2005 Race results

Sports/Saloon Car Championship

Rounds seven and eight Anglesey, July 16TH/17th 

It was a fine but breezy morning for qualifying at the annual visit to Anglesey. The majority of the 18 car field found grip at a premium, but it didn’t stop Robert Pritchard taking pole by over half a second in his Caterham Vauxhall. “I am saving my good rubber for the race, but it did seem slippery,” he agreed.

Still plagued by his oil leak, Ian Hall was second quickest with the V8 Darrian. “The session was a disaster. I was bedding in brakes, a bonnet clip came loose so I pitted and then spun on old tyres as I had no grip and terrible oversteer,” he explained.

Although Dennis Crompton’s BMW M3 was third best, he brought the session to a premature end with an off at the Hairpin. “I was really going for it and went for the brakes, the rear locked up and the back came round, spinning me into the tyre wall,” he said.

Mark Primett’s Banks Europa was fractionally adrift of Crompton’s time in fourth, “I was lock to lock with car slipping and sliding and just couldn’t get the power down,” he said. On his first visit to Anglesey, Kevin Cryer was delighted to have put his Caterham in fifth place on the grid. “It’s fun, exciting and different,” he reckoned.

Reigning Champion Duncan Aukland restored family order by out qualifying brother James in his Rover 3500SE. “The dampers are worn out all round, it’s an animal to drive, pitching about and I have to be really careful under braking,” he said.

Banks Europa boss Richard Winter was well on the pace in seventh. “It was so slippery and my passenger window flew out too.” Fractionally behind was team mate Nick Pakes. “I had my customary spin by putting the wheels on the matting at Abbotts. Otherwise it was bouncing all over the place,” he said.

In ninth was rallyman Stuart Deeley making a seasonal race debut in his Banks Europa, while James Aukland’s Capri completed the top ten in his last appearance of the season. “It was incident free again,” he said surprisingly.

Graham Taylor had set himself a target of breaking the 53 second mark in his Westfield. With a 52.249 he had to think of another target for the race. Rhodri Hughes was next up in his trusty BMW 325i, while former champion Chris Griffiths made his seasonal debut with his Davrian to head the seventh row. “The brake pedal kept disappearing, the tacho and water gauges didn’t work either,” he said.

“I was bedding in new brakes, just got going and the misfire came back,” said Rover driver Alan Collinson. Graeme Smith’s Caterham grabbed the anti-penultimate place, while Phil Hall found his Banks Europa “very loose.” Despite finding his session to be “excellent,” Jeremy Coates Rover was the final qualifier.” I had new brakes too and forgot to bed them in,” he added.

Only 17 of the 18 cars got out for the session after Simon Allaway’s Wildcat Esprit kept flooding and needed a late change of plugs.

GRID
COATES ALLAWAY
SMITH P.HALL
GRIFFITHS COLLINSON
TAYLOR HUGHES
DEELEY J.AUKLAND
WINTER PAKES
CRYER D.AUKLAND
CROMPTON PRIMETT
*PRITCHARD I.HALL

The sun was beating down as the 18 car grid formed up. Pritchard made the best of his advantage from pole for lead the charge into School, with Hall, Primett and Crompton heading the chasers.

As the lead pair soon put daylight between themselves and their rivals, Crompton tried to put some early pressure on Primett’s third place. Behind them Cryer had his mirrors full of Aukland’s Rover, with Pakes, Winter, Deeley and James Aukland rounding off the top ten.

Hughes had a spin at Abbotts from 12th place on the second lap. “Phil Hall missed a gear and it was spin or hit him,” he explained.

With the lead quartet well away, Cryer found himself heading a five-car train for fifth, as he continued to familiarise himself with the circuit. Pakes lost out to Winter into Radar for seventh. “I forgot to change gear and was still in fourth,” he said.

Back at the front Hall began to put pressure on Pritchard from lap four, while Primett started to consolidate his hold on third.

The pressure on Cryer started to reduce somewhat from lap six, when all but Aukland and Winter had fallen back. Deeley still had Winter in sight, but looked increasingly unlikely to mount another challenge.

At the back Hughes started to get Coates in his range to relinquish last place, while Pakes found more gear selections problems and lost places after struggling with second at the Hairpin.

Pritchard was carving his way through the traffic by the end of lap 10 and started to build a comfortable lead. Crompton managed to hold his gap to Primett steady, and Aukland sneaked past Cryer for fifth. “When Robert lapped me, Duncan followed and caught me unawares at the Hairpin,” said Cryer.

There were battles raging all the way down the field, with Taylor piling the pressure on James Aukland, Hughes taking Coates and Griffiths chasing Smith for the class C lead.

Aukland’s Capri finally succumbed to the pressure on lap 12 though, “I outbraked myself and went straight on. I was telling myself to ease up, but I didn’t listen,” he said.

