It was cold and it was damp when I arrived at Croft, by the time I was leaving spirits were raised and the championship looked set to be a fascinating battle. Of the British Sprint contenders Tony Jarvis and Martin Webb were missing again as they hadn’t got the FVL fixed in time.
Practice always claims some victims and this time Pete Howgate and Brian Woffenden were amongst them. The problem at Combe had been that the two trolley batteries used to power the starter were both below optimum power so were not turning the engine over properly. However this time they were fully charged. The pair each managed one practice run then after a rather pedestrian run by Brian it all came to a grinding halt when Pete tried to leave the line. A broken input shaft was the diagnosis.
After lunch the class runs got underway with the Mod Prod classes. In Class 3A Martin Depper was on fine form and got within 0.2 of the record despite a headwind on the main straight. In Class 3B Mark Teale in the indecently rapid Peugeot 206 GTi was over three seconds clear of Tracey Taylor-West in her Elise and Geoff Harkness in his Nova; the rest were over 4 seconds adrift. In 3C John Olds kept mobile and took a relatively relaxed win from John Graham in the pretty Lotus 2-11. It might have been different if Keith Edwards had not been sidelined when owner Phil Cotton blew his Impreza that the Quattro-man was sharing. Andrew Steel then took a solo win in Class 3D before we embarked on the sports libre classes.
In 4A it was a Clemow 1-2 with Simon taking the win over Martin whilst Angus Buchan was surprisingly over 5 seconds off the pace in third. In 4B Jim Belt in the Jaguar powered Juno TR400 needed the third timed run to outgun Mark Dempster in the ex-Tim Elmer imagination. Simon Bainbridge could only manage third in the Audi but it wasn’t the TT it was the same ‘shopping car’ that he ran in Ulster last year (the TT is still awaiting the return of its engine but should be out at Silverstone).
Now it was the turn of the Racing Cars. In 5B it was a two car battle for honours which went to Gary Thomas in the Force whilst Graham Smith in the last of the OMS 2000M spaceframe chassied cars was left in his wake. In 5C Dennis Pickett took a solo win in the ex-Johnny Herbert Quest (well if it isn’t at present it will be by the end of the year!) In 5D Tom Potter’s only timed run was quick enough for the class win and was also a new class record by a staggering 2.97secs. However as the Jedi rounded the Complex is started spewing out steam by the bucketful. Jonathan Toulmin took second in the Force whilst Andy Potter had two rather sedate runs for third.
The two litre class (5E) was next and Mark Smith was on fine form taking the class ahead of Steve Broughton. These two were 2.26secs clear of Colin Birkbeck, who was making his debut in the ex-Paul Webster Dallara, and was mighty pleased to qualify for the run-off. Steve Miles was fourth ahead of Tony Ellis and the returning Mike Musson who suffered continually with an electrical problem which kept the turbocharged Suzuki motor popping and banging all day! The Over two litre class (5F) saw the return of Stewart Robb Jnr but he had been out of the Pilbeam since September and was decidedly ring-rusty. He wasn’t helped by losing his first timed run after the top ball joint in the front suspension worked loose and reset the camber! With this fix he took a steady run to ensure qualification and to make sure the problem was fixed. Stewart Snr had already qualified on his first run but ended up second in class behind Nick Algar. Algar’s Gould was still sounding like it was a V7 when under load but was as sweet as a nut when sat in the pit lane. Terry Holmes and Graham Porrett were going well with their now Swindon built Judd V8 whilst rejoining the championship for their first outing of the year were Roy & Ross Napier with their GR37.
Next it was the turn of the Westfield Championship contenders and in their class WB Stephen Lewis took a solo win. In WC Mark Leybourne was flushed with success as he cruised to victory on his home track. Stephen Everall was another solo winner in WD (pity he didn’t win by 40 seconds!) Next to the line were the runners in the WE class and Matthew Turner just held onto the lead as Andrew Hargreaves mounted a fight back. In WF Richard Kerr again used local knowledge to take the win from Paul Aspden and Garry Bunn. In WG Mark Anson took yet another solo win in his Megablade whilst only two cars contested WH. Both Derek Hodder and Terry Everall had executed engine transplants over the winter. We had seen Derek competing at Combe with his now boosted Honda 2 litre but the Everall machine looked ominously quick. Under the bonnet it now sported a 2.5 Millington Diamond engine and out on track it was unstoppable. Terry took the class win by over three seconds so Del-boy has some work to do!
