RACING EXPOSURE :: Club level motorsport e-magazine

Triumphant Tom takes third at Thruxton

Fantastic scenes greeted a triumphant Tom Boardman as he stepped up onto the podium in Thruxton, having secured a convincing third place in the final race of the day.

It had been a mixture of excitement and anticipation at the start as Tom sat on pole position, but he proved he’s got what it takes to be a top touring car driver.

“I’m well chuffed,” said Tom. “It feels like a win! I’m really happy for the Special Tuning Racing team. It’s frustrating when I’m not up there as they put so much work into the car over the weekend, so to get a podium and prove I can race at the front is a very special feeling for everyone.”

Having begun the first of the day’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races in ninth, Tom put in another one of his trademark starts in the STR SEAT, overhauling both AMD Milltek Racing driver Tom Onslow-Cole and Pirtek Racing’s Jeff Smith in the first lap.

Tom seized the initiative again in lap five, diving through to take sixth as Airwaves Racing’s Mat Jackson yielded to current champion Jason Plato after the pair ran side-by-side through the final chicane.

With Jackson striking back, Tom put in a great defensive drive to keep him at bay. And with Plato spinning off with a puncture, he went on to finish the race in a fantastic fifth place.

Beginning the second race from fifth, Tom appeared to get a good start, but an engine breathing issue quickly hindered progress, and he slipped down to ninth. A mammoth slide on lap two around Goodwood corner wowed the crowd, but unfortunately, it was to cost him a further place, as he battled to keep the car on the circuit.

By lap five, Tom got the momentum and really started to turn the screws on Tech-Speed’s Paul O’Neill, but it was not until lap 14 before he made it count.

With WSR’s Rob Collard spinning off on lap ten, Tom gained a further spot to finish in ninth, confidently withstanding intense pressure from the chasing pack for much of the race.

Tom then got the luck of the draw, starting from pole position as the top nine finishers from race two were reversed to form the grid for the final race of the day.

However, it was a nervous start as Tom lost two places with Plato and Jackson getting the better of him by the first corner. Tom fought back, but was unable to find a way through.

Following a safety car deployment, Tom then showed immense courage at the restart, holding firm from a relentless attack by James Nash in the Triple 8 Racing car. He finished the race in a superb third place, his first outright podium in the BTCC (having taken an Independent drivers’ win at Rockingham in 2009 with fourth place).

“We’ve now got a big break before Oulton Park. We’ll use the time wisely and make sure we have no problems for the next race. Today was really satisfying. We’ve got the car where we want it and where we can finish the race competitively. Hopefully we can carry this special feeling through the remainder of the season.”

Jordan and Pirtek Racing star at Thruxton

Andrew Jordan and Pirtek Racing were right in the centre of the action at Thruxton (30 April/1 May) during the third meeting of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. Two more podium finishes have put Andrew into fourth overall in the drivers’ championship and a close third in the Independents’ Trophy.

With team mate Jeff Smith also running with top 10 pace, it was a superb weekend for Pirtek Racing as Andrew completed a run of five consecutive overall podium finishes. “It’s been a very good day,” he said as he reflected at the end of Sunday afternoon.

The high-speed Hampshire track has a notoriously abrasive surface which is incredibly tough on tyres and through practice Andrew and the team concentrated on race-length runs to get the best understanding of tyre performance ahead of the races. The team then switched the car into a qualifying set-up and Andrew stormed to second fastest time in qualifying.

In the first race he initially ran between the Hondas of Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal, but then dropped to third as Neal charged ahead. “The Hondas were very strong in a straight line and I knew the move from Matt was coming in the first race; I was quite glad it came early,” said Andrew. “Then I could just get on with my own race and not think about defending from him. Third overall and first Independent was a good result for the first race.”

In race two, he took second on the road, but was later moved back to third behind Shedden in the results. “I could see Gordon was struggling; he outbraked himself into the chicane and I went four wheels over the kerb to get by him. I think I’d have still got him later in the race. Unfortunately, I got done for that and they swapped the results back, so I ended up third. That was our fifth consecutive podium.”

In the reversed grid race three Andrew started seventh and was soon attacking Tom Chilton for sixth. “I got to Chilton and got under him coming out of the chicane. But his engine is stronger than ours and he was able to close me down into Allard. I went in tight and hit the kerb, but he went in too fast. I thought I was going into the wall with him, but I managed to keep it on the grass. As I rejoined the track, Shedden went past and then Matt Neal outbraked me into the Complex and gave me quite a whack on the way past. That bent something on the steering but luckily we got some points. The front of the car was full of grass and we were concerned that the engine would overheat. Luckily I managed to lose a lot of it under the safety car. But after that I was just hanging on and seventh was the best I was going to get.”

Fair return from Thruxton for 888

Five points finishes were a fair reward for Triple Eight Race Engineering with Collins Contractors at Thruxton and kept them in the hunt for the 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

After a poor qualifying session on Saturday for both cars James Nash scored

three points finishes in Sunday’s races with a best of 4th position in race 3, while BTCC rookie Tony Gilham scored points with a 10th and a 9th place finish in racestwo and three.

Despite Nash scoring his best result of the day in race three he was still disappointed to finish 4th believing that if he hadn’t been held up by Tom Boardman on the restart following a Safety Car interruption that a podium result would have been possible. Boardman is understood to have accidentally switched off his engine causing him to back-up the cars (led by Nash) behind him. The Safety Car had been introduced following Tom Chilton crashing his Ford Focus. Chilton was unhurt in the incident.

James Nash ♯14: “We struggled at the beginning of the weekend what with the ballast and not knowing the track and we didn’t get the best out of the car. Having said that we moved forward in each race and scored points again in all three races. It was a shame about the last race restart because without the delay I’m sure we would have done even better.”

Tony Gilham ♯34: “A reasonable end to a weekend that didn’t look too promising after a disappointing qualifying. We’ve got to be happy I suppose moving up in each race and scoring some more points. We’ve just got to get a grip on qualifying starting next time out at Oulton Park.”

Ian Harrison, Chairman Triple Eight: “ The feeling after the races is a bit flat really. We came here carrying high expectations but you have to remember that neither James (Nash) or Tony (Gilham) had raced here before in a touring car and initially we went a bit too conservative on set up, certainly more mild a set up than we normally would have used for Thruxton.”

“Both drivers drove well, especially after we went a little more aggressive in races two and three. We scored 5 out of 6 points finishes so it can’t be the end of the world and it is I guess better than some of the other teams managed.”

Sutton takes Carrera Cup GB double at Thruxton

James Sutton completed a perfect weekend in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton today (Sunday 1 May) when he won round six to take a 19-point lead into the five-week spring break in the calendar.

In another action-packed race, Jonas Gelzinis completed a double win in Pro-Am1, while George Brewster won Pro-Am2 with a commanding drive.

Sutton (SAS/Redline) again converted pole position into a first lap lead despite pressure from Euan Hankey (Parker with Juta). In the early laps, this pair eased away from the chasing pack as Stephen Jelley (Parker with Juta) slotted into third from Gelzinis (Juta Racing), Tim Harvey (Nationwide/Motorbase) and Michael Meadows (SAS/Redline).

Over the first half of the race Hankey tracked Sutton, but as the race moved into the later stages, Hankey knew he was in tyre trouble. “The rear tyres just went away,” he said of the punishing Thruxton track surface. “Then I had a big moment with a backmarker at Goodwood and lost two seconds in one lap.” Instead of chasing Sutton, Hankey now had to focus his attention on Jelley, who was closing in.

Meanwhile, Sutton reeled off the remaining laps to complete a double win and extend his early points’ lead. “Over the course of the weekend I was really starting to find the limit of the car,” he said of the latest 450bhp 911GT3 Cup. “I’m very, very pleased with the weekend.”

The battle for second was a real highlight as Hankey and Jelley went wheel-to-wheel in a sporting contest. It was finally resolved in Jelley’s favour at the chicane with a lap to run. “Euan covered the inside so there was only one place to go,” said Jelley after diving to the outside under braking. Hankey left his braking very late, but had to leap his car over the chicane kerbs as Jelley grabbed the place.  “The car was really consistent all the way through,” said Jelley, which contrasted with his team mate’s experience. “It was really strong at the start but later I had massive oversteer. I salvaged something!”

