The Championship arrived at Snetterton with the prospect of an enthralling double header featuring a battle for the 2007 title between Phil Donaghy and Neil Smith. Over the last few races the situation between the two has been see-sawing to and fro. It was therefore very sad to see the day end with many damaged cars and one race being declared as "not run" and the number of scoring rounds reduced to 13. The outcome for the title was that although his car was destroyed in the opening laps of the original red flagged race 1, Phil Donaghy was declared the champion by 2 points.

However, on Wednesday morning we received an e-mailed request from Neil Smith that the Championship Panel should review the way in which this result was arrived at following the events which are described in this report. The BRSCC, as the Championship permit holders, decided that the matter should be referred to the MSA. The governing body advised that the decision could only be taken by the Championship Stewards. A meeting of the Stewards will therefore be convened as soon as possible.

Qualifying on a cool but dry morning saw an Alfa Championship car get under the 1'16" mark for the first time. Pole position had been fought out between Tim Lewis, Adie Hawkins and Ian Stapleton but it was Tim would eventually seal matters with a 1'15.780" with just a couple of minutes of the session to go. Adie and Ian both tried hard at the end and it was Adie who would join Tim on the front row. Ian was on row 2 with Andy Millar, Roger Evans and Neil Smith on row 3 of what would be a tightly packed grid.

40 cars actually started qualifying, Matt Shaw and John Pogson, and Tom Allen and Len Brock sharing their 155 and 75 Twin Spark respectively and changing over mid session. Sadly Tom would go off on his first lap and become a non starter while Peter Guy L'Amie blew his engine. Bryn Griffiths had barely got going before a seal on his new turbocharger failed. Nev Simpson and John Griffiths would end the session 2nd and 3rd in B while the returning Kevin Evans headed C with his Silverstone winning GTV. A welcome appearance was being made by John Strickland who bought the ex Shaun Hazlewood 33 16v earlier this year and has been doing the occasional pre '93 Touring Cars race with it.  He would head Class D from Mark James and Wayne Ashford. In Class E, Phil Donaghy had made his intentions clear. After testing hard on the previous Friday, his class pole was 1.22" quicker than Dave Hughes best. Ray Foley was a competitive 3rd but so tight was the battle in the second half of the field that there were five cars between himself and Dave.

In "race one" Tim Lewis and Adie Hawkins were disputing the lead at the end of the first lap but Adie's transmission failed at Sear and he pulled off. Tim Lewis then had a quick spin at the Esses and Andy Millar suddenly found himself in front followed by Roger Evans. Ian Stapleton had had a poor first lap and was behind Tim, Neil Smith and Nev Simpson. On lap 3 it all became confusing. The leaders came through but as Robin Eyre-Maunsell and Wayne Ashford approached the line, running 12th and 13th, the red flag came out and looking back towards Coram, it became clear that there had been a major incident. The severely crumpled cars of  Phil Donaghy, Matt Daly and Mark James were stationary while others had run across the grass in avoidance or managed to slow down in time. It seemed that Nev Simpson's Alfetta had suffered a split oil pipe which had spilled lubricant in ever increasing quantities.It was quickly reported that all the drivers were safely out of their cars.

The clear up and sorting out the cars for the re-start seemed to take an inordinate time but eventually after a delay of over 30 minutes the field was ready of a second try, the grid having been set by the running order at the end of the earlier lap 2. The red lights went out - Roger Evans stuttered forward and stopped - we held our breath. A number of cars managed to find a way by. Were we going to be lucky again? A sickening crunch as Graham Seager ran into the back of Roger and then speared right into the barrier, being hit immediately by Robin Eyre-Maunsell with Chris Bentley just behind, immeditately brought out the red flags. "Race" over. A quick discussion with Race Control and the Clerk of the Course ensued and a decision was taken that our Race 1 should become "race not run", "de-facto" reducing the number of championship rounds from 14 to 13 as we have nothing specific in our regulations to cover such unforeseen circumstances. A return to the paddock showed how lucky we had been that there were no serious injuries to any of the drivers

It was decided that as we had no satisfactory way to establish the grid for Race 2 from earlier events, the original qualifying session would count as that for new race, and the points accordingly. Effectively it had become a single header day.