Next we had the varicose Porsche classes which are all to do with horsepower. In P1 Karl Lupton took the 944S to victory ahead of the sedately driven 996 GT3 of Thomas Robinson. In P2 Ben Evans fought back for the win demoting his father Geraint to second whilst john Biddulph was a not too distant third. In P3 Ian Wadsworth three-wheeled his was to the class win over the always immaculate 911 of David Strange. P4 was the best supported class with seven runners. Up front Simon Butterworth led initially only for Graham Rose to get in the lead on the second run. The third run however saw the tables turned as Butterworth regained the lead. Despite a first practice glitch Stuart MacLean took third in his trusty 924. Ben Butterworth, Simon’s son, was making his debut in the Porsche championship and finished sixth with the family 924S – Simon has mothballed the Boxster for a year whilst his son learns the ropes in the less expensive 924S.
There was then a brace of one-make classes; first were the Morgans and on scratch Steve McDonald in his Plus 8 led the way from Simon and Jonathan Baines in their shared Roadster. The TVRs were split into two classes and in the A-class Stewart Lobley just pipped Mike Roe in the battle of the vixens with Steve Dennis third. In Class B Paul Edwards was again the class-act with his T350R but he was chased all the way by the often erratic Matt Oakley in the Griffith.
The final three classes were for the Road-going cars and compared to previous years these classes were poorly supported. In 1A Rhys Palmer easily won with his Rover 114 and should really be thinking about moving up as he is a talented young driver. In 1B Stephen Davies won at a canter in his Elise with Matt Carter in the Honda S2000 second ahead of the battling Hewitts in their Peugeot 205 GTi. There were just two runners in 1C and Christian Soothill won easily from the Morgan of Dave Everett.
First to the line was Gary Thomas, his first ever Top 12 run-off on his championship debut, and he was very close to his Q-time on the first run. Next was Steve Miles and as usual Inspector Gadget improved on his qualifying performance to move into the lead. Graham Porrett then blasted the Lola off the line and was over three seconds quicker than his Q-time at the end of his run. Then it was Stewart Robb Jnr who had put in a sedate qualifying run. He was far from sedate as he blasted off the line, round Clervaux and Hawthorns he was cautious then back on the loud pedal from the chicane to Tower. Round the back of the circuit the Judd V8 was howling and he slotted into first place with time to spare. Colin Birkbeck, another debutante, was next and the green Dallara was more or less on his qualifying pace as he popped in a banker. Steve Broughton immediately kicked things up a gear as he set the fastest two litre time of the day and moved into second place. Tom Potter was swiftly off the line and it was fingers crossed that the overheating problem would not re-occur. He was flying through the early part of the lap but as he down changed for Tower there was a sudden hiccup. Exiting Tower the car just wouldn’t change gear and he eventually ground to a halt due to the clutch exploding! There was a short delay whilst the Jedi was recovered and then it was Mark Smith in the Reynard. Mark already knew the time posted by Steve Broughton so got his head down. Despite clipping nearly a second off his Q-time he fell behind the OMS driver and slotted into third. Ross Napier was next and despite being a bit ring-rusty he put in a pretty quick time as his banker slotting in just behind Mark Smith. Terry Holmes then fired up the Judd and brought the Team Tegra Lola to the line. His first run was quicker but it was just a sighter for his second run, never-the-less it moved him into second spot ahead of the squabbling two litre cars. The penultimate runner was Stewart Robb Snr and the Castle Combe winner was quickly into his stride as he set the fastest time so far and rocketed into the lead. Could Nick Algar better that? As Nick rolled to the line the V8 sounded crisp and when he dropped the clutch he roared off towards Clervaux. However on the run from the Chicane to Tower the engine sounded gruff and it continued to do so all the way to Sunny. As the orange Gould flashed through the finish the clocks stopped at 68.25 – Nick’s fastest time of the day but 1.5 secs adrift of Senior’s time.