Meadows battled ahead of Harvey and Gelzinis to take a strong fourth, while Gelzinis was pleased to secure another Pro-Am1 victory in fifth place ahead of Harvey and Michael Caine (Nationwide/Motorbase).

In the early laps, Rory Butcher (Celtic Speed) chased Harvey with good pace, but a spin into the chicane dropped him behind the battling pack of Team Parker Racing’s Richard Plant and Sam Tordoff and Ben Hetherington (Redline/Oman Air). Butcher still recovered to take second in Pro-Am1 and complete an excellent weekend at the challenging Hampshire track. “I’ve made a big step forward with the car this weekend,” said Butcher. Ahmad Al Harthy (Redline/Oman Air) wrapped up the Pro-Am2 podium.

Brewster (Celtic Speed) always controlled Pro-Am2, with Andrew Shelley (Redline Racing) and Steve Parish (Motorbase Performance) delayed in a first corner tangle. While Brewster led from the front, Keith Webster (Redline Racing) ran second from Richard Denny (Parr Motorsport). That was how it finished, but Denny had to contend with a strong challenge from the recovering Shelley over the closing stages.

TV dates for Porsche Carrera Cup GB

The first programme in the dedicated television coverage of the 2011 Porsche Carrera Cup GB will be broadcast in the Motorsport UK programme on ITV1 on the night of Sunday 8 May and will also be shown on ITV4 on Saturday 7 May.

The Motorsport UK series, which features hour-long programmes, is covering all of the Carrera Cup GB action again this season. Round two of the season at Brands Hatch will feature in this programme.

Motorsport UK will be broadcast as follows:
Saturday 7 May at 8.55am on ITV4
Monday 9 May at 2.55am on ITV1

Viewing figures from Motorsport UK in 2010 showed a typical total programme audience of between 300,000 and 500.000 viewers. Motorsport UK can also be watched at itv.com and is available for viewing for 30 days after the initial broadcast date.

Sutton wins Carrera Cup round five at Thruxton

James Sutton topped an absorbing round five of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton today (Sunday 1 May) when he countered a determined challenge from Euan Hankey as battles all down the field made for superb live television action on ITV4.

Jonas Gelzinis took the spoils in Pro-Am1 ahead of Rory Butcher, while Pro-Am2 victory went to Andrew Shelley after a big contest with Keith Webster.

Sutton (SAS/Redline) fended off Hankey (Parker with Juta) on the run to the first corner, but then had to withstand constant pressure over the following 20 laps as Hankey was never more than a second behind. At a circuit that is notoriously tough on tyres, Sutton had to manage his tyres and fend off Hankey as they steadily pulled clear of the battle for third place.

The result was always in doubt and at the finish each driver paid tribute to his rival. “We had an exceptional car, but Euan was driving particularly well,” said Sutton. “I was working myself hard because he was a constant shadow.” Equally, Hankey acknowledged his rival. “He drove a very good race; it was just really frustrating. Every time I got close to him I got understeer at Church and lost ground,” said Hankey.

In the early laps, Gelzinis (Juta Racing) fended of Michael Meadows (SAS/Redline) and Stephen Jelley (Parker with Juta) for third but as the race developed Jelley was able to work his way to the head of the pack. “I went wide around a slower car and got a lot of debris on the tyres,” said Gelzinis of the moment that led to him losing third place. Jelley had been forced wide at the Complex on the first lap and dropped two places as a result, but battled back to third as the race progressed. “I just prayed on their mistakes,” he said of Meadows and Gelzinis. Late in the race, Jelley also went wide to pass a slower car and the pick-up on his tyres left him struggling to fend off Meadows to the flag.

Recognising that winning Pro-Am1 was his prime target, Gelzinis was content to slot into a secure fifth ahead of Tim Harvey (Nationwide/Motorbase). Second in Pro-Am1 and seventh overall was a fine result for Butcher (Celtic Speed), who fended off a late race challenge from Ben Hetherington (Oman Air/Redline). “I’m happy with that; it was a good clean race,” said Butcher, who chased Harvey in the opening laps before easing back to conserve his tyres.

Third in Pro-Am1 was the subject of a mighty four-way contest as Derek Pierce (Dextra/JD Pierce by Parker) fended off a mammoth challenge from Ahmad Al Harthy (Oman Air/Redline), Alex Martin Dextra/JD Pierce by Parker) and George Richardson (Motorbase Performance). To mark his birthday, Pierce held on for the final place on the podium, but Al Harthy challenged at just about every corner on every lap of the race. “He was all over me all the time,” said Pierce. “He was really good on the brakes.”

There was more drama in Pro-Am2 as poleman George Brewster (Celtic Speed) was sidelined early on by a puncture. Instead, Redline Racing team mates Shelley and Webster enacted a race-long contest with the category lead changing many times before Webster finally asserted himself to take his first category victory. “That was such hard work, and it’s great to get a first win,” said Webster. Shelley was still only a second behind at the flag, acknowledging that he was losing too much time at the chicane. Through to complete the Pro-Am2 podium went Richard Denny (Parr Motorsport) who had to fight back after an early spin.

However, after the race the cars of Al Harthy and Webster were excluded from the results over a technical infringement. The championship results will remain provisional.

Sutton takes double Carrera Cup GB pole at Thruxton

James Sutton was the man on top in qualifying for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton today (30 April) when he took pole position for both rounds five and six of the championship. Jonas Gelzinis did the double In Pro-Am1, while George Brewster took both Pro-Am2 poles.

With his car nudging 165mph on the charge up Woodham Hill towards the Club Chicane, Sutton (SAS/Redline) became the fastest ever Carrera Cup driver at Thruxton by twice breaking the 1m14s barrier to secure an impressive double pole. “We knew we had room for improvement after testing, but I didn’t get the best out of my first set of tyres,” said Sutton.  His mid-session pit stop strategy worked well and Sutton was one of the first drivers to rejoin the session after his tyre change. “I got 2.3 miles of clear track to give myself the best chance,” he said after topping both grids.

Leading the challenge to Sutton was Euan Hankey (Parker with Juta), who also broke the 1m14s mark for the opening race. However, Hankey believed it could have been even better. “I had a big moment into the chicane; I locked the rears and bounced over the middle kerb and it was still a 13.9s lap,” said Hankey, who will start second for both races.

Third places were shared between Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) and Stephen Jelley (Parker with Juta). “There was a lot of traffic, but I’m leading Pro-Am1 and that is the focus,” said Gelzinis, who slipped to fifth for round six. Jelley, meanwhile, was confident that he would be strong for the races. “We did a very good race run in testing and we’re in good shape for tomorrow,” he said.

Michael Meadows (SAS/Redline) and Tim Harvey (Nationwide/Motorbase) both took top six places for each race, but there was frustration for Harvey’s team mate Michael Caine. “We’ve got mega understeer; the car is very different to testing,” said Caine who had been right on the pace in testing but will start in ninth place for both races.

While Gelzinis set a searing pace in Pro-Am1, Rory Butcher (Celtic Speed) was very impressive on his debut weekend at Thruxton to lead the chase of the Lithuanian driver. Importantly, Butcher did the fewest number o laps in qualifying to keep his tyres in as good a condition as possible at a track that it notoriously tough on tyres. “I seem to have taken to the circuit relatively quickly and I’m in among the Pro drivers, which is where we want to be,” said the Scot. On both grids, Ahmad Al Harthy (Oman Air/Redline) and Alex Martin (Dextra/JD Pierce by Parker) were third and fourth in Pro-Am1.

Making it a good session for Celtic Speed, Brewster headed Pro-Am2 for both races and, like his team mate, had been very conservative on tyre usage. “It was excellent; we had a game plan to do the minimum number of laps to save the tyres,” said Brewster. Andrew Shelley (Red Line Racing) was twice second for Pro-Am2, but felt that a better time was within reach, while third and fourth places in the Pro-Am2 were shared between Steve Parish (Motorbase Performance) and Keith Webster (Red Line Racing).

