by Steve Wilkinson
As I drove into Croft Circuit I could feel the temperature dropping. Stepping out of the car the brisk wind nearly cut straight through you - Welcome to Sprinting North East style! The competitors who had made the 320 mile trek North from Lydden for round two were busy making alterations whilst newcomers were catching up on what had happened in Kent. Mike Musson had made the trip North but was minus the Force, apparently a 50p component failure had sidelined. Tony Eyles was understandably absent after damaging the 'spare' Lola and his wrist at Lydden. Practice seemed to take an age with several off course excursions and because of this the one hour mandatory lunch break came before the timed runs.
With additional classes brought about by no less than five different championship rounds being contested, the event never seemed to get into any perceptible rhythm. After the Road Modified classes it was into the Mod Prods. Joe Harriman won an unrepresentative 1400 class from fellow Mini-men Nigel Hepburn and Andrew Barratt. The Two Litre class saw a tremendous scrap between the Escorts of Matt Downer and ex-Westfield jockey Graham Millar. Downer emerged victorious but only just! With just two runners in the over Two Litre class there was no contest as Simon Bainbridge crushed Pen Davies' GT6 with the awesome Audi Quattro. John Sampson's victory in the first of the Mod Prod Kit Car classes was comprehensive as the opposition, in the form of Colin Murchie's Fireblade powered LoCost, was outgunned. The two Sports Libre classes were equally poorly supported. Graham Smith had an easy win with the Radical Tracksport over Terry Stockwell's bulky Van Diemen Multisport and then Bernard Armitage overpowered Paul Bond's pretty Crossle with his ex-circuit Escort Special Saloon.The Formula Fords were the first Racing Car class on track and with no David Bailey it was the Welsh Wonder Kid Steven Davies who put his Swift into the top spot ahead of Frazer Graham's Van Diemen and Mark Smith's pretty Elden. In the Up to 1600 Racers Steve Broughton, fresh from victory at Lydden, was an easy winner with Roy Dawson in the Firehawk second; Tony Ellis fourth in the ally monocoque Megapin and Kim Kingham fourth in the SBD-OMS.The eight runners in the two-litre class should have been evenly matched however the Flying Chippy, Terry Holmes, created a substantial winning margin of over four seconds to ease to the win. Simon Ashby was a sound second with Graham Porrett close on his heels. Steve Miles was fourth whilst Peter Howgate finished fifth in the now 1.8 litre Ralt. The Over Two-litre class went to the Flying Scotsman - Stewart Robb. His winning margin was less than Holmes had achieved as Martin Dowling kept on his tail. John Payne, who is sharing the Dowling Reynard this season, took third after a first run spin saw the Reynard beached on the infield and having to be craned onto the recovery wagon. Fourth place went to Richard Williams on his return to the Sprint Championship with his ex-Patrick Wood Ralt-Hart. In the Westfield Speed Championship classes Mark Smith took a class win with his 2.0 Vauxhall powered SEiW which now sports a massive rear wing.
TOP TWELVE Run-Off
Leading off the second round was John Payne, he was still cautious after his earlier spin but still managed a one second improvement over his Q Time. Graham Porrett then slotted the Tegra Team Reynard into the top spot with his personal FTD. Peter Howgate gave the QED tuned 1.8 Rover K its Top Twelve debut and although he improved on his Q Time he was the slowest so far. John Sampson was off the pace in his Xtreme being nearly two seconds slower than earlier in the day. Mark Smith, sporting a new helmet in Pedro Diniz colours, was next and he blasted round to good effect as he carved four tenths off his Q Time. Super Mole, a.k.a. Steve Miles, then recorded an 80.07 marking over a second off his Q Time. Roy Dawson was a fraction slower with the Firehawk but the car was experiencing rapidly climbing water temperature. In fact Roy was so concerned that rather than risk blowing the engine up he stood down from the second runs. Simon Ashby was en route to lower his Q Time until he got a boxful of neutrals at the Complex. This saw the time tick away as the Reynard coasted over the line. Martin Dowling was really on the pace as he carved two seconds off his Q time, however the final launch at the finishing line nearly led to the Reynard getting far too friendly with the Recticel at the Hairpin! Stewart Robb then brought the ex-everybody MP58 to the line - the Cosworth DFR purring. His initial acceleration was superb but the gearing was too low to take full advantage and he was just three tenths quicker than in Qualifying. Steve Broughton was next and with the complex software aboard the OMS performing very well all things were possible. The first run was all super slick gearchanges and the Busa fairly hummed as he lowered his Q Time but found himself sat behind Dowling's Reynard on the clock. Finally Terry Holmes came to the line to complete the first set of runs. The Flying Chippy was favourite to repeat his maiden victory at Croft and he didn't disappoint. Super slick and very stable through Croft's sweeping corners he moved effortlessly to the head of the timesheet.