During the second half of the race Hall came charging back onto Pritchard’s tail and got a nose alongside on a couple of occasions at Radar. But Pritchard held on to take his first win in this years championship by 0.239s. “Robert knows precisely where to put his car, but it was a lot of fun. I was so close I broke my windscreen,” said Hall. “Towards the end my tyres were slipping and sliding and I was lucky to hold on. Ian just never makes mistakes though,” Pritchard replied.

Primett retained his racelong third, “I was surprised I pulled away from Dennis. But when I hesitated through backmarkers he was on me again, I couldn’t relax,” he explained. “Mark got the jump at the start and the backmarkers gave him a break,” said Crompton after settling for fourth.

Cryer reclaimed fifth from Aukland at School on the 15th lap, before consolidating his position. “I kept losing the back end at Radar, but fortunately it came back. It was great fun with Kevin though,” said Aukland. Winter dominated his class with seventh overall, “I made a good start for once, a bit sideways at the first corner and scared Phil Hall though,” he said.

After his battle with James Aukland, Taylor was left with a solitary eighth in the closing laps. “It was my pressure that forced James to outbreak himself,” he reckoned. Pakes struggled home in ninth minus his clutch and the recovering Aukland Capri completed the top ten, after Deeley’s engine blew on the last lap.

Hughes battled his way into 11th place pipping Smith on the last lap, but with Griffiths picking up a front puncture after a clash with Collinson, Smith reclaimed the class C win.

Collinson and Coates completed the finishers, while the only other retirement was Allaway, whose Esprit had a sticking throttle.

RESULTS

1 Robert Pritchard (Caterham Vauxhall) 27 laps in 21m13.089s (80.70mph); 2 Ian Hall (Darrian T98 GTR); 3 Mark Primett (Banks Europa); 4 Dennis Crompton (BMW M3 E230); 5 Kevin Cryer (Caterham Seven); 6 Duncan Aukland (Rover 3500SE); 7 Richard Winter (Banks Europa); 8 Graham Taylor (Westfield SEi); 9 Nick Pakes (Banks Europa); 10 James Aukland (Ford Capri); 11 Rhodri Hughes (BMW 325i); 12 Graeme Smith (Caterham); 13 Alan Collinson (Rover SD1); 14 Jeremy Coates (Rover SD1. Fastest lap: Hall 45.455s (83.71mph). Class A: 1 I.Hall; 2 J.Aukland; no other finishers. Class B: 1 Pritchard; 2 Cryer; 3 Taylor; other finishers. Class C: 1 Smith; no other finishers. Class D: 1 D.Aukland 3 Collinson; 3 Coates; no other starters. Class E: 1 Primett; 2 Crompton; 3 Pakes; 4 Hughes; no other starters. Class F: 1 Winter; no other finishers.

RACE TWO

With Stuart Deeley being the only casualty from Saturday’s race, there should have been 17 cars out for Sunday mornings qualifying session. But Ian Hall was unable to start the Darrian due to a flat battery. “We managed to borrow one off Greg Rose from the Mod Prods for the race, but I will have to start from the assembly area,” he said.

Pritchard therefore had pole by 1.961s over Primett, while back in third, Crompton was a further second adrift of his rival. “With Ian at the back I think it will put more pressure on me,” said Pritchard. “My car just felt good,” added Primett. “It’ll do for today, but my tyres are worn out,” said Crompton.

Cryer was fourth best and was hoping for “more pace” in the race. Duncan Aukland and Taylor shared the third row, while Winter headed the fourth. “It was so busy out there, I reckon I came closer to having an incident than in either qualifying or the race on Saturday,” he said. Alongside was Pakes, who was still struggling with second gear. “We found a cracked gearbox bracket,” he confirmed.

Allaway was delighted to be ninth best and raring for the race, while James Aukland just looked forward to his last outing of the season. “I tried to stiffen the rear end up to see if it helps,” said James.

Hughes headed the next row with Griffiths alongside. “I taped up the damage and had to change to a six year old pre-historic front tyre so there wasn’t much grip,” said Chris. The rest of the grid was made up of Collinson, Smith, Phil Hall and Coates. “It just won’t go any faster,” said Coates after seeing his name at the bottom of the time sheets for the second successive day. Hall’s Banks Europa only got out late when the clutch suffered a hydraulic failure.

GRID

I.HALL
P.HALL COATES
COLLINSON SMITH
HUGHES GRIFFITHS
ALLAWAY J.AUKLAND
WINTER PAKES
D.AUKLAND TAYLOR
CROMPTON CRYER
*PRITCHARD PRIMETT

Pritchard flew into a decisive lead from the start, as he attempted to build as bigger lead as possible while Hall’s Darrian carved through the field. Primett and Crompton were once again in contention for second, while Cryer, Taylor Duncan Aukland and Pakes headed the rest.

Hall wasted no time in charging his way into contention, grabbing sixth into School on lap two. Primett soon managed to shake-off Crompton’s attentions, but threw it all away with a wild spin exiting Abbotts on the third lap. Crompton moved into second, but a lap later it was all change again. Pritchard pulled off, “it lost all oil pressure so I think the engine’s gone,” he explained. Hall became the new leader, but only as far as Abbotts, when a huge spin left Crompton as the third leader.

