The Track
Lee had built a really fast track for July meeting utilising all of the club’s new 18″ bends. To keep things interesting he had also sprinkled a few 6″ bends around to create a fast but challenging circuit.
F1
Qualifying
Paul Homewood, narrowly took pole position from his son Craig by just over half a lap. Al was third just over a lap further back from Craig after finding the fast circuit seemed to suit his usually troublesome Tyco. Lee took the fourth spot on the grid missing out on an automatic spot in the A final by less than a lap. Nick was fifth ahead of Bruce who could have qualified much higher. After struggling in his first two heats Bruce really hooked things up in his final two, setting the highest score in the white lane and the fastest lap of quali.
Roy was running somewhat off his recent pace and could only manage to line up seventh ahead of Paul Rose who was also didn’t seem to be on his usual form. Tony lined up behind them after another difficult session.
C Final
Paul Rose got off to a strong start in white and quickly found himself with a small lead over Roy in blue and Tony in red. Tony and Roy had a few close dices but Roy ended up ahead and went on to take second place just under a lap behind Paul.
introduction
B Final
Lee held the early lead in the B final from the blue lane, with Nick in red and Bruce in white both hot on his heels. Paul Rose quickly dropped back from the pack in the tricky yellow hop up lane and retired on lap 10. Up front, an off for Lee on the third lap left Bruce with a narrow lead over Nick that he consolidated when Nick came off on lap 8. Nick’s off also handed Lee second place which he held until the closing stages of the race when a late off handed second place back to Nick. Ahead of them Bruce took the win, fastest F1 lap of the night and the step up to his first SCHORC A final.
A Final
For the first two laps there was very little separating Paul in blue, Al in red and Craig in white. Bruce had a tough start in yellow and quickly dropped back. Craig and Paul were then caught up in incident on lap two that Al narrowly avoided. Craig dropped right back and a series of inconsistent laps that followed but him right back into Bruce’s sights several times before he was able to pull away and take third. Paul had not lost as much time to Al as Craig had and set about gradually reeling Al in. It took almost half the race but lap after lap Paul closed the gap past Al to take the lead on lap 16. Al did his best to stay with him but Paul drew out a small lead and only a late off for Paul almost handed the win to Al. As the race finished, Paul took his third F1 win of the season by just a single tenth of a lap.
Mod
With Lee heading off for an early night, the grid was down to 8 racers for Mod.
Qualifying
After his disappointing showing in F1 Paul Rose looked much more comfortable driving his Mod and snatched Pole from Al by just over half a lap. Al was pleased to be far closer to pace than he had been in recent months even if he was aided by a bit of luck avoiding some of the more chaotic qualifying moments. Nick took a solid third ahead of Tony in fourth and Bruce in fifth. Paul Homewood’s car had no shortage of one lap pace, claiming the fastest lap of the night. However he failed to put in any of his typically big qualifying scores and found himself sixth.
Early in the session Craig put in the highest score in the white lane but lost a pickup in his blue heat which cost him a lot of track time. Following a first lap incident in his third heat Craig decided to retire from qualifying and start at the back of the grid behind Roy in seventh.
C Final
Craig lined up in white with an SRT GT40 for a change and beside him was Roy in blue. Roy matched Craig’s early pace and kept him honest for the majority of the race but in the end it was Craig who took the step up to the B final.
B Final
Paul Homewood took the early lead from the red lane ahead of Tony in blue. They both quickly left Craig in yellow and Bruce in white behind to dice for third. However a big off for Paul on lap 8 sent him all the way back to fourth and left Tony with the lead. Paul wasn’t beaten though and seriously put the hammer down. It wasn’t long until he made his way back through the field to second and was right behind Tony again. Had Paul kept pushing he probably could have taken the win but believing he already had the lead in hand he matched Tony’s pace to the end of the race finishing just over half a lap behind him at the end of the race. Behind a disappointed Paul, Bruce took third a couple of laps ahead of Craig.
A Final
The yellow hop up lane didn’t agree very much with Tony and he retired from the A final before the first minute was out. Ahead of him Nick in white, Al in red and Paul in Blue were all still hammering round together. Based on qualifying lap times Paul probably had a bit of pace in the bag. Indeed it was Al and Nick who both came off on lap 12. This left Paul in the lead with Nick in second and Al in third. Over the next minute Al closed the gap to Nick and passed him on lap 24 as Nick came off. Al then promptly through his car off the track leaving them both right next to each other to fight until the end of the race. Ahead of them Paul had been off the track a few times and the race finished with Paul just two tenths ahead of Al and Nick just a further three tenths back in third.
Thanks to all who attended!