Sunday dawned with an overcast sky and when we had a few batches of drizzle several drivers donned wets or intermediates. However by the end of practice the track was fully dry and the sun was out.
Leading off proceedings were the Mod Prods and it was Martin Depper who took the 1400 class win by a comfortable three seconds over Clare Sullivan. In the Two Litre class Paul Perkin again set the standard which only Gary Thomas could approach, but not beat, so Perkin took his second win of the week-end. Mark Roberts and Jonathan Milne again brought their CRX home in third and fourth. Dave Bennett again took the Over Two Litre class in his Gulf Racing Blue and Orange 911T. Brian Jones then took the Up to 1800 Mod Prod Kit Car class as Tim Nunn, a refugee from the Road Going class, trailed home second. In the Over 1800 class it was Welshman Mark Smith who again impressed beating the rest by a comfortable two and a half seconds. John Tomlinson rumbled the SEight home in second ahead of Derek Hodder, Andrew Lyall and Julie Black.
Once again there was just one Sports Libre and Steve Wilkinson battled the clock for the class win! Likewise Hamish Lindsay was the solo runner in the 600 Racing Car class and after a rotation on his first run got down to some serious times on his second and third runs. Jonathan Toulmin was the class act of the 1100s as he bumped Dave Cutcliffe down to second. Henryk Kozlowski took third ahead of Dan Pickett whilst Trevor Hartland and Dennis Pickett came home fifth and sixth. Tom Potter who had been close to qualification on Saturday spun out at the by now notorious Paddock Bend on his first run and damaged a rear upright on his trip across the grass. This put the youngster out so the car was packed away. The Formula Ford class comprised just one car and two drivers - the Jarvis/Webb Van Diemen. Martin Webb had a big spin on his second run which opened the door for Tony Jarvis who confessed to preferring the shorter course. In the 1600 Racing Car class Steve Broughton led throughout; Nick Algar came through for second spot after Eynon Price had to retire when the new Honda engine in the OMS tightened up whilst being warmed up for his second timed run. Kim Kingham was fourth and once again took the award as the Fastest Lady. With the Olivers back in the mix there were 15 runners in the two litre racing car class. Terry Holmes was back in top form despite that bent suspension arm and ran out a comfortable winner. Mike Musson in the Force which today ploughed off the course after the finish took second. David Sims was third as the down on power Ralt came into its own on the short course. Steve Miles was fourth just ahead of Kevin Lealan, Roy Sims and Matt Oliver. The Sheffield Mafia had more problems when the throttle broke on Brian Woffenden's run whilst George Harris continues to struggle with the Dallara.With just two Over Two Litre cars after the demise of the Eyles' Force it was left to Roy Dawson to take the class. He opted out of practice to save wear and tear on the NME unit but stamped his authority on proceedings with a 40.40; Stewart Robb was content with second but a BIG moment at Paddock on his first timed run unsettled the Scot.
Mike Griffiths won the Rally Car class despite Graham Millar's opposite-locking, wheel-wagging antics. Fyrth Crosse was again the only classic in his Mallock but had an enjoyable day nonetheless. Into the Road going classes; in the 1400 division David West again outstripped Anthony Bayley's Tigra; in the two litre group Gareth Griffiths again upheld Welsh honour in his Clio Williams as he finished ahead of Dyrr Ardash and David Marshall; the over two litre class Andrew Meek again just pipped Phil Oram's Pulsar. In the TVR battle Simon Bridge took top honours as he just kept the Griffiths ahead of Paul Edwards' T350C. The Kit Car classes saw John Palmer recover from his shock second place and win the Up to 1700 class finishing 0.01 ahead of Guy Hussey in the Striker; in the Over 1700 Matt Hillman took top honours ahead of Peter Kukanis however third placeman David Greenwood blew his Westfield's engine and laid a trail of oil all the way round the circuit and right back into the Paddock to his trailer! In the Bike engined class Mark Squire again beat brother Andrew whilst Eifon Griffiths in his bike engined Puma was third. The final class of Lotus Seven Club runners saw another close battle again resolved in favour of Simon Rogers. Dave MacFarlane was second with David Jackson third.
TOP TWELVE RUN OFF
Leading off the run-off was Nick Algar. After all his problems with the wiring on Saturday he was starting to get on the pace. His first run of 44.95 would see him fifth placed fifth at the half way point. Kevin Lealan was next and somewhat off his pace from the day before; his time of 45.82 would see him move up to ninth. Dave Sims was pleased to be in the run-off and put in an improved run of 45.09 to move up the rankings. Dave Cutcliffe always saves his best for the run-off and after a relatively poor qualification his first run of 45.08 would see him sixth after the first runs. Next should have been Eynon Price but the Welshman was in his civvies due to the engine problems encountered earlier; so it was Steve Miles in the Mole Racing Van Diemen who was next to the start line; 'Inspector Gadget' as he is known was not up to his earlier pace and dropped back to tenth place. Jonathan Toulmin was next and with growing confidence he once again launched the Marengo into the sweeps and swerves of Pembrey. The pace however was lacking and he too was slower than his Q-time with a 45.27. Mike Musson was next and he too was slower but only just with his 44.31. Then it was Smokin' Terry Holmes in the Reynard. The Chichester Chippy was smartly off the line and rounded Hatchett's without any problems, at Spitfires the tail got a bit wayward but at Debeni the Reynard spun viciously. Terry caught it and managed to get the car going however there was consternation in the assembly area as the rear of the car was obviously damaged. Holmes staggered round and got a time which would earn him a point, however the car was out as that bent rear suspension arm had finally snapped. Stewart Robb then fired up the DFR and took the MP58 to the line; he was determined to beat Steve Broughton however his first run was only marginally quicker than his Q-time. It would not be enough as Steve Broughton was in imperious form. The championship sponsor had Paddock Bend truly tamed and swept through with hardly a lift. When the assembly area clock stopped at 43.12 he had not only got inside the 1600 Racing Car record but moved into the lead of the run-off; that is until Roy Dawson had his run! Dawson was equally determined in his attitude however his target was the 40 second barrier. Off the line and down to Hatchett's the Gould was fantastic. It seemed slow through the twiddly bits but once on the move out of Brooklands it was awesome. The clock stopped at 40.76, slower than his Q-time but he had the run-off sewn up!
