Race Report |
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| ACE VEHICLE DELIVERIES - HILLSIDE of
HEYWOOD Sports/Saloon Car Championship 2006 Round five & six, Anglesey, July 08/09, 2006 The weather did its best to upset the championship form book, and in some respects it did just that. But Robert Pritchard remained unfazed by all around him and recorded another double victory in his Caterham Vauxhall. 15 cars made it out for qualifying but only 14 recorded times. Rhodri Hughes was left to start at the back of the grid after leaving his transponder in the glove box of his road car, rather than attaching it to his BMW 325. Pritchard secured pole by nearly two seconds over Mark Primett’s Banks Europa. “It was easy really, and once I knew that Ian Hall wasn’t coming in his Darrian, I left the old tyres on too,” said the poleman. “I thought either I wasn’t fast enough or it came very easily,” replied Primett. Kevin Cryer’s Caterham headed row two. “I was struggling a bit, and had forgotten the circuit. It was me not the car, it took me ages to get into the groove and then the flag came out,” he explained. Alongside Richard Winter quite enjoyed his session. “It was interesting, I spun at the Hairpin on what I thought was a quick lap, but outbraked myself,” said the Banks Europa driver. Duncan Aukland’s Rover 3500SE was fifth best on his long delayed seasonal debut. “It was the first run for my new engine, I only took delivery of it at 3.30pm on the eve of the meeting. Then there was a late panic as one of the wheels was rubbing on the wing,” explained the ex Champion. Chris Maries was still in positive mood with the ongoing development of his Mini. “It’s great fun, we changed a lot like bigger brakes, new shocks and tyres that don’t’ melt. It’s a challenge, plus we had fuel surge. For the race it’s going to be a bit better or a whole lot worse,” he reckoned. Nick Pakes’ Banks Europa survived to head row four,”it was very slippery but I am saving my spin for the race I reckon,” he said. Graham Taylor had an oil leak in his Westfield. “It came out of the filler cap and sprayed up my visor,” he explained. Guesting from the Welsh Sports/Saloons, Paul Trowbridge was next up with his Ginetta G20, ahead of the second Aukland brother James, also on his seasonal debut with his trusty Rover engined Capri. “The throttle stuck open going into Beths, so I managed to pull off without hitting anything,” he said. Peter Wann had “nothing to say really,” after qualifying his Westfield 11th. Graeme Smith was as enthusiastic as ever with Caterham down in 12th, while Paul Dobson had problems with his Mazda RX7. “The turbo pipe came off and I spun at the Hairpin,” he explained. The final qualifier to set a time was Brian Allen in his Fiesta XR2i. Race one GRID é
With no casualties from qualifying, all 15 cars made it the grid on a dry track with gathering clouds closing in over the Irish Sea. Pritchard and Primett quickly pulled themselves clear of the chasing pack from the start. Maries spun out of third at Abbotts on lap two, leaving Winter to take up the chase, as both Taylor and Duncan Aukland stayed close after an early exchange. Pakes headed the next group from Dobson and the recovering Maries, while Trowbridge had his mirrors full of Smith’s Caterham in the battle for 10th. Maries recovery took him past Dobson and Pakes on consecutive laps into seventh by the end of lap five. Pritchard’s lead continued to grow but with rain in the air, no one could become complacent. As Maries charge continued, both he and Taylor fought their way past Aukland’s Rover, before starting their own duel. The rain was becoming heavier and a steady breeze became stronger too. Taylor slowed and ducked into the pits, “I thought it was my oil leaking onto the visor again, but it was rain. I lost a lap and then collided with Chris Maries at the Hairpin,” he explained. As the rain worsened it became a case of survival rather than racing. Pritchard managed to keep his lead but while others struggled for grip, Smith not only unlapped himself but carved his way through a well deserved second at the flag. “When I unlapped myself I figured out I could do quite well and road tyres seemed to be the thing to have,” said Smith. “It was a struggle, not just the rain but the standing water on slicks was very difficult,” replied Pritchard. Duncan Aukland