|
The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
 |
|
The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
|
|
mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk SMRC 2009 Gallacher stays Focused!
In the first race Garry Watson in a Westfield gave Shaw a run for his money, the Focus only grabbing second late in the race on lap 9. Shaw then proceeded to open a small gap in the final lap to finish 0.9secs behind Gallacher , who had clearly lifted off in the dying stages of the race, but almost one and half seconds up on Watson. Tony Galloway in a Mitsubishi Evo was fourth with Francis Galashan’s Caterham CSR fifth Race 2 saw the both Gallacher and Shaw ‘run away and hide’ from the rest of the field. They eventually finished over 30 seconds ahead of third placed Tony who had taken third on lap 5 from Garry Watson. The Westfield driver had been running in a strong third place until half distance when he started to slip down the field ending up down in ninth at the flag.
XR2s 18 October - Final Fling Cruickshank and Sleigh win the battles but Munro wins the war
Starting 30 seconds later were the ST Class led by Rory Bryant and Tony Galloway with ST Pole sitter Andrew Gallacher hanging on in third. On lap four however it all came to an abrupt halt when Ewan Wilson’s ST rolled several times at the foot of Duffus Dip bringing out the red flags. Wilson crawled out of his upside down car just as the rescue teams arrived and appeared to have suffered no major injuries. Once the wreckage had been cleared away and a substantial amount of cement dust spread on the track racing recommenced. Cruickshank again led the way with Tim Sleigh slotting into second ahead of Munro in third and Adams in fourth. Munro and Sleigh appeared to touch going through Scotsman as Ryan Stirling go into a Tank slapper on the exit of the corner but they all recovered to head on their way. One lap later and Munro was through into second while Cruickshank again edged away ever so slightly. Behind the leading group there were several other ‘offs’ none causing any lasting damage although a few cars would need some attention before the second race. In the remaining laps Cruickshank held about a seconds lead over Munro who had a similar gap behind him to Sleigh and that’s how they finished. Findlay Adams came fourth with Andrew Allan fifth and Martin Buchan sixth. In
the STs Andrew Gallacher had taken an early lead but was finally taken
by Rory Bryant and Ton Race 2 saw Cruickshank once again lead the4 opening lap before the red flag came out once again, this time after and accident at Scotsman. At the restart Peter again took the lead from Munro and Sleigh once again. Findlay Adams and Wayne MacCauley led the chasing pack followed by Anthony Leese , Hamish Smart and Martin Buchan As the leading trio battled for the lead ahead of the rest of the field it looked as though Cruickshank would once again opening a slight gap but not this time. By half distance Ian Munro was running second hard, especially as by lap 3 Sleigh had passed Munro and was onto the leader’s boot lid with Munro still third hovering in the background. But by lap 5 Munro was back into second, this time with Wayne MacCauley on his tail. Sleigh slipping to fourth followed by Smart and Buchan. One lap later and Sleigh was back into third with the ever present MacCauley hard on his heels in fourth. By lap nine Tim Sleigh was right up with the leading pair and as they headed down the Hislops he made his move grabbing the lead as they went into the hairpin while Cruickshank and Munro climbed all over the back of his car and each other as they fought for second. Cruickshank tried to regain the position but it wasn’t to be and Sleigh crossed the line with inches to spare(or 0.123secs!) from Peter Cruickshank while Munro was pipped at the line by Wayne MacCauley for third. However Munro’s earlier podium and this fourth place were enough to confirm him as 2009 Champion. Fifth went to Martin Buchan while sixth and first of the ST’s was Rory Bryant with Andrew Gallacher next up. They were followed by Hamish Smart in eighth overall, sixth in the XR2s with Anthony Leese just o.1secs behind him.