But after a couple of laps of glory Crompton bowed to the inevitable and surrendered his advantage into School.

Although Cryer had been safe in third, Allaway started to reel him in and brought the recovering Primett with him. But on lap eight Primett spun again at Abbotts, just after Allaway had battled into third.

Duncan Aukland started to close on Taylor for fifth, but their battle took them closer to Cryer. But making a second comeback of the race, Primett took a place per lap to regain third from Allaway on lap 14.

While Hall settled into his rhythm and lapped the whole field to secure another victory, Crompton consolidated his hold on second after Primett left the fray with a broken wishbone after slight contact. “I thought I would push hard early on and when it went sideways I couldn’t get my arms round any further,” he said. “That was brilliant leading for a couple of laps, I thought I was going to win but then Ian caught me again,” said Dennis. “I was still going for it, because I didn’t realise it was Robert that had pulled off. It was wonderful starting from the back, but hard to drive slowly,” said Hall.

Following Primett’s retirement, Allaway was a clear third, “my arms are really aching after that. It was really hard to get the car to stop at School,” he said. Cryer successfully kept Taylor at bay for fourth. “I was low on clutch fluid so kept it in third and fourth and nursed it to the end,” he explained. “That equalled my best finish, but it was against better competition today,” added Taylor. Winter split the Aukland brothers in seventh, while Pakes found on a couple of occasions that it’s not wise to follow James Aukland’s lines too often. “I knew Richard was catching, even a Europa can look big in your mirrors,” said Duncan.“I enjoyed that, it was a nice way to finish my season,” said James. “It was hard work for me, just no steering, but the gearbox was Ok,” Pakes replied.

Griffiths completed the top ten, while Hughes had an entertaining time at the rear of the field, when both he and Smith took Coates for 11th and 12th with a couple of laps to go. “I put it into fourth instead of second at the Hairpin,” Coates admitted. Phil Hall and Collinson completed the finishers and had contact with each other earlier in the ace, when Hall appeared to be going by at Radar.

RESULTS

1 Ian Hall (Darrian T98GTR) 25 laps in 20m31.306s (77.25mph); 2 Dennis Crompton (BMW M3 E30) 24 laps: 3 Simon Allaway (Wildcat Esprit); 4 Kevin Cryer (Caterham); 5 Graham Taylor (Westfield SEi); 6 Duncan Aukland (Rover 3500SE); 7 Richard Winter (Banks Europa); 8 James Aukland (Ford Capri); 9 Nick Pakes (Banks Europa); 10 Chris Griffiths (Davrian Mk7A); 11 Rhodri Hughes (BMW 325i); 12 Graeme Smith (Caterham); 13 Jeremy Coates (Rover SD1); 14 Phil Hall (Banks Europa); 15 Alan Collinson (Rover SD1). Fastest lap: Ian Hall 45.331s (83.94mph). Class A: 1 I.Hall; 2 Allaway; 3 J.Aukland;; no other starters; Class B: 1 Cryer; 2 Taylor; no other finishers. Class C: 1 Griffiths; 2 Smith; no other starters. Class D: 1 D.Aukland; 2 Coates; 3 Collinson; no other starters. Class E: 1 Crompton; 2 Pakes; 3 Hughes; no other finishers. Class F: 1 Winter; 2 P.Hall; no other starters.

CURRENT POINTS

1 IAN HALL 63

2 RICHARD WINTER 52

3 ROBERT PRITCHARD 48

DENNIS CROMPTON

5 DUNCAN AUKLAND 45

6 TONY BRASS 33

MARK PRIMETT 33

8 KEVIN CRYER 23

9 JAMES AUKLAND 20

GRAEME SMITH

Class A: 1 I.Hall 63, 2 J.Aukland 20; 3 Blomfield 11; 4 Newton 9; 5 Wood 4; 6 Allaway 5.

Class B: 1 Pritchard 48; 2 Cryer 23; 3 Taylor 19; 4 Campbell 11; 5 Small 2.

Class C: 1 Smith 20; 2 Brockhouse 10; 3 Griffiths 6; 4 Primett 1.

Class D: 1 D.Aukland 45; 2 Brass 33; 3 Coates 18; 4 Collinson 9; 5 Claxton 7.

Class E: 1 Crompton 48; 2 Primett 33; 3 Pakes 18; 4 Hughes 8; 5 Casey & Hargreaves 7 Garnett 3.

Class F: 1 Winter 52; 2 P.Hall 15; 3 Paul Sheard 8; 4 Gorrie & Crawford 6; 6 Stevinson 4; 7 Mellard, Farnsworth; Cobourn; Paula Sheard, Blake, Hillback & Skeggs 2.

NEXT ROUND MALLORY PARK, AUGUST 7TH

PUBLISHED BY PETER SCHERER, JULY 20TH 2005.