North West Centre Sports / Saloon Championship 2010

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ROUND 3 MALLORY PARK, APRIL 18TH, 2010

Peter Davies’ Caterham made it two wins out of three, as the CNC Heads Sport Saloon Championship made its annual trip to Mallory Park. It was far from easy however as Simon Allaway’s Esprit threw away a growing lead with a late spin at Shaws Hairpin. It was bright and sunny for late morning qualifying, but on his local circuit Robert Spencer secured pole in his Locosaki. “It was jumping out of gear at Gerards though,” he said. Allaway’s V8 Esprit was only 0.121s adrift. “It felt great at the start put I had put nitrogen in the tyres and by the end of the session it felt like I was on space hoppers. I had a bit of a hairy moment at the Esses too,” he said. Paul Dobson’s Mazda RX7 headed row two. “All my new tricks seemed to work and it felt really good,” he said. Alongside was Brian Dean out for the first time this season with a new 2 litre Zetec engine in his Westfield Sei.” It seemed to work well,” he said.

Next up was Danny Keenan’s MK Indy, fractionally ahead of Davies’ Caterham R400. “I just wasn’t quick enough. I thought I had done OK until I saw the other times,” said Davies. Cam Forbes was also disappointed to be down in seventh, “I had a misfire all through. It cleared a bit but was mainly top end and very noisy too,” he explained. Robbie Birrell’s Caterham was next to him. “Refreshingly mediocre today. I tried a stiffer rear anti roll bar but it made it step out too much,” he said. “It was a good session,” said Dennis Crompton as his BMW M3 headed the fifth row from returnee John Garnett’s ex Carrera Cup championship winning Porsche GT3. “It’s two years since I last got a race and only tested the new car once in the wet at Oulton,” he explained. “The car was Ok but the driver is average,” he added. Kingsley Ingram’s ex BTCC Mazda 323F continues to get “increasingly better,” and had Wayne Schofield’s Suzuki Cappuccino alongside to complete the sixth row. “It was my first time on slicks, but as they are wider they were catching on the under tray,” he explained.

Another newcomer headed the next row, David Leigh had his first ever race in the Oulton Park with his ex Jonathan Fildes Seat Leon Cupra Challenge car. “It was about my quickest time ever around here in the Rover but still only worth 14th,” said Duncan Aukland. “I have changed everything since last year, new suspension, roll bars, brakes and it’s lower too. I am over the moon with it,” said Graham Brindley after qualifying his Ford Escort 15th. He had Ralph Underwood’s TR7 V8 alongside, “I managed to get on the grass at the Hairpin one lap, very sideways,” he reckoned. Graham Saul’s XR2 topped the class F runners in 17th, with Paul Woolfitt’s Mini alongside, following a rebuild. Paul Ingram’s Fiesta had a troublefree run, but Dave Maries found his MK Indy stuck in fourth gear for much of session. Stuart Morris’ Ford Sapphire, Phil Hall’s Banks Europa and Bob Claxton’s Renault 21 Turbo completed the qualifiers.

RACE

Claxton became a casualty from qualifying and so it was 22 cars that lined on the grid. As the lights went out Allaway led the charge to Gerards from poleman Spencer and Dobson. But Dobson snatched second into the Esses, behind them Forbes was fourth, while Davies lost a rear mudguard after contact from Keenan. Allaway continued to set a cracking pace but it was all in vain as red flags flew before the second lap was completed. Underwood had been tapped into a spin at Shaws by Morris and was stranded after stalling. As well as Underwood, Hall had ducked back into the paddock and so the restart grid was reduced to 20. Allaway just got the better of Spencer and Forbes from the restart. Dobson was fourth but by the Esses he was already into second place, as Allaway faltered and Forbes almost jumped him too. The pace was astonishing and into the Esses for the second time Spencer and Dobson were nose to tail for the lead, with Allaway third and Forbes coming under pressure from Davies for fourth.

Spencer began to increase his lead on lap three, as Allaway slotted into second through Gerards. Dobson was still well in touch from Forbes, Davies and Dean, before a growing gap to seventh placed Schofield, who had consolidated his position as Birrell duelled with Woolfitt, which left them victims to Crompton’s challenge. But further down the order Keenan was charging through the field and was up 13th with Ingram’s Mazda next in his sights. As Spencer’s lead started to increase, the Forbes/Davies duel began to close on Dobson. Crompton began to chase down Schofield for seventh and Birrell followed, while all three found Keenan closing in too.