Pierce wins Michelin award in Carrera Cup at Thruxton

Derek Pierce is the latest Porsche Carrera Cup GB racer to benefit from Michelin’s on-going support of the championship by winning a set of tyres this weekend at Thruxton (30 April/1 May).

Pierce, racing for Team Parker Racing team, has returned to the championship this season after taking a year out of racing in 2010 and is a leading contender in the Pro-Am1 category.

Having been the control tyre supplier for the Carrera Cup GB since the championship was created in 2003, Michelin is once more supporting the teams and drivers with the award of a complete set of slick racing tyres at each event. Before the start of testing, a name is drawn from a hat to receive the tyres, with a value of more than £1000.

“Michelin has supported us throughout the history of the Carrera Cup GB and I am delighted that once again they are giving away 10 sets of tyres across the season,” said championship manager Marion Barnaby.

Gelzinis tops Carrera Cup GB test at Thruxton

The stage is set for another superbly competitive pair of races in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton this weekend (30 April/1 May) after less than a second covered the top 12 drivers in testing today (Friday 29 April) ahead of rounds five and six of the championship.

For the second event in a row, it was Pro-Am1 racer Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) who topped the overall times, with James Sutton and Michael Meadows right behind for SAS/Redline. Meanwhile, Steve Parish headed the Pro-Am2 category for Motorbase Performance.

Gelzinis shot to the top of the times in the second session to post the fastest ever Carrera Cup lap of the Hampshire track. However, Sutton and Meadows were within four-hundredths of a second of the Lithuanian racer as he competed at Thruxton for the second time. “It is much easier this year,” said Gelzinis. “I know how to drive the circuit faster and the driving style for the new car seems to help me.” Sutton, meanwhile, believed there was a better lap still to come. “I think there is a 1m13s lap in there,” he said. “The balance of the car is good.” Meadows was a whisker slower than his team mate. “We did quite a lot of work between the sessions and it paid off,” he said.

Right in contention for the first time this season in fourth was Michael Caine (Nationwide/Motorbase), with a best lap only a tenth of a second away from Gelzinis.  “It feels alright,” said Caine. “That’s the most comfortable I’ve felt in the car so far,” he added. Team mate Tim Harvey was eighth fastest, but confident of a strong performance in the two races on Sunday. “We changed the car for the afternoon and it wasn’t so good; but looking after the tyres will be the big issue here.”

Well in the hunt were Stephen Jelley and Euan Hankey for the Parker with Juta team, while Richard Plant (Team Parker Racing) was a strong seventh ahead of his first race at Thruxton.

With Gelzinis setting the overall pace, second in Pro-Am1 was Ahmad Al Harthy (Oman Air/Redline) with a late push to edge Rory Butcher (Celtic Speed) back to third. Butcher was another Thruxton newcomer. “I really learnt a lot today,” said Butcher. “It’s really physical out there!”

In Pro-Am2, Parish topped the times from Redline Racing duo Keith Webster and Andrew Shelley. “I like it here and I had a lot of good advice from my senior team mates,” he said of Caine and Harvey.  “It’s all about confidence and it’s coming,” said Webster.

The GoMobileUK.com with Tech-Speed team endured a difficult weekend at Thruxton as the high-speed Hampshire circuit played host to the third round of the 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season.

Widnes-racer Paul O’Neill and Guernsey-based team-mate John George had gone into the weekend optimistic of challenging for points finishes at the wheel of their Chevrolet Cruzes, but ultimately came away from the weekend empty handed as those cars running NGTC-specification turbo engines dominated proceedings.

Paul went into the weekend on the back of five top ten finishes in six starts, but was only able to qualify 13th on the grid, despite the fact that his time was virtually identical to the best time set at Thruxton last season by defending champion Jason Plato when he had been at the wheel of the Chevrolet.

Off the start, Paul held position but then spent much of the race stuck behind the BMW of Rob Collard, which in turn allowed the Vauxhall of Tony Gilham to close behind. Although he briefly got up to twelfth ahead of Collard, Paul would drop back behind both the BMW and Gilham’s Vectra to 14th although a puncture for Plato in the closing laps saw Paul climb back to 13th at the finish.

A series of changes to the car and a strong start to race two saw Paul climb up into ninth place on the opening lap and he soon set about chasing the works Chevrolet of Alex MacDowall in the fight for eighth, before he was demoted to tenth by Plato as he worked his way through the field from the back of the grid. A spin for Collard’s BMW ahead moved Paul back up to ninth and he looked set to benefit from the reverse grid for the final race until the closing laps when a gearbox issue allowed both Tom Boardman and Gilham to get ahead and demote him down to eleventh.

Paul held position at the start of race three before a heated battle with Collard and Jeff Smith, which saw the trio swap positions on numerous occasions in the space of three laps. When the Safety Car was deployed for an incident involving Tom Chilton, Paul found himself in tenth place but on lap eleven, he was shuffled back down the pack as Collard, Tom Onslow-Cole and Smith all got ahead as he started to suffer from understeer.

With Andy Neate’s turbo-powered Ford also driving by before the finish, Paul took the chequered flag in 14th. While that meant he was unable to score a top ten finish over the course of the weekend, Paul remains inside the top ten in the overall championship standings and maintains his fifth place in the Independents title race.

“I was pleased in qualifying to match the time Jason did in the car last season as that is what I have to aim for, although it was frustrating that it was only good enough for 13th on the grid given the pace of the turbos,” he said. “As a team, we go out there to do our best in every session but I don’t feel I got the best from the car this weekend. I hold my hands up to that, but mark my words, there will be no repeat at Oulton Park and I’ll be going there to grind out the best results I can for everyone who has worked so hard to put this programme together.

“I genuinely though we would be fighting for the podium this weekend and without the gearbox problem towards the end of race two, I would have got the reverse grid and things might have been different in race three. However, we just have to put Thruxton firmly behind us and after the bad luck we’ve had in recent races, put all our focus into coming out fighting at Oulton Park next month.”

Team-mate John qualified 18th in the sister car having improved his pace throughout the Saturday sessions and a trouble free run in the opening race saw him take the chequered flag in 17th position.

A heated battle with the West Surrey Racing-run BMW of Nick Foster ended with John finishing the second race of the weekend in 15th place although he lost time to the rest of the field at the start of race three after becoming stuck behind the Chevrolet Lacetti of Chris James. Having got ahead of he Chevrolet, John closed onto the rear of the field when the Safety Car was deployed and then battled his way ahead of Foster’s BMW to take the chequered flag in 16th.

“The car didn’t miss a beat all weekend and the team did a fantastic job as always,” he said. “We made some set-up changes after the first race which meant the car was totally different for races two and three and my times came down as a result, but the speed traps show how much all the normally aspirated cars were losing out to the turbos.

“I was able to keep the BMW behind me in race two and race three which was the big positive from the weekend and we’ll keep doing the best job we can.”

Following the weekend, GoMobileUK.com with Tech-Speed sit seventh in the HiQ Teams Championship and fifth in the Independents’ Team Trophy ahead of the fourth round of the year at Oulton Park next month.

“Thruxton was a difficult weekend,” Tech-Speed team boss Marvin Humphries said. “We worked hard on set-up but the cars were a bit nervous around the quick parts of the lap and Thruxton is a circuit where you need the car set-up perfect to really push to the maximum. We also need to work on making the car better over the kerbs as we were losing out at the chicane, which then compromised our speed at the start of the lap. However, we know there is improvement to come as we continue to find things with the Chevrolet.

“On a circuit like Thruxton, it’s more difficult to defend against a turbo car than it is to defend against a normally aspirated car and Paul lost out there, but John did well against Foster in the final two races of the weekend.

“Overall, we didn’t get the kind of results we were hoping for from the weekend, but we’ll work hard on putting that right at Oulton Park.”

Pics: Mike Hills

AmD Milltek Racing.com enjoyed its best ever weekend in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton, picking up two points finishes during the third meeting of the 2011 season.