Amazingly 32 cars, in various states - tank tape sales will have gone up this week! - made their way to the grid. The race length had been shorted to 15 minutes as things were now running some 45 minutes behind even a revised schedule. Adie Hawkins  had managed to get his car going but without a limited slip, so that was going to be interesting!  From the start it was renewal of the battle between Tim Lewis and Adie with Ian Stapleton into the pits at the end of lap 1, losing 2 laps in the process. Andy Millar was pushing Adie hard and managed to get past on lap 3 and at one point closed to within 2 seconds of Tim, making it look as though a repeat of his August win was on the cards. Neil Smith had been running very strongly in 4th place while 5th was Stephen Dymoke's Sud Ti until the "excitement got the better of me" at the  Esses and he spun off.  Kevin Evans was enjoying a healthy lead in C while John Strickland had shaken off the early attentions of Wayne Ashford in D. In E, David Hughes had put several cars between himself and Ray Foley.

The first three were static at the front but John Griffiths had passed Kevin Evans in pursuit of the repaired Nev Simpson and John Strickland was well into a fast  rythym, also closing on the red GTV. Critical to the outcome of the race, Ian Stapleton was chasing Adie Hawkins on the road, despite being two laps behind, and Michael Walsh, in Ron Davidson's GTV, was coming back from a poor first lap. The leaders were well into lapping the field as they crossed the line at the end of lap 8. At the bombhole, Ian Stapleton made to pass Michael Walsh, presumably thinking that a gap had been left and the cars touched.  Michael spun and was hit by Chris Bentley and then very hard indeed by Dave Hughes' 156. The track was blocked. The red flags were out. Another premature end of a race.

The result was declared at the end of lap 7, with those cars not running when the red flag came out excluded from the results. Tim Lewis was the overall winner by 4.75" from Andy Millar, Andy making fastest lap. Adie Hawkins came home a creditable 3rd with Class B winner 4th, well ahead of his class rivals Nev Simpson and John Griffiths. Kevin Evans and John Strickland led home their respective classes, running close together at the end while Wayne Ashford and Robin Eyre Maunsell completed the top 10. Matt Shaw was a very happy 2nd in C on only his second outing in the 155 while Mark James ended his day 3rd in D, breaking his 100% record. Class E finally went to Ray Foley, completing an excellent season, from Andy Inman and Graham Heels.

Once again we had to look at some severely damaged machinery,  Dave Hughes 156, Chris Bentley's 146 and Michael Walsh's (or Ron Davidson's) GTV in particular. Dave was not looking too well afterwards but we are happy to report that he was on the phone the following morning saying that he was battered and bruised but otherwise alright which was more than could said for the car. We are glad to hear the "battered and bruised" description fits the others who were involved but nothing worse, for which we can be very thankful.

The prizes were presented by Philip Clay from Alfashop and by Pat West (wife of Peter and mother of Louise). Chateau Lezongars Driver of the Day Awards went to John Griffiths and Andy Childs.

 

It was a pity that the excellence of the Alfa Romeo entertainment at Brands Hatch and the battle for the 2007 Championship was, to an extent, overshadowed by the showing of the black and orange flag to Neil Smith which brought him into the pits on lap 8 of the A to D race Competing in any kind of sport can bring levels of delight in success and misery in failure, but worst of all are the frustrations of perceived injustice. It is not our job here to argue the rights and wrongs of the different stories and interpretations, but to have it happen at all at this stage of season means that all the work that we and competitors have put in to making the Championship a success may have been compromised.

