freeman heading Supersports rivals Noble and Morgan. Such was the pace of the lead pair, that a sizeable gap had already opened by the end of the second lap. But it was Woodward on the attack, picking off Adcock for fourth on lap three, before latching onto Bromiley in his quest for another podium finish. Down in eighth Freeman was also looking for progression, running inches from Kane’s gearbox. Johnston started to open a lead but Woodward was trying to chase down Jackson, after finally getting Bromiley on the sixth lap. Allos had also settled and not only caught Adcock, but snatched fifth a lap later. Kane has a brief rest though from Freeman’s challenge, when Noble closed to threaten after seeing off Morgan. It was also close for 11th with Davies and Hewitt running nose to tail. As in any endurance race it was long before the dramas began to unfold. Woodward pulled of as his SR8 ground to a halt and Allos dropped to 11th after a brief excursion. The lead pair found their advantages increased, with Bromiley back to third, Adcock was fourth and there was little between Kane and Freeman as they battled over fifth. Morgan was also back to challenge Noble, while Hewitt edged out Davies for ninth. It was still a fair time from the expected pitstops but Jackson upped his pace from lap 13 and started to reduce Johnston’s advantage. But behind Bromiley there was suddenly a noticeable absentee. Adcock had a rear tyre blow but still managed to nurse the SR8 back to the pits, but his race was run. But for Jackson it was far from over as he led from lap 16 and started to build a useful advantage over Johnston. Freeman’s duel with Kane allowed Morgan to close and the Welshman headed the trio from lap 17, leaving Freeman to fend off Noble. But the drama at the front had another twist when after regaining his lead following the pitstops Jackson was out too. “I was preserving the car and myself as it was a long race, I had a good lead and was building on it and it just died on me,” he explained. Davies and Noble had been pre stop casualties too, but with Moseley at the wheel of Johnston’s car victory was on the horizon. “I pushed a little when I came out of the pits just in front of Rob Wheldon, we had to make an extra stop after the bodywork came loose,” he said. Wheldon had his own troubles though, “ I couldn’t use the gears as the battery was almost flat, so I stuck it in fourth and tried to keep out of the way,” he explained. “I knew the voltage was down when I handed to Rob but there was nothing we could do,” added Bromiley. Ashton/Kane finally clinched second. “What a great race, I settled into a good pace but had a bit of fuel surge, it slowed and then picked up, but got us home,” “My stint was Ok apart from getting collected by a backmarker at Bobbies which gave me a bit of understeer,” added Kane. Freeman/Williams had a few gear selection problems, “the box was fine and held out for us,” said Freeman after taking third. Allos toured through the final laps and managed to grab fourth from the struggling Wheldon. Abbott/Hewitt came though to clinch a class win over Compton/Brown, while Morgan/Loughran were third in class after a lengthy stop. “We had to replace the water catch tank after the cap blew off. But they didn’t put enough water in so I had to keep slowing down,” Loughran explained. Michael Jackson completed the finishers.
RESULTS
Issued by Peter Scherer for Radial Sports Cars, July 20th, 2009.