Buoyed by a maiden points finish at Donington Park, the West Thurrock-based outfit headed to the high-speed Hampshire venue seeking to add to its championship tally and proved to be one of the revelations of the weekend as its Volkswagen Golf ran inside the top ten in every session on track.

After a strong performance in both free practice sessions, New Malden racer Tom Onslow-Cole secured a highly impressive sixth place on the grid during qualifying, despite his session ending slightly early after running wide at Church; which resulted in grass collecting in intakes at the front of the car.

It gave the AmD Milltek Racing.com team its best qualifying performance to date, while Tom’s lap of 1min 18.122secs was a full 3.716secs quicker than the car had lapped the Thruxton circuit last season in what was its first outing in the BTCC. In a further indication of the progress made, Tom was noticeably quicker through both speed traps than the Golf had gone in the past.

When the opening race got underway, Tom was shuffled back to eighth on the opening lap as he struggled for grip but lapped strongly to keep pace with Tom Boardman and Mat Jackson ahead, while also keeping championship leader James Nash at bay. An incident for Jason Plato two laps from the finish saw Tom climb up to seventh place, where he then finished for his second top ten result of the year.

Unfortunately, the team was then forced to miss the second race when an issue with the manifold was discovered, with the team unable to fix the problem in time to take its place in the field.

As a result, Tom started the final race of the weekend from the back of the grid but displayed good race craft as he worked his way through the pack to take the chequered flag in tenth for a second points finish of the weekend.

Tom heads away from Thruxton sitting 14th in the drivers’ championship and tenth amongst the Independent runners.

“We finished in the points in both races we started and have been inside the top ten in every session, which is a great result for the team,” he said. “Running in the top ten in race one is one thing, but to come from the back of the field to score points again in race three is a sign of our progress. There is still more to come, but we’re heading in the right direction.

“People said this circuit was all about power but you also need a good chassis, which we have with the Golf. We’re getting good power from the engine and while the aerodynamics aren’t as good as some of the saloons, we are working on it and are now looking for little things to improve.

“After scoring points at Donington, we wanted to come here and prove that we are a team that can regularly fight inside the top ten. Of course, we will occasionally drop outside the points, but this weekend we have shown what we can do.”

Tom’s double score means AmD Milltek Racing.com has closed to within nine points of former champions West Surrey Racing in the HiQ Teams Championship in tenth place while the team holds eighth place in the Independents’ team trophy heading into a small break before the fourth round of the campaign at Oulton Park.

“It’s been a fantastic weekend for us,” team principal Shaun Hollamby said. “The car has been on the pace from the first lap of practice on Saturday morning and we couldn’t have hoped for better in qualifying; Tom was absolutely on the money. He struggled a bit with some grip issues at the start of race one but seventh was a great result, although it was disappointing that we discovered the manifold problem too late to be out for race two.

“However, race three was fantastic. Tom showed strong pace and did a really good job to work his way forwards and he was able to pull away from people in both the normally aspirated and the turbo cars. We’ve got a four week gap now before Oulton Park to look at a few issues we have, which will help to boost our performance even further.

“We are still a new team in the BTCC, but the boys really came of age this weekend and have shown we can be true top ten contenders, which has been our aim all along. Being in the top ten in every session from this point onwards has to be our target.”

Pics: Steven & Bob Knightley

Andrew

Grantham-based race team Richardson Racing endured a weekend of highs and lows at Thruxton in the third meeting of the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup season (30 Apr-1 May).

Brother and sister pair Andrew and Louise Richardson again impressed with their speed in the G50 class, but the three races at the Hampshire circuit would provide a mixed bag of results for the teenage duo.

For his first ever race at Thruxton, Andrew qualified fifth in the G50 class and 13th overall, despite struggling with the handling of his car through the high-speed sections of the circuit.

When the opening race got underway, Andrew made his usual fast start to jump up to second in class before an incident for one of the G55 cars ahead gave Aaron Williamson the chance to get through and demote Andrew to third. While his car was now more settled through the quicker parts of the circuit, Andrew found himself losing time through the Complex at the start of the lap but held his position to secure a third podium finish of the season; taking the finish in ninth overall.

From ninth on the grid for race two, Andrew made up a place on the opening lap after getting ahead of Williamson into second in class. Although he dropped to tenth overall as a number of G55s worked their way up the order, Andrew maintained second in class until losing out to Williamson at the Complex on lap nine, when contact from his rival caused damage the diffuser. Andrew then ran in twelfth overall and third in class until being hit by Rob Gaffney on lap 13, which damaged the diffuser still further and saw him drop down to fifth in class at the finish.

Avoiding an incident at the start of race three, which caused the race to be red-flagged, Andrew was on the pace when the action restarted, climbing into the top ten overall and running fourth in class before his power steering failed heading though the high-speed left-hander at Noble. Despite that, Andrew continued until an alternator warning light came on, forcing him to pull into the pits to retire.

Andrew now sits seventh in the championship standings following the Thruxton weekend.

“`We struggled a bit to get the set-up right, so we were quite lucky to get the podium finish in race one,” he said. “In race two, I got up to second place but then Aaron hit me in the rear and damaged the diffuser and I was losing grip, and then it broke completely after the contract from Rob.

“The team did a brilliant job to put the car back together for the final race and the car felt great, but then a belt snapped and I lost the power steering going through Noble. At first, I though something had broken on the car but I was planning to carry on to pick up points until the alternator light came on and I had to pull back into the pits.”

Still suffering the after-effects of a bug picked up in the run-up to the event, Louise qualified seventh in class and 15th overall as she too struggled with the handling of her car through the quicker parts of the track.

With her handling issues resolved for the opening race, Louise climbed to fifth in class and eleventh overall on the first lap before climbing into the top ten overall on lap two. However, on the fourth lap, Jake Hill turned across Louise as the pair went into the Complex, with the resultant contact damaging the bonnet of her car. Although Louise held fourth place following the incident, her bonnet then became dislodged on lap nine which severely hampered the handling of the car and left her powerless to defend from the cars behind. As a result, she took the chequered flag sixth in class and 13th overall.

Louise lost a place at the start of race two to drop to seventh in class and 15th overall on the opening lap but soon started to make up places, moving ahead of Jody Fannin on lap two and then Gaffney to take fifth in class and 13th overall by lap six. A spin for Jake Hill at the Complex then allowed Louise to climb to fourth behind brother Andrew. Unfortunately, a spin at the Chicane while dicing for position with Andrew saw Louise drop back to sixth, but she was able to make up more places before the finish to take the chequered flag fourth in class and eleventh overall.

Unfortunately for Louise, her hopes of a strong end to the weekend ended in dramatic fashion when she was involved in a three-car accident at the start of race three. Polesitter Alistair James stalled his G55 on the line and was struck by Williamson, leaving Louise with nowhere to go when his car rebounded in front of her. Showing the strength of the car, Louise was able to escape serious injury, although she was understandably winded by the heavy impact, which put her out of the race on the spot.

Louise ends the Thruxton weekend sitting sixth in the championship chase.

“I made a good start and got ahead of Fannin, and I would have got through without any problems if Aaron hadn’t pinged back in front of me,” she said. “When his car bounced back, I had nowhere to go and there was nothing I could do to avoid him.

“We were close to the pace and got close to the podium again this weekend, but I made some mistakes and got caught up in the chaos on track which meant I couldn’t repeat the results from Donington Park. The car felt so good through all the quick stuff this weekend but luck just wasn’t on our side.”

Pics: Jakob Ebrey

Luton-based Team ES Racing endured a challenging weekend as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship headed to the UK’s fastest race circuit – Thruxton.

Heading in to the weekend Chris James knew it was going to be a testing weekend for the team in the normally aspirated Chevrolet Lacetti up against the turbo driven opposition.

Despite qualifying 21^st James wasn’t prepared to let his spirits drop and headed in to the first race with a clear goal of enjoying himself. Unfortunately it was to prove annoying after the aerodynamics of the car became unbalanced following the splitter breaking.

