Snetterton
September 23-24th
Drivers Perspective report by Jon Davis
(cont..):
Sunday...
With the car returning from the previous days race having managed to keep down
the liquids fed to it during the lunch break there was little to do before
Sunday qualifying, other that to tweak the rear bar in the stiffer direction to
try and combat my terminal understeer problem through Sears, mostly down to over
aggressive driving I think . . . with hind sight. By the time we left the
assembly area the track had dried out, following overnight rain and so times
quickly tumbled back to those similar to Saturday's session. With the Class B
champion already decided it seems my mentality was a little different and, along
with some coaching from 'The Boss' on the phone, I managed to turn a time 1/2 a
second quicker bumping me up the order from 8th to 6th, again all the Class B
cars were to be in close proximity with myself, Dave and Andrew holding 6th, 7th
and 8th (AGAIN) on the grid. At the front again was Oliver Robinson, this time
almost a second quicker than everyone else, everyone else being Messer's
Penlington, Hare, Gathercole and Walton (Junior), building on the success of
yesterday. A noticeable omission from the top ten was Walton (Senior) who only
managed 4 laps in qualifying, having reported a sticking throttle cable (which
had been noted yesterday) only ten minutes before the start of the session . . .
was the pressure getting too great . . . a charge from a lowly 15th with a DNF
from Hare being the only real chance Walton (Senior) had of retaining the
title. Three other 'strugglers' were John Nash and Steve Pearce (again) along
with Colin Williams, none of them managing to complete the session . . . sadly
Jon was out for the rest of the day whilst Steve and Colin managed to sort
themselves out during 'the interval' Steve with the help of a cup of weak warm
tea and a new coolant temperature sender.
For me 'the interval' was another quiet affair, just a little more rear bar and
quiet contemplation of the challenge ahead. As the lights went out I made
another promising start and latched onto the gearbox of Walton (Junior) . . . in
the melee behind we managed to make a break such that at the end of the second
lap we had broken the tow and had 'over a second' to play with. By the end of
lap three I had merrily squandered the spare second when I out braked myself
into Sears, and once again (see race one) teetered round the outside picking up
the crud. The next 9 laps were to be the hardest I have experienced in the last
two years . . . racked up behind me at that point were Messer's Smith, Lowe,
Williamson, Pearce and Walton (Senior). I held my ground through to lap 8
though my mirrors were full of cars as we headed down the Revitt . . . lap times
were increasing into the 1:22's and the train had extended to include Messer's
Williams and Lavender, though we had lost Walton (Senior) to retirement . . .
with that his 06 championship challenge. On lap 8 Mr Williamson grabbed a great
big handful of the ample tow provided by the DL11 and drafted past me down the
Revitt straight, dragging with him Mr Smith and the class lead
nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. I was not going to allow this to happen and
reacted on lap 10 with a dive back past Mr Smith on the way into Riches, back up
to 7th with two to go . . . but where to get past. The clue came on lap 11 when
I very nearly launched myself over the back of Mr. Williamson on the way into
the Esses, the ONLY place I was quicker . . . I really had to time this to
perfection. With a good exit from Sears and a big enough gap to not be too
close and waste the tow but not be too far back to loose the tow I drafted up
and feigned to the inside, drawing Mr Williamson with me . . . at the last
minute I dived right giving me the space to out brake and sneak through.
Crossing the line in 6th and winning the class was quite possibly the best way
to end the season, having lost the championship chance on Saturday. Elsewhere
in Class B Mr. Smith succumbed to the pressure piled on my Mr. Lowe over the
final few laps ending an unrepresentative 11th with Dave crossing the line 9th.
The Class A battle took on a familiar look at the very front with Messer's
Robinson and Hare separated by no more than an second for the entire race. The
outcome this time was different and although Steve did squeeze past Oliver
around the nine lap mark there was no pressure mistake and Oliver clawed back
past the following lap holding onto the lead to the flag, recording his first
2006 win . . . well deserved, and a very good pointer for 2007 if the budget can
be found. Steve's second place, along with Walton (seniors) DNF wrapped up the
Class A 2006 championship . . . congratulations Mr Hare. An equally impressive
battle for the final podium position saw Messer's Penlington and Gathercole duke
it out, again separated by no more than a second for the entire 12 laps . . .
honours going to Dave P on this occasion. In a lonely but impressive 5th was
Walton (Junior), if I hadn't out braked myself into Riches on lap three maybe we
could have had a Novice Champion vs. Novice Champion Elect battle!
I think everyone returned to the paddock unscathed, which is more than can be
said for last weekend. For me Sunday's class win was the best of the four I
have obtained in the last two years. Thruxton 05 was a gifted win, with Dave
conking out . . . Silverstone and Thruxton 06 were assisted by Dave's early
season mystery performance problems . . . Snetterton 06 was against 'well'
machinery (OK maybe a little hot in Dave's case) and a fast improving Mr Smith.
I would say that my best race in the last two years was Lydden 05 where,
although coming second behind Mr Sleeman, it felt as if I could have won
outright, though having monstered Paul for most of the race just couldn't find
anyway through.
The borrowed upright is now back off the car and will wing it's way back up to
Gary Pearson, its rightful owner, ready to be refitted to his DL11 in time for
the Walter Hayes Trophy. If I can borrow another upright then I may 'do' the
Trophy myself . . . time will tell.
Jon