Safety car help for Bromiley and Wheldon then Woodward and Kaiser ROUNDS 6&7, DONINGTON PARK It was celebrations all round for Roger Bromiley and Rob Wheldon, after they took their works SR8 to a first UK Cup victory at Donington Park. Just to round off the weekend they came second in race two as well, chasing home Terrence Woodward and Ross Kaiser. Ben Jackson lined up on pole, with Woodward alongside, while Derek Johnston, running solo for the first time shared the second row with Nick Adcock/Massimo Vignali. Colin Noble’s SR3 topped the Supersports, from Paul Thomas/Charles Loughran, while the PR6’s of Tom Ashton and Michael Jackson headed their respective classes. A healthy 20 car grid lined up for the first 50 minute race and it was defending Champion Johnston that scorched into Redgate to snatch the early lead. Woodward, Bromiley and Jackson tagged on behind, with Adcock, Bob George, Ashton, Tony Freeman, Noble and Manhal Allos completing the top ten at the end of the opening lap. Johnston wasted no time in building a substantial lead, but exiting the Esses Woodward slowed. “I couldn’t change down,” he explained. Bromiley, Jackson, Adcock and George all surged by into Melbourne before Woodward recovered. George then spun at Goddards on lap four after contact with Woodward, but Bromiley, Jackson and Adcock were nose to tail into Redgate for second. Allos was also on the move with seventh into Redgate. Johnston’s lead was up to 15 seconds by the end of lap six, even with a half spin at Melbourne, while Jackson had a couple of exploratory challenges on the defensive Bromiley for second. It was all in vain as the safety car brought them all back together while Allos was recovered from the Old Hairpin. Ross Edwards took the chance to dive for the pits for a quick check, while Johnston led round the crocodile for the next three laps, followed by Bromiley, Jackson, Adcock, Woodward, Ashton, Noble, Freeman and Mike Gardiner’s SR3. From the green flag Bromiley shot past Johnston to lead, with Jackson trying to follow, only to lose third to Adcock as they exited Redgate. Johnston reclaimed the lead but Adcock came close too as they headed down the hill to brake for the Melbourne Hairpin. Woodward and Ashton followed, while Freeman and Nigel Greensall’s SR3 had made it past Noble into seventh and eighth. Woodward slowed again on lap 12 and plummeted to 13th, but the safety car was out again as Ashton pulled off on the approach to McLeans. As the safety car pulled off into the pitlane most of the field followed, with the exception of Johnston, who sold a dummy to his rivals and stayed out. Greensall had also managed to grab the Supersports lead before the handover, but it was another three laps before the driver changes started to unfold. Jackson headed for Redgate as Johnston was still in the pitlane, but he was out before Noble came by in third. Wheldon was in for Bromiley and Vignali for Adcock, both progressing past Noble a lap later as Jackson’s lead grew to 9.7 secs. Once into third Wheldon gained rapidly on the lead pair. He took Johnston on the inside of Redgate on lap 22, before reeling in Jackson to lead from the Craner Curves three laps later, to win by over eight seconds. “Astonishing, I can’t calm down I got to the head of the bunch while they fought among themselves and then the safety car helped before it was over to Rob,” Bromiley explained. “Roger did an awesome job and left the easy bit for me,” added Wheldon. Jackson held on to second, “my tyres and brakes had both almost gone during the second half,” he explained. “My car was going off a bit to at the end,” Johnston added after coming home third. After Kaiser had taken over from Woodward, he clawed their SR8 back up to fourth by heeling and toeing to overcome his change down problems, and was catching Johnston at the flag. “The brakes started to go too so I couldn’t be too brave,” said Kaiser. Vignali/Adcock had a solitary second half in their SR8. “I was delighted to be on the pace and had a good dice,” said Adcock. “It was scary down the Craner Curves with no brakes, flat out but they came back,” added Vignali. Freeman/Williams completed the top six in the PR6, just ahead of the battle for the Supersports class. Noble had looked set to take the class until Ross Allen/Malcolm Barnett’s SR3 suddenly caught them at McLeans with four laps to go, before Allen charged ahead into the Melbourne Hairpin. Andrew/Jeremy Ferguson were third in class, surviving a late challenge from Loughran/Thomas. “Charles was quicker on the loop and pulled me in as I was struggling for grip, then he’d gone,” said Andrew. “It was Paul my co-drivers fault, I thought he said two laps to go, not none, it’s his Welsh/African accent,” joked Loughran after spinning, RESULTS