“A very frustrating race” admitted James. “Within 2 laps I felt something was wrong with the car, and little bits of carbon fibre floating around in the car didn’t help! For some reason, without running any kerbs, the splitter dropped down on the car and split. The car was absolutely horrible to drive. It was under steering & over steering at different points, making it impossible to be competitive, hence why we were lapped down to about 12^th place. The team suggested for me to come in & retire, but I wasn’t having that – I wanted to finish the race!”

Following time to reflect on the first race and repairs to the car James went in to the second race in a more positive mood: “With a new splitter, 4 new tyres on for this race (we ran 2 qualifying tyres on the rear of race 1) & after looking at data I was confident for race 2. I was kicking myself as my line through the first tight complex wasn’t right, and was costing me huge amounts of time. The race started well enough, and on my first flying lap I was over 2 seconds quicker than in race 1, huge!”

It was then that disaster would strike and bring James’s 100% BTCC finishing record to an end: “On only lap 3, as I was feeling the car getting quicker & quicker, I rode a kerb in to the chicane and the right front suspension snapped! Obviously this was game over. This was just pure bad luck, as the angle of the wheel came down at the worst possible point against the kerb, with the full weight of the car on the right front wheel, which the suspension bracket could not withstand. I was very disappointed as within 2 laps, when the tyres were far from up to temperature, I was showing much greater pace.”

For race 3 James looked to build on the initial progress made in the second race before the suspension failure. “After clearing my head from race 2, I was confident we could make some improvements in the final race. Again I got a reasonable start. I tried to gain a place or two in to the first complex, but in doing so I hugely out braked myself. I managed to avoid any contact and not to go off, but I did badly flat spot both front tyres, within 500 yards they were like 50 pence pieces. This was my own error which I was very annoyed about, and totally compromised the whole race. There was massive vibration from then on which seriously compromised performance & handling. I did enjoy a good battle with John George for the first few laps, but knowing the state of my tyres, I knew once he got past he would be quicker – as there was no doubt I was holding him up.”

Summing up the weekend James remained upbeat: “Whilst I like the circuit, overall I am glad to put Thruxton behind me. The fastest circuit in the UK full of Turbo cars was never going to be easy. Whilst it was far from a disastrous weekend, it was very disappointing. I suppose eventually we had to have a DNF & a few issues, I just hope now that they are gone for a long time to come! I know a lot more about Oulton Park, and don’t think the Turbos will have such an influence there, so I am hopeful that we can be more successful next time out!”

John

After a tough weekend at Donington Park a fortnight ago, the GoMobileUK.com with Tech-Speed team will hope to fight at the front of the field when the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads to Thruxton for the third round of the season this weekend (30 April-1 May).

Widnes-racer Paul O’Neill and Guernsey-based team-mate John George head into the weekend confident that the high-speed Hampshire circuit will be one that suits the GoMobileUK.com with Tech-Speed Chevrolet Cruzes, with the pair aiming to bring home a double points finish for the time this season.

Paul was one of the stars of the Thruxton meeting twelve months ago, as he took his ageing Honda Integra to a podium finish in the second race of the weekend. Now armed with the Chevrolet that carried Jason Plato to the 2010 championship crown, Paul heads into the weekend sitting eight in the championship standings – and fifth amongst the Independents – having scored points in five of the six races run so far this year.

After a difficult weekend at Donington Park, where he was forced off track in the second race of the weekend and had to battle through the field in the final race as a result, Paul heads to Thruxton in optimistic mood as he chases his second podium finish of the 2011 campaign.

“Donington was a tough weekend, but it’s forgotten now and I’m looking forward to Thruxton,” he said. “Despite the change in boost, the turbo cars will still be quick over a single lap in qualifying and we have to aim to get into the top six on the grid and go from there.

“At the minimum, we have to target a podium finish on race day and a win could possibly be on the cards; Thruxton is our best chance yet.

“Thruxton is mainly one long corner so there is going to be a lot of pressure on the front left tyre and it could cause problems for the turbo cars when they are on the power. I’ll be happy to pick them off and work my way to the front.”

Thruxton is the closest thing to a home race for team-mate John, who also found himself in the wars at Donington Park after being involved in an incident off the start in race one. Despite that, he fought back to finish just outside the points in the remaining two races as he continues to acclimatise to the Chevrolet after competing in an Integra in recent seasons.

Having scored a ninth place finish at Thruxton last season, John heads into the weekend looking to break into the points for the first time in 2011 and is optimistic that he will be able to challenge for a place in the top ten.

“The turbo cars have been turned down a bit and Thruxton is a circuit that should suit our car,” he said. “Donington was a difficult weekend for us, but I’ve always gone well at Thruxton and it’s the closest thing I have to a home circuit, so I’m looking forward to it.

“The circuit may be high speed, but it’s not a high torque track like Donington, which is where the turbo cars had a big advantage. We need to see what impact the turbo change has, but I’m confident we’ll be stronger this weekend.”

GoMobileUK.com with Tech-Speed head to Thruxton sitting seventh in the HiQ Teams’ Championship and fourth in the Independents’ Team Trophy and will seek to strengthen its position in both championships in rounds seven, eight and nine of the campaign.

“Paul and John have both gone well at Thruxton in the past and we’re looking forward to the weekend,” Tech-Speed chief Marvin Humphries said. “As ever, we go into the weekend aiming to do the best job possible and we are optimistic about our chances.

“We need to see what impact the change in boost has on the turbo cars but Thruxton is a circuit that should suit the Chevrolet. However, we have to wait and see what happens when we hit the track for first practice.”

Qualifying from Thruxton will be available to view on ITV.com on Saturday, with the session due to run from 15:10-15:40. Sunday’s three races, due to start at 11:30, 14:10 and 17:15 will then air live on ITV4, ITV4 HD and on ITV.com as part of an extensive broadcast airing from 11:00-18:00.

Grantham-based Richardson Racing will make the long trip South to Thruxton this weekend aiming to continue its run of podium finishes in the latest rounds of the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup.

Brother and sister pairing Andrew and Louise Richardson have secured two podiums apiece in the G50 class from the opening six races of the season and will hope to fight at the front once again at the quickest circuit on the calendar.

Andrew goes into the weekend keen to return to the kind of form he showed in the season opener at Brands Hatch, where he took two podium finishes – including a maiden G50 victory – and broke the lap record.

Despite running near the front at Donington Park last time out, Andrew was unable to add to his points tally after being caught up in on track incidents in the opening two races, before a mechanical issue forced him out in the final stages of race three.

As a result, he now heads into his first ever race weekend at Thruxton keen to get his championship challenge back on track.

“I’ve not had the chance to test at Thruxton and I’ve not raced there before either,” he said. “The closest I’ve got is watching some onboard action from Louise as you can’t find Thruxton on many computer games!

“However, I don’t think a lack of experience will be hamper me during the weekend. I just need to keep my eyes and ears open and make sure that I listen to any advice I am given and watch what people are doing on track. Hopefully it won’t take long to get up to speed and I’ll be fighting near the front.

“After Donington Park, I need to climb back up the standings and make sure that the others don’t get too far ahead in the championship.”

Younger sister Louise suffered a torrid start to her season at Brands Hatch, with a fourth place in race one being her only finish of the weekend.

However, she battled back well in the second meeting of the season at Donington a fortnight ago to secure a brace of podium finishes, which has lifted her to fifth in the G50 class standings.

Unlike Andrew, Louise has competed at Thruxton in the past and took a pair of fourth place finishes last year while competing in the Ginetta Junior Championship.

“After two weekends, we’ve now got a better understanding of the car and of the set-up,” she said. “We need to see how we get on, but if we can use what we have learned to get the set-up right at Thruxton, then hopefully we’ll be towards the front. The key thing will be to carry speed through the high-speed corners around the back of the circuit. If you don’t get it right through Noble, Goodwood or Church then you risk losing a lot of time.

“Scoring two podium finishes at Donington Park and moving up to fifth in the standings was a huge boost and hopefully I can keep closing the gap to the leaders this weekend.”

