Saturday started out VERY wet. The rain was blown in on a near gale-force wind and the track at Aintree was soon full of puddles and even some running water crossing the track. Roy Dawson ploughed through the wet conditions and then went on to win the run-off in drying conditions. There was a rash of withdrawals due to the monsoon-like conditions and despite several spins only three further entries withdrew after practice, one due to damage sustained in a spin whilst the other two had an electrical problem.
The class runs started with the Road Modifieds and Martin Rowe just held off a late challenge from Les English to win the 1400 class. In the two litres Russell Thorpe's turbocharged Renault 5GT had better traction and outstripped the two Lotus Elise drivers, Dave Coveney and Mark Teale; whilst Martin Domleo was a solo winner in his Boxster in the Over 2 litre class. Then it was into the Road Going Kit Car classes; in the Up to 1700 division George Hardman's second run charge took him into the lead ahead of son Chris; then in the Over 1700s Peter Kukanis stormed into the lead and almost qualified for the run-off until the track started to dry out. The two litre Mod Prods were next and Graham Oates only just held off the late challenge of Martyn Stott's rather 'Sports Libre'-ish Elise. In the Over two litre class it was the battle of the Escort Cossies as Neil Furlong eventually had to relinquish the class lead to Mark Skillicorn. Chris Snell then took a solo class win in the Mod Prod Kit Car class before we moved onto Sports Libre.
The Up to Two Litre class went to Howard Parkinson in the very smart Nemisis whilst son-in-law Mark Walton brought the same car home in second; Dennis Doyle brought his Mk 14B Mallock home a distant third and also picked up the Best Liverpool Motor Club Member's Trophy. After Andy Marshall's practice off we had just one runner in the over 2 litre Sports Libres and that was Paul Norris in the indecently quick Talbot Sunbeam complete with turbocharged Cossie power. Into the Racing Car classes and it was the battle of the Jedis up front. Pesky Pickett took the lead on the first run and despite Tom Potter's best efforts remained in the lead. Local Jedi driver Paul Masters took his Mk 6 to third with Dennis Pickett a close fourth and Andy Potter coming home in fifth. The first none-Jedi was Barry Whitehead's RBS in sixth place. There was a titanic battle in the Formula Ford class as first Fraser Graham led in his RF87. On the second runs Derek Martlew slipped his RF87 into the lead only to be pushed back to second when Mark Moran carved his way into the lead. Fraser was unable to respond and had to settle for third in the Van Diemen clean-sweep as he claimed the prized scalp of David Bailey.The 1600 Racing Car class saw Drew Dawson out in the old black Firehawk. It was his first trip to Aintree fourth place was well earned. Jim Yardley had been down in sixth after his first run when he completely bogged the start however he fought back to a fine third. Eynon Price pressed hard coming home in second spot just over a second shy of class winner Steve Broughton. Ian Scott had his new Megapin out but withdrew after the first timed run so he could dry out! The two litre racing car class was blown away by Emma Williams in the family Ralt-Mugen as she was the quickest on both timed runs- thankfully a return to the British Sprint Championship is planned for 2007. Steve Miles took second despite going through a box of heavy duty Pampers in an effort to 'mop up the oil leak'. Terry Holmes once again smoked his way to what looked like third place until Dave Sims matched his time and Terry was demoted to fourth on count-back. Peter Howgate and Brian Woffenden were back on form and came home in fifth and sixth. Kevin Lealan had had a big spin in practice and was somewhat off the pace on his first run. He then had the misfortune to snap a driveshaft on the line so missed out on an improvement and also the Top 12. Roy Dawson once again had no opposition with Stewart Robb's no show but the Championship leader took just one very wet practice run then set two absolutely incredible times in the class runs.
Two of the four classic cars withdrew and this left Graham Thomas in the Fairthorpe who was the fastest but Alan Wilson took his Healey 3000 to the win on handicap. The biggest class of the day was the Lotus Seven Club Speed Championship contenders. Darren Luke stamped his authority on proceedings on the first run and held a comfortable lead throughout. Dave McFarlane recovered from a first run 'moment' to take second whilst David Jackson just held off Mark Durrant for third.
TOP TWELVE RUN OFF
Very neatly the running order mirrored the qualifying order despite two shared cars qualifying! So it was Brian Woffenden who led off the first runs. A precise effort from the Sheffield metallurgist saw him clip seven tenths off his Q-time to set the standard. Dennis Pickett was next and even though he got a cracking start he was seven tenths slower than in qualification and he slipped behind Woffenden. Jim Yardley then brought the highly sophisticated Beagle to the line. His launch control sent the car popping and banging its way off the line but a missed gear-change to second momentarily slowed him and he eventually posted a slower than qualifying 51.65s to drop behind Dennis Pickett. There was a short delay whilst Peter Howgate adjusted himself in the cockpit and then the yellow Ralt motored slowly to the line. A clean start contributed to a sub 50 second run, his first of the day, and catapulted Howgate into a temporary lead. Next it was the white Jedi of Tom Potter; the youngster had just completed his apprenticeship at British Aerospace and was in buoyant mood. His start was very steady with little or no wheelspin and he just maintained his pace all the way to the finish where he stopped the clocks at 48.93s to slip ahead of Howgate. Terry Holmes then smoked his way to the line. The Chichester Chippy was quickly into his run but only clipped 0.3s off his Q-time to slip into the lead. Dave Sims was looking very determined; he had been disappointed with his Foundation Cup points haul but was now out for points in his search for a permanent number for 2007. The Ralt was neatly off the line but turned in a bit early for Country, through Village and down Valentines he was up on his Q-time and the dash down Railway Straight took him sub-48 for the first time and into the lead. Eynon Price was next and the welsh Wizard was quickly into his stride however there must have been a moment as he trailed home over a second behind his qualifying pace as he dropped down the order to fourth at that point. Dan Pickett was next and it was obvious from his qualifying pace that the Piglet likes the rain. It is a big leveller and on a drying track there was still a chance of an improved position. Off the line neatly and taking a better line through Country he was soon winging his way down the seemingly endless Railway Straight. When he crossed the finishing line he had slipped in the 47 second mark but was only second as David Sims had been faster. Suddenly there was a flash of yellow and a much pampered Van Diemen came to the line. When Supermole dumped the clutch the left rear tyre lit up and he slithered off towards Country. His initial lack of pace was not a disadvantage as he swept through Village and Beechers. When he finally crossed the line he too had posted a 47 second run but he had just gone past Dave Sims by a meagre five hundredths. Steve Broughton's work in getting the OMS ready had paid off and with the minimum of fuss the championship sponsor set off. He was soon arrowing through Country and after negotiating Village and Beechers was soon over the line stopping the clocks at 47.44 to squeeze into the lead. Roy Dawson then put everything that we had just seen into context with a stunning run of 41.91s. There was no excessive wheel spinning, no heavy braking; just a super smooth run that from the outside looked effortless.