Class winners:
RACE TWO There was no surrender from any of the front runners as they headed for Redgate at the start of race two. Bromiley hugged the inside line and the lead, as Johnston hurtled along the grass. Woodward had the lead onto the Craner Curves, from Jackson and Bromiley, but Jackson made his attack too and led into the Melbourne Hairpin. As they completed the opening lap Vignali was into fourth from Johnston, with Williams, Allen, Thomas, Noble and Greensall completing the early top ten. Noble was first to make a move taking Thomas into Melbourne for second in class. But Johnston upped his pace, took Vignali and challenged Bromiley into Melbourne, but both locked up. Jackson’s lead was growing, but it took until lap five for Johnston to finally get past Bromiley for third, only to come under a retaliatory attack a couple of laps later. Bromiley reclaimed third on lap 11, but Johnston stayed close, as Vignali circulated in a solitary fifth. Allos worked his way into sixth, with Greensall once again heading the Superports class in seventh, having taken Williams PR6 on lap nine. Allen, Noble, Thomas and Gardiner were next in class after Edwards went off at the Esses. Jackson’s lead was around four seconds over Woodward when the pit stop window opened, but apart from one lap when Greensall stayed, he retained his lead on rejoining. Noble held second briefly but was soon overwhelmed by Kaiser, and within a lap Jackson’s lead was under serious threat. Into Goddards for the 20th time Kaiser shot ahead, but Jackson slowed and headed for the pits, “the oil temperature was soaring,” he explained. Wheldon moved into second from Adcock and Noble was up to fourth again when Freeman pitted with a puncture. But with Allos off at Redgate out came the safety car with the clock counting down. From the green flag Wheldon did his best to close and did reduce Kaiser’s lead partially. “We had gears working this time but I think the safety car certainly helped us to the win,” said Woodward. “I tried but didn’t want to throw it off, there just weren’t enough laps,” Wheldon replied. “Shame it wasn’t a clear run for Rob at the end, but still a fantastic result,” added Bromiley. Vignali/Adcock were third, “we were still learning to get the best out of the car,” said Adcock. “A good start but lost a bit of momentum getting nearer the front,” added Vignali. Noble was aiming for fourth and a class win until the final lap, when Alex Mortimer reeled him in and snatched the place into Redgate. “I said we would come good in the end,” reckoned Mortimer. Freeman/Williams emerged from the pits to retain sixth, with Supersports rivals Thomas/Loughran, Barnett/Allen and Ferguson/Ferguson heading Michael Jackson to complete the top ten. “Paul set me up for second and class and I brought it home third,” said Loughran. Down in 11th and 12th however were usual pacesetters Ben Jackson and Johnston. Jackson crawled around the closing laps to secure points, while Johnston flat spotted a tyre and had overheating brakes. RESULTS
Fastest lap: Wheldon 1m29.849s (100.18mph).
Issued by Peter Scherer for Radial Sports Cars, July 6th, 2009.