managed to hold onto third, “I got a tap from Chris early on and then when it rained it was OK for a while, but when I saw a pair of headlights in the mist gaining, I knew it would be Graeme,” he explained. Primett slipped back to settle in third, “I couldn’t drive in the wet. I was glad we had some dry running, but my set up was too hard and was I was left doing about 5mph,” he reckoned. With Cryer also slipping back, Winter took fifth. “It was good and satisfying to survive, although I would have preferred it to be stopped for safety reasons,” he said. “It was undriveable for me. I spun at Abbotts and after that it was case of get to the finish,” Cryer replied. “I was just getting to the flag too, as the steering felt useless and the back kept wanting to come around, “said seventh placed Pakes. Trowbridge, James Aukland and Hughes completed the top ten, with Wann and Allen the other finishers. Maries decided to quit after 12 laps, “I had one specific problem, when you back off it oversteers and I had a few spins when people braked earlier than I expected,” he explained. Dobson also pulled out a couple of laps earlier. “My back tyres lost grip and I nearly spun into the pit wall,” he said. Results 1 Robert Pritchard (Caterham Vauxhall) 29 laps
in 21m34.471s (64.67mph); Class A: 1 J.Aukland; no other. Race two GRID é
There was one gain and two losses for Sunday’s race. Peter Bamford joined on the back of the grid with his RPM run Porsche 997, while Trowbridge had elected not to run and was already heading south. But also absent as the 14 car grid lined up was Taylor’s Westfield. “My clutch went in the paddock, so I didn’t even make the assembly area. It just about sums up my season, “he reckoned. As the lights were extinguished Pritchard rocketed into his accustomed lead, from Primett, with Maries outbraking Cryer for third into Beths, Winter, Duncan Aukland, Pakes and James Aukland headed the rest, but Duncan was soon in trouble and falling back. “The pedal box kept jamming, I pitted to try and release it, but it was no good,” he explained. Pakes moved up to sixth with Dobson charging through to seventh, ahead of James Aukland, Wann and Smith. By the end of lap three the top five were well clear, but down in 10th Hughes took Smith into Beths, before closing in on Wann. Having lost out to Maries at the first corner, Cryer was back to challenge his rival on lap five. Hughes progress continued when he slipped past Wann at Abbotts, leaving Smith next to threaten the Westfield. After Cryer took third into the Hairpin on lap six, Winter had the Mini in his sights a lap later. But further down the order the surviving Aukland started to make inroads on Dobson, while being caught himself by Hughes. Everyone held station over the mid section of the race, before Bamford started to get to grip with his Porsche and took ninth from Hughes into Beths on lap 18. Over the remaining laps Pritchard continued his charge and lapped all but second placed Primett, to take victory by well over 20 seconds. “That was quite fun on old tyres, sliding around all over. It was a good race for me,” said Pritchard. “I was a bit bored as I was all on my own,” said Primett. Cryer managed consolidate third over Maries, “that was much better, everything went fine.” Winter plagued Maries over the closing laps, but had to be content with fifth. “I was having a go at him, but I had hoped there would have been more of a tow for me,” said Winter. Pakes completed the top six, “I was on my own most of the time too, but I did manage to spin at Abbotts,” he admitted. Dobson survived in seventh after a terrific scrap with James Aukland, which was observed at a safe distance by Bamford, after he had witnessed the cornering angles of Aukland’s Capri and thought better of it than to make a challenge. “That was wonderful, once the Capri caught me I just couldn’t get rid of him again,” said Dobson. “It handled the same as usual, maybe even smoother today,” said Aukland. Hughes completed the top, 10 with Smith, Wann and Allen once again completing the finishers. “It was going well until I got out of shape into the Hairpin on lap 16. I spun under pressure from Rhodri and Graeme,” Wann reckoned. Results 1 Robert Pritchard (Caterham Vauxhall) 26 laps
in 21m14.961s (77.59mph); Next round Oulton Park August 5th Issued by Peter Scherer for BARC (NW) July 12th, 2006. |