Davies’ pursuit of Forbes finally paid off through Devils Elbow on lap nine, leaving the Westfield driver wheel to wheel with Dobson, who had slipped behind them both on the 10th lap. “I got Paul under braking into Gerards,” said Forbes. Keenan had just made it into seventh when he was forced out. “A bolt came out of the front wishbone when I was flat out on the rev limiter into Gerards,” he explained.  Crompton benefited and was into seventh, with Schofield a safe eighth after Birrell had a tank slapper through Devils Elbow. “I really thought I was going off there,” he confirmed. But after 13 laps it was all over for Spencer as he pitted to retire. “I got severe vibration and don’t really know what it was. It might be the clutch,” said the reigning champion.

Allaway was now the leader but was in Davies’ sights. Forbes gradually eased clear of Dobson who found his hold on fourth under pressure from Dean. But the threat disappeared a couple of laps later when Dean pulled off. “I lost all the water and had to stop. I had been waiting for Dobbo to lose it, but he didn’t,” he said.Davies’ charge gave him the lead on lap 17, but Allaway retook at Gerards. Into the Hairpin a couple of laps later Davies was in front again with inches to spare, only for Allaway to power ahead on the Stebbe Straight.The lead had started to grow again when Allaway arrived at Shaws Hairpin for the 23rd time. “Peter had been getting me every time at the Hairpin so I did my best pull out a lead. But I tried too hard and it spun. I had no fourth gear and the brakes were shot, but it was great,” he said.

Davies gratefully accepted the opportunity to collect his second win of the season, “it seems that every time Button wins I do to. To win from sixth was good and I needed a bit of luck. But I couldn’t live with Simon’s power on those straights,” he explained.        Forbes therefore picked up second, “the car still wasn’t right. The morning misfire came back in spells and I had a few tussles with Peter,” he said. “I just couldn’t stay with them today. I hit Cam once and thought it would have been discourteous to pass him again after that,” said third placed Dobson. Crompton held onto fourth from class rival Ingram, but there was little between them during the second half of the race. “That was hard work and too much pressure for my time of life,” he reckoned. “Yes he was an excellent blocker through Gerards too,” Ingram replied.

In sixth was a delighted Schofield, securing his first class win. “Mega, but the slicks started to go off. I lost some places when Danny chopped me off at bit at Gerards though,” he said.                                                                                                             Allaway finally came in seventh, with Birrell the final unlapped runner. “I just couldn’t keep up with all those sequentials,” said Birrell. In ninth Leigh had trouble with grip, “my tyres went off fairly early in the race,” he said. Garnett completed the top ten after starting a lap down. “I lost the starter motor on the grid,” he explained.                                                                                            Aukland and Brindley had a good racelong duel with Brindley gaining the upperhand from lap 13, only to run short of fuel in the closing laps, much to the amusement of his supporters. “My emergency brake pads were not as good as expected,” Aukland confirmed.                                                                                                                                                                          Maries was well clear of the class F Fiesta’s of Ingram and Saul, while Woolfitt was a late retirement, after Morris crashed out early on.

RESULTS

1 Peter Davies (Caterham R400) 25 laps in 21m12.497s (95.48mph); 2 Cam Forbes (Westfield SeiW) +12.417s; 3 Paul Dobson (Mazda RX7); 4 Dennis Crompton (BMW M3 E30); 5  Kingsley Ingram (Mazda 323F); 6  Wayne Schofield (Suzuki Cappuccino); 7 Simon Allaway (Lotus Daytona Esprit V8); 8 Robbie Birrell (Caterham Seven); 9 David Leigh (Seat Leon Cupra); 10 John Garnett (Porsche GT3). Class A: 1 Allaway; 2 Graham Brindley (Ford Escort); no other finishers. Class B: 1 Davies; 2 Forbes; 3 Dave Maries (MK Indy); no other finishers. Class C: 1 Schofield; 2 Birrell; no other finishers. Class D: 1 Dobson; 2 Leigh; 3 Garnett; 4 Duncan Aukland (Rover 3500SE); no other finishers. Class E: 1 Crompton; 2 K.Ingram; no other starters. Class F: 1 Paul Ingram (Ford Fiesta); 2 Graham Saul (Ford Fiesta XR2); no other finishers. Fastest lap: Allaway 49.047s (99.08mph).