What is fact is that Championship leader Neil Smith was shown the black and orange flag (something wrong with the car that you probably can't see) and came into the pits for investigation. The flag had been displayed following reports that the car was leaking fuel. From comments made by other competitors and spectators, it probably had been leaking from the breather at the beginning of the race as the car was full of petrol. Neil admits that this could have been so. The original observers report was transmitted to Race Control on lap 2. They kept the car under observation until a decision was taken to put out the flag. At this point, however, the stories differ. When he stopped in the pits, Neil said he could see no evidence that fuel was continuing to leak, the chief scrutineer replied that he was of the opinion it was still leaking and would do so on left hand corners (Graham Hill Bend and Surtees) as it had before. A request by Neil that he should be allowed to return to the track on the grounds that there was no leaking fuel (and the car was effectively "repaired") was therefore refused. The 156 was deemed to have been retired and as a result Neil scored only the points for fastest laps in qualifying and the race and was likely to lose his championship lead.

The entry for Brands this year was a vast improvement over 2006 when we only managed to raise 22 cars. The entry had been 35 in the days running up to the event but by the time qualifying arrived this had come down to 32. Michael Walsh and Nick Gooch had withdrawn and Dave Hughes suffered a bizarre problem (for a race car!) of the immobiliser cutting in and the engine therefore refusing to start. No amount of effort by various people could get the 156 going. The original number of entries meant that, in common with LMA, we had more than the track permit allowed to race. It was agreed that the Alfa Class E would race with the two slowest (in theory) LMA classes to give everyone a race. All drivers, however, would have to qualify together in their own championship group.

The track was, as a result, extremely busy throughout the 15 minute sessions. Alfa Championship competitors seemed to handle it all with commendable calm and it certainly didn't stop some very rapid lap times being set. Tim Lewis knocked nearly a second off his own lap record time to grab pole in 51.955", Adie also bettering the record to line up alongside him on the front row, just 0.79" adrift. It was advantage to the more nimble old Class B cars here, having been at circuits recently where the bigger capacity cars had held sway. Ian Stapleton was the quickest of the latter with a 52.966". Despite having had to rebuild his engine (twice!) after Silverstone, Neil Smith was as rapidas ever to head Class B from Nev Simpson and John Griffiths.

John Pogson led the returning Ron Davidson by nearly a second in C. The top of Class D was extremely close with Wayne Ashford taking class pole from Mark James and Matt Daly, all three covered by just 0.23". Double engine rebuilds seemed to be in vogue for the championship leaders, Phil Donaghy having had the same problem as Neil Smith but he had been able to test at Brands on Friday. This was helpful as it was his first visit to the circuit. He would end qualifying with a satisfying 0.45" advantage over Graham Heels who was the only other Class E driver to break the minute barrier. Ray Foley would line up third.

Tim Lewis made what he later described one of his "usual bad starts", immediately losing any advantage of sitting on pole, as Adie Hawkins and Roger Evans took control going into Paddock. By the end of lap 1, however, Tim had things humming along nicely in third, ahead of Ian Stapleton, Neil Smith and Andy Page while Nev Simpson and John Griffiths were already enjoying a battle for 2nd and 3rd in B. Mark James completed the first lap ahead of Wayne Ashford but Matt Daly had lost touch slightly behind John Pogson, Ian Brookfield and Keith Waite. However, it didn't take long for the Class A cars to move ahead while Wayne Ashford, his 33 handling badly - "I had the wrong tyre pressures" - was losing ground to Mark James and coming under pressure from John Pogson who eventually got ahead on lap 6.

Meanwhile, it had only taken Tim Lewis until lap 4 to close in on and pass Roger Evans and come within a second of Adie Hawkins. Roger Evans was still running strongly in third but was being increasingly pressured by Ian Stapleton. Matt Daly was now able to focus on the white 33 of Wayne Ashford ahead of him, taking over 2nd in D on lap 9. By this time, Neil Smith was already in the pits, as was Ian Brookfield whose 164 had suffered a broken engine mount on lap 6. Nev Simpson had taken over the lead in class B and had opened up a small lead over John Griffiths.

