There was a late summer feel to the Bristol Two Clubs sprint at Colerne on August Bank Holiday Monday. There were a couple of 'guest' drivers making an appearance; Andy Platt was co-driving Jane Farthing's Force whilst Dave Cutcliffe was second man in the Kevin Lealan Formula Vauxhall Lotus. Andy Platt did enough in the qualification runs to clinch the coveted Foundation Cup but was well wide of the mark when it came to getting into the Top Twelve.
In the qualification runs the Series Production classes were first. Barrie Dare took the 1400 class from fellow Suzuki driver Bruce Graham. Rob Clarke's Elise was too quick for the rest in the 1800 class as Mark Roberts and Jonathan Milne gave chase. The 2.6 litre class went to Toby Harris in the turbocharged Puma who was light years ahead of the opposition. In the over 2.6 litre class Barry Squibb beat son Jamie in the family Evo 6 RS as the pair finished 1-2. Neal Coles (Striker) and David Jackson (Superlight) took the two Road Going Kit Car classes before we ventured into the Mod Prod classes. Darren Roberts (Mini) took the 1400 class, whilst in the 1800 class it was the ever cheerful Nick Wood in the Alfa Sud who was the class act. In the 2.6 litre class Mike McBraida took the honours but was slower than the Road Going Mitsubishi of Barry Squibb! John Sampson bludgeoned the opposition in the Mod Prod Kit Car class as he took a class record. In the Sports Libres Ian Cameron (Mallock), Dick Hulbert (SBD/Westfield) and Colin Early (Darrian) all took class wins before we moved into the Racing Car classes.
Tom Potter took the 600cc class in the Jedi Mk4 whilst in the well supported 1100 class it was Jane Farthing who took the class and set a new Ladies Record to boot. In the 1600 class Scott Pillinger just nicked the win and the class record off Steve Broughton whilst the remaining cars were amalgamated into just one class. Roy Dawson was top dog but Tony Wiltshire's second place ahead of Tony Eyles was a great prelude to the run-off.
Top Twelve Run-Off
First runner was Dave Cutcliffe in the FVL. The King of Colerne was soon into the swing of things but was overly cautious after a spin earlier in the day. Roy Sims was next and he set a cracking pace as he went sub 72 seconds. Matt Oliver then slithered round someway off his earlier pace. John Sampson shook the Control Tower's foundations as he blasted off the line and rumbled to a sub 74 second time. Peter Howgate had qualified well but threw away his advantage with a spin exiting the tricky 2B chicane. Once the Ralt had been retrieved it was Steve Broughton next and the little OMS fairly rocketed off the line and into an impressive lead. Simon Ashby couldn't match the pace of the championship sponsor and slotted into second. Kevin Lealan then slipped into the lead despite the FVL being somewhat overworked and bouncing a couple of cones! David Sims was Red Flagged as the marshals were still 'on track' replacing the scattered cones. He cruised back to the start and once the course was clear hammered off. He was a little too enthusiastic and went spinning off which meant more course rebuilding and a re-run for Tony Eyles who was released from the line a little too quickly. Tony however is the consummate sprinter and took it all in his stride. When the hammer went down the Force was flying and he was the first in the run-off to go sub 68 seconds. However his lead was short-lived as Tony Wiltshire, who had out-qualified the 2004 champion, then went sub 66! The final runner was Roy Dawson and when he got the green light the Scot was soon on his way to a cracking time shading out Tony Wiltshire by less than two tenths.
Back to the beginning and it was Dave Cutcliffe to the line. This time 'lofty' was in hard charging mode but it all went pear-shaped when, after his co-driver's off course excursion, he discovered all was not well so he trickled back to the paddock. Roy Sims then failed to improve on his first run time partly due to the side-pod becoming loose. Matt Oliver was back in the groove moving up to seventh; however this would become ninth as his time was bettered. John Sampson again picked up the extra Category Record point as he lowered the record. Peter Howgate had to be more conservative in his approach but still went sub 75 seconds which would be good enough for tenth. Steve Broughton then shaved a few hundredths off to reinforce his fifth place slot. Simon Ashby did improve but again by not enough to move up the leader board and he would finish sixth. Kevin Lealan should have been next but the FVL was just not up to it so he stood down. His first run time was however good enough for a career best fourth place. Next was Dave Sims and with the side-pod removed the aerodynamics were going to be questionable. In fact the lack of down force made the car almost undriveable and the youngster trundled in twelfth. With over a second deficit to make up Tony Eyles was down in third! Could he salvage some Pride? In fact he could do more than that he suddenly went up a notch and put in a stunning 65.07! As he said afterwards 'I don't know where that came from!' Tony Wiltshire was unable to respond in fact he was slower so fell to third. Could Roy Dawson find some extra pace? You bet! The Scot was still tentative through the initial corners but hammered it up and over the brow of the main straight toping out at 165mph. Through turn four he feathered the throttle and just managed to get it through the tedious Turn 7 complex. Round the sweeping Turn 9 and across the line in a staggering 63.98 for a new Category Record and an extra point!
Results:
1 Roy Dawson (4.0 Gould-Judd GR37) 63.98sec; 2 Tony Eyles (2.5 Force-Opel PC024) 65.07sec; 3 Tony Wiltshire (2.0 Ralt-Peugeot RT34) 65.34sec; 4 Kevin Lealan (2.0 Formula Vauxhall Lotus) 68.84sec; 5 Steve Broughton (1.3 OMS-Suzuki CF04) 68.84sec; 6 Simon Ashby (2.0 Reynard-Millington 883) 70.09sec; 7 Roy Sims (2.0 Ralt-Duratec RT33) 71.46sec; 8 John Sampson (5.0 Quantum Xtreme) 72.59sec; 9 Matt Oliver (2.0 Ralt-Vauxhall RT33) 73.14sec; 10 Peter Howgate (1.8 Ralt-Rover RT30) 74.31sec; 11 Dave Cutcliffe (2.0 Formula Vauxhall Lotus) 74.38sec; 12 Dave Sims (2.0 Ralt-Duratec RT33) 84.31sec.