Suddenly we were into the second runs with Brian Woffenden coming to the line. He couldn't match his earlier pace and was over a second down so had to rely on that 50.25s first run. Dennis Pickett on the other hand raised his game a little and posted a better time at 51.09s but still shy of that second run Q-time. Jim Yardley managed to get the Beagle off and running without any mistakes and duly set his best time of the day with a 49.59s. Again there was a short delay whilst Peter Howgate adjusted himself then he too put in a great run taking nearly a second off his earlier time and moving up the leader board. Tom Potter did even better taking over a second and a half off his time and climbing up to second place despite a rather aggressive turn in at Country! Next it was the Chichester Chippy Terry Holmes who smoked off the line and was very late on the brakes for Country. He managed to hold it all together and moved ahead of Potter into that coveted second place - would it last? Dave Sims was in no mood to hold back and he was up on the clock by Beechers. The long run home saw the clock ticking away but he too slotted into second with a superb 46.04s. It was time for a gamble and Eynon Price bravely elected for slicks. He was slightly quicker off the line than his first effort and when he crossed the line at 46.22 he had carved over three seconds off and moved into a fine third place. Dan Pickett stuck with the wets and despite a quicker start than the Welshman he was over eight tenths slower at 47.09s and slotted into fourth. Steve Miles was down in eighth when he came to the line still on wets. His start was equally smokey but his line through Country was better and he was carrying more speed. The Van Diemen was a yellow blur as it headed for the line stopping the clocks at 45.56s to take over second place. Could Steve Broughton get back to second? A realistic challenge to Roy Dawson was out of the question but second place was achievable. Off the line the red OMS was rock steady and he was the quickest to 64ft. Through Country, Village and Beechers he carried the speed and when he cut the finishing line he had just done enough going ahead of Miles by 0.29s. Roy Dawson was meanwhile sat in his Gould with his crash helmet off. When Broughton's time was relayed to him he pointed to the Paddock and Team Flintstone Racing called it a day. The win was under the belt and with no chance of an outright record he knew there was nothing to be gained by taking another run.
Results:
1 Roy Dawson (3.5 Gould-NME GR55) 41.91s; 2 Steve Broughton (1.5 OMS-Suzuki/SBD CF04) 45.27s; 3 Steve Miles (2.0 Van Diemen-Ford Zetec RF96) 45.56s; 4 David Sims (2.0 Ralt-Duratec/SRD RT33/4) 46.04s; 5 Eynon Price (1.3 OMS-Honda 2000M) 46.22s; 6 Daniel Pickett (1.0 Jedi-Yamaha R1 Mk4) 47.09s; 7 Terry Holmes (2.0 Reynard-Ford/Tegra SF84) 47.10s; 8 Tom Potter (1.1 Jedi-Suzuki Mk4) 47.39s; 9 Peter Howgate (1.8 Ralt-Rover RT30) 48.86s; 10 Jim Yardley (1.6 Beagle-Honda Mk5D) 49.59s; 11 Brian Woffenden (1.8 Ralt-Rover RT30) 50.25s; 12 Dennis Pickett (1.0 Jedi-Yamaha Mk4) 51.09s.
FTD - Roy Dawson - 41.73s
Class Winners:
Martin Rowe (1.4 Peugeot 106) 60.08s; Russell Thorpe (1.4t Renault 5GT) 57.46s; Martin Domleo (3.1 Porsche Boxster S) 60.83s; George Hardman (1.6 Westfield SEiW) 55.11s; Peter Kukanis (2.0t Westfield SE) 53.07s; Graham Oates (1.8 Lotus Europa) 54.67s; Mark Skillicorn (2.0t Ford Escort Cosworth) 53.51s; Chris Snell (1.3 Westfield GTS) 54.69s; Howard Parkinson (2.0 Nemisis-Vauxhall S97) 51.28s; Paul Norris (2.0t Talbot Sunbeam) 50.83s; Daniel Pickett 48.05s; Mark Moran (1.6 Van Diemen-Ford RF89) 54.06s; Steve Broughton 47.17s; Emma Williams (2.0 Ralt-Mugen RT36) 47.02s; Roy Dawson 41.73s; Alan Wilson (3.0 Austin Healey 3000) 69.83s; Darren Luke (1.4 Caterham Hayabusa) 49.60s.