The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998
|
The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
|
| Home |
 Features |
Calendar |
News
Archive |
11/56 MotorSport | |
|
Reports |
Gallery |
Links |
Classified |
 Provisional championship placings
Next rounds: 25/26 May Rockingham website: www.vw-cup.co.uk
|
ACTION ALL THE WAY DESPITE THE SNOW AT OULTON PARK
Jethro Bovingdon on his way to fifth place at Oulton Park on the Jetta TSI Sport's debut The dire Easter weather tried but failed to dampen the excitement of the opening rounds of the Volkswagen Racing Cup today (Monday) at Oulton Park, with spectators enjoying two enthralling battles against the elements by a quality field. There were surprises galore - including two podium finishes for the entertaining Caddy TDI, its best-ever results - a tactically brilliant race win for Steve Wood and his Hankook-shod Golf GTI, and a dominant second-race victory in the snow for Paul Taylor's Golf R32. Oulton Park was also notable for the world racing debut of the Jetta TSI Sport. The 1.4-litre turbocharged and supercharged saloon was raced by evo editor Jethro Bovingdon, who scored an excellent 10th-place finish despite a spin in race one and then stole through to fifth in race two. Jethro was impressed by the Jetta: 'It shows great promise and it's really well balanced. With development work it will be a really quick car and ought to be a frontrunner.' A steady downpour of sleet was the pre-race one welcome for drivers and the unseasonable weather gave many a tyre-choice dilemma. Alex Dziurzynski, whose Corrado upset the formbook in Saturday's qualifying to nab pole position by eight-hundredths of a second, opted to start the race on slick Hankooks, as did Taylor, alongside him on the front row in his Golf R32. Among those opting for wet-weather rubber were Wood, who figured that starting from seventh on the grid he had little to lose by gambling. It proved to be a brilliant choice by Wood, whose Travis Perkins-backed Golf GTI overhauled five cars on the opening lap and then deposed the fast-starting Taylor from the lead the next time around. Paul had an advantage with his car's four-wheel drive but nonetheless found the going tricky, and Dziurzynski was managing literally to keep a loose grip on third. A two-lap safety car period, brought about when John Quartermaine crashed his Golf into the Old Hall Corner tyre wall, gave Wood another lucky break. With the track drying rapidly his grooved Hankooks were beginning to suffer; the reduced pace of the safety car laps were just what he needed to preserve them. At the restart Wood blasted away once more from his pursuers and on to a 4.9-second win over Taylor. It was his first race victory since 2006 and was due entirely to tyre choice, he said: 'I made a late choice to switch to wets and thankfully it was the right call. They lasted really well.' Taylor reckoned that if the race had been a couple of laps longer there might have been a different result: 'As the track dried my car was getting quicker and quicker, but I just ran out of laps.' Another wet tyre-shod machine claimed third place - the amazing TDI-powered Caddy in the hands of evo journalist Roger Green. He took full advantage of the slippery conditions to haul the van up from 10th on the grid to fourth place after the restart, then snatched third from Alex Dziurzynski's grasp with a brave manoeuvre through Lodge two laps from home. It was the first ever podium finish for the Caddy. 'I lucked in on the conditions, really,' said Green, 'by switching to wet tyres at the last minute. It was fantastic fun but really slippery out there.' Yards after losing third Dziurzynski was in further bother as he and the TDI Golf of championship newcomer James Walker (younger son of 2007 race winner Richard) came together at Old Hall; Alex's Corrado left the circuit but James was able to continue, and to hold on to fourth ahead of Joe Fulbrook's slick-shod Bora. The younger Dziurzynski, Adrian, claimed sixth in his Golf ahead of Steve Chaplin's Beetle, Mike Kurton's Golf and veteran Barrie Culley, whose Vento VR6 adopted an unusual slick front/wets rear tyre configuration which worked well enough to propel him from 19th on the grid to ninth at the chequered flag. Bovingdon placed 10th in the Jetta; he would have finished higher up the order but for an early spin induced by a power steering glitch. Giles Lock's Caddy was 11th and the Keith Garages-backed Beetle of championship newcomer Nick Dunn 12th. Another series debutant, 17-year-old James Griffiths, endured a baptism of fire: with his new Golf GTI unready to race, the Cheshire driver drove an unfamiliar V6 Golf instead, and his steady drive up to 12th came to a gyrating end after five laps. The Easter weather was even more unkind in race two, with bright pre-event sunshine lulling all on to slick tyres. The heavens opened after only three laps and the sleet flurries not only made the track treacherously slippy but also reduced visibility dramatically. The red flags were flown to halt the race after just five laps, before a serious accident spoiled proceedings. It was Taylor who made the best start and whose four-wheel-drive Taylor Heating-backed Golf was best suited to the conditions. Paul sliced through to the front from row three of the grid well before reaching the first corner, Old Hall, and sped effortlessly into the middle distance. Green was meanwhile staging another remarkable performance at the helm of the Caddy, moving into second on the opening lap before being pushed back down the order by Adrian Dziurzynski and Fulbrook next time around. Adrian's Golf lost second to Fulbrook on the third lap and lasted for only a further two more tours before it was forced on to the sidelines, which left Fulbrook cruising to a relatively easy second behind Taylor. Green was once again third. 'It was a really exciting race,' said Roger, 'and in the conditions was mostly about just trying to stay on the track. But it was great fun and I'd love to come back and do it again.' Walker took fourth again in the Chek Whyte Industries-backed Golf TDI, with Bovingdon bringing home the new Jetta an impressive fifth, ahead of Chaplin, Kurton, Jamie Perry in his new and teething problem-beset Golf GTI, Barrie Culley and Peter Wyhinny's Polo. Race one winner Wood endured all sorts of problems: his Golf's throttle started playing up on the warming-up lap, forcing him to the pits to stop and restart the engine, which cured it. Forced then to start well after the rest had departed, he overcooked it in his pursuit and lost even more time; 11th, just ahead of Tony Harberman's Golf, was a good result in the circumstances. Young James Griffiths kept out of trouble on this occasion, bringing his Golf home 18th at his home circuit.
Provisional results 2008
Volkswagen Racing Cup in association with Hankook Round 2 / Oulton Park, 24 March / 5
laps = 13.46 miles
The Volkswagen Racing Cup in association with Hankook is additionally supported by Augustus Martin, Castrol, ECM Vehicle Delivery, Milltek Sport, Mondial Assistance, KW Automotive, Superchips, TNT Logistics, Turbo Dynamics, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Volkswagen Financial Services UK.
mail your links to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk
|
|