Scottish Formula Ford 18 October Fraser flies in final fling
In the opening race he was briefly challenged by Stuart Robertson before the latter had a momentary trip to the gravel before rejoining in fifth. This handed second to Brunton who fastened himself onto Fraser’s gearbox and stayed there for the duration. He had a brief look up the inside of Scotsman on several occasions but Fraser kept the door firmly closed, winning after 10 laps by half a second. Third was Alistair Dow who had been trailed by Jillian Shedden for most of the race before she went out on lap 9. This left fourth to Carol Brown who had been forced to start from the back after he car failed it’s ride height after practice. Nevertheless she put in a good drive to climb through the field getting fourth from Martin Pieraccini on lap 8. Fifth went to the recovering Stuart Robertson who also passed Pieraccini late on leaving the latter named to end his race in sixth
Scottish XR2 Championship 26 September Sleigh wins after Smart victory
In the opening encounter Hamish Smart (right) came out on top after a very close fight with, early on Ian Munro before the latter was slowed with clutch problems, then Wayne MacCauley and Tim Sleigh took up the challenge but neither could find a way by. At the start Championship leader Munro made the best start and led the field through Duffus and Scotsman, without the usual stramash and no yellows for once. Hard on his heels was Smart, Sleigh, Peter Cruickshank and then Wayne MacCauley. Into lap 2 and Mr
Cruickshank made the first move passing Sleigh to take third, sadly for
only one lap. Halfway round lap 4 and his driveshaft broke putting him
out on the spot. This let Tim Sleigh back into third, with MacCauley
moving up to fourth. There was then a small gap to Dave Colville in
fifth and Stephen Russell(below) in sixth. Next it was Ian Munro’s turn to encounter mechanical gremlins when his clutch began to play-up, most noticeably at the hairpin when he appeared very slow coming out of the corner. Within a couple of laps he was down to fifth, Hamish Smart having taken the lead at the end of lap 4 with Tim Sleigh and Wayne MacCauley passing the stricken Munro on successive laps. The three of them then opened out a gap to the struggling Munro who within another lap had fallen to fifth as Dave Colville went past. Munro soldiered on for another lap before retiring. With the Championship in his sights getting the car ready for race 2 was clearly his main priority. Up front the leading
trio were going at it ‘hammer and tongs’, especially Wayne MacCauley who
was looking more and more likely to pass Tim Sleigh. This he did with 2
laps remaining eventually finishing 0.207 secs behind the leader Hamish
Smart. Hard on MacCauley’s heels was Sleigh while Dave Colville came in
fourth 8 seconds up the road from the leaders. Fifth was Andy Allan
with Jason Callaghan sixth, the pair having demoted Stephen Russell on
the penultimate lap. In the ST Class Rory Bryant (left)came out the winner with Stewart Scott second in class, the pair separated by Daryl Ford’s older car at the end, although how the latter kept it going after several trips across the gravel at Scotsman will remain a mystery.(see picture below) Whatever the reason it was a pretty spectacular performance! Race two looked a more intriguing affair especially with Ian Munro and Peter Cruickshank starting from the back, both with hastily repaired cars. It was suggested to Peter that perhaps sixth was a possibility, although he wasn’t so sure…. Hamish Smart took
the lead at the start but by lap 2 he was back in second and Tim Sleigh
had taken over up front. Smart only lasted until lap 4 before he was out
leaving Sleigh out in front, eventually pulling out a gap of 5 seconds
over the eventual second place finisher, Wayne MacCauley. He had had a
brief battle with Jason Callaghan around half distance before he finally
claimed second place on lap 5. Callaghan then settle for third and by
the flag was 3 seconds behind. Fourth and first in the ST Class was Rory
Bryant who put in a good drive, albeit it in a faster car. On lap 4 he
was still only in 14th before he made several dramatic moves
to move him all the way up to tenth. This became eighth on lap 6, and
third on the penultimate lap! Fifth was Stewart Scott, also in an ST, who shadowed Bryant right through the field, starting one place behind him and staying there for most of the race, apart that is from a couple of laps when he had to deal with some errant interlopers such as Steven Porter on lap 7 who delayed him for a short time. Sixth was, of course, Peter Cruickshank who had plugged away steadily throughout the race passing people on a fairly regular basis until he got stuck behind Barry Holmes for 4 laps. He did eventually get by but by then the race was all but over. It was still a pretty impressive come-back. Ian Munro’s day didn’t get any better and he eventually finished down in 20th. The title will have to wait until October.
