With a big crowd at the fence at the start, the Top Twelve Run-off brought gasps from them as the events unfolded. Roy Dawson had the points in the bag after his first run but chose to go for the Category Record; like many before he came unstuck and it is yet to be seen how heavy that price will be.
The event started with the Roadgoing Cars and in the Up to 2 Litre class local ace Dave Coveney cruised to victory in the Elise over Russell Thorpe in the R5GT Turbo. Dave Coveney also won the Over 2 Litre class using his Saab 95 Estate tow-car! Phil Gough had a solo class win in the Up to 1700 Kit Cars whilst in the Over 1700 class it was another solo win for Roger Fish in the Cyclone. Bryan Crouch took the Over 2 Litre Sports Car class in the Scimitar SS1 before we moved into Mod Prod territory. In the 1400 Division Phil Short took an unopposed win whilst in the 2 Litre Division Graham Oates took yet another win in the Europa. In the Over 2 Litre class Mark Skillicorn in the ex-WRC Escort Cosworth took the class from Claude Spencer in the MG B V8. John Sampson was the only Mod Prod kit car and duly took a solo win a second shy of his class record.
In the first of the Sports Libre classes Phil Major took his ADR Mk1.5 to victory over Dennis Doyle's Mallock. In the Over 1700 class Paul Bond triumphed despite immense pressure from Howard Parkinson and Mark Walton in the Nemesis. In the Racing Car classes Yorkshireman John Chacksfield was an early retirement when the left rear suspension collapsed on the OMS as he crossed the line. Chris Pritchard meanwhile took the class win in a new record time. Tony Ellis was second with Ian Scott third as the Megapins filled the rest of the places. Eve Whitehead was fourth and also grabbed the Ladies prize after some conjecture. A healthy Formula Ford class saw David Bailey guesting in Graham Curwen's Van Diemen after he blew the engine in the Swift. Bailey couldn't quiet match his normal pace but still took the class. Mark Moran was a close second with Curwen third. Then the first of the British Sprint runners, Iain Houston, came home in fourth just ahead of Martin Pickles. Steve Broughton set a new 1600 Racing Car class record en route to victory. Jim Yardley was second, as Keith Harris brought his pretty Chevron B25 home in third. The two litre class saw Mike Musson make his 2005 competition debut with the revamped Dual Force. The engine layout had been modified, with the two engines one behind the other rather than side to side as hitherto, to extend the wheelbase and despite requiring further work on the rear wing and some sort of sidepods it proved quick out of the box. Musson was over two seconds off the class record but took a comfortable win. Stuart Webster, guesting in Sue Griffiths' Chevron, was second and Simon Ashby third. Matt Oliver was a fine fourth and Peter Howgate fifth. In the Over 2 Litre class Roy Dawson dominated. The Gould driver had started slowly in practice but in the timed runs he was never headed. Martin Dowling was a superb second on what is his favourite track whilst Tony Eyles was a comfortable third. Peter Cox was the only other runner and he was driving his latest acquisition for the very first time - the ex-Russ Ward Chevron-Rover B42.
Next were the Classic Cars and on scratch Malcolm Evans in the Anglia was top dog, however the class was decided on handicap and Diane Griffiths triumphed in the family Sunbeam Alpine over Aintree debutante Tim Good in the Marcos. The final class for the Lotus Seven Club Speed Championship saw a motley crew dispute the lead. Graham Ford in the SBD/Vauxhall powered 7 was top of the times throughout. David Jackson was a closing second whilst Andrew Griffiths was a clear third.