To his great satisfaction, and that of his many friends on the bank at Paddock, Tim Lewis was able to slip past Adie Hawkins on lap 8 and thereafter he was able to move away to a comfortable 4 second lead at the flag. Adie, however, was having to keep his eye on the progress of Ian Stapleton who, as so often, had a new lease of life as the race neared its end. With two laps to go Ian set a new Alfa lap record (51.989"), his GTV6 within a second and a half of Adie's 33. But that was as close as he got, the 33 crossing the line 1.2" to the good. Roger Evans had been suffering increasing amounts of understeer as the race progressed and settled for 4th ahead of Andy Page, Keith Waite and Class B winner Nev Simpson. John Pogson headed Ron Davidson home in C while D was eventually quite strung out - Mark James winning from Matt Daly (his best result to date), Alastair Iles and the impressive Andy Childs in his 75 Twin Spark. Another good drive had been that of Gareth Haywood who had run ahead of Alastair Iles for several laps in what is a fairly "production" 156 although running in B. He would eventually end up in the gravel at Druids. Also out of luck again was Emma Karwacki who had buzzed her engine with just two laps to go, compounding the misery in the Neil Smith camp.

A short while later, the seven Class E cars took their places on the grid for the 15 second delayed start behind the LMA drivers. Throughout the 20 minutes this was to be an enthralling battle between Graham Heels and Phil Donaghy for the lead and a very close one it was to be too. Only towards three quarter distance did Graham manage to eke out a small advantage but this was then promptly destroyed when the duo were being lapped by an LMA Honda Integra which just "got in the way". By the time he had moved ahead, Phil was right on Graham's tail and ready to challenge again for the lead which he did with a lap to go into

Paddock, trying a brave move round the outside. He was ahead as they went down the hill but ran wide and lost momentum which allowed Graham to try the inside line into Druids where Phil had left a small gap. This meant two wheels on the grass which then became four as Graham re-took the lead in perhaps controversial fashion. It was enough though, and Phil had to settle for second, while Graham also took fastest lap. Andy Inman had been having a close battle with Ray Foley for third but Ray ran through the gravel at Clearways on lap 12, letting Andy by, whereupon the black 156 began to close the gap to Graham Heels and Phil Donaghy. At one point he was the fastest Class E car on the track but there was not enough time to make further advances and he had to settle for a fine third. His spirited race would gain him a Chateau Lezongars Friver of the Day award. Ray Foley eventually finished fourth ahead of Keith Williams and Sarah Heels while Paul Buckley, who had run third initially, pulled off at Druids.

The A to D Chateau Lezongars award went to Matt Daly and we were pleased to have Becki Simpson, newly returned from honeymoon, presenting the awards.

Phil Donaghy left Brands with a 10 point lead over Neil Smith, with Mark James more firmly established in third place ahead of Ian Stapleton. The final double header at Snetterton on October will be a challenging day!

 

"Motorsports News" may have commented a few weeks ago that the Championship was in "rude health" but that didn't stop them publishing a really disappointing report of Silverstone's race last Sunday - "Roger Evans had a lonely drive to the spoils in the Alfa Romeo event, finishing well clear of Adie Hawkins who had climbed to second by lap 11. Andy Millar had looked set for the runner-up position until forced into retirement by falling oil pressure". Even a few words like "However, there was plenty of exciting racing further back in the 37 car field as Neil Smith, Kevin Evans, Mark James and Paul Buckley emerged as class winners" would have presented a better picture. Luckily, we have our website to provide reports fairly soon after the event and the Newsletter to take a more in-depth view later.

Every year we run a race for the Kevin Griffiths Trophy and Silverstone was chosen as the venue for 2007. At one point the entry had risen to a superb 39 but the last minute withdrawal of Ian Brookfield, who had managed to cut his finger so badly that it required six stitches, still meant that it equalled Snetterton earlier in the month as our best turnout of the year.