Published by Peter Scherer for BARC (NW) April 20th 2010

 

ROUNDS 1 & 2 OULTON PARK, MARCH 27TH, 2010

It all started so well for defending champion Robert Spencer, with his Stuart Taylor Locosaki on pole for both races and a comfortable early on in each too. But red flag intervention and a broken gearbox left him with fourth and a non finish, as Peter Davies collected his maiden victory in the first race, and former champ Paul Dobson took the second.                                                                      With a capacity entry of 30 cars for the Fosters circuit, there were reserves waiting in the wings for this seasons opener. Spencer took pole by over a second, “I had some vibration though and didn’t really know what it was,” he explained.                                          No one was more surprised than Duncan Aukland himself to be sharing the front row. His Rover 3500SE well suited to the greasy conditions, or was it Duncan’s new overall’s. “It was only because it was damp and greasy,” he reckoned.                                     Danny Keenan’s MK Indy headed the second row. “We have got more power and set it up like Chris’ car from last year,” he explained. Dobson was alongside, “it was more like a test run as we had a new engine and hadn’t run it,” he said.                                        The first of the Vauxhall Vectra’s headed row three in David Hinde’s hands, fractionally quicker than Davies’ Caterham. “For once I had the right tyres on,” Davies admitted.                                                                                                                              Although race debutant David Leigh was seventh quickest, he had to line up at the back as a reserve in his ex Jonathan Fildes Motabase Seat Leon Cup car. So it was Kingsley Ingram’s ex BTCC Mazda 323F heading the fourth row, “I just hung on out there on my wets as the track started to dry,” he said.                                                                                                                         Tim Evans’ Subaru Impreza was alongside Ingram, “a bit of a shakedown,” he reckoned. “Consistently mediocre,” was how Caterham driver Robbie Birrell saw his position on the next row, while Cam Forbes was just “feeling for grip” in his Westfield.                        Back once more with his brutish Lotus Daytona Esprit V8, Simon Allaway admitted to being “very cautious.” “I almost lost it at Fosters too but skilfully held it,” he reckoned. Craig Odams’ Vectra was alongside, while Chris Allanson’s Z cars Mini and Kevin Cryer’s Caterham shared row seven. “There isn’t enough droop on the front suspension, it felt unstable,” said Allanson.                       Richard Dobson, brother of Paul headed the next row in his £1000 scrapyard sourced Nissan 200SX, with the diminutive Suzuki Cappuccino of Wayne Schofield next to him. Dennis Crompton’s BMW M3 was surprisingly well down, “It was scary with no grip and very sideways at Knickerbrook,” he explained.                                                                                                                              Paul Ingram’s Fiesta had a troublefree run, just out qualifying Derek Kelly-Cooper’s Vectra and Graham Saul’s Fiesta. The rest of the grid was made up by a healthy smattering of class F cars, including Phil Hall’s Banks Europa and the Fiesta’s of Brian Allen and debutant Jamie Cryer.                                                                                                                                                          But at the very back was the Audi V8 Star of sponsor Ric Wood, “it was the first time it had turned a wheel since we rebuilt it, 708 bhp was a bit too violent today,” he said.