Suddenly there was the shrill sound of an 1100 as Gary Thomas was called forward. The little Force was dancing through the early corners and despite that headwind clipped nearly two seconds off his first run time. Despite the improvement he was anchored in 11th which was a commendable result at a power circuit like Croft. Steve Miles again found a few tenths and slipped ahead of Birkbeck. Graham Porrett then blasted the Lola round and despite his best efforts was slower but he stayed ahead of Miles. Robb Jnr was next and he was also slower – was the track cooling? Colin Birkbeck now rolled forward and was soon into his stride. Through the tighter elements the Dallara looked smooth and purposeful and when he crossed the line it was reflected in his time. He had slipped past not only Steve Miles but also Graham Porrett and would finish 8th another fine performance. Next it was Steve Broughton, could he keep the pressure on the V8s? As the OMS flew down the straight towards Tower everything looked fine and then disaster. The SBD designed rear wing stay collapsed and with no rear down-force the car spun off into the fields. Once towed back on track the OMS fired up and Steve drove back to the paddock. Had this left the door open for Mark Smith to slip through? With no Tom Potter it was the Welsh Wizard next to the line. Smith was soon off and running and the Reynard for once looked stable and quick through those early corners. Round the back we could hear the Vauxhall blasting away and as the green blurred flashed through the finish the clocks told the story; 70.51 was the fastest 2 litre time of the day and took Mark up to fifth, could he hold onto that place? Well we would soon know as it was Ross Napier’s turn next. As the lights turned green the Gould leapt away from the start line. All the way round the first part of the lap he looked quick. Through the final corners he was giving it everything and when he crossed the line he stopped the clocks at 69.84 to move up to 4th place. Terry Holmes, who had just been demoted to fifth, was next and he was hustling the Lola round from the get-go. Once into his stride it looked smooth and unhurried and again the clock told the tale as he set a 68.67 to slip back ahead of Napier. Stewart Robb Snr then rolled forward and when he unleashed the mighty Pilbeam everyone in the pit lane paid attention. The car sparked and roared its way round never looking like it was being pushed to the limit. Stewart crossed the line to record yet another fastest time of the day and to set the bar just a tad higher. Could Nick Algar respond? Could he take his first win of 2010? We were about to find out. Off the line and the V8 sounded wonderful but on the return run up from the Chicane to Tower it again sounded gruff. Despite this Nick was pushing and as he swept through the complex to the finish it was close but it was not enough. He had moved up from third place behind the two Robbs to split the pair and take second.
With the cold weather and no time posted by Tom Potter there would be no bonus points awarded for breaking Championship Records. So Stewart Robb Snr had opened up a three point lead over Nick Algar whilst Steve Broughton lay in third. The next round on the 18th April at Silverstone could be vital. I am already looking forward to the Championship’s debut at the home of British Motor Sport - it’s not before time.
1 Stewart Robb (4.0 Pilbeam-Judd KV MP88) 66.66secs; 2 Nick Algar (3.5 Gould-NME GR55) 67.09secs; 3 Stewart Robb Junior (4.0 Pilbeam-Judd KV MP88) 67.73secs; 4 Terry Holmes (3.5 Lola-Judd/Swindon ERH) 68.67secs; 5 Ross Napier (3.5 Gould-Cosworth DFR GR37) 69.84secs; 6 Mark Smith (2.0 Reynard-Vauxhall/Swindon 903) 70.51secs; 7 Steve Broughton (1.3S OMS-Suzuki/SBD CF08) 71.41secs; 8 Colin Birkbeck (2.0 Dallara-Vauxhall 301) 74.09secs; 9 Graham Porrett (3.5 Lola-Judd/Swindon ERH) 74.70secs; 10 Steve Miles (2.0 Van Diemen-Zetec/Dunnell RF96M) 75.23secs; 11 Gary Thomas (1.1 Force-Suzuki PT); Tom Potter (1.0T Jedi/Suzuki Mk4) DNF