SMRC Saloon and Sportscar Championship 26 September Headen homes in on the title
Andrew Gallacher took his customary place on pole position for Saturday’s first race of the Scottish Saloon and Sportscar Championship. He then led all ten laps, except the first two corners, to record another win, but on this occasion he had to back off in the last few laps with when an oil leak in his Ford Focus threatened a to end his race prematurely. Second, only 2.2 seconds behind at the flag, was David Headen in a Caterham CSR with Garry Watson third in a Westfield. Peter Taddei had threatened early on but a spin on lap3 had dropped him down the field to seventh. This left Watson running with Headen for the rest of the race, Watson leading for the first half of the race before Headen took over in second on lap 6. The pair then ran together for the remainder of the race, Headen eventually coming in just 0.18 secs ahead.Francis Galashamn was fourth followed by the recovering Taddei in fifth.
And that’s how they stayed for the next 8 laps, Garry Watson taking a well deserved win from Taddei who had looked like challenging in the early stages, until he noticed his car wasn’t performing to it’s best so he backed off and settled for second. Hard on his heels was Headen who now has the Championship as good as won. Tommy Dreeland brought his Porsche GT3 home in fourth with Warren Dunbar fifth,
Malvern cleans up Butcher's slaughter Jackie Stewart trophy Knockhill Speedfair 19July 09
Heat 1 Carol Brown led the first of the heats for the Sir Jackie Stewart Trophy at Knockhill on Sunday 19 July. The 2008 Scottish Legends Champion got away well to lead the field into Duffus Dip followed by Ryan Campbell’s Reynard RF84. Two of her chief protagonists immediately put themselves out of the running, both Cormac O’Neill and Adrian Pollock going off at Leslies, the latter into retirement, O’Neil rejoining well down the order. Up
front Brown(right) and Campbell were already opening a small gap
to Craig Brunton in third when Campbell made his bid for the lead. Heading into Car Lube on lap two he tried to go around the outside but ended up spearing across the gravel trap and into the barrier, unfortunately that was race over! This left Brown still in front followed by Craig Brunton, Jonathan McMullen with Martin Pieraccini and Allan McBurney fighting for fourth . As the race went on the gap between the top three stayed about the same until lap 6 when McMullen started to close on Brunton while at the same time moving away from the McBurney/Pieraccini battle which was settled in McBurney’s favour on lap 6. On lap 8 McMullen was right on Brunton’s gearbox moving ahead by lap 9 to start chasing down Carol Brown. That’s when it started to rain! The last two laps were a lottery as the cars skittered and skidded all over the track. McMullen now onto his last lap had Brown in his sights when off he went at the exit to the chicane , skating across the gravel to rejoin in third behind a grateful Craig Brunton. So it was Carol Brown who came out then winner, 2.56 secs up on Brunton with McMullen third. Heat 2
At the start, still on a damp track, it was Scott Malvern who made the best start leading into the first corners followed closely by Butcher and Willie Hourie, who seemed to be enjoying himself immensely in his ex-Graham Carroll Van Dieman whicxh he had going very well. Fourth was John Ferguson in a Reynard with Andrew Chesser in fifth. For the next few laps it was clear that Butcher may have been slightly quicker but try as he might he just couldn’t get past the Malvern’s Ray GR08. This also allowed Ferguson, now in third, having passed Hourie on lap 2, Hourie himself was fourth with Scott McGarrity all fastened to Butcher’s tail to form a five car train. For lap after the lap the group circulated together and although Rory made several attempts, notably around the outside at Scotsman and Car Lube, it looked as though Butcher would be beaten for the first time that day, until the last corner of the last lap that is! As the group went through the hairpin for the final time Butcher managed to edge it beating the Malvern’s Ray to the line by 0.158 secs. Third was still McGarrity 0.75 se behind the winner with Hourie fourth and Ferguson fifth, the top five just 3 secs apart. So to the final where firm favourite Rory Butcher would lime up alongside Carol Brown with Brunton and Malvern on row two . Who would bet against Butcher….. Final
