by Steve Wilkinson
Nutts Corner was not in the best of conditions after a two day Kart Gran Prix! There were liberal coatings of oil and rubber with the section from the chicane back to near the start line being by far the worst. Once everyone had passed the noise check (no mean effort by everyone, the circuit had imposed an arbitrary 100 debibel limit!)and practice got underway the contenders seemed to settle in. Practice saw Steve Broughton break the chain and with no spare ready made he had to get out a massive length of chain and start cutting! Meanwhile Brian Woffenden had a re-occurrence of a back problem on his first practice run. He made the decision to miss second practice and just potter round on his first timed run to see how he faired! Everyone else seemed to get through the first practice runs without a problem and then the rain arrived. The second practice runs saw the track not really wet enough for full wets and most people stayed with slicks. The rain was still falling after lunch as Paul Parker dived for cover in the time-keepers motorhome!
John Leinster was the star setting a storming time on his first run as he monstered the kerbs at the chicane each time through. According to John there was as much grip on the painted concrete as on the tarmac! Terry Holmes was less than two seconds off the Ulsterman's pace whilst Garry Dickson put the Westfield into third place in qualifying. Local driver Martin Elliot in the Sidney Meeke built, SBD engined, rally prepared Corsa 4x4 was fourth fastest just ahead of Wilt in the orange Ralt. Tony Eyles having spun in practice put in two steady runs to make sure of a qualifying time. Whilst Roy Dawson had three attempts before he got a time. He was red flagged twice before getting to the finish. Brian Woffenden's conservative approach worked well as Tony Ellis and Tracey Ashby both spun on the faster first timed runs. Also having more problems was Steve Broughton. The chain broke again but this time the end of the chain hit the gearbox casing so hard the damage was terminal. Sue Griffiths, who is not a fan of Nutts in the dry, slid off on her first run then in the ensuing panic to change to wets forget to re-fuel and spluttered to a halt!
Top Twelve Run-off
Brian Woffenden, although still in great pain from his back, came to the line first. Although faster than in qualifying his appeared to be a slow time until as I helped him from the cockpit he confided in me that he had driven round using one hand on the wheel to put less stress on his back! Graham Porrett then put in a time over seven seconds slower than his fastest to date just to show how the conditions were deteriorating. Tony Ellis got as far as the chicane where he spun out. Peter Howgate then took the cautious approach to stop the clocks some two seconds off his Q-time - but at least he had a time! Simon Ashby then pulled out all the stops to shave off nearly five seconds as he short shifted his way into a temporary lead. Mike Musson also got to the chicane a little faster than previously and duly revolved. Then it was Roy Dawson's turn. The Scot was competing in the Firehawk for the first time in the wet and had been slowly improving. His first run time was superb as he took nearly seven seconds off his Q-time, despite the car looking decidedly twitchy, and rocketed into the lead. Tony Eyles, who doesn't like Nutts at the best of times, was thoroughly fed up with the weather and the state of the track. Needless to say as he flashed into view at the chicane it all went round and round as he spun out. Tony Wiltshire was more conservative and just clipped a second off his Q-time to put in a banker. Garry Dickson, who had opted out of his second class run, was next. This meant he hadn't experienced the worsening conditions. He managed to get through the chicane first time round but on his second lap he half spun on the exit. This delayed him somewhat but a 1min 52.26sec was still good enough for third with just two runners left! Terry Holmes took a conservative line round the top of the course and through the chicane and duly slotted into second. However Dawson's lead was now under threat as John Leinster blasted off the line. The Ulsterman chopped over two seconds off his Q-time in a maximum attack with his lines through the chicane being highly aggressive. He was also getting back on the power so rapidly as he exited each corner. As we were about to start the second runs Brian Woffenden was lying in ninth but opted out as his back was considerably worse. So it was Graham Porrett who led off and like so many before he spun whilst trying too hard! Tony Ellis had to get a time to score points in this his British Sprint Championship Run-off Debut. Hi caution paid off as he slipped into eighth demoting the Sheffield mafia to ninth and tenth. Peter Howgate duly restored his eight spot as he slipped ahead of Ellis in a calm approach to the task in hand. Simon Ashby duly forged his way through to fifth spot by taking over four seconds off his time. Mike Musson now had to repeat Tony Ellis's feat of getting a time so as to get points and this he duly did with ease. Roy Dawson was really fired up and had less than two seconds to make up on the leader. His first lap was mesmeric and he was on track to attack the lead time until ... Well guess what the chicane where he spun on the exit. He executed a neat power turn but his brave effort had ended. Tony Eyles was ultra careful through the chicane on both laps and duly posted a time but it was only good enough for third. Tony Wiltshire having posted a time on his first run gave it everything on his second. Clipping over five seconds off he moved neatly up to second spot looking both pleased and relieved at the same time! Garry Dickson then managed to get round without a big spin or even a mini-twitch. The Orkadian slotted into fourth and whatever happened was about to record the best ever finish for a Westfield in a British Sprint Run-off. It now rested with Terry Holmes. Could the Chichester Chippy beat Leinster's first run time and force the Ulsterman into a second run? After a Team Tegra discussion plus some input from the pit lane Terry charged off and round to the slippery chicane. He took Leinster's kerbcentric line through and found the Reynard bucking wildly as he exited. However he was up to the top of the course in a quicker time. Second time through the chicane he was more conservative pushing hard as ever and crossing the line less than a second adrift of Leinster but more importantly in second place in the run-off! Mick Howlett rushed back to the paddock where John Leinster was warming up the Pilbeam-Opel and gave the cut engine signal. John thus declined his second run taking back to back victories in the championship and the heartfelt congratulations of the mainland contenders.
With Steve Broughton missing out on the run-off it meant a new championship leader in the form of Tony Wiltshire in the Peugeot powered Ralt. Wilt was delighted but only too aware that the danger man is still Tony Eyles. Tony Eyles meanwhile was determined to record another Championship to the Eyles Family and is planning his strategy for the remaining rounds. Hopefully battle will be recommenced at Colerne at the end of the month.
1 Leinster 1m 41.93s; 2 Holmes 1m 42.61s; 3 Wiltshire 1m 42.78s; 4 Dawson 1m 43.72s; 5 Dickson 1m 45.20s; 6 Eyles 1m 46.41s; 7 Simon Ashby 1m 50.43s; 8 Musson 1m 54.64s; 9 Porrett 1m 58.32s; 10 Howgate 2m 4.10s; 11 Tony Ellis (1.1 Megapin-Suzuki/Ellis) 2m 5.76s; 12 Woffenden 2m 9.36s.
FTD Leinster 1m 41.93s
Class Winners: Dickson 1m 49.26s; Gillis 1m 58.69s; Peter L'Aime (1.7 Hillman Hunter) 2m 7.22s; Iain Leinster (1.6 Crossle-Ford 60F) 1m 59.98s; Dawson 1m 50.38s; Leinster 1m 44.05s.
Championship Positions After Rd 8: 1 Tony Wiltshire 83pts; 2 Terry Holmes 81pts; 3 Steve Broughton 75pts; 4 Tony Eyles 71pts; 5 Simon Ashby 64pts; 6 Roy Dawson 46pts; etc.