John Payne then fired up the Judd to start the second set of runs. As he came to the line he was in eleventh. Determined not to fall further back he flew off the line. The 88D thundered down the back straight to Tower and away into the country in double quick time. As he approached the finishing line the clocks showed he could make inroads into the pack and when they finally stopped he had moved up to seventh with a four second improvement! There was a brief respite as Team Tegra switched the car over for Graham Porrett. As the Reynard spun its wheels and advanced to the line Graham lay fifth. He was only a couple of tenths behind Robb, could he overtake the Scot? The answer was no! Although looking as smooth as previously the pace had dropped and he was now vulnerable to attack!Peter Howgate put in an improved time on his second run but failed to climb off the bottom of the Top Twelve. As John Sampson dropped the hammer on the brutal Xtreme the car lurched off the line and suddenly slowed with a broken drive shaft. As he trickled the car into the far end of the pit-lane he had to settle for his previous position - eleventh spot. Mark Smith was another to set a slower time with the modified Westie, all of which took the pressure off Super Mole! Steve Miles was again smooth and tidy; he recorded an improved time but only just and remained seventh. With Roy Dawson standing down it was now Simon Ashby's turn. After the disappointment of the first run he had had a quick lecture from Tracey and was left in no doubt what was required! The Millington roared as he accelerated off the line and the metallic blue Reynard arrowed off into the distance. Could he get the Complex right this time? For a change the wild man of sprinting was neat and precise through the final corners and was on the power to stop the clocks with a massive 2.16s improvement. All of which meant he finished in his favourite position - sixth!With just four left to run the Run-off was hotting up, that is until Martin Dowling fired up the Reynard. The engine coughed, spluttered then wheezed to an abrupt stop. The engine wouldn't clear or restart and he had to withdraw with failing fuel pressure. So Robb was suddenly called to the line earlier than anticipated. Firing up the DFR he spun up the wheels en route to the line and settled ready for the off. With the threat removed fourth was in the bag, could he make it third? Still hampered with the low gearing he did chop a couple of tenths off, not enough to move up so fourth it was. Then the distinctive yellow OMS of SBD's supremo Steve Broughton came to the line. As the little car accelerated away the gearchanges were perfection. Hammering through the corners it looked like he might just pull off a shock, but it was not to be. He did pass Dowling to secure second but Terry Holmes' first run time was just too big an ask. With the win in the bag there was no need for Terry to take his second run but he did and in typical style cropped over half a second off just to emphasise the superiority he has at Croft.
As the weary sprinters started to pack up it was time for brief reflection. New cars and drivers had enlivened the scene and will soon become part of the family that is the British Sprint Championship. Steve Broughton's magical engine management and auto-shifting software was a major success and it will be seen later in the year on Roy Dawson's Firehawk. The Sheffield Mafia were pleased with their rebuilt engine courtesy of Uncle Ken at QED and with even more new cars in the pipeline 2004 just looks like it is going to get better and better.
Next Round - Knockhill - Saturday 22nd May - Be there!
Results:
Top Twelve Run-Off:
1 Terry Holmes (2.0 Reynard-Ford/Tegra YB SF84-222) 74.54s; 2 Steve Broughton (1.3 OMS-Suzuki Hayabusa 2000M) 77.30s; 3 Martin Dowling (3.5 Reynard-Judd CV 88D-02) 77.44s; 4 Stewart Robb (3.5 Pilbeam-Cosworth/Connaught DFR MP58/05) 78.49s; 5 Graham Porrett (2.0 Reynard-Ford/Tegra YB SF84-222) 78.97s; 6 Simon Ashby (2.0 Reynard-Millington 883-35) 79.04s; 7 Steve Miles (2.0 Van Diemen-Zetec/Dunnell RF96/2218) 79.31s; 8 John Payne (3.5 Reynard-Judd CV 88D-02) 80.45s; 9 Roy Dawson (1.3 DJ-Suzuki Hayabusa Firehawk CT001) 80.58s; 10 Mark Smith (2.0 Westfield-Vauxhall/SBD SEiW) 81.25s; 11 John Sampson (5.0 Quantum-Rover SD1 Xtreme) 83.97s; 12 Peter Howgate (1.8 Ralt-Rover/QED K RT30-615) 84.22s.
Championship Positions After Two Rounds: 1 Steve Broughton 25 pts; 2 Terry Holmes 21 pts; 3 Steve Miles 19 pts; 4 Simon Ashby 17 pts; 5 Roy Dawson 15 pts; 6 Graham Porrett 13 pts; 7= Martin Dowling and Tony Wiltshire 11 pts; 9= Stewart Robb and John Sampson 10 pts; etc.