ROUNDS 4 &5, BRANDS HATCH Ben Jackson counts the cost of Safety Ben Jackson must have left Brands Hatch wondering when his luck is going to change. Despite leading both races for much of the time, a late safety car call out in both races, left him with only two second places for his efforts. Derek Johnston/Stuart Moseley and Terrence Woodward/Ross Kaiser took the victory spoils, with Colin Noble and Phil Abbott/Ross Edwards topping the hotly contested Supersports class. Jamie Patterson became the first driver to race an SR8LM in the UK Cup and promptly put it on pole by 0.407secs over Jackson’s SR8. Johnston/Moseley shared row two, while Paul Thomas/Charles Loughran’s SR3 and Don Patterson’s PR6 also took class poles. 16 cars lined up for the start, and as the lights went out there was a scream from the V8 chorus, as poleman Patterson led the plunge through Paddock Hill Bend, from Jackson, Johnston, Roger Bromiley, Terrence Woodward and PR6 of Duncan Williams. Manhal Allos spun his SR8 at Graham Hill Bend, but was out of the way when the top three arrived for the second time, already pulling clear from their rivals. Edwards had the Supersports lead but was immediately under pressure from Gary Kane’s PR6, while behind them Thomas, Don Patterson and Noble ran in close formation. There was a fairly equal spread among the top six, but Woodward was struggling to make progress with a flat sound his V8. Thomas then pitted after contact had damaged the suspension, while Michel Jackson followed after his PR6 had gear selection problems. “The team worked that quick they had me out in seconds again,” he said. Kane had headed the Supersports from lap seven, as Edwards held onto second from Noble, who worked his way past Don Patterson on lap nine. But as pitstops approached both Edwards and Noble had closed dramatically on Kane, putting all the more importance on the pitlane activity. Ben Jackson emerged from the stops with a 7.728secs lead over Jamie Paterson, with Stuart Moseley having taken over from Johnston a further 22 secs down in third. Phil Abbott also made up time in the pits, taking over from Edwards and establishing himself in fourth with the class lead, over Noble and Rob Wheldon in Bromiley’s SR8. Wheldon made it into fourth within a couple of laps, but Abbott still kept Noble at bay for fifth, until the 39th lap. “Phil made it very wide,” said Noble. “I know I rejoined with the lead, but had Colin on my tail straight away. I held him for a few laps, just,” Abbott replied. The safety was called on for three laps to collect a stranded car on Cooper Straight and suddenly it was all to play for again. Jackson still had the lead but greatly reduced, but Moseley roared into second place through Paddock and had a clear track after Patterson pitted and retired. Jackson pushed on as hard as he possibly could, but it still wasn’t enough, as Moseley made the decisive move into Paddock with four laps to go and two wheels on the grass. Jackson kept pushing and was only 0.481secs adrift at the flag, but it was Johnston/Moseley’s victory. “I just had a bit of oversteer in my session, but was pleased to see I was quicker than Stuart until the last few laps,” said Johnston. “When I first got in the car the handling and tyres had gone off. I expected second but the safety car let the car recover and gave me chance to come back,” Moseley added. But for Jackson there was only one thought, “the safety lost it for me, I have been so close so many times now,” he said. Bromiley/Wheldon were lap down in third, “I am ecstatic with another podium,” said Bromiley. Kaiser/Woodward’s SR8 claimed fourth after closing the gap during the safety car period, “it’s a new chassis and we are still getting it sorted,” said Woodward. Noble held onto fifth and the class Supersports victory. “My shoulders ached after the race, I knew I had to close on Edwards before the stops, and then I got the class lead from Phil Abbott and built a lead while they tried to get past Manhal Allos,” Noble explained. Edwards/Abbott completed the top six and were second in class, just holding off the SR3 of Ross Allen/James Saggers. “I tried hard to get Phil, but then thought it’s not good to take the owner off, as he would put the price of spares up,” said Allen. Allos, Kane/Tom Ashton and Dan Compton/Colin Brown completed the top 10, with Jamie Patterson still classified ahead of Prosport class winner Michael Jackson. Don Patterson, Williams and Richard Corbett/Nick Barrow were the final classified finishers. RESULT RACE1
Class winners: Johnston/Moseley; Noble; Kane/Ashton; Michael Jackson (PR6). Fastest lap: Jamie Paterson (SR8LM) 44.436s (97.10mph).