Malvern held second from Carol brown with Brunton fourth and Willie Hourie fith but it was clearly Brunton’s race. The at half distance out came the red flag when a car went off into the gravel just before Scotsman. Why it was necessary to use the red I do not know as the car did not appear to be in a very dangerous place and the driver had hopped out straight away. (Red flags seem to becoming a regular feature of the races at Knockhill, nearly every ‘off’ appears to result in a red flag no matter what the accident, even those that look fairly trivial. Perhaps the UK’s descent into the culture of litigation is the cause, whatever it ruining race meetings). Whatever the result was that Butcher’s lead was wiped out in an instant and we had the prospect of a five lap dash for the flag. And so it was to be. Butcher again got away well to lead but this time only for half a lap as he ‘dropped’ it falling back several places to eighth on the first lap handing first place to Craig Brunton. He had Carol Brown, Wullie Hourie, Cormac O'Neil and Scott Malvern on his tail and he stayed there for three laps with Carol Brown for close company. Sadly for Carol and Craig, Mr Malvern was on a charge and with the scent of victory he was soon past both of them. Butcher meanwhile was charging and by now was past Brunton, who had been pushed back to third by Brown and now found himself off the podium in fourth. At the start of the final lap Butcher made it past Brown and into second but despite latching onto Malvern’s tail by the hairpin he couldn’t get by and Malvern had the trophy and the Golden Helmet by 0.2 seconds. Three seconds later and Carol Brown came in to take the final podium position in third. So it was well done Scott and commiserations to Rory who good work was undone in an instance. As circuit owner and Rory’s father Derek Butcher said over the tannoy before the restart, ‘You can never tell in Formula Ford!”
June 28 Mod Summer Meeting Lyons and Headon go head to head Scottish Sports and Saloon Car Championship
Warren Dunbar wasn’t at all happy about the postponement of the Scottish Sports and Saloon’s first race on Sunday at Knockhill. Several Red-flags had delayed proceedings in the morning putting the race back until after lunch. The problem was the track, at 1 o-clock it was damp, by 2 it would be dry putting an end to Warren’s chances of an outright victory. And so it proved…. Come start time Peter Taddei’s Fiesta ZT got off the line smartly enough to lead into the first corner but by the start of lap 2 Dunbar’s Caterham was past and into first place.
This left Watson leading from Lyons, Headen, Dunbar with Peter Taddie who was already dropping away from the leading group. Lap 6 and Lyons made his first bid for the lead, both his Porsche and Watson’s Westfield going into Duffus Dip side-by-side, on through Leslies’ and into Scotsman with the Porsche taking the inside line. Surely something had to give but still they stayed together, Watson going around the outside of Scotsmans and holding on beside the Porsche. As the pair went into the chicane was the Westfield that came out still in front, breathtaking stuff but it couldn’t last! Sadly for Watson it didn’t, Lyons lined him up once again at Duffus and this time he made it stick grabbing the lead which he held to the flag…. but only just.
Behind him in second Watson’s race wasn’t over yet, for no sooner had
the Porsche gone by it was replaced by David Headen’s Caterham. Race 2 and Watson grabbed an early lead before retiring after completing just 1 lap. This left David Headen in front followed by Dunbar and Lyons with Tommy Dreelan’s Porshce GT3 next up. Lyons eventually got past Dunbar on lap 4 to fasten on Headen’s tail for the remaining 6 laps but he copuldn’t get by eventually finishing 0.231 secs adrift. Dunbar picked up the final podium place with Dreelan a distant fourth.
First overall Fiesta ST win as Rory Bryant wins from Stuart Scott in ST 1-2 Callaghan and Munro take XR2 victories
Into the second lap and Callaghan led Cruickshank, the pair opening a small gap to Munro who had Chris Philip, Daryl Ford and Wayne MacCauley hard on his heels. The last named moving up a place to fifth one lap later while Findlay Adams fastened onto the back Ford’s car to make it a five car train fighting for third. Into lap 4 and MacCauley lost it on the entry to Hislops dropping down to eighth leaving 4 cars still in the train led by Munro. Not for long though as one lap later both Philip and Ford slipped by into Duffus Dip, Philip trailing a large section of his rear bumper which fortunately fell off one lap later. While all this was going on the ST’s were entering the fray. Starting 10 seconds after the XR2’s had left the grid the wet weather and some wise tyre choices had allowed Rory Bryant and Stewart Scott to inexorably scythe through the field and by half distance the former was up to seventh and Scott thirteenth. On lap 6 Bryant was on the tail of the group of 4 cars led by Chris Philip and Daryl Ford. Bryant he soon slipped by Adams and Munro before making short work of Ford and Philip at Car Lube. Next up was Cruickshank who he deposed on lap 7 before taking the overall lead off Callaghan a few corners later. Not far behind him Scott was making short work of the XR2’s as well, grabbing the runner-up spot on the final lap to give the ST’s not only their first overall victory but a 1-2 as well.
