Race Report from Andy Hodson

For those who ventured up to Norfolk on the Saturday, Snetterton was presented in a most unusual manner - the sun was out, the place was bone dry, there was little wind, and people wandered round the paddock in shorts and T shirts looking quite perplexed. So miracles do happen then...

But not for long. Campers were woken early by more familiar Snetterton sounds - rain. We had the first practice, and with an 8.30 engine curfew, cars were pushed in silence up to scrutineering. Michael Whitehead, making a welcome return to the championship following his big Cadwell shunt last year, started his weekend with a run round the paddock searching for the transponder that had been promised him. A certain Richmond resident who shall remain nameless had left it at home, so Mike had to grovel to the timekeepers - twenty quid poorer, he had a scrutineering sticker.

15 cars ventured out at bang on 9 o'clock, onto a soaking wet track. The rain had abated, but there was much standing water. Most drivers took a cautious approach to their initial lappery, but Simon Davey was having none of it, every lap getting his RF81 well sideways out of Russell. His efforts would reward him with pole by 2.5 seconds ! Dave Lowe put the 61 on the front row also, with another impressive showing from Anthony Wills in third, with Ian Millward alongside. Ian's effort was quite remarkable considering he spent the 15 minutes standing on the pitwall....some imposter from Leicester had jumped into the cockpit instead - Ian decided to come clean, and race control were duly notified of the presence of Mr Pearce. 'Super Chubs' Collyer was next up, with a well pleased Neil Marshall taking 6th, his best grid slot to date. Chubby Hubbard, Colin Williams, Martin Camp and Jeff Palmer rounded out the top ten. Phil Norris took 11th in his RP26, and Guy Snook surprised boss Hackett as well as himself by actually completing 15 minutes of practice, although, just to be safe, he decided to spend two of them sitting in the pits ! An ultra cautious Mike Whitehead, understandably keen not to bend the Dulon on its first outing, Jon Nash (still fishing round for third gear), and Mitch Wenger rounded off the grid. Mike's weekend continued as it had started. With the rear light not working, he failed to pick up the black flag for several laps, a misdemeanour that cost him a licence endorsement. Otherwise, everyone got through the 15 minutes unscathed, despite spins aplenty from several drivers.

Typically, the circuit was dry by mid morning, and everyone looked forward to what looked like being a dry race. It was a long wait - by 2 o'clock, the skies were looking threatening, although it looked like the storm clouds would just pass us by. But just as we thought we had got away with it, the wind changed, and the storm that followed sat on top of the circuit for an age. Cars were hurriedly switched onto full wet settings. With a half hour delay, the storm eventually wandered off towards Norwich, and our guys were called to the collecting area. By now, the sun had made a hasty return - the question now was whether a dry line might appear during the race.

With two green flag laps, there was a further delay on the grid before yet another green. The 20 minute race was now reduced to 15. Jeff's race had finished before it had even started, as he peeled off pitwards at the end of the final green flag lap. His rear light bulb had blown, and he too was shown the black flag. Jon also called it a day, his gear selection problems not having been sorted properly.

So only 14 cars got off the line with the green light. Anthony made a dreadful start, dropping from third to eighth ! Steve (still masquerading as Ian Millward according to commentator Brian Jones) got ahead of Dave, a position he would hold for the first four laps until Dave found a way past. Meanwhile Simon simply drove off into the distance, to take what looked like an easy victory by almost half a minute. Anthony's recovery drive ended prematurely with a broken distributor shaft - the only mechanical casualty of the day fortunately. With the conditions still very slippery, everyone else splashed round in grid order. Neil decided to spin on most laps, which came to the attention of the clerk of the course, who duly obliged with the black and white warning flag. Mistaking it for the black flag, Neil pitted on lap 7, and, having realised his mistake, decided to call it a day anyway. Mike also decided enough was enough, and ended his frustrating weekend two laps earlier. With the remaining field spreading out, the best dice was for 5th between Paul, Martin and Colin. Nobody could find a way past however.

So, the weather put paid to any spectacular wheel to wheel racing that we have seen on several occasions already this year, which was a shame. A dry line didn't quite materialise, although the track did get considerably drier as the race progressed. At the flag, Simon took a well deserved victory, and earned the Cobra Driver of the Day, making everyone else look very second rate. Dave took top spot in Class A again, with Steve P doing well in his first outing in the Dulon to take second in Class A. Steve Collyer notched up another good points tally with third in Class A, fourth overall. Unusually, the Class B drivers (except for Simon of course) were all out driven by the Class A guys - Martin took second in Class with sixth overall, with Colin on his heels in seventh. Guy finished his first race since Anglesey, and took the victory in the Novice Championship.

We now have a huge six week gap until Croix. Interest in the French trip is improving by the week - come on guys, make a long weekend of it, and let's show them we can put together a decent grid. I hope to be there, if only to consume the red wine...If interested, contact me NOW !

Andy H

 

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