RACE TWO
The start of the second race was even more dramatic than the first, after Jackson had led Johnston, Woodward, Bromiley, Noble and Allen in the charge into Paddock on the opening lap. But Johnston was side by side with Jackson into Druids for the second time, with Jackson just holding the line on the exit. Into McLarens they were side by side again but this time Johnston led through Clark Curve. Patterson was also flying in his SR8LM, fifth by the end of lap three after taking Noble, while back at the front Woodward had closed on Jackson as Johnston started to build a lead. But Noble’s class lead was under threat as Ashton closed in, running solo due to an eye injury having sidelined Kane. By the end of lap seven, the top three looked fairly settled, while Patterson found his way past Bromiley for fourth. Noble had so far kept Ashton at bay, but this allowed both Allen and Tony Freeman’s PR6 to close too. Bromiley began to drop off the pace and was caught by Noble, who towed his class rivals along too. But at the head of the field Johnston found his lead down to 0.993secs, and after a tentative look down the inside at Graham Hill Bend, Jackson was back ahead three laps later into Druids. Noble had also made it ahead of Bromiley, but it was shortlived when he dropped to seventh after Ashton pitted, handing the class lead to Allen. Although some of the gaps closed again, the order remained unchanged until the pitstop window opened. It was organised chaos in the pitlane, but due to the hard work and diligence of the crews, everyone made it out again. Jackson headed Moseley again, from Woodward, Edwards, James Saggers, Noble and Wheldon. Moseley immediately ate into Jackson’s lead, but Kaiser was quicker than both. Wheldon was on the move too, picking off Noble at Druids at Druids, leaving the Scot to chase for Edwards’ class lead,. But the dramas weren’t far away, as Moseley’s pursuit came to an end when he pulled off at Graham Hill bend after 44 laps. Also pulling out was Paul Thomas after damaging the suspension again on a kerb, which was a disappointing end for the team after Loughran had stormed up to 10th in the first half. Four laps behind the safety car and Jackson could only wait and see the outcome, after his race winning lead was reduced to nil for the second time in the weekend. Two laps after the green flag and Kaiser made his move on Clark Curve, before pulling out a 10 second lead by the flag. “I couldn’t really see Ben until the safety car came out, but I knew then we had a fighting chance and with Rob attacking too hat helped us,” said Kaiser. “Before I handed to Ross the car seemed very lively and sideways, but this result gives us plenty to build on,” added Woodward. Although Wheldon snatched second on the penultimate lap, a post race penalty for a yellow flag incident handed second back to Jackson. “It took a while for my tyres to heat up, but once again we were there until the safety car,” said Jackson. “Ben defended really well and our car wasn’t really right in that race,” commented Wheldon. “I still thought Rob was a revelation, I played my small part though,” Bromiley added. Abbott/Edwards secured a class win, after dominating the Supersports in the second half, promoted to third overall too after Wheldon/Bromiley’s penalty. “I thought our stop was quite long, but I had the lead of the class when we rejoined and I even closed in on the SR8’s near the end,” said Edwards. Saggers/Allen claimed fifth and second in class win by a whisker after a great duel with Noble. “I had the lead at the stops but we seemed to lose out somewhere,” said Allen. Ashton was seventh and fourth in class after a second half scrap with Freeman’s PR6. “I had to pit again when the rear bodywork came loose,” said Ashton. The Prosport battle followed Freeman to the flag, with Don Patterson just holding off Michael Jackson. RESULT RACE 2
Class winners: Woodward/Kaiser; Abbott/Edwards; Ashton; Patterson. Fastest lap: Johnston/Moseley 44.760s (96.40mph).
Issued by Peter Scherer for Radial Sports Cars, June 8th, 2008.
ROUND ONE, ROCKINGHAM Win shows Johnston's new co-driver is Wright With nearly half of the grid now SR8’s, the competition for overall victory was no longer a foregone conclusion. Last years first round winners Rob Wheldon and Jonathan Wright were both at the sharp end in qualifying, but for this year Wheldon teamed up with Roger Bromiley in an SR8 and was on pole, with Wright taking over from Stuart Moseley to partner defending champion Derek Johnston as they shared the front row. Terrence Woodward/Ross Kaiser were back with a new SR8 after their previous car was destroyed in last years final round at Rockingham, they headed Ben Jackson who was running solo for this race. Tony Freeman/Duncan Williams’ PR6 broke the SR8 domination and headed the third row from Manhal Allos’ SR8. The Brazilian novice having moved up this season from an SR3. Nigel Greensall joined Tom Ashton in one of Gary Kane’s SR8’s and had ex Le Mans winner Andy Wallace and Evo magazine’s Roger Green alongside. Not only was it Wallace’s first time in a Radical, it was