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Silverstone April 22nd A Fine Start To The Championship
Maybe it was the late start to the season which gave everyone a few more
weeks to get prepared, maybe it was the fact that Silverstone is so easy to get
to, maybe it was a combination of the two. The opening round of the 2006 season
saw a tremendous entry comprising 32 cars including 5 new drivers, a husband
and wife, and a father and son. Is this a first for a
The healthy entry was improved further by some damned good weather. No
problems about set up today – it was dry and warm throughout the day, so much
so that I awoke the following morning to a very pink bald head (and I even
remembered the sun cream..)
With the Class structure being reversed during the off-season, there was
the predictable confusion in the entry form as to which car/driver was in which
Class. For anyone reading this who still hasn’t caught on, Class A is now 74 to
81, and Class B is pre 74. We have had enough error in the past over points
being awarded to drivers in the wrong Class (which completely screws up the
points for the whole championship), so I can only hope that this change doesn’t
make things ten times worse…!
I managed to miss the mid-morning qualifying slot by virtue of a visit
to the trophy suppliers en route, and arrived just as the cars were returning
to the scrutineering bay. All 32 cars made it through without too many dramas.
Ollie Robinson, making his return to the championship after a season break, was
well impressed with the RF81 he purchased last year from Tim Robinson. It was
also good to see some other old regulars back out – Dave Manning, switching
back to a few
There were some raised eyebrows when the grid was announced. Ollie
Robinson had taken his first pole ! This was quite amazing considering his lack
of track time, not just with a year off, but with a new car as well.
Understandably, he was not particularly looking forward to his first race start
in 18 months, let alone from the front row ! Alongside him was Steve Hare, with
Andy Powell heading Class B polesitter Jon Davis. Rory Farrell was expecting to
be higher up than 5th, and 2004/5 Champion Paul Walton
uncharacteristically for him was ‘only’ 6th. David Gathercole had
problems in qualifying, but still managed 7th, whilst Simon Davey,
in the middle of a chest infection, did well to haul his RF81 to 8th.
Roger Newman, Anthony Wills and Dave Lowe were the other drivers within 1
second of pole. In the Novices, Joe Walton took pole in 18th ,
almost a second clear of Mark Pearce.
The Race : With my 3 year old son Ben battling for my attention
throughout the race, my apologies for the lack of detail that follows (my
thanks as always to Ian Sowman, whose report on www.ff1600.co.uk is of the usual high
standard).
Ollie kept his nerve, and led the field into Copse on the opening lap,
closely followed by Steve Hare, Jon and Rory. Dave Manning’s championship
return was to last less than half a lap as his Royale came to a halt down at
Becketts. Meanwhile, the Irishman got the better of Steve into Copse on lap 2,
although the field were held under waved yellows at Becketts whilst Dave
Manning was attended to.
Ollie and Rory traded first place for a couple of laps, until Rory
finally managed to break the tow on lap 5, to take a lead that he was not to
lose. Ollie suffered an oil leak during the latter half of the race, which
rendered his rear brakes somewhat ineffective. He did well to keep it together,
keeping all bar Mr Hare behind him, to take a fine third place at the flag, and
the Cobra Beer Driver of the Day for his efforts. It would appear that we have
another front-runner to add to the competitive top end of the grid, which bodes
well for the rest of the season.
Behind this lead trio, Jon Davis, Paul Walton and Andy Powell enjoyed
the scrap for 4th, until Andy retired on lap 7 with a loose rocker
cover. Paul passed Jon mid distance, and then proceeded to close the gap to
Ollie by race end, to take 4th, with Jon taking 5th
overall and the Class B win.
Poor Simon Davey ended a miserable day when his flywheel detached itself
on lap 4, and Steve Pearce packed up too on the following lap with a major oil
leak. David Gathercole spun out of 6th, and finished down in 15th,
only then to be excluded in scrutineering with an underweight car.
Dave Penlington headed a 7 car train which included Anthony Wills, Roger
Newman, Dave Lowe, Neil Marshall, Colin Williams and Dave Malpas. Several of
these drivers had suffered various dramas at this circuit in recent times, and
it was nice to see all seven finish unscathed, separated by only 4 seconds by
lap 12.
Jon Nash caught Alan Williamson in the final stages, but put his poor
form down to running on ACB9s for the first time.
Joe Walton impressed with the Novice win, easily beating the competition
despite a spin early on, with a fastest lap only a second shy of his dad ! Both
father and son were as proud as punch in the paddock, not to mention mum Judith.
28 cars made the finish, and, with only some minor mechanical dramas,
all 32 cars headed home intact. A fine start to the championship, which is
hugely encouraging. Not only a maximum grid, but we have arguably one of the
most competitive seasons in prospect since the mid 90s. Let’s hope we can keep
up the momentum at Thruxton in a fortnight.
ADH.
Cobra Driver of the Day - Oliver Robinson |
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