Watching qualifying (and taking photographs!) you only get part of the part of the picture, so I always enjoy looking at the MST timing sheets afterwards to see how various drivers went about the 15 minute session. There are few drivers who really push on throughout and one of those is undoubtedly Tim Lewis. His first quick lap (below his previous best in March) was his third but thereafter he was never far away although he left it until his ninth and last lap to set his best time of the morning - a 1'34.483". Even so, this was only good enough for 5th position on the grid. He had been narrowly beaten by Adie Hawkins and Andy Millar who were both in the 1'34s but on pole position was Ian Stapleton who, as at Castle Combe, had blitzed the old lap record (set by himself in March) by nearly 4 seconds, leaving it at a stunning 1'31.856". A major surprise alongside him on the front row was Roger Evans with a 1'33.039", both 3.8 litre cars being able to stretch their legs around the 2.25 mile International circuit. Some drivers just seem to potter round (that is a relative term I assure you!) and then set a banzai lap in the "where did that come from?" category. Obviously working on their sector times before putting them all together…………

Joint Championship leader Neil Smith was comfortably ahead in Class B from newly-wed Nev Simpson while the returning Graham Seager just edged out Kevin Evans' new GTV in C. John Pogson had to be satisfied with 3rd in C this time but was happy that he at last had some opposition. Mark James took a not unexpected Class D pole from Wayne Ashford and Alastair Iles, but there was a big surprise in E when Graham Heels emerged at the top of the times in his 147 which had so far proved something of a disappointment. Paul Buckley and Dave Hughes were next in line but missing, crucially, was the other Championship leader Phil Donaghy whose engine had blown a head gasket half way through the session.

The first corner of the race could have seen complete disaster as Ian Stapleton tried to make a move down the inside of Roger Evans. The two made contact (later described by both as a 50/50 incident) leaving Ian looking at 35 other cars bearing down on him! I am told that some of the in-car videos bear witness to some very near misses and quick reactions (well done to everyone!) which resulted in the whole field arriving at Becketts, although not quite in the order expected!

Those watching down at Abbey, half way round the circuit, were somewhat surprised to see Roger Evans come into view and nobody else. Had there been a multiple accident? A couple of seconds or so later (and no red flags) everyone else started to arrive. Tim Lewis had another of his Abbey half spins, Neil Smith was off on the grass, the C, D and E cars presented a splendid traffic jam. At the end of lap 1 Roger already had a lead of 3.8" from Andy Millar and Andy Page. Adie Hawkins and Tim Lewis were a further 4 seconds back with Stephen Dymoke a splendid 6th, ahead of Class B leader Nev Simpson and Neil Smith. John Pogson had reversed his qualifying luck and led Class C! Wayne Ashford, despite

what he described as a "brown pants moment" at Copse when he saw Ian Stapleton stationary ahead of him was just in front of Mark James and Emma Karwacki in D and Graham Heels was continuing his qualifying form to lead E from Dave Hughes and a delayed Paul Buckley.

Over the next few laps the race started to develop (or unravel!) as Roger Evans raced majestically on in front, establishing a 10 second advantage over Andy Millar by lap 4. Tim Lewis and Adie Hawkins had both passed Andy Page while Ian Stapleton was making rapid progress and was now up to 6th (from 22nd at the end of lap 1), setting a new lap record (1'32.011") in the process. Adie Hawkins spun in the Complex on lap 5 and dropped back to 5th with Ian Stapleton bearing down on him. In Class B, Neil Smith had quickly reasserted himself over Nev Simpson with Steve Fletcher now 3rd, and in C both Kevin Evans and Graham Seager had passed John Pogson. Wayne Ashford had stayed in front of Mark James until lap 3, got back ahead again on lap 6 for one lap,but then had to give best to Mark for the rest of the race. Graham Heels was still leading Class E by the end of lap 5 but Paul Buckley, having passed Dave Hughes, was lapping fractionally quicker.

