Saturday at Pembrey and the prospect of nearly two laps round the premier Welsh circuit was mouth watering. Roy Dawson was, however, in a cautious mood as he had been unable to test the Gould since Mike Dean had sorted out the Flat Shift System.There were a lot of problems in practice with re-runs as the staggering of the starts was resolved. However the big problem came when one of the Lotus Seven Championship contenders blew their engine as they exited Spitfires but kept on going round on the fast line spewing out oil! By the time the circuit had been cleaned up all chance of a second practice run had evaporated unlike the oil!
The timed runs got underway with the Mod Prods and it was Martin Depper who annexed the first of the Mod Prod classes; Dave Depper had withdrawn but was hobbling round with the aid of a stick in support of his son. In the two litre Mod Prod class Paul Perkin proved the class act as he romped home in his 205; second place went to Gary Thomas in the Elise with Mark Roberts and Jonathan Milne in their exceedingly yellow CRX next up. There was just one runner in the Over Two litre class and Dave Bennett duly picked up the trophy in his Gulf Blue and Orange 911T. The two Mod Prod Kit Car classes saw comfortable winners; in the Up to 1800 class Brian Jones ran out an easy winner from Tims Pennington and Nunn when these two Road Modified cars were transferred after Scrutineering. In the over 1800 class Mark Smith was on top form and easily won the class from John Tomlinson in the SEight. Derek Hodder was third as Andrew Lyall and Julie Black completed the runners; Neil Clark had practiced well but retired later in the day. With just one runner in the Sports Libre it was a question of chasing the clock which Steve Wilkinson in the pretty Elan duly did.
Into the Racing Cars and Hamish Lindsay as the sole 500 present howled his way to a class win in his usual flamboyant style. In the 1100s it was Dan Pickett again who took the class but 'Lofty' Cutcliffe, making a guest appearance in Trevor Hartland's OMS, pushed him hard. Jonathan Toulmin managed to recover after a first run moment to take third whilst Henryk Kozlowski was a close fourth. There were just three Formula Fords present and Chris Bennett in his 1988 Van Diemen split the Martin Webb/Tony Jarvis pairing with Webb running out the winner. In the 1600 Racing Car class Nick Algar was having a torrid day! Having had new bodywork fitted by DJ Racing the day before the car kept cutting out. Apparently the DJ boys had, when drilling the tub to fit the sidepods, drilled into the wiring loom. Algar spluttered and stuttered round to a distant last place. Up front Steve Broughton won the class by over two seconds from Eynon Price who had a new Honda Blackbird engine fitted after his Lydden problems; Jim Yardley was third with Kim Kingham fourth. Into the two litre class and we lost two runners during practice when the Olivers ran the Crown Wheel and Pinion. Mike Musson emerged victorious despite a grassy excursion on his first timed run. Steve Miles was a delighted second despite only just finishing the rebuild of the car in the paddock the previous evening. Kevin Lealan loved the long course and was a delighted third place ahead of Terry Holmes who had indulged in a quick spin at Paddock. In the final Racing Car class practice again dealt a cruel blow to the competition when Tony Eyles had the head gasket blow in the Opel V6. The Force was loaded back into the trailer and he set off home. Meanwhile Roy Dawson took just one class run to annex the trophy whilst Stewart Robb set about learning this distant course!
Graham Millar won the Rally Car class with a superb wheel lifting display in his Mk Escort. Fyrth Crosse had the Mk 2B Mallock out as the Ensign is still in bits and as the only runner in the Classic class duly ran out the winner. Into the Road Modified classes and Dave West took a two car class in his frantic Mini which seemed a handful round Paddock. In the two litre class Gareth Griffiths in the ex-Bobby Fryers Clio Williams just kept Dyrr Ardash in the 106 GTi at bay. David Marshall was third in his red 205 and Fred 'Tin Top' Currell fourth in the Golf. In the Over Two Litre class Matthew Oakley just edged out Simon Bridge in the battle of the Griffiths however Simon's 400 won the plaudits for the best turned out! The two turbocharged Road Modified cars were run as a separate class and Andrew Meek led Phil Oram in the Pulsar throughout. In the Up to 1700 Road Modified Kit Car class there was a shock when John Palmer was beaten! Guy Hussey was the culprit but the win was thoroughly deserved as the margin was over two seconds. In the Over 1700 class Richard Gambling in the Caterham finished light years ahead of the rest which included Peter Kukanis who just held off Matt Hillam's challenge for second. In the Motorcycle engined class the Squire Brothers ran out 1-2 with Mark leading Andrew home.The final class for the Lotus Seven Club saw 26 runners and it was Simon Rogers who ran out an easy winner from David Jackson and David Nelson. The championship itself subdivides the cars by engine capacity etc but today it was one big amalgam.
