So, here we go again. It has been 7 long months since the last Classic meeting, during which time we have endured a ‘normal’ winter, and are now eager to get outdoors for a few months. Let’s hope that global warming will have a positive effect on our summer this year. We have before us a 10 round Championship, 9 of which are condensed into the next 4 months. Welcome to the Classic Formula Ford Summer Championship…

Well, it kicked off in the right vein. A glorious sunny day in Norfolk – so far so good. More of the same over the next 6 meetings please. Not just in terms of the weather either. The paddock was on good form, and the on track activities of our guys impressed the commentator no end.

So, who was out for the opening round ? Stuart Kestenbaum was breaking with tradition, and back to defend his 2008 crown, something he has never done before.  His decision was taken in the knowledge that he would have some stiff competition – the Waltons were back, which everyone was pleased about. You may recall that they had threatened to depart to the Oulton/Anglesey BRSCC ‘North West’ Championship, but this plan has been abandoned in favour of Joe having a proper go at the Classic title, with the Ray sitting in the garage awaiting attention at a future date. Good stuff I say.

Talking of the North West Championship, we welcome young Colin Williams back from the cold. Of course, Colin these days is never without his partner in crime Peter ‘Deal Maker’ Hackett, and we welcome back Peter, who will no doubt liven up the paddock with his enthusiasm and smiling face.

Dave Lowe returns for yet another season. Dave hit that Magic 70 a few days earlier, so we simply couldn’t let the opportunity pass without celebrating one of club racing’s true stalwarts. Happy birthday Dave, hope you had a good day ! (He even made it into Autosport, getting a few column inches all to himself lucky chappie).

Other regulars out at Snet included Andrew Smith, Steve Pearce (with some nice new hub caps on his Mondeo), Ian McMillan (with a nice sun shelter from Argos – just wait until the winds blows a bit Ian, your fifty quid may not seem such a bargain after all..), James Gowens, Phil Norris and Dave Malpas.

Ollie Robinson was a surprise late entry. He was a winner here back in 2006 of course, so he clearly fancied his chances again. A limited cash strapped season beckons, so he won’t be in the title hunt unless he can find a few thousand quid in the next few weeks.

Attempting a full season this year are Matt Taylerson (aiming for glory in Class B) and ever improving novice runner Alan Fincham, who is out to take the Novice title after 2 half seasons in 2007/8. Also planning on a full campaign is Mike Saunders, hoping that some regular outings will do wonders for his confidence.

We welcomed two new drivers to the Championship today : David Brise made a brief appearance at Brands last year, but now has a budget to hopefully run a full season, and Steve Bell, also planning on the same. Good luck guys, and welcome to the club.

Qualifying : With a comparatively light programme on the meeting, BARC generously provided a whacking 20 minutes for qualifying. For some, this was their first time back out since last year, so the extra track time was appreciated.

Stuart predictably set the early pace, but Joe was at the top of the time sheets a moment later, dipping into the 1 min 18s. Joe stayed on provisional pole (nudging down the time to an 18.2) until Stuart snatched it back on his 12^th lap, on a 18.16, some 5 hundredths to the better. Ollie spent a few laps scrubbing in some new rubber, and then got the hammer down, culminating with an 18.7 to take third. Andrew S drove the pants off the Van Diemen to claim fourth and Class B pole, some 6 hundredths better than Steve P. Matt was pleased with sixth, especially considering he had already had a nightmare start to the day. A wheel stud sheared before scrutineering, and then a leaking brake union removed his rear brakes for the later half of the session. More dramas would unfold as the day wore on.

Paul W was unimpressed in seventh, some 1.3 seconds off the pace, although Colin was happier alongside him.  Alan took the novice pole in 9^th (on a very respectable 19.6), using the testing the previous week to good advantage. Phil Norris rounded out the top ten, with birthday boy Dave a bit further back than he is used to in 11^th, Ian in 12^th suffering from a mysterious cutting-out problem, with his 2008 novice protagonist James behind in 13^th. Andrew Bartosiak ran with an engine refusing to rev over 6000. Steve Bell had an earth strap work loose, but once sorted began to get some mileage under his (very loose) belts. David Brise also had an aborted session, with a flooded carb. Mike Saunders was keeping out of everyone’s way on the back row, joined today for the first time in his racing career by Dave Malpas, who chugged round for a few laps with a very sickly sounding motor.

The Race : Into Seer on lap 1, and Andrew S misjudged his braking effort, and uncharacteristically tapped Steve P into a spin. Andrew continued with track position more or less intact, but Steve resumed dead last, with a bent rear wishbone causing some handling problems. He would rise back up the order to finish 11^th, but it was not the start to the season that he had expected.

Out front, Stuart led from Joe. The lapchart shows Stuart leading across the line for the first 7 laps, but the position changed on several occasions, each gaining a tow off the other down the Revett straight. Ollie held station in third, keeping a watching brief.

Paul had made a good start, up from 7^th to 4^th (aided by the disappearance of Steve P), and held position until a spin at Russell on lap 4, which put him down to 12^th.  Another spin – again at Russell – on the penultimate lap ended a rather dismal day for the yorkshireman, and he pitted a lap early to take an early bath.

Andrew S recovered from his first lap mishap, and was running with Colin and Paul onto lap 5. Coming out of Russell, the spinning Paul Walton caused Colin to visit the grass. Andrew pulled ahead, but Colin got a good tow down the back straight, and retook the position. Into Riches, Colin moved over, thinking he had clear air, but this time it was Mr Smith that was sent into a spin. He rejoined the track down in 10^th, but for him too his race was effectively over, finishing 7^th, although he took Class B fastest lap in his efforts to recover ground.

Meanwhile, Matt was circulating close by, and took 5^th following the demise of Andrew, a position he held until the end of the race. His best performance in the Hawke to date, he was a happy man collecting his Class winner trophy after the race, for he had also to contend with a leaking oil pressure line 5 minutes before the call to the collecting area, and his blood pressure was somewhat higher than it should have been…Hopefully for his sake, he has endured all his season’s problems all in one go.

Joe led again onto lap 9, but again the lead swapped back to Stuart, although Joe was virtually alongside as they headed into Riches on lap 10. Their squabbling allowed Ollie to cruise up behind, and, just when they weren’t looking, he drove past both of them down the Revett straight on the final lap ! Joe was not prepared to give up, and had a tank slapper moment coming out of Coram, but kept it all together. So Ollie took a surprise win (well, it was a surprise to everyone watching anyway – perhaps it was all part of the Grand Plan all along Ollie ?) from Joe and Stuart, both rather stunned to have come up short.

Of the rest, there were battles aplenty. Dave Lowe came through to collect trophy number 246 with a fine 6^th on the road/2^nd in Class, barely half a second in front of Andrew S. Alan took the novice win with an 8^th overall (his best yet I believe), overtaking Ian towards the end of the race (the cut-out still apparent, although strangely no sign of it after the race..). Phil rounded out the top ten. James had a rather lonely race down in 12^th, with Dave Malpas having a fairly torrid time of it to claim 13^th spot. Steve Bell was the last unlapped runner, improving his times progressively as the race went on, with Andrew B and Mike bringing up the rear. David Brise was the only retirement on lap 5, with what may prove to be a rather serious engine problem. Let’s hope not.

So there we go. A happy crowd departed Norfolk, eager to continue in Cheshire two weeks later, when some more cars and drivers – old and new - will be joining the fun. I will be absent (a long awaited holiday intervenes), but will be back out on track with the rest of you come Brands. Don’t repeat my trick at Oulton last year, where I was craned off the grid with locked rear brakes…

ADH

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