Into the second runs and Nick Algar improved on his first run but only just and despite this he would slip back to sixth - not bad considering he qualified twelfth! Kevin Lealan was next and he was pushing maybe a bit too hard as he posted a slower time which would see him drop down to eleventh. Dave Sims was really taking to the one lap format and duly clipped another couple of tenths off his first run time posting a 44.84 which would be good enough for seventh. Dave Cutcliffe then set about raising the ante with a cracking run of 44.28 some eight tenths quicker and duly moved ahead of Algar into fifth. Steve Miles did make an improvement of eight tenths but was still shy of his Q-time and remained anchored in ninth. Jonathan Toulmin was another to manage an improvement yet was incapable of matching his Q-time; his 45.10 being only good enough for eighth. Mike Musson had shaken off the grass cutting image and went sub 44 for the first time. His 43.61 was good enough for fourth. There was no Terry Holmes so it was Stewart Robb next. The Pilbeam driver recorded his fastest time of the day (43.18) but still felt he was unable to attack Paddock Bend after the earlier tank-slapper! Steve Broughton already had second spot in the bag but he still went for it. Unable to match the pace of Dawson his 42.71 was still a shatteringly quick time for a 1300cc engine! Roy Dawson was determined to go sub 40! His run looked just as smooth as his first and as he swept down towards Brooklands all eyes looked to the clocks. 40.05 was the fastest time of the day, it was a new course record BUT it wasn't good enough for the Scot!
As the competitors started to pack up and reflect on the day it had been a well run event with just a few minor glitches. The championship had been shaken up and we now had two Scots leading the way for the very first time. I for one was already looking forward to Llandow in a fortnight!
Results:
1 Roy Dawson (3.5 Gould-NME GR55) 40.05s; 2 Steve Broughton (1.3 OMS-Suzuki/SBD CF04) 42.71s; 3 Stewart Robb (3.5 Pilbeam-Cosworth/Connaught DFR MP58) 43.18s; 4 Mike Musson (2.0 Dual- Force-Suzuki M8) 43.61s; 5 Dave Cutcliffe (1.1 OMS-Suzuki 2000M) 44.28s; 6 Nick Algar (1.3 DJ Firehawk-Suzuki) 44.78s; 7 David Sims (2.0 Ralt-Duratec/SRD RT33/34) 44.84s; 8 Jonathan Toulmin (1.0 Marengo-Suzuki 2) 45.10s; 9 Steve Miles (2.0 Van Diemen-Ford RF96) 45.18s; 10 Kevin Lealan (Formula Vauxhall Lotus) 45.82s; 11 Terry Holmes (2.0 Reynard-Ford/Tegra SF84) 60.67s; Eynon Price (1.3 OMS-Honda 2000M) DNS.
Class Winners: Martin Depper (1.4 Rover Mini Cooper) 54.15s; Paul Perkin (1.9 Peugeot 205 GTi) 53.35s; Dave Bennett (2.4 Porsche 911T) 60.08s; Brian Jones (1.6 Westfield SEi) 50.68s; Mark Smith (2.0 Westfield SEiW) 47.72s; Steve Wilkinson (1.6 Lotus 36) 63.82s; Hamish Lindsay (0.5 Jedi-Krauser 2/92) 49.01s; Jonathan Toulmin 44.73s; Tony Jarvis (1.6 Van Diemen-Ford RF84) 54.29s; Steve Broughton 43.39s; Terry Holmes 43.82s; Roy Dawson 40.40s; Mike Griffiths (2.3 Ford Escort Mk 1) 55.27s; Fyrth Crosse (1.1 Mallock-Cosworth Mk 2B) 56.02s; Dave West (1.4 Austin Cooper S) 58.52s; Gareth Griffiths (2.0 Renault Clio Williams) 55.65s; Simon Bridge (5.0 TVR Griffith 400) 54.20s; Andrew Meek (2.0t Subaru Impreza) 56.11s; John Palmer (1.7 Westfield SEi) 52.62s; Matt Hillman (2.0 Westfield SEi) 53.64s; Mark Squire (1.3 Westfield Megabusa) 53.48s; Simon Rogers (1.8 Caterham 7) 50.60s. NB All times establish New Class Records.