Cadwell Race Report September 2010

Primrose blossoms while Fenn finds his form

Greetings race fans!

The remote Lincolnshire Circuit of Cadwell Park played host to a weekend of thrills and spills as the PBIC hit town. It really was a race of two halves but no prizes for guessing who would end up as sick as a parrot.

The drivers did their best to confuse your intrepid reporter by changing the entry list at the last minute.

Knowing how long it takes me to type her name, Margaret Farqhuar etc etc failed to appear as did Wilson in car 50, although I am sure I spotted him wandering around the collecting area on the Sunday.

Ewart Kitson was out too, as was newly installed co-ordinator Long Haired Dave due to MSA regulations about not scoring points….come to think of it perhaps I would be the ideal co-ordinator as I rarely score points either?

In was the Silver Fox JB in car 71 looking forward to racing some class F drivers at last, only to discover Stibbards car 51 had blown up in testing on Friday and MFR car 34 was no-where to be seen….what’s the common denominator here John? Even his pit crew had deserted him!

In class A the Grey Pig car 60 replaced Wilson, but not for long.

Qualifying

The grids were a bit thin as we were split into the fast guys and the “rest of us” as they like to refer to us.

First out were groups A F & T, with the T types doing their usual spreading of oil and water as they went round.

Walpole took pole for race 1 and Tinkler for the Sunday race.

In the fast classes Cripps was back in his V8 Exocet closely followed by Sandbag Ludlow sharing car 13 with Pete Burchill.

SATURDAY RACE 1 CLASSES A F &T

With the classes reduced I was able to keep up with the front runners as we set off for race one, with Gentlemen Racer Bergonzi falling asleep on the start line.

I cheerfully followed on behind Darby and Tinkler and Walpole although they gradually eased away.

Nevertheless with the front runners in my sights I pressed on and shaved 3 seconds off my mediocre qualification times.

It was not to last though, and as I tried to make up ground while the leaders gradually pulled away I suffered the well known ailment of “lead-foot”, whereby my hefty application of the throttle round the woodlands hairpin caused me to spin and shove the nose into the Armco.

This pushed back the bonnet and ripped off the spoiler, all except for one plucky screw which allowed the spoiler to twist up in the air like the Sword of Damocles in front of me.

My race was run and I crept back to the paddock area and held my head in shame.

I was not the only casualty of this race as Darby car 38 got a rear wheel on the grass and spun off also having a chat with Mr Armco and ripping his exhaust pipe off in the process.

This allowed Lew Bergonzi to recover from his uncharacteristicly bad start and make it up to third. Can I also say now that here is no truth in the rumour that Lew fell asleep at the lights due to someone repeatedly shining a torch through his car window during the night…..I don’t even have a torch……anyway, moving on…

Piggott expired mid-race as his newly fitted core-plugs turned out to be not that well fitted and drained all the Pig’s coolant (I am referring to the car not the driver here). Legs decided not to attempt a repair for the following race and went home to spend more time with his packet of Marlboro.

I missed the delight of car 5 John Wreghitt going agricultural at the mountain and then taking a quick sight-seeing tour round the grassy knoll. Cheered on by the crowd and marshals he finally realised that he would never drive up the grass and turned round before rejoining.

The final  result here was Walpole Tinkler and Bergonzi in that particular order.

Race 1 classes B&C

The split race allowed me the pleasure of watching  a Cripps master-class in driving excellence.

He led the race from start to finish in his gleaming V8 and just romped away from the rest of the field really in a class of his own.

Further down the field a frantic race was taking place for third between Neaves Senior car 7, Barry Holmes car 77,  Terry Holmes car 30 and Shane Terry car 29.

It really was nail-biting stuff which sadly ended up with some contact near barn ending the race for Terry (Holmes) and (Shane) Terry following a collision.

This put Blaine into 3rd place but following a meeting with the clerk of the course he was removed from the score sheet.

I did not see this incident and I am sure each driver will have his own view, but it does strike me as a little harsh that in Club Racing we are having drivers disqualified…we all pay our money and I would like to think that no-one would merit this type of punishment in our series. Nuff said.

Meanwhile back in class B Pat Fenn car  22 was having a blistering race, at last he has got his V8 going like it should which rewarded him with a well deserved class win. Well done Pat.

