What was this ? A 2008 Classic FF1600 entry beginning with a 2 ?
Were my eyes deceiving me ? I checked again – no, I was right – we had 20
entries ! Our biggest grid of the season so far – hopefully my ‘call to arms’
was having an effect ? Including this grid, our seasonal average now stands at
exactly 16 cars – the yellow card threshold is 18 as you know, although BARC
have told me that we should be OK if we can hit 17 (in view of our history, they
will put in a good word with the MSA, which is good of them). So – with 2
meetings left (Silverstone counts just once), I calculate that we need 21 cars
on each grid to see us through. Please put those entries in for Cadwell and
Silverstone….
Not only 20 cars, but an amazing 8 entries for Class B ! When was
the last time that happened ? Probably at least 10 years ago. Its a bit like
waiting for a bus (not that I do that very often…) – you go through most of the
year with 2-3 cars per grid, and then all of a sudden 8 come along at once. Not
that I’m complaining you understand !
Apart from the regulars, we had 2007 Champion Rory Farrell
popping across the Irish Sea for a visit, Matt Taylerson was back after his
appearance at Brands (and was also competing in the 24 hour hair dryer/2CV race
!!), Paul Simms after Mallory, Joe Walton fresh from his Croft successes, Ollie
Robinson also back out after his Brands outing, Peter St Barbe making his final
appearance with us before putting the Jamun up for sale (any takers out there
let me or Peter know – details will go onto the website soon), and a welcome
return in 2008 to Mike Saunders, which gave us 3 Hawke DL11s, and all of them
black ! The only regular to no-show was Ian McMillan, who was away on holiday.
Qualifying
: Saturday morning was quality August weather – plenty of sun and a pleasant
breeze. Make the most of it guys, because it wasn’t scheduled to last….
The 20 cars blasted out of the pitlane bang on time, and all
managed 1 lap until the reds were thrown. Someone had stalled having gone off at
Riches on their second lap, and it took a full 6 minutes to get them going
again. No big deal, BARC stopped the watch, so green flagged for a further 12
minutes. Initially Paul Walton was quickest (on a 1:21), but that did not last
long, as Simon Davey, Stuart Kestenbaum, Joe and Rory dropped into the 19s. Paul
didn’t go any quicker, and slipped down to an eventual 11th, his
worst qualifying performance in recent memory ! Ollie also made it into the 19s,
but only after Rory had raised the bar by an enormous margin (by CFF1600
standards), to take pole on a 17.1s, his Friday testing paying off. Simon took 2nd
on an 18.6 on his last lap, with Joe, Ollie, Jon Davis and Stuart occupying rows
2 and 3, all comfortably in the 19s.
Rows 4 and 5 were in the order Steve Pearce, Dave Lowe, Dave
Malpas and Andrew Smith, all in the 20s. Joining Paul in the 21s were Phil
Norris and Matt, then Peter St B. Novice pole was taken by James Gowens, with
fellow novice Alan Fincham snapping at his heals. At the back we had Paul Simms,
Ben Hopton (on his first visit to the track), Jonathan Greenwood and Mike
Saunders.
Race
: The forecast was a horrible band of wet weather coming in from
the west, which would then persist for the rest of the day – it was simply a
matter of time before it hit East Anglia. Most people were hoping it would
arrive mid afternoon (by which time they would be packed away and home-bound),
but the skies were looking ominous as the lunch break came to a close, and the
cars were called to the collecting area.
One or two drivers gambled on a wet set up, with one or two
softening the bars off a tad, but most were on full dry. The cars were called
onto the grid as the rain began to fall ! Perhaps it would have been better to
allow some spannering on the grid (although, to be fair, I guess not everyone
was equipped to do that), but instead they were given 2 laps to acclimatise to
the ever-increasing slippy conditions. Several drivers spun on the warm up laps,
exploring the grip (or lack of), particularly at Riches and Coram. Fortunately
everyone made it onto the grid.
Rory led off the line, with Simon dropping back to 4th
at the end of lap 1, and Dave Malpas up 3 places to 6th. Ollie spun
at Russell, and had to wait until the entire grid had gone past before he could
turn it round and commence the recovery drive ! It was not to be, as he repeated
the feat on lap 3 and again on lap 6 ! The scene of his first FF1600 victory,
Snetterton today was not one to remember in the Robinson household.
With most cars wrongly set up for the worsening conditions, those
who were able to keep it on the island were rewarded. Rory kept it together
until lap 8, when he had the first of 3 spins (more in the space of 5 minutes
than in a whole season last year !), which saw him finish out of a trophy
position for the first time.. But that typical Farrell grin was clearly evident
afterwards, indicating that he had enjoyed himself nevertheless. Stuart had been
following Rory, but a recovering Simon took 2nd on lap 7, and
inherited the lead following Rory’s spin, a lead which he kept for the remaining
3 laps. Stuart took 2nd with a very consistent performance, with Jon
doing another masterclass in car control, with full dry settings and bald rear
tyres, taking 3rd on the road and 1st in Class B. Steve
straight lined the chicane late on (wrong brake bias being the excuse…), but
held on to 4th, just pipping an impressive Dave Lowe. With Rory in 6th,
Andrew held off Paul, but arguably the drive of the day was from Alan Fincham,
who drove consistently to claim a personal best of 9th (from 16th
on the grid) and the novice win. Alan is getting quicker race by race, and he
was chuffed to bits with this one. Well played mate.
Next up was Dave Malpas, with just the 4 spins (!) in his first
wet race, then Matt and Paul Simms, another to drive carefully whilst others
flew off – up from 17th to 12th. Joe was another to have a
busy afternoon, falling from 3rd to 13th ! Not quite what
we were expecting after Croft ! Ollie managed to salvage 14th, with
Ben doing his Novice Challenge no harm at all with 2nd and 15th
overall. Another good effort today was from Jonathan Greenwood, who had a great
dice with Phil Norris, in what must surely be his best race to date also – well
done.
James Gowens – one of the two favourites for the Novice title
remember – had a dreadful afternoon, circulating at the rear of the field
throughout, clearly not liking the conditions or the handling of the PRS. Peter
St Barbe had got up to 12th, but spun on lap 3, but at least took the
car home in one piece. £9500 if you’re interested. Bringing up the rear was Mike
Saunders, also out for the first time in the wet.
So, thankfully all 20 cars started, and all 20 cars finished, and
with no damage, which was pretty good in the circumstances. In the Class A
Championship, Simon leads Paul by 5 points, with Stuart only 4 adrift. In B, Jon
is beginning to dominate, with a 16 point lead over Andrew, but it is certainly
not over yet. And in the Novices, Ian leads James by 6, so that one will go down
to the wire.
See you all at Cadwell – first time back at the Lincolnshire
track since 2003 – so come on guys, get those entries in !
ADH