TOP TWELVE RUN-OFF
With no dual driven cars in the run-off there would be few hold-ups - or so we thought! First to the line was Aintree debutante Kevin Lealan in the FVL. He was quickly into his stride and recorded his best time of the day for starters. John Sampson then trundled forward, the Xtreme bellowed as John spun up the rears and then when the green light went on all hell broke loose! The Quantum staggered off the line and then slewed on the brown track. John kept it going but even though he set his fastest time so far it was still shy of the category record and slower than Lealan's time. Phil Lynch had been Mr Consistency in the qualifying, posting two 44 second runs. He repeated the feat on his first run but dropped behind Lealan and Sampson. Jim Yardley then became the fourth driver to register a 44 second run as he slotted the Beagle into second behind Lealan. Pete Howgate then made it five out of five in the 44 second mark when he slipped into the lead. Matt Oliver made it six in a row when he posted a 44.06 and took over the lead from Howgate. Steve Broughton then bypassed the 43 second mark and dropped into the high 42s with his first run, moving effortlessly into the lead. Simon Ashby then joined Broughton in the 42 second mark finishing just two hundredths adrift of the Championship Sponsor. Mike Musson then dropped the Dual Force into the 41 second mark to once again change the top of the leader board. Tony Eyles then threw down the gauntlet with his fastest time of the day, a 39.11. This unsurprisingly took the Somerset driver into the lead. Martin Dowling was looking well up on the pace in the early corners but spun out at Beechers and after the marshals got him started drove slowly back to the assembly area. This left just Roy Dawson and the Scot did not disappoint. He clipped a further four tenths off his Q-time to slip into a comfortable lead.
So to the second runs - Kevin Lealan was first and in a typically hard charging display clipped over a tenth off his best so far to jump from eight to sixth. John Sampson managed to get off the line without as many dramas and despite clipping a couple of tenths of his time remained in tenth place. Phil Lynch then put in another 44 second run but it was only two hundredths better than before and a mystified Lynch could not understand why he couldn't get out of the dreaded 44s - he remained eleventh. Jim Yardley then had the Beagle well fired up and it spit and popped off the line as the traction control kicked in. Through Country and Village the car seemed more stable and by the time he had negotiated Beechers and crossed the line he had moved firstly into the 43 second bracket and also into sixth place. Pete Howgate was next and the Yorkshireman had already registered a PB both in qualifying and on his first Top Twelve run. Off the line the Ralt rocketed towards Country but as he rounded the corner the car slowed to a crawl. The throttle cable had broken again! He crawled back to the Paddock under his own power and remained ninth. Matt Oliver, yet another of the Aintree debutantes, was next and in a superbly controlled run the youngster clipped four tenths off to slip into the 43 second bracket and also to slip into seventh. Steve Broughton then improved his time by over four tenths but stayed in fourth. Simon Ashby also improved but fell one hundredths shy of Broughton's best to remain in fifth. Mike Musson was another who improved but didn't advance in the standings beyond his third place. Tony Eyles repeated the trend slipping into the 38s but remaining second. Martin Dowling then fired up the Judd, spun up the tyres and got ready for his second vital run. After his earlier spin this was a make or break effort and he was straight into his stride. Through Country and Village he was on schedule but a slight hesitancy at Beechers meant it was a 39 second run and he slotted into third. This just left Roy Dawson. The Scot was determined to have a go at the Category and Course Record to grab that extra point. Off the line the Gould slewed left on the brown surface. The tyres dirty from the dust he angled through Country then the car started to spin lazily. It careered across the track striking the barrier on the inside of the course and came to a halt. The damage was many superficial but it was extensive. However Dawson was philosophical 'It had to be done, it was certainly within reach.'After the Top Twelve the Liverpool Motor Club team put on two more runs for those who wanted to take part and they wrapped up the meeting well before the curfew. A tremendous value for money day but one a certain Scot may find very costly.
RESULTS
1 Roy Dawson (4.0 Gould-Judd CV GR37) 38.12secs; 2 Tony Eyles (2.5 Force-Opel/Pride PC024) 38.57secs; 3 Martin Dowling (3.5 Reynard-Judd 88D) 39.66secs; 4 Mike Musson (2.0 Dual Force-Suzuki) 41.18secs; 5 Steve Broughton (1.3 OMS-Suzuki/SBD CF04) 42.48secs; 6 Simon Ashby (2.0 Reynard-Millington 883) 42.49secs; 7 Jim Yardley (1.6 Beagle-Honda Mk5D) 43.53secs; 8 Matt Oliver (2.0 Ralt-Vauxhall/SBD RT33) 43.67secs; 9 Kevin Lealan (2.0 Formula Vauxhall Lotus) 44.02sec; 10 Peter Howgate (1.8 Ralt-Rover/QED RT30) 44.15secs; 11 John Sampson (5.0 Quantum-Rover Xtreme) 44.45secs; 12 Phil Lynch (2.0 Ralt-Alfa/Connaught RT30) 44.71sec
Final Round: Three Sisters 1st October