his first time at Rockingham too. Paul Thomas and Charles Loughran were the Supersports polesitters from Colin Noble, Ross Allen/Dan Compton and Phil Abbott/Massimo Vignali, who were sharing the brand new and radically updated SR3. It was bright, sunny and most of all dry as the 19 car grid began to assemble in an air of eager anticipation. As the V8 engine pitch rose the lights went out and Wheldon headed the mass charge through Turn One, before hammering on the brakes into Deene Hairpin. Jackson and Greensall were tucked in behind, before Greensall was first to make a move, squeezing inside Jackson as they turned into Tarzan. Woodward was in fourth from Wright, Ross Allen’s SR3, Allos, Green, Thomas and Ross Edwards. But Richard Fearns had pulled off at Gracelands, his SR8 was on fire and the safety car was called into service for the next eight laps. From the green flag Woodward immediately shot past Jackson into third, but both Wheldon and Greensall were quickly back into their stride. Allos had headed pitwards during the safety car period and remained there. Both Green and Edwards powered past Allen and Noble, but Allen fought back and retook seventh from Edwards at Tarzan on lap 11. Jackson was also pressing hard to retake third from Woodward, as he could see the gap to the lead pair continuing to increase. His determination paid off a lap later, while Wright had his sighths set on catching them both. Green had consolidated his hold on sixth, but there was a terrific scrap for seventh, which featured the lead of the Supersports class. Allen led Thomas, but Edwards and Williams were in there too. For Williams it was an unexpected bonus, having started from the pitlane after a brake problem on the green flag lap. But Phil Hall had pulled off at Gracelands and his SR8 was alight too, so out came the safety car for another eight laps. Most drivers took the opportunity to head for the pits to hand over and refuel, Greensall being the first, with Wheldon, Jackson and Wright soon following. “That was all a bit frustrating, but fun at the same time especially keeping Nigel Greensall behind me. There wasn’t a lot more I could have done though,” said Wheldon. “I had a good first lap after we cured an earlier throttle problem and it was a great race. The car was just fantastic too,” added Greensall. So when the race went green again there was unfamiliar pattern to the order, as the pitstops hadn’t started to unfold there affect. Allen led with Williams second into Deene, before pulling off a repeat manoeuvre a lap later to lead. Bromiley was charging through the order after taking over from Wheldon and was back in the lead when Thomas, Allen and Williams made their late stops. Jackson had been following Bromiley through the pack and was closing in when he speared off right into the retaining wall exiting Turn One. Not surprisingly he stayed in the car a while for his own protection, but was able to give testimony to the SR8’s chassis strength as he walked away unscathed. But with then safety car called upon for a third spell, it was left to a sprint over the final stint. At the green flag Bromiley led Johnston, Loughran, Abbott, Ashton and Freeman. Ashton was the one on the move again, as he used his V8 power to pick off the SR3’s and was into third by lap 37. Johnston had Bromiley in his sights too, while Gary Kane’s SR8 started to make a challenge on Supersports class leader Loughran for fourth. They swapped at Deene on lap 36, before Loughran spun, stalled and was out. Johnston had paced his race to perfection and by the time they reached Tarzan for the 38th time they were nose to tail. Bromiley held onto until Deene on the next lap, before Johnston surged through under braking. A disastrous weekend got worse for Kaiser when his SR8 expired at Tarzan and left a trail of oil, which brought out the red flags with five minutes left on the clock. “That was a hard race. When it went green it was like a new race, not a problem and I got straight back into the groove like a rolling start. But the car never missed a beat, it was fantastic,” said Johnston as he tasted the victory champagne again. “I am ecstatic with second but the race was there to be won and I didn’t. I was top amateur though,” Bromiley concluded. Ashton/Greensall secured third over Edwards/Kane, while Abbott/Vignali came up to claim fifth and the Supersports class win. “We were trying very hard and there so much grip on the infield it made it very tiring. With a new chassis, engine, management system on the new SR3 it was good to be as competitive with the SR8’s. It’s a terrific car,” said Abbott. Freeman/Williams completed the top six. “We only had a quick fix from the team to start the race, didn’t expect to finish never mind finish well,” said Williams. Wallace/Green held onto seventh, with Noble classified eighth over Woodward/Kaiser on countback. Allen/Compton completed the top ten. Results
Class winners: Vignali/Abbott. Fastest lap: Wheldon 1m15.638s (92.33mph).
Issued by Peter Scherer for Radical Sports Cars, April 20th, 2009.
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