The opening Ginetta GT Supercup race of the weekend will run over eleven laps and is due to start at 15:50 on Saturday (30 April). Two further 16 lap races will then take place on Sunday (1 May) at 10:45 and 15:45 (schedule changes permitting),

Pictures: Jakob Ebrey

Triple Eight Race Engineering with Collins Contractors will this weekend arrive at Thruxton in Hampshire, venue for the 7th, 8th and 9th rounds of the 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, as leaders of 3 of the 4 Championship awards we are entered in.

James Nash driver of our ♯14 Vauxhall Vectra turbo leads the drivers’ overall Championship as well as the Independent driver’s award while the team leads the Independent team’s award and is 2nd only to the works-backed Honda outfit in the overall Championship.

Unfortunately, this early success has a price attached to it. In Practice sessions through qualifying and to at least the end of race one on Sunday Nash as Championship leader will be carrying maximum ‘success’ ballast (45kg), more than any other competitor.

The weight issue is also compounded by a late change to the regulations by series organisers TOCA. From this weekend all of the turbocharged engine cars have had their boost reduced and it is not clear if all the turbo cars have been reduced by the same amount or not. The regulation change is in reaction to complaint by drivers of normally aspirated-engined cars that parity between the two types of engine had been lost and they were being disadvantaged.

Thruxton is the fastest circuit on the calendar and Nash will be racing at the Hampshire venue for the first time in the BTCC. His last visit was back in his Formula Ford days.

Tony Gilham driver of our ♯34 Vauxhall Vectra turbo is also racing at Thruxton for the first time in a touring car. He does though have recent experience of its fast sweeps having raced here for the past three seasons in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB.

James Nash ♯14: “I’ve not been to Thruxton in a saloon car before. Mind you Triple Eight have always gone well with the Vauxhall and I’m driving with some confidence so yes, I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Its great too to be leading the Championship but, it’s still early days and I’m not getting carried away with it all just yet. There’s a long way to go and some very good drivers to try and beat.”

Tony Gilham ♯34: “I always look forward to racing at Thruxton. Our race pace is good, but after Donington when I got involved in a final race crash I want to record some points finishes this weekend. Additionally, after a few sponsorship worries before the last meeting it’ll be nice to get out racing again.”

Ian Harrison, Chairman Triple Eight: “ We’ve had some very good days at Thruxton before so hopefully it’ll be more of the same.”

“However, as always at Thruxton with its abrasive track surface and fast right handers tyres are going to be the key. Tyres, particularly the left front will be even more of a concern this year with the heavier turbo engine and our drivers are really going to have to manage them. Patience is the thing. If you feel the car going away from you just back-off and bag the points instead of going for the ultimate honour and risk a puncture or worse a non-finish.

Pictures: Keith Hubbleday

Calendar: 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (provisional)

1) – 2-3 April – Brands Hatch, Kent

2) – 16-17 April – Donington Park, Leicestershire

3) – 30 April-1 May – Thruxton, Hampshire

4) - 4-5 June – Oulton Park, Cheshire

5) – 18-19 June – Croft, North Yorkshire

6) – 6-7 August – Snetterton, Norfolk

7) – 3-4 September – Knockhill, Fife

– 17-18 September – Rockingham, Northamptonshire

9) – 1-2 October – Brands Hatch, Kent

10) – 15-16 October -Silverstone, Northamptonshire

BTCC Series Director Alan Gow commented: “Thanks to all our circuits and the British Automobile Racing Club for enabling us to be so ahead of the game in informing our competitors, partners, the media and public of next year’s BTCC calendar. By doing so, we also hope other high-profile motor sporting events can plan around these dates and hopefully avoid some of the ridiculous clashes that in recent years have proven to be highly frustrating for both fans and organising clubs, whose resources have been stretched to breaking point.”

He added: “Above all, the BTCC in 2011 will continue to race at the premier motor sporting venues around the country – a geographical spread that is of huge importance to sponsors and which also enables hundreds of thousands of fans from almost every corner of the UK to see the BTCC in action in their own back yard. We very much look forward to seeing them again in 2011.”

There is plenty of racing around the country this bank holiday weekend.

Snetterton – British F3, British GT, Formula Ford, VW support races

Oulton Park – HSCC Gold Cup

Mallory Park – CSCC and Monoposto

Thruxton – Great and British

Silverstone – 750MC

Rockingham – Britcar & BRSCC

Castle Combe – A Plant LUX Sportscar Raceday

Lydden Hill – Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship

And on two wheels…

Anglesey – Hottrax bike racing

Brands Hatch – Thundersport GP Bike Races

Cadwell Park – British Superbikes

Thruxton Rounds 5&6 2010 Race Report
Tester secures dominant Thruxton win

Colin Tester secured victory in the single Toyo Tyres Racing Saloons race at Thruxton Hampshire after starting third on the grid.

The weekend should have consisted of two races; a serious accident earlier in the day meant that the timetable was put back thus leaving the TTRS with a single, 12 minute race. Due to the uncertainty of whether the race would go ahead, a number of the drivers withdrew including the dominant pole position sitter Stephen Markey. Markey had been around 2.5s faster in qualifying compared to Tim Sweet.

Class Pole Positions:

• Class A: Stephen Markey – BMW M3
• Class B: Lawrence Bell – Jaguar XJS
• Class C: Leigh Franklin – Talbot Sunbeam Lotus
• Class D: Dave Hickton – Opel Ascona
• Class E: James Christie – Hillman Avenger
• Class F: Mike Tovey – BMW E30 320i

As the race got underway, Tim Sweet who started second on the grid dropped back and gave the lead to Tester and was passed also by the BMW M5 of Roger Kneebone – who had started fifth on the grid. Tester was flying during all eight laps of the race and was able to pull away from the chasing pack lap after lap – by lap five; Tester had built up a gap of over six seconds. Being quick through the Club Chicane helped Tester pull away.

During the early laps, Sweet was keeping the flying Kneebone busy with his pace through the corners. As well as Sweet keeping Kneebone busy, he was involved in an crowd pleasing battle with the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus of Leigh Franklin – Franklin being the only Class C competitor and receiving praise from Tester for the pace shown.

The other crowd pleasing battle came between Julian Newman (BMW M5), Brian Jordan (BMW M635Csi) and Lawrie Dunster (BMW E36 M3), once the three of them were together they couldn’t be separated – a five lap battle between them which saw the #70 car of Newman come out on top.

The Class F battle between leader Mike Tovey, Richard Thomas and PBMWC regular Ravi Ramyead came to a head on the sixth lap when there was contact out on the fast section of the flowing Hampshire track – The Toyota Corolla of James Carpenter and Mike Tovey came together, putting both cars into retirement, Tovey suffered damaged suspension and steering.

The giant killing performance of the race came from the Class D Toyota Celica of Eliot Dunmore. Having started in eighth place, he finished ahead of a number of faster class A competitors – and as part of a Class D train, with Hickton, Stephen Primett, Robert Sadler and Will McAteer ahead of him at the end. Sadler had a busy race as part of the Class D train. Having started forth in class and twelfth overall, he spent a few laps battling with the Class A Ford Cosworth Sierra of Tom Murphy.

Murphy was involved in the Class D battle at the start, having defended from the Escort of Primett at Allard. A couple of corners later saw him drop back after being hit from behind and thus losing time and positions. A lack of grip then meant that he fell further back, and was passed at Club by Sadler, before the same move was pulled off by Dunmore in his Toyota. Murphy finished just behind the Class D battle.

The final couple of laps saw the dominant race leader Tester back off to claim victory from Kneebone and Sweet, while class victories went the way of Frankin (Class C), Hickton (Class D), Matt Knight (Class E), Lawrence Bell (Class B) and Ramyead (Class F).

Race Report by Matt Auger
Photography: Snappyracers.com

GAZ Shocks Production BMW Championship - Rounds 5&6 Thruxton 08/05/10

Winrow dominates shortened Thruxton weekend

Ben Winrow took a clean sweep of Pole, Fastest Lap and Race Victory during round five of the 2010 Production BMW Championship at Thruxton, Hampshire.