Lap 8 and Ford was out off it altogether, going off after loosing it coming through Duffus Dip coming to a halt at the bottom of the hill in the gravel trap at Leslies. Into the final tour and both Chris Philip and Munro got up the inside of Cruickshank at Scotsman before the former speared off at the entry to Car Lube, hitting the barriers very hard, fortunately emerging okay if a little battered and bruised. At the line Callaghan was third, first of the XR2s with Munro fourth(second in class), Cruickshank fifth overall but third in class and Findlay Adams rounding off the top six. Race 2 saw Jason Callaghan again lead the field away at the lights from Ian Munro and Peter Cruickshank. Munro however didn’t hang about this time and took over up front at the hairpin before the first lap was over. Callaghan hung on to second until Cruickshank gave him a shove at Car Lube on lap 4, the resultant ‘off’ dropping Jason down to 7th while also allowing Hamish Smart to nip by into second followed by Cruickshank, still in third.
For the next couple of laps the lead group ran line astern until the penultimate tour when Adams decided to go for the lead with a big passing attempt at the hairpin. Sadly it didn’t come off , although he did, dropping back to fourteenth and adding a slight delay to both Cruickshank and Smart handing the race to Munro who sailed off up the road. For the next couple of laps the lead group ran line astern until the penultimate tour when Adams had a go for the lead with a passing attempt at the hairpin. Sadly it didn’t come off , although he did, dropping back to fourteenth after he was pushed off , Peter Cruickshank getting a penalty as a result of his 'driving standards' . It also delayed Smart and handed the race to Munro who sailed off up the road." Munro thereafter kept his cool to win by 8 seconds but not over Peter Cruickshank as expected.(not just because of his penalty) As he and Hamish Smart came out of the hairpin on the last lap Smart got the better run up the to the line to nip passed for second by 0.2secs. Rory Bryant was the first ST home in fourth with Wayne MacCauley fifth and Jason Callaghan up to sixth after his earlier ‘moment’.
Scottish Formula Ford Chaos Theory or what?
Race 1 got underway with Rory Butcher starting from pole, as is customary this season, and leading into the first corner, again all perfectly normal. Then it started to go wrong, horribly wrong, beginning at Car Lube halfway round the opening lap. Slightly misjudging the slippery conditions Butcher went skating off across the gravel trap, and although he rejoined the race, he was now down into sixth place with a battle on his hands. Up front a grateful Andrew Cheshire suddenly found himself in the lead with 2008 Legends Champ Carol brown hard on his heels. Behind her in third was Willie Hourie in a new car, Graham Carrol’s 2008 championship winning Van Dieman, and he was clearly putting it to good use. While behind him in fourth was Joe Tanner with Alistair Dow fifth. By lap two Butcher was back up to speed and soon took that fifth place from Dow and was looking for a way past Tanner. This he managed on lap 4 and that became 3rd the very next lap when he goy by Willie Hourie at the scene of his earlier undoing, Car Lube. Up front Cheshire was still holding off Carol Brown who, just as before, was hard on his heels. However she was the least of his problems as Butcher clearly had the hammer down and was looming ominously on her tail. Into lap 6 and Butcher was into second, getting up the inside of Brown on the approach to Duffus Dip and it began to look like game, set and match Butcher, but then things took a dramatic and somewhat messy turn.