TOP TWELVE RUN OFF
With time rapidly running out the prospect of a truncated run-off loomed large. With Anglesey fresh in everyone's mind a steady first run might just bring its own reward. First to the line was a very nervous Henryk Kozlowski who was making his British Sprint Championship Run-off debut. The Jedi screamed off the line and kept a tight line through the first three corners; he hammered through Paddock and swept through the Esses; down through Brooklands onto the back straight, there was no lift through Woodlands and just a stab of the brakes through Honda. He was soon flying past the start line and off on his final run to the finish. The clocks stopped at 106.88 over a second shy of his Q-time, would it be good enough? Jonathan Toulmin was back in a run off for the first time this Millennium! In fact Jonathan's last run-off was back in 1988! The softly sprung Marengo lurched through the twisty first part of the course and was equally pitching about second time through; when the clocks stopped at 104.30, over a second quicker than in qualifying, it was a delighted Team Toulmin! Next it was Dave Cutcliffe in Trevor Hartland's OMS; the style was exactly the same as was the commitment through Paddock and Honda. The time was superb as well with 102.99 unofficially shattering the 1100 class record. Terry Holmes was next and despite the ever so slightly bent suspension arm he had damaged on his first timed run spin the Chichester Chippy was in bullish mood. However he was way off his Q-time with a 106.45. Daniel Pickett was next and the youngster was for once overshadowed by another 1100 and wasn't quiet able to match his qualifying pace with a 103.74. Kevin Lealan on the other hand continued to improve and clipped eight tenths off his Q-time to slip ahead of Cutcliffe. Stewart Robb then brought the MP58 to the start line in a somewhat lowly qualifying place. The Scot, on his first foray to Pembrey, was still learning the track. He was off the line like a rocket and carried his speed through Paddock backing off slightly for Esses. Round the quick bits he was mighty and when the clocks stopped at 100.96 he had clipped over TWO seconds off his Q-time and moved into the lead. Steve Miles was next and as he rounded Paddock the Van Diemen started to splutter. He eventually stopped round the back and had to be towed in registering a failed run. Mike Musson then took the twin engined lawnmower off the line! Musson had yet another moment but managed to get the car to the finish in an unrepresentative 106.08. Welshman Eynon Price was next and with the new Honda Blackbird engine wailing away he looked set for a good finish. However he was well down on his qualifying pace in the cold conditions that now prevailed and registered a 103.86. Steve Broughton then brought the SBD OMS forward. The temperature was still dropping as he rocketed off the line and as he rounded Paddock there was barely a lift. The car was working well and when he recorded a 99.55, less than a second adrift of his Q-time, he moved into the lead. Would it be enough? Roy Dawson didn't think so and the NME engine roared its approval as he dropped the clutch. Through the technical part of the course he didn't look that quick but when he hit the fast straights the orange projectile was impressive. When he finally crossed the line in 95.03 it was game over. All the cars were still in the assembly area but the Clerk of the Course called the second runs off as the impending curfew would have only allowed a couple of the cars to complete their second runs. As the cars chugged back to the paddock there were a few mumblings about too many runners and slow response to spins but all in all BARC (Wales) had made a pretty good first effort at the two lap format.
Results:
1 Roy Dawson (3.5 Gould-NME GR55) 95.03s; 2 Steve Broughton (1.3 OMS-Suzuki/SBD CF04) 99.55s; 3 Stewart Robb (3.5 Pilbeam-Cosworth/Connaught DFR MP58) 100.96s; 4 Kevin Lealan (Formula Vauxhall Lotus) 102.42s; 5 Dave Cutcliffe (1.1 OMS-Suzuki 2000M) 102.99s; 6 Daniel Pickett (1.0 Jedi-Yamaha R1 Mk 4) 103.74s; 7 Eynon Price (1.3 OMS-Honda 2000M) 103.86s; 8 Jonathan Toulmin (1.0 Marengo-Suzuki 2) 104.30s; 9 Mike Musson (2.0 Dual-Force-Suzuki M8) 106.08s; 10 Terry Holmes (2.0 Reynard-Ford/Tegra SF84) 106.45s; 11 Henryk Kozlowski (1.0 Jedi-Yamaha Mk1/6) 106.88s; Steve Miles (2.0 Van Diemen-Ford RF96) DNF.
Class Winners: Martin Depper (1.4 Rover Mini Cooper) 120.43s; Paul Perkin (1.9 Peugeot 205 GTi) 120.56s; Dave Bennett (2.4 Porsche 911T) 138.76s; Brian Jones (1.6 Westfield SEi) 117.04s; Mark Smith (2.0 Westfield SEiW) 107.46s; Steve Wilkinson (1.6 Lotus 36) 150.57s; Hamish Lindsay (0.5 Jedi-Krauser 2/92) 115.80s; Daniel Pickett 103.45s; Martin Webb (1.6 Van Diemen-Ford RF84) 125.36s; Steve Broughton 98.72s; Mike Musson 101.91s; Roy Dawson 96.70s; Graham Millar (2.0 Ford Escort Mk 2) 124.99s; Fyrth Crosse (1.1 Mallock-Cosworth Mk 2B) 133.09s; Dave West (1.4 Austin Cooper S) 131.27s; Gareth Griffiths (2.0 Renault Clio Williams) 125.40s; Matthew Oakley (5.2 TVR Griffith) 124.09s; Andrew Meek (2.0t Subaru Impreza) 128.23s; Guy Hussey (1.6 Sylva Striker Toyota) 199.37s; Richard Gambling (2.0 Caterham HPC) 117.87s; Mark Squire (1.3 Westfield Megabusa) 121.00s; Simon Rogers (1.8 Caterham 7) 113.93s. NB All times establish New Class Records.