Winrow, the 2008 Elf Renault Clio Cup Champion took pole position for round five having dominated qualifying round the fastest track in the UK – the only time in the qualifying session which ducked below the 1m34 barrier was the 1m33.901s set by Winrow. Second on the grid Alan Wileman finished four tenths of a second off – and with forty cars all qualifying, the race was due to be hectic.

At the start – poleman Winrow lost out to the fast starting car of Rob Smith, who went through the middle and into the lead at Allard, and held on until the faster sections of the track – when Smith was a little too cautious and dropped back from the lead into third as Winrow and Waite got passed. The lead changed hands again at the Club chicane as Stuart Waite got a bit out of shape and held Winrow up – thus giving the lead back to Smith.

The following lap saw Waite chasing down Smith through the fast corners and making his move at Church – Waite would hold on to the lead for the majority of the race. Meanwhile, pole sitter Winrow was back up to forth after dropping back to fifth at the end of lap one.

Behind the top three, Alex Green suffered brake failure on lap two at the club chicane which held up those behind him including Neil Adams, who dropped to the back of the field.

A driver on the charge was Brian Jones, who started the ten lap encounter on the seventeenth row of the grid. At the end of lap two however – Jones was in 23rd position.

By the half way mark, Winrow was catching race leader Waite and at the end of lap seven the lead had changed and Winrow set about pulling away at building up a gap over Waite, who in turn was pulling a gap over early race leader Smith.

In his pursuit of Waite, Winrow also set the fastest lap – a 1m34.503s, the only driver to break into the 1m34’s during the 10 lap race.

Further back the action was just as fierce and entertaining – a number of drivers had moments at the Club chicane, on lap five Jerry Brown went off and the following lap Simon Bassford did the same – both drivers recovered from their moments to finish the race.

It wasn’t just Club which was catching the drivers out – Church, the fastest corner in UK Motorsport saw Ian Shepherd have a moment, he was able to hone his rallycross skills a bit in the recovery while Village saw Jerry Brown go off the track again on the final lap.

The penultimate lap of the race saw Ravi Ramyead roll out of contention – after taking too much kerb at Club, the car came to rest, facing the wrong way at the exit of the chicane. Ramyead had rolled out of twelfth place after starting at the back due to a qualifying infringement.

The final lap saw the retirement of Alan Wileman, who during the early laps of the race had been up with the race leaders – an electrical fault meaning that he wasn’t able to complete the race.

The driver of the day award went the way of Brian Jones after his recovery drive from 34th to finish 17th at the chequered flag.

Race Report by Matt Auger
Photo: www.snappyracers.com

Practice

The 1600 class is undoubtedly the premier class to which all Monoposti aspire (as David Parkinson tells me), with the 1800 class only just behind. It’s therefore a shame that it is rare that one of these cars crosses the line first. As an experiment, it was decided to try a 16/18 only race at Thruxton. The logic was that this was a long lap, and a wide track, so the 2 litres and 1000/1400′s should be adequately separated here.

In practice it was the Men With A Background at the front. Pole was a 1600, Pat Blakeney in his 1995 Vector. Pat is, of course, an Ards examiner and leads the Thruxton Motorsports Centre, so he should know his way round. Former Mono champion Rob Manger, who was running him, tells us Pat’s son is even quicker.Pat edged out now-Mono regular, ex-F3000 driver Nigel Smith, just ahead of the 1800 contingent of John Whitbourn (another driver who is now a fixed asset of Mono) and evergreen Pete Bragg.

Jim Timms has emerged from a spell in hospital for a shoulder operation. Would this give a problem, hauling the car round the high-G corners of Britain’s fastest circuit? 5th said no, it wouldn’t. Further back current 1600 champ David Parkinson languished in 12th – unusually low for him.

We welcomed 4 newcomers, Marcus Sheard who we met at Race Retro and returning after a 20+ year gap, Michael Wilkinson in a FR Swift, historic FF racer Jonathan Greenwood in a very pretty little Dulon MP15, and Malcolm Cook in an RF83, which was a little odd as he wasn’t on the qualifying sheet but was in the results.

Race

There was a lot of sympathy for the organisers’ efforts as a result of the dreadful accident, and many teams were both surprised and pleased to get a race at all, albeit a slightly shortened one. It was therefore a shame that the grid marshalls made a mess of setting up the grid, Peter Bragg having initially been omitted from the qualifying sheet. As engines overheated, and most switched off it was determined that the only answer to sort it all out was a second green flag lap, which was flagged away as one car was being push started.

Come the race, Pat Blakeney established a 20 second lead after 4 laps and never lost it. Not much more to say really, he showed how it should be done. The expected challenge from Nigel Smith failed to materialise when he pulled into the pits at the end of lap one following some trouble at the chicane. Jim Timms provided the initial challenge until a lap before the end when Pete Bragg passed him, and then, despite remarkable consistency from Jim, he was overhauled by Nigel Davers and David Parkinson, who put in storming final laps of almost unbelievable pace, especially after risng from 11th and 12th on the grid. Perhaps they work to each others’ mutual benefit? The end result was of course that Jim kept his second place in the 1800 class as these two were fighting for second in1600. Despite Pat’s dominance, the group described above plus the RF82 Owners’ Club of Michael Dale and Geoff Pashley made a fantastic sight; close, clean, fast disciplined racing being the order of the day. It was particularly impressive to see Dave Parkinson running a strong third for most of the race in his Reynard. (As this is now unrecognisable as a Reynard following the new featherweight bodywork by Avit, I think he should rename it the “Parvit” and claim entry to the Eigenbau Trophy.) Tony Davies was originally up with them but dropped out on lap 4.

With the top 7 playing by themselves, after a gap John Whitbourn, Phil Nicholson and Rupert Reader came through next. They effectively came together after other private battles, Phil originally running as high as fifth until a 20-second incident dropped him back on lap 4.

Unfortunately, my viewpoint on the pitwall didn’t spot anything further, so no more comments except to add a comment from a respected champion from another class: “Don’t the Mono cars look smart these days?”.

Jeff Leadley 1954-2010

Jeff was born August 14^th 1954. He lived in Nottinghamshire most of his life and his family now live in Southwell.

He was a gifted entrepreneur with a keen business brain.  Starting his career as a car salesman and working his way up to acquiring  an impressive chain of dealer franchises, he also acquired business interests in the fashion and property markets.

He was also a keen supporter of the local Round Table.

His hobbies included fly fishing, skiing and he was a member of The Notts Golf Club, and of course he loved his motorsport.

He got involved with trackdays in his Ferrari 360 Challenge and then began racing very successfully in The GT Cup in 2008 with FF Corse in his Ferrari 430 GTC.

He leaves behind his wife Rachel and 16 year old twins Pippa and Milly.

A memorial service will be held for Jeff on August 14^th at The Minster in Southwell Notts. The service will start at 15:00 hrs. All his motorsport friends will be most welcome to attend.

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It is with huge sadness that Bute Motorsport confirms Jeff Leadley passed away this morning, Tuesday 11th May 2010, following his accident at Thruxton circuit on Saturday the 8th May.

The heart felt sympathy and thoughts of Managing Director Marc Haynes and all the Bute Motorsport team are very much with Jeff’s wife Rachel, his family and race team FF Corse at this tragic time.

Jeff was a front running competitor in the GT Cup Championship and had been with the series from its first full year in 2008. Jeff was enormously well liked and highly regarded by all those who knew him and competed with him. Jeff will be sorely missed.

Bute Motorsport also extends their sympathy and thoughts to fellow GT Cup competitors and teams, the Marshals, medics and MSVR officials who attended the accident.

Monoposto Championship Thruxton 8 May 2010: 2000, Classic, 1000 and 1400

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It would be wrong to start the report without saying that the whole meeting was marred by a serious accident in the GT race to front runner Jeff Leadley. At the time of writing, very little is known beyond the following statement from the GT Cup website. “On Saturday May 8th at Thruxton Circuit during the GT Cup Championship race Jeff Leadley was involved in a serious accident at Club Corner. The emergency services were on the scene immediately and Jeff was taken to Salisbury Hospital by ambulance. He is currently in intensive care.” The whole club sends its best wishes to Jeff and his family for a recovery to full health.