RACE 1

The track was dry and grippy for the first race, but Ingram’s Mazda made a dash for the pitlane when a sensor light came on. Poleman Spencer led into Old Hall from Keenan, Davies, Forbes and Dobson, as Aukland was swamped. “I enjoyed being at the front but got bogged down,” said Aukland. Dobson shot ahead of Forbes down the Avenue and was into second before the end of the lap. But Spencer already had a two second lead at the end of the opening lap, with Dobson consolidating second shortly afterwards.Although Keenan was just third, he had Forbes and Davies all over him and Allaway catching too. Gradually Davies started to take charge of the group and was into third by the end of lap eight, but Allaway had followed him through too as Forbes started to lose touch.                                                                                                                                                                        With Spencer out of reach Dobson became the next target and both Davies and Allaway surged by a lap later. But it was all in vain when the race was red flagged after 12 laps to retrieve John Seery’s Sylva Phoenix that had shed a rear wheel at Fosters.                    There was only about five minutes on the clock for the restart, so it became a mad sprint to the flag. Crompton and Allaway were both casualties from the restart grid, but both finally joined in. “My starter motor failed,” said Crompton. But as the lights went out Spencer and Davies were wheel to wheel for the lead at Old Hall, before Spencer went ahead onto the Avenue. Davies was back ahead though at Fosters, before contact at Lodge put Spencer on the grass. “I reckon I had the line, so Rob must have been behind me,” said Davies. There was nothing in it as five cars disputed the lead, Davies, from Keenan, Spencer, Dobson and Forbes. Inevitably there was more contact at Fosters and Keenan came off worst after a touch with Spencer and headed pitwards. “I just sat and watched the tangle at Fosters and tried not to get involved,” said Dobson. “Rob did help me a bit, one minute I was aiming for the corner and the next I was in the air, but I did lead at one time,” said Keenan.                                                                                                      Davies escaped and headed for his maiden victory, but after taking Dobson for second at Old Hall on the fourth lap, Forbes reeled in the leaders Caterham, and at the flag they were only 0.042secs apart. “I thought Peter had enough in hand, as I just watched them hitting each other and waited to come through,” said Forbes. Spencer recovered to claim fourth behind Dobson, with Evans in fifth, just clear of a  four car train for sixth. Aukland headed Birrell, Allaway and Kevin Cryer, while the top ten was completed by Kelly-Cooper. “My battery had died at the start, then I made a lot of ground until my brakes started to go towards the end.                                 In class A Evans took the spoils from Allaway, with overall winner Davies topping class B from Forbes and Cryer.  Spencer still managed to top class C from Birrell and Schofield, and Dobson won class D from Aukland and Kelly-Cooper. Only 0.4secs separated Crompton and Ingram in class E where they were the only two starters, while a revitalised class F went to Hall after Ingram’s Fiesta slowed in the closing laps. He still held onto second from Allen and Jamie Cryer. “It was back to the old settings, no fancy stuff,” said Hall.

RESULTS

1 Peter Davies (Caterham R400) 6 laps in 6m41.058s (89.08mph); 2 Cam Forbes (Westfield SeiW) 6m41.100s; 3 Paul Dobson (Mazda RX7); 4 Robert Spencer (Stuart Taylor Locosaki); 5 Tim Evans (Subaru Impreza); 6 Duncan Aukland (Rover 3500SE); 7 Robbie Birrell (Caterham Seven); 8 Simon Allaway (Lotus Daytona Esprit V8); 9 Kevin Cryer (Caterham Seven); 10 Derek Kelly-Cooper (Vauxhall Vectra). Class A: 1 Evans; 2 Allaway; no other finishers. Class B: 1 Davies; 2 Forbes; 3 Cryer; 5 Dave Maries (MK Indy Busa); no other finishers. Class C: 1 Spencer; 2 Birrell; 3 Wayne Schofield (Suzuki Cappuccino); no other finishers. Class D: 1 P.Dobson; 2 Aukland; 3 Kelly-Cooper; 4 David Leigh (Seat Leon); 5 Richard Dobson (Nissan 200SX); no other starters. Class E: 1 Dennis Crompton (BMW M3 E30); 2 Kingsley Ingram (Mazda 323F); no other starters. Class F: 1 Phil Hall (Banks Europa); 2 Paul Ingram (Ford Fiesta); 3 Brian Allen (Ford Fiesta XR2i); 4 Jamie Cryer (Ford Fiesta XR2); 5 Mike Nash (Peugeot 106); 6 John Spencer (Peugeot 205 Gti). Fastest lap: R.Spencer 1m04.744s (93.41mph).

For the second race there was another qualifying session. Spencer once again took pole with ease, but Allaway used all his V8 power to join him on the front row. Having missed the first session and ultimately the first race due to a dash to Demon Tweeks for new overalls, Steve Owen’s Westfield SE headed row two from Paul Dobson, a fraction quicker than Davies. Crompton had a much better session to head Forbes on row three, while Hinde, Kevin Cryer and Aukland rounded off the top ten.                                             The Sierra RS500 Richard Neary missed the first round too, but was 11th quickest. Only to start at the back of the capacity grid as a reserve. So Birrell and Kelly-Cooper shared the sixth row, from Evans, Ingram, Keenan and Allanson, and down in 17th Ric Wood with ongoing teething problems in his Audi.