The second half of the race saw Andy Millar, who had been throwing out clouds of smoke under deceleration, retire with a blown turbo. Tim Lewis had looked secure in second place but had then lost time after contact while lapping Wayne Ashford  on lap 11, allowing Adie Hawkins and Andy Page, who had changed places on lap 9, to surge past. Lap 9 had also seen the class E lead change hands as Graham Heels found himself in traffic which allowed Paul Buckley to nip past.

By the time the flag came out Roger Evans had established a 30 second lead over Adie Hawkins, taking the Kevin Griffiths Trophy and his first overall Alfa win. "It has come much earlier than I expected" he said afterwards. He was also the sixth different race winner this season. Andy Page finished an excellent 3rd ahead of Tim Lewis, Nev Simpson and class C winner, Kevin Evans whose new car had had a superb first outing - completing an Evans family double in the process. Mark James, Wayne Ashford and Alastair Iles headed Class D but really unlucky here was Emma Karwacki who had been running a strong third until her engine blew comprehensively on lap 7. Paul Buckley had a three second advantage over Graham Heels in E at the flag, Graham also having to keep and eye on the progress of Dave Hughes who was right on his tail. An outstanding drive was put in by Louise West who came from a modest 32nd in qualifying, still running in her rebuilt engine, to finish 12th overall and 3rd in B. Sadly out of luck after driving really well early on was Stephen Dymoke who hit a kerb hard, the jolt dislodging a wire to the coil of his Sud Ti.

The Griffiths family, including Kevin's brother Simon and daughter Abby, were there in force to make the presentations afterwards and we should like to thank them for their continued support on what must be a difficult day for them.

The "Chateau Lezongars" Driver of the Day Award went to Mark James.

Neil Smith went away from Silverstone with a 6 point advantage over Phil Donaghy while Mark James moved up to third overall, 4 points clear of Ian Stapleton.

See you at Brands for Round 12 of this enthralling season.

 

Prizegiving Photos by James Hodgkin

 

 

173 mph into Riches, 184 mph at the end of the Revett Straight where you brake for the Esses and then 163 mph through Coram! No, not Alfa speeds but those of Klaas Zwart's Euroboss Ascari Judd V10 F1 car at Snetterton last weekend when he set a new outright circuit lap record in 56.09" (an average speed of 125 mph). What it does show is that even if the Alfa lap record is only a mere 1'16.08" (92.51 mph average) Snetterton is an extremely fast circuit. It also attracts very good Alfa grids and Sunday's race was no exception - 37 cars eventually making their way out to qualify while at one time leading up to the meeting we had a capacity 38 plus 2 reserves!

Making his first appearance in the Championship was Michael Walsh who was to drive Ron Davidson's Class C GTV, his own 155 not being ready while returning after several years away were two class B runners, Louise West (33 8v) and Bryn Griffiths with the 156 Sportwagon Diesel. Steve Fox had been unfortunate at Castle Combe where his Alfasud Sprint didn't make it from paddock to qualifying but he was anticipating more success with it at Snetterton.

We were all expecting, after other races this year, that the lap record time would take a battering. However a red flag disrupted qualifying half way through, just when everyone was starting to get into the groove, which meant that by the time the session resumed, minds had to be re-focused and everything brought up to temperature a second time. As a result, eventual front row sitters Ian Stapleton and Tim Lewis were a second off the record. Andy Millar and Roger Evans would line up on row 2, the top four being covered by just 1.7". Chris Snowdon and Andy Page made up the top six and there was every hope of one of those close races at the front of A that we always enjoy so much. There was also the possibility that Julian Birley would also join the fun in his 75. Championship contender Neil Smith headed class B from Nev Simpson and Anthony George but sadly neither of the latter would start following mechanical problems. John Pogson and Graham Seager were very evenly matched in C, just 0.3" separating them but John then fell foul of the Clerk of the Course for overtaking under a yellow flag, incurring a 10" penalty at the back of the grid, and Graham was to be another non starter with a water pump problem. Quicker than the Class C cars had been Mark James with his Class D 33 8v well clear of closest class challengers Wayne Ashford and Nick Gooch. Castle Combe Class E winner, Paul Buckley, was unable to be at Snetterton, his place being taken in the pink 156 by Clive Hodgkin. Clive proceeded to put it on class pole, 1.4" quicker than Phil Donaghy's 145 with Dave Hughes and Andy Inman very close behind with their 156s.