Practice

The weather couldn’t have been more difficult. The air was wet, and there were tiny spots on visors, but no standing water. So the choice between slicks and wets was difficult and there was no consensus. The track was greasy and the times were 15-20 seconds off a dry pace. The greasy track might have been responsible for some of the incidents which led to the deployment of the safety car.

One victim of the problem was Peter Venn, returning to Mono after a long gap (Spa 2002?) in the Anson previously run by his Uncle, David Dudley who was a very welcome face back in the paddock. Peter was a disappointing 23, 3 places behind another disappointed 3-lap driver, Chris Woodhouse. But if there were shocks in who wasn’t at the front, there were a few shocks with the front of the grid. Nobody was surprised to see Tristan Cliffe on pole, but by 7.2 seconds? He complained of aero understeer and a rev limiter misfire, but there is the possibility he was winding up your reporter. Noise was also a problem for him, but that was resolved.

There was no surprise that Jeremy Timms was next up, hoping that his 2009 run of bad luck had been ended by winter rebuild work. But in third we had Ian Hughes in the Vauxhall-engined RF88, sporting a smart and stylish paint scheme. Yes, you read that bit about the paint correctly. Ian was ahead of some formidable opponents and machinery, so was justifiably delighted. In the wet/grease/slime, Ian’s superb car control comes to the fore. Another delighted driver was Arty Cameron, putting a Jedi 4th and looking very incongruous amongst the heavy metal (or should that be heavy carbon?). Also pleased was Mark Schofield, in sixth, a good reward for this arch enthusiast.

There were also 2 very lucky young men who must be thanking their guardian angels. Thruxton isn’t a place where you want a sticking throttle, but Chris Anstruther had one in the SF2000 Reynard. He was fortunately going slowly in the safety queue, so was able to kill the engine with not too much drama. Jeremy Goodman lost a left front wheel. Again, Thruxton is not where you would want this to happen and the wheel ended up (according to one report) 2 fields away from the track. Damage was, amazingly, confined to a wing tube and a bit of mud in the sidepod, and whilst Jeremy had to leave before the race, the car was lined up ready to run had the race been called earlier. Tough cars, these RT3s.

Amongst the bike engines, it was great to see Peter Collier back after last year’s Mallory shunt, the OMS looking as good as new. Not too surprising because I guess lots of it is new. Super-fast Thruxton may be regarded as an interesting choice for a return debut – but as Peter said it’s relatively local and he was looking on it as a test session. Definitely not local, Paul Heavey was over from Ireland again, but an oil pressure sensor gave way and deposited his finest Total oil. “If I didn’t have bad luck, I’d have none at all.” he said with justification as he packed away. Let’s hope he’s back at his “local” track, Anglesey.

There was a 3 hour wait in the assembly area as the poor CoC tried to balance the requirements of the meeting with those of the police, who needed to attend due to the seriousness of the GT accident. There was much uncertainty, and the race was called at 1.30, having been delayed by an hour, to finally start at 4.30. That the 2 litres got a full race, and races were run for the 16/18 Monos and 3 other categories says much for the organisational skills of the officials, and I think they all have our thanks for achieving what they did in difficult circumstances.

Race

After Tristan’s dominant qualifying most of us were ready for a lights-to-flag run for the Norfolk man. But Mono doesn’t often do boring, and poor Tristan stalled as the lights went out and, thank goodness, despite there being less flag waving than might have been hoped, the ever alert Monoposto drivers managed to miss him. This meant that Jeremy Timms went into the lead and, with an oil pressure problem, Ian Hughes slipped back to allow Arty Cameron to pursue the blue and white Dallara with his self-prepared Jedi. The sweeps of Thruxton suited Jeremy and his car better than Arty, and Jeremy initially pulled 4 seconds a lap out of Arty but then slowed a little. Meanwhile Tristan had sliced through the field from a dead last start and by lap 7 had passed Arty. He now set off in pursuit of Jeremy, regularly raising a puff of dirt on the outside as he just clipped the edge of the circuit after the chicane. By lap 11 he was just a 1.5 seconds behind Stroud’s MOT king, and on the last lap took the lead into section 1 of the chicane, to lose it coming out leaving Jeremy with a hard fought win, with Arty following them in. Phew!

It was a surprise that Neil Harrison was a few seconds behind Arty, but he had an apparently untroubled run to fourth (3rd in class), followed by Richard Purcell into fifth. Richard put in some impressive laps and constantly kept the pressure on Neil. Clearly, he has got to grips very early on with the injected Graham Read-built F300 and resolved the initial noise issues. With his own new Dallara not quite race-ready, Chris Woodhouse chose to run the trusty Speads and the Kidderminster ace did well to rise from 20th in qualifying to an overall 6th, never having seen the circuit before his 3 laps of qualifying. Chris’s speed events DNA must have helped his start, because he was 7th at the end of lap 1, an exceptional achievement. Also coming through the field was 1980′s Mono stalwart Peter Venn in the legendary Anson. From a lowly 23rd he was 11th by lap 1 and gradually attacked Malcom Scott until lap 7 when he passed. Peter won Mono Classic. Malcolm had a fairly traumatic start to the race when he needed a push to get away from the collecting area, but in the end all was well.

Geoff Fern (Van Diemen FF2000 based TFR07 – described by the roving commenatator as one of the best presented cars on the grid) rose from 14th to 9th at the finish, just edging out the oil pressure afflicted Lotus 79 look-alike Van Diemen of Ian Hughes for second and third respectively in Mono Classic.Geoff was, despite the official results crediting him with 1400 fastest lap, in a 2-litre car and not the 1400 JKS/TFR09 as billed in the programme. Ian was the last unlapped runner and was just ahead of the Reynard pairing of Francis Phillips and Russ Giles. Russ finished 15 seconds ahead of fellow director David Cox in another, but previous generation, F3 car, his RT3. David was suffering from Mallory 125mph gearing, so lost time in the high speed sections.

From a director in his 30th season of Mono to a current year joiner giving a very strong account, Kevin Otway was 14th. ahead of Lenny Coleman who had the Reynard 883 working well, managing to defeat his long-standing rival from FVL days, the ever-enthusiastic Lou Watts. The next 7 cars were Renaults in various permutations, with interlopers. Chris Scott’s (unique in British competition?) Alpa FR led the seven, just ahead of Tom Brown’s Tatuus version. Tom was, I would guess, suffering from a horsepower deficit, running in BARC trim in the beautiful carbon chassis. (Thinks: how would that car go with a 200+hp injected 3SGE?). Interloper Pete Bragg kept up the honour of the hard-trying 1800 class in the 2-litres with his Nemesis Mygale, whilst everybody was delighted to see Terry Clark triumph over the adversity of a clutch seal failure in the assembly area to start from the pitlane and finish. Of the last three finishers. Mark “Renault” Smith put Mark Schofield, whose race result was sadly behind his outstanding qualifying, into a Renault sandwich between himself and Anthony “Stig” Bishop (ie he had white overalls) in a BARC Tatuus.

Of the non-finshers, Peter Collier coasted to a halt as he passed the pit lane and Graham Read pitted after 3 laps. It’s good to report that as far as I know there was no accident damage responsible for the non-finishes.

Comments

Ian Hughes “There was no oil pressure. After qualifying 3rd I’m gutted.”

Sara Hughes “Ian says he’s gutted. I’ve got to sit by a gutted driver all the way home. I’m not looking forward to it.”

Arty Cameron “It was flat all the way from the first chicane to the second. That was seriously hard work.”

Peter Whitmore “It just stopped – I’m not sure why at the moment.” (At least he got the real 1400 fastest lap).

David Cox “Having given a talk at the last technical seminar about clutchless gearchanges, I had clutch failure and so put it into practice.”

Chris Woodhouse “I was undergeared – the engine was doing 12,000.”

Super Clutch Driver of the Day
Lenny Coleman (improved 16 places)

For full results – click here

Tony Cotton