RACE TWO

As the grid lined up there were a few casualties, Hinde’s Vectra and Allanson’s Z Cars Mini both having suffered from engine problems in the first race. Allaway was pushed off the grid with a flat battery, but managed to start from the pitlane. Once again it was Spencer that made the best of his pole position, heading Dobson, Owen, Davies and Forbes into Old Hall. But Dobson went around the outside at Lodge to lead over the line at the end of the opening lap, a whisker clear of Spencer, with Forbes, Davies and Owen joining them in an early break. Cryer and Crompton led the next group, but soon lost out to Keenan, who was flying from his lowly start. Wood joined in too and began to bridge the gap to the lead group.                                                                                                           Exiting Old Hall for the fourth time Forbes snatched second, but Dobson soon responded. Davies and Owen ran side by side for fourth but it was Owen who became the biggest threat. Spencer continued to increase his lead as the fight behind intensified. Wood’s charge took him passed Keenan for sixth on lap seven as they arrived at Old Hall, while the field behind was more spread, with Evans established in ninth behind Crompton, followed by Cryer, Aukland, Neary, Kelly-Cooper and Ingram.                                           With Spencer forced to surrender his comfortable lead after 11 laps when the gearbox let him down, the battle between Owen and Dobson became the fight for the lead. Owen had nosed ahead into Old Hall on lap 10, but Dobson responded on the exit. A lap later it was same again but Owen held on this time.                                                                                                                     There were more twists to the outcome however, when Owen, having held a fractional advantage over Dobson, had his engine let go after 16 laps, leaving Dobson in the clear. “That was a great race, I was really impressed with Steve’s driving. I wasn’t letting him go by, but when his tyres started to go I could get inside him. It was a bonus win though,” he said after taking victory by over 10 seconds.                                                                                                                                                                        Davies had managed to shake off Forbes to consolidate third, but retired to the pits which he later regretted. “I had a fantastic battle with Cam early and then concentrated on Paul and Steve’s battle, thinking they might trip each other up. I got them both at Fosters but Paul was a bit sideways and tagged me. Then I spun at Lodge and thought I must have had a problem. So I pitted but the car was Ok,” he explained. Forbes would have inherited second after Owen and Davies’ demise, but was caught napping by Keenan. “I don’t know why I dropped off the pace, but it kept me out of trouble and I counted the parked cars. If I had realised it was for second and would have fought Danny harder,” said Forbes. “I was shocked, I didn’t realise it was for second place either,” Keenan added. Wood had retired early on with a blown exhaust manifold, so Neary came from the back of the grid to clinch fourth. Crompton retired to the pits as the flag was readied, “the oil light came on so I went straight in, not realising it was the end of the race,” he said.   Evans kept Aukland at bay for fifth and was the only finisher in class A, after both Wood and Allaway had retired. Kingsley Ingram picked up class E when Crompton retired and once again was the only class finisher in seventh overall. Kevin Cryer, Kelly-Cooper, Schofield and Leigh were the other unlapped finishers.                                                                                                            Forbes still managed to top class B from Cryer and Dave Maries’ Mk Indy. Keenan topped class C from Schofield’s tiny Suzuki, Paul Dobson headed Neary, Aukland, Kelly-Cooper, Leigh, Ralph Underwood’s TR7 V8 and Richard Dobson’s Nissan in class D, while in class F Paul Ingram comfortably took the spoils over Hall, the XR2’s of Graham Saul and Brian Allen and Jamie Cryer and John Spencer’s Peugeot 205 Gti.

RESULTS

1 Paul Dobson (Mazda RX7) 19 laps in 21m00.718s (89.73mph); 2 Danny Keenan (MK Indy Busa) 21m10.950s; 3 Cam Forbes (Westfield SeiW); 4 Richard Neary (Ford Sierra RS500); 5 Tim Evans (Subaru Impreza); 6 Duncan Aukland (Rover 3500SE); 7 Kingsley Ingram (Mazda 323F); 8 Kevin Cryer (Caterham Seven); 9 Derek Kelly-Cooper (Vauxhall Vectra); 10 Wayne Schofield (Suzuki Cappuccino). Class A: 1 Evans; no other finishers. Class B: Forbes; 2 K.Cryer; 3 Dave Maries (MK Indy); no other finishers. Class C: 1 Keenan; 2 Schofield; no other finishers. Class D: 1 P.Dobson; 2 Neary; 3 Aukland; 4 Kelly-Cooper; 5 David Leigh (Seat Leon); 6 Ralph Underwood (Triumph TR7 V8); 7 Richard Dobson (Nissan 200SX). Class E: 1 K.Ingram; no other finishers. Class F: 1 Paul Ingram (Ford Fiesta); 2 Phil Hall (Banks Europa); 3 Graham Saul (Ford Fiesta XR2); 4 Brian Allen (Ford Fiesta XR2i); 5 Jamie Cryer (Ford Fiesta XR2i); 6 John Spencer (Peugeot 205 Gti). Fastest lap: R.Spencer 1m03.751s (93.40mph).