It was a tight group at the front who rushed off towards Riches as the lights went out but much mid field attention was focused on Clive Hodgkin who couldn't find any gears beyond second, his 156 becoming a mobile chicane. Somehow everyone avoided him, Clive pulling off to watch the race with the Riches marshals. Going down the Revett Straight, Ian Stapleton missed a gear and lost momentum, which left Roger Evans, Andy Page, Tim Lewis and Andy Millar to arrive at the Esses ahead of him, this remaining the order at the end of lap 1. Andy Millar was pushing hard, passing Tim Lewis on lap 2 and then Andy Page a lap later with Roger Evans well in his sights. For the next two laps Andy tried to pass the flying GTV but unbeknown to him, Roger was suffering an overheating problem and slowed on lap 6 before eventually retiring to the pits at the end of lap 7.

Ian Stapleton had closed right up on Andy Page but the Giulietta driver was more interested in not letting Andy Millar pull away and opened the gap on the GTV6 while getting onto the tail of the yellow 33. On lap 8, going into Riches behind a "wall" of Class D & E cars there was a chance for the Giulietta to get ahead but somehow Andy Millar also found a way through and just held his lead. Thereafter, he was almost away, although a mighty effort by Andy Page, again being pushed by Ian Stapleton, (and fastest lap) on lap 12 made it look as though the outcome was still in doubt. It wasn't, however, and Andy Millar came home to win his first ever modified Alfa race by nearly 7 seconds from Andy Page, much to the delight of preparer David Thomas, with Ian a further 7 seconds down. A relieved fourth was Chris Snowdon (33 16v) who had the unnerving experience of the throttle sticking open at the end of the Revett Straight, completing several laps on the "kill" switch. 5th home was Neil Smith, winning Class B from John Griffiths and Gareth Haywood while an excellent 6th place was taken by Class D winner Mark James ahead of Wayne Ashford, Chris Bentley and Chris Healey. This was Chris Bentley's first class podium with the 146 Ti that he had bought from Graham Heels last winter. John Pogson had had enother good race from the back of the grid (remember Silverstone?) to finish 10th, catching Michael Ware's GTV by lap 7.

With the disappearance of Clive Hodgkin at the start, the challenge to Phil Donaghy in Class E was ably taken up by Dave Hughes. With a lap to go he was in a position to challenge at Russell but then misjudged his entry speed, ending on the grass (albeit in front!) and letting Phil go by to re-take the lead. Nonetheless, this was to be Dave's best result of the year so far and it was encouraging to see another 156 now capable of challenging for a win. Andy Inman, after qualifying well, was also on form, finishing third in the class.

It is impossible in a brief report to give an impression of all the many battles that were going on throughout the field, entertaining a large crowd in the process. Some of the photographs on the website show how close the racing was and perhaps we can do this justice in the next ARCA Newsletter. The outright Alfa lap record did not fall during the race, so that is still the property of Tim Lewis who retired with an undiagnosed problem after 9 laps.

From the Championship point of view, the outcome could not have been better with Phil Donaghy and Neil Smith going away equal on points (after the dropped scores rule has been taken into consideration). Ian Stapleton has moved up to third with Mark James and Ray Foley close behind. Phil, Neil, Ian and Mark head their respective classes, the other class leader being John Pogson.

Round 11, for the Kevin Griffiths Trophy, is at Silverstone (International Circuit) on Sunday August 26th. Qualifying at 10.40, the race at 3.55.