Pete Andrews out in Rob Huffs car was going exceedingly well,  getting fastest lap in class which proved too much for him and he decided to rest the car after 10 laps for the following days racing.

Barry Holmes in a desperate bid to win over the crowd spent most of his time waving…or was it gesturing, I couldn’t be sure as he went on to snatch third in the amended results.

A really cracking race to watch with Ollie Neaves hanging on to second, a country mile behind Cripps.

SUNDAY RACE 1 CLASSES A F &T

With most of the cars patched up following their bruising the day before an even smaller grid lined up for the early doors race on Sunday morning.

The grid was down to single figures but this was still going to be Tinkler’s day.

A swift start saw Wreghitt scorch off the line from 6th place to second by turn one….he really surprised everyone including himself , so much so that while he paused to collect his thoughts he found the rest of the field catching him up to put him back down into 6th again by turn  four!

I was squeezed by Darby as we tried to get three cars round turn one, but it was never going to work and I soon found myself falling behind with Wreghitt bearing down on me.

The 25 minutes really took their toll on both driver and car as I managed to cook the n/s front tyre with my traditional harsh steering, resulting in Wreghitt, the quicker of us,  snapping at my heels while Tinkler and the rest stormed ahead.

A close call with a slow moving T Type nearly ended my race as I passed him at the goose neck only to lock up at the bottom of the hill.

Wreghitt made a couple of lunges but I had left him no room and we both settled for 5th & 6th respectively, a good race but with little to show for it at the end.

But today really belonged to Simon Tinkler in car 18….he has put in the hard work over the season and has been finally rewarded with a well deserved win – a popular result with all the drivers - Well Done!!!!

James Darby and Lew B scored a well run 2nd & 3rd relegating Walpole to an unlikely 4th…although he did set a new lap record in the process.

Has Tinkler put the carrot cruncher out to grass?  We will have to see at Snett!

SUNDAY RACE TWO CLASSES B&C

The start line drama was well under way as even before the lights went on Terry Holmes in car 30 disappeared in a cloud of smoke and steam and dived into the pits seconds before the race began.

As the lights went out Ollie got off the line first determined to put Cripps behind him.

Ollie held him off for a while but then had to concede once more as Cripps powered past.

This time out Cripps decided to have a bit of fun at Ollie’s expense and looked to make a race of it.

They diced for a while but Cripps soon pulled away drifting the V8 round the track in his unique style.

Once again the battle for third was edge of the seat stuff, with Blaine doing his best to hold back the rest of the pack to allow Ollie to make a break for it.

The first casualty was at the mountain when Shane Terry lost it under acceleration and spun into the Armco.

He recovered and rejoined well down the field.

This allowed Barry Holmes in his bus-driver style of driving to take on Blaine Neaves with Dan Ludlow in the mix in the Vulcan Racing ZS.

On the penultimate lap Blaine barrelled onto the mountain to lose it under braking with a graceful sideways slide onto the grass.

This gifted third to Barry Holmes, who taken by surprise, forgot to stop waving to the crowd and drove straight off the track at the hairpin stuffing it into the fence.

This passed the parcel to Dan Ludlow giving him 3rd overall and 1st in class and returned 3rd in class to Blaine.

Andrew Barker in car 87 had been limping his misfiring B around the track in both races but it finally expired on lap 11.

So the final result was Cripps, Neaves (junior) & Ludlow.

A few die-hards had a crack at the end of the day Allcomers race including Long Haired Dave who managed 2 laps before suffering fuel pump problems.

Cadwell really took its toll on the cars and this race was no exception with no less than 8 DNF’s.

Only Burchill and Ludlow managed to save the PBIC good name with a 4th place overall.

So folks an  interesting weekend all round with some surprise results, spectacle, controversy and a bit of panel beating as well.

All thoughts are now focussed on the Grand Finale at Snetterton in October.

I am packing my wellies and waterproofs already.

Last but not least, I know many of you don’t want to think about the Christmas Do yet, but if you get a chance it would help as so far I have been handed just the one menu and payment.

As we are all at Snett this would be the ideal time to bring along your menus and your chequebooks…you know it makes sense!!

That will really be the last time I have to collect them but of course you could always post them off now to Richard Tinkler.

Cheers

Jonesey