It was then that things started to get silly, very silly! As the cars started to line up for the restart, someone somewhere seemed to got the red lights used to start the race, which are on a footbridge, mixed up with the red light on the pit wall. The latter, used to stop the race, are also used by the back end of the grid at the start as the slope on the start/finish line means those at the back cannot see the aforementioned start lights on the bridge. What seems to have happened is,and this isn’t certain, somebody switched off the lights on the pitwall ( I assume because they thought they shouldn’t have been on…?) before the lights on the bridge had begun their start sequence, lighting up 1 through to 5 then going out for the start. The result – the back of the grid went while the front didn’t! Needless to say several cars hit several other stationary cars, then, fortunately, the front half of the grid suddenly left the blocks before too much damage had happened. They did of course leave chaos and debris behind them on the grid. It was at this point that sanity prevailed and the race was stopped and the result declared on the earlier 5 laps. This left Andrew Cheshire a surprised, but no doubt delighted, winner with Carol brown second and Rory Butcher third. A sad end to a great race, however ther was still one race to run. The second race was very much a Butcher demo. Although he was beaten off the line by Cheshire, it only took him until Scotsman to take the lead and then disappear up the road. Cheshire gamely tried to hold on but Joe Tanner had the bit between his teeth and claimed second around half distance. Cheshire briefly fought back but with Carol Brown filling his mirrors he spent most of his time fighting her off rather than challenging Tanner. And that’s how they finished with Butcher winning comfortably from Tanner, Cheshire and Brown.
May 31 Scottish Sports and Saloons Charlie 'Shaws' the way home
Gallacher had led the opening race from pole and looked to have the race in the bag before he was slowed with mechanical problems on the final lap, dropping him behind Shaw and David Headen’s Caterham. Garry Watson in fourth very nearly passed him as well but the Focus driver just made it to the line with 0.4secs to spare. As with many of the races on Sunday this one required a red flag after Ian Donaldson’s Lamborghini became beached in a gravel trap on lap 4. Gallacher had led the restart before what sounded like a misfire intervened with half a lap to go , as he tried to keep his pursuers behind he got the car sideways at the hairpin letting both Shaw and Headen nip past. In race two Gallacher never even figured, Shaw taking the lead at the start, a lead he never lost, although he did admit his gearbox was making some strange noises during the race which did give him a slight cause for concern. Whatever, the car survive and Shaw recorded his second successive victory, crossing then line 6.099 secs ahead of Garry Watson’s Caterham. Third was Ian Donaldson’s Lamborghini Gallardo after a great drive through the field taking Warren Dunbar’s Caterham on the very last lap to snatch the final podium place by less than 0.3secs. Once again there was a red flag, this time for Andrew Morrison's SEAT Leon Cupra which hit the barrier hard just beyond the chicane, the car briefly rolling on it's side before coming to rest on all four wheels. Morrison exited the car pretty sharply and seemed none the worse for the shunt, which is more than coulod be said for his car. Headen and Gallacher both retired with engine problems early on, the former whilst running in third.
FF1600 Rounds 3 and 4 Rory Rules - 4 wins from 4 starts
Rory Butcher continues to dominate Scottish Formula Ford, his latest foray adding 2 more wins and keeping on 100% record for the year intact. Such is Butcher's dominance at the moment that he qualified on pole with just under a second to spare. His lap of 55.307 was 0.917secs faster than Stuart Robertson in second place. At the start of race 1 Rory just vanished eventually winning the 10 lap race(interupted by a Red Flag) by 8.8 seconds. However behind him it was a closer affair.
At the start Robertson had slotted in
behind Butcher whilst in third was Alan Brunton from Joe Tanner
(pictured below). The latter back with a new engine, albeit it a
misfiring one. Craig Brunton had started in third place but
a spin on only the second lap ensured he would spend the rest of
the race playing catch-up. This he did recovering from dead last to
eighth at the flag in a case of 'what might have been!'
