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Silverstone 18th September 2004
Race report from Andy Hodson: Its funny how things turn out. 2 years ago we had 33
entries for this race – this time we had 18 ! Paul Smith (who flogs us tyres
from BMTR) planned to have an outing with us in his Crossle 25F, but a coming
together with a FF2000 on the Friday test session led to the first non start :
we were down to 17 before the day had started. 17 quickly became 16 as Thruxton victor David
Penlington started his first qualifying lap. Being a trusting fellow, he
allowed the ratios to be switched by some engineering students at his local
college. Up through the gearbox he went, no problem. However, coming back down
again proved to be quite the opposite. Going for third, and the internals
decided to rearrange themselves into many more parts than planned for. David
limped back to the pits, and that was the end of his weekend before it had
started. The college students are in for an interesting chat on Monday morning… Silverstone club circuit always provides a close grid,
there being only 3 corners linked by 3 flat out straight bits, and today proved
no exception, the top 8 covered by 0.8 of a second. However, the order of those
8 cars was most interesting. Paul Walton was expected to be up there, and
didn’t surprise by taking pole. But nobody seriously expected a yellow PRS to
join him on the front row. Colin Williams had done a fabulous job, and his
pleasure of his highest ever starting position was well deserved. Inside
though, he was crapping himself… Row 2 was another pleasant surprise – Jon Nash and
Neil Marshall. So we had 3 of the top 4 putting in their best qualifying
performances to date – fantastic ! The
question was : could they keep it together for 10 laps ? It would be interesting
to watch. Dave Lowe took the Class A pole, with Anthony Wills in
6th spot, with Richard Shelton and Pete Denham rounding out the top
8. Steve Collyer was a few tenths adrift, keeping us amused with a couple of
high speed spins at Copse. Dave Malpas was still suffering from overheating,
and then we had a gaggle of RP26s driven by Phil Norris, Ollie Robinson and
Jeff Palmer. Simon Merriman was happy to be off the back row, with Douglas
Kibble and John Hesp bringing up the rear. And so to the race : Paul was waiting for a green
light that never came (the red just goes out !), and was slow away, losing the
lead into Copse to a fast starting Jon Nash. By the end of the opening lap
however, Paul had found a way past, with Neil and Colin in close proximity with
a slight gap down to Dave Lowe and Anthony. Ollie came through with yet another
deranged nosecone, for which he was to receive a warning flag necessitating a
visit to the pits to have the whole thing removed. He resumed dead last. Jon headed into unknown territory on lap 2 as he took
the lead of a motor race for the first time. After his Thruxton experience, he
was keen to keep everything together, and for 4 laps he did just that. Paul was
quicker through Copse, and, heading into lap 6, he pulled alongside on the run
down to Becketts. Jon was the last to brake, but promptly ran out of tarmac and
deposited the RF80 into the Becketts gravel. Once in the Silverstone gravel,
that’s it of course (these things are not supposed to be driven through), and
an annoyed Jon became the race’s first retirement. Steve Collyer decided to follow suit, this time at
Brooklands, so suddenly we had 2 cars out. Prior to these events, we had
Richard spinning at Copse on lap 4, resuming near the back. Those at the front
were racing well, with Neil still in third, from Anthony, Colin, Dave, then
Pete Denham. We then had a good battle going on for 8th (once Steve
had spun out) between Dave Malpas, Phil Norris and John Hesp (running
significantly faster than he had managed in qualifying). By the end of lap 7, Paul had a bit of a cushion from
Neil, Anthony, Colin and Dave. As the 4 of them headed towards Becketts on lap
8 there was little between them. Turning into Becketts, Anthony dived to the
inside, forcing Neil wide on the exit, whereupon he spun and was collected by
Colin and then Dave. Neil, Colin and Dave were all out on the spot, which to
say was a big shame was something of an understatement. Dave’s Lotus had a
broken rear upright and a front wishbone had popped out of its rosejoint – this
was nothing compared to the damage to the RF78 and the PRS. Neil and Colin
sustained some serious chassis damage, which will keep Bernard occupied on the
run up to Oulton. A most unfortunate end to an otherwise very promising day’s
work. Both drivers should take some gratitude from the fact that they had
driven competitively at the front, mixing it with more experienced
front-running pilots. Well played to you both, and lets hope the cars can be
repaired in time for Oulton. This accident decimated the field, with only 11 cars taking
the chequered flag. Paul managed to take his fourth outright win, but only just
! Anthony was able to catch him on the final couple of laps, and, without
taking anything away from Anthony, it was discovered back in the paddock that
the Crossle’s engine had blown its head gasket and was losing power. Another lap and the race would
have been Anthony’s… Pete Denham suddenly found himself in third place
overall (and the only Class A runner left), which he held to the flag. The
battle between Messrs Norris, Hesp and Malpas had become a battle for the final
Class B trophy. Phil took the honours, with a very happy John taking 5th
overall and the novice win (sorry for the trophy cock up John !). Dave nursed
his overheating RF78 home just ahead of a recovering Richard. Jeff had a rather
lonely race behind in 8th, with a happy Simon being the last
unlapped runner. Douglas Kibble and Ollie Robinson brought up the rear, both
picking up useful points in the Novice Championship. Colin took the Cobras as a consolation Driver of the
Day (Neil has already had it this season). So, with 2 rounds to go, and taking into account the
single dropped score, we have both Paul and Dave Lowe on equal 74 points. Dave
has now wrapped up the Class A title (again..) – congratulations to you Dave.
The Class B title is looking like going to Paul, although Anthony remains in
with a chance should Paul encounter problems at Oulton and Brands. The Novice
Championship also looks like going down to the wire. An exciting end to the
season is in prospect. Let us hope for a good grid up in
ADH
Cobra Driver of the Day - Colin Williams | |