With Butcher now gone, second place was between Robertson, Alan Brunton and the misfiring Tanner, that is until the red flag came out on lap 5 when Michael Pieraccini's car got beached on the back straight. At the restart Butcher again went off like a rocket while the aforementioned trio battled once more for second. Initially Robertson pulled out a slight gap on Brunton and Tanner as they squabbled over third but they got back onto his tail on the final lap, the three cars finally crossing the line separated by less than a second in that order. Behind them in fifth, six and seventh was Alastair Dow followed by Scott Fraser and Carol Brown. The three cars, plus Gillian Shedden and Willie Hourie, had all been fighting for fifth since the restart and the final positions weren't settled until the penultimate lap. This was when Shedden, then running seventh behind Willie Hourie appeared to get hit by Brown at the hairpin dropping her to last and delaying Hourie. At the same time it allowed Scott Fraser to move ahead of Brown into sixth where he finished, not bad when you consider that only 5 laps earlier he had been eleventh! Race two was a rerun of the first up front with Butcher winning easily. This time Tanner's engine appeared tom run a bit better, al least for the first few laps, allowing him to move into second place after a brief scrap with Robertson on the opening lap. It was touch and go though for around lap 6 or 7 his misfire returned and as it got worse so the gap to third placed Alan Brunton came down, Tanner held on however and took second with just under 5 seconds to spare. Brunton came home third followed by Craig Brunton in fourth after a great drive from eighth. He had moved up steadily thought the field eventually taking fourth on lap 7 from Stuart Robertson at Car Lube who followed him home in fifth. Sixth was Carol Brown who had a battle with Alastiar Dow in the latter stages. Brown was behind him for the first 8 laps before she got by only for Dow to re-take the position at Car Lube one lap from the end. However Carol was not to be denied and she re-passed him to claim the position on the last lap. XR2 Championship Munro marches on
In the first race, interrupted by a red flag as were so many races on Sunday morning, Munro had made the best start, Cruickshank tucking in behind him, just as they would in the afternoon. On the third lap the red flag came out when the Fiesta ST of Ewan Wilson crashed at the Leslies(Duffus Dip) ending up on it’s roof leaving the officials no choice but to stop the race. At the restart Munro and Cruickshank pulled away again leaving Sleigh to fend off Adams and Callagahan for the rest of the race. In the ST class Rory Bryan took the honours from Ian Donaldson after Stewart Scott drifted off onto the gravel trap at Scotsman on the very last lap losing the runner-up spot to Donaldson in the process. Race two was a rerun of the first up front Munro winning again from Cruickshank. Tim Sleigh was third once more, although only for first three laps before retiring on lap 5. This allowed Jason Callagham to complete the podium in the second race, 1.5 secs off the leader. Fourth was Findlay Adams with Richard Gray fifth and Wayne MacCauley sixth.
MacCauley soon caught up too Smart but it took him several laps to find away passed, eventually getting the job done on lap 8., where, courtesy of Sleigh’s retirement he finished sixth
April 26 Rounds 1 and 2 FF1600 Butchered!
Tanner still finished second in both events, and he was closer in race 2 , crossing the line just 11 seconds behind the leader. In both races he had his mirrors full with Craig Brunton who kept his honest in both events. IN the first race he was mere 0.052 secs behind as the pair flashed over the line. In race two it wasn’t quite so close, just over a second! Fourth in race one was Martin Pieraccini followed by Stuart Robertson, Scott Fraser, Carol Brown, making her debut in the series, Adrian Hamilton and Alistair Dow. The six cars separated by just over 2 seconds at the end after they had endured a race long battle. In race 2 Scott Fraser took fourth in front of Stuart Robertson and Pieraccini. XR2 Championship Cruickshank’s double
In the second race was initially beaten off the line by Colville but it was only a momentary lapse as he was into the lead by lap 2. Colville clung like a limpet to the rear of Cruickshank’s car but no matter what he tried he couldn’t retake the position. In the end it all went awry when Colville lost it on the final lap dropping down to 12th at the flag. This left second to Jason Callaghan with Ian Munro third, this despite an off into the gravel trap on lap 9. Ian Milton in fourth was just too far away to take advantage and had to settle for fourth.
words and pics Richard Pascal |
|
Andrew
Gallacher won both Scottish Sports and Saloon races at Knockhill last
Sunday driving his FWD Ford Focus. Second on both occasions was
Gallacher’s team-mate Charlie Shaw in a similar car although the latter
had to work for his result, 
Peter
Cruickshank had two attempts to win the first race of the Scottish XR2
Championship on Sunday at Knockhill. After leading the field on the
opening lap of the opening race he started to edge away from Champion
elect Ian Munro who had his hands full dealing with Tim Sleigh in third.
Fourth was Findlay Adams followed by Andrew Allan. 
y
Galloway on the very last lap. 
Scott
Fraser took full advantage of Rory Butcher’s absence from Knockhill on
Sunday to record to well deserved victories at a cold and on occasion
damp Knockhill. Leading both races from pole he was never headed as he
swept to two fine wins ahead of Craig Brunton. 
The
XR2 Championship still provides some of the best entertainment at
Knockhill and Saturday’s two races were no exception.
Rory
Butcher looked to have the Sir Jackie Stewart Trophy and the Golden
Helmet all sewn up at Knockhill. He had won every Formula Ford race up
to the final, a Scottish round, two Irish /BRSCC rounds and one JYS
Trophy Heat. all with comparative ease, all except on which took him
until the final lap, but he was very much the man to beat! And that is
exactly what Scott Malvern(pictured left) did, winning both
titles by a hairsbreath at the flag!
The
second race featured Rory Butcher his closest rival Scott Malvern and
after Rory’s demolition jobs in the Scottish and Irish FFord races
earlier in the day it was expected he would simply disappear. Of course
that was before it rained!
At
the start no one as Butcher made a perfect getaway to lead the field
into lap 1, where he proceeded to disappear up the road. 
Just
as he predicted though, he didn’t stay there long, with the track bone
dry it took just a lap and half for Garry Watson’s Westfield to get by
Dunbar . The it was the turn of Bob Lyons’ Porsche 997 to follow the
Westfield past before David Headen’s Caterham CSR did the same leaving
Dunbar in fourth.
Jason
Callaghan claimed pole in the XR2’s for their opening race on Sunday and
what a race it was. Starting on a wet track it Callaghan made a good
start to lead the pack into Duffus for the first time. He was followed
by Ian Munro and Peter Cruickshank , the latter moving up to second at
the hairpin.
Back
with the XR2’s Callaghan, now in third, led Cruickshank with Philip
third followed now by Munro, Adams who had supplanted Ford. 
Two
laps later and Cruickshank moved to second with Findlay Adam taking
advantage of the move to take third at the same time relegating Smart to
fourth.
Just
for once Rory Butcher wasn’t on the top step of the podium in the
Scottish Formula Ford Championship at Knockhill this year. On Sunday
morning on a damp track Andrew Cheshire kept his head, whilst all around
were loosing theirs, to take a well deserved win in his first race of
the season. But more of that later… 
Just
as Butcher slipped by Carol Brown and was sizing up the race leader,
Willie Hourie went off immediately behind the leading pair and beached
his car in the gravel trap at the top of Duffus. Unfortunately for
Butcher the marshals couldn’t shift it so out came the red flag.
Charlie
Shaw, driving a Ford Focus, won both the Scottish Sports and Saloons
races at Knockhill, for once getting the better of his team-mate Andrew
Gallacher who had problems in both races. 
Ian
Munro took two lights to flag victories at a hot and sunny Knockhill on
Sunday 31 May. He was followed home on both occasions by Peter
Cruickshank, coincidentally by 0.39 seconds in both races, 0.399 in race
1 and 0.391 in race 2. Not much between the pair then! 
The
latter had an eventful race. Starting in eighth he had initially climbed
to seventh ahead of Chris Philip. Philip then passed him on lap 2, as
did Hamish Smart(pictured left), dropping MacCauuley to ninth. He
retook eighth from Philip one lap later and set off after Smart, whose
good start had seen him move from eleventh on the grid 7th.
The
XR2 Championship’s opening races were the usual closely fought out
affairs at Knockhill on Sunday 26 April. Peter Cruickshank came through
both races to win, despite pressure from Dave Colville in both. In the
first race Cruickshank endure a great deal of pressure to hang onto the
lead and cross the line just over 0.1 secs up on Colville Jason
Callaghan half a second further behind.