 

Given the awful summer we have been having and the number of wet race days, it came as no surprise when there were some heavy downpours in the lead up to Castle Combe. But it all had to change sometime - even if only for a day - and July 14 turned out to be both warm and sunny for both qualifying and the race. Spirits lifted and the 34 drivers entered looked forward to an enjoyable day.

Our invitation to race at the Wiltshire circuit had come from the Castle Combe Racing Club which was set up towards the end of 2005 after a decision had been made to split race day organisation away from the BRSCC. Steve Burns and his team made every effort to make us welcome and the provision of in-situ scrutineering to avoid too many vehicle movements in the paddock was a much appreciated innovation.

Only the edges of the track still showed signs of rain during the night as qualifying got underway. It is always interesting to see how different drivers go about achieving their best lap time - some are "on it" straightway, others work their way down to a time with a number of consistently quicker laps while other show no signs of going really quickly and then pop one in while nobody's looking!

Ian Stapleton gradually reduced his time during the session and was under the lap record by his 6th lap with a 1'14. 739", then did two consecutive laps in the 13s before finally crushing the opposition with a 1'12.725". The nearest Tim Lewis could get to that was a 1'15.420" on his final lap to make up the front row. Roger Evans and Neil Smith would make up the second row ahead of Andy Page (who had suffered a suspension breakage early on) and Nev Simpson. Row four was the battle of the 75 3 litres - Clive Hodgkin and the returning Keith Waite - while Nikolaos Mantikas edged Mark James and Wayne Ashford out of the Class D pole. Paul Buckley was in superb form in his 156, ending 12th overall and fastest in E. More importantly, he had put three cars between himself and championship leader Phil Donaghy. Ray Foley was also maintaining his excellent recent form and would line up 3rd in Class E almost a second quicker than the similar 156 of Dave Hughes.

Everyone was expecting Tim Lewis to go quicker in the race as he has done everywhere else this year but as the light went out Tim was very slow off the line and was clearly in trouble, a driveshaft having broken as he let in the clutch.  This caused all the cars on the left hand side of the grid to concertina, Tim receiving a nudge from Neil Smith as he looked for a gap and everyone on that side of the track being delayed. The person this worked best for was Phil Donaghy who ended lap 1 five cars ahead of Ray Foley and Paul Buckley. Paul clearly had a lot of work to do! We also thanked lady luck that we hadn't a major start line accident.

Ian Stapleton had established himself as the clear race leader from Andy Page with Roger Evans leading the rest of the field some 2.5" back. Neil Smith was trying valiantly to hold on but Roger had his sights set on Andy's Giulietta and started to close the gap, coming round just half a second behind at the end of lap 4. Nev Simpson was running 5th just ahead of Clive Hodgkin while a very entertaining scrap between Mark James and Nik Mantikas was keeping us entertained, Nik indulging in some lurid looking slides through the fast Camp corner, several times putting two wheels on the grass. Ray Foley was still ahead of Paul Buckley, progress being impeded by the Class D 33s of Matt Daly and Richard Salt just ahead. A quick lap 5 by Paul moved him ahead of Ray, lap 6 he was past Richard Salt and then on lap 7 in front of Matt Daly and right on Phil Donaghy's bumper.

Up at the front, Ian Stapleton had given himself an 11 second lead but the battle between Andy Page and Roger Evans continued apace until Roger slipped past on lap 7 and with the help of traffic began to eke out a comfortable advantage. Neil Smith remained a lonely fourth but there was more entertainment for 5th and 6th as Nev Simpson and Clive Hodgkin ran within half a second of each other. Keith Waite had disentangled himself from Mark James and Nik Mantikas but with no chance of catching Nev and Clive  as they were pushing each other quicker on every lap.

By the two thirds stage the commentators were concentrating on the Paul Buckley/Phil Donaghy battle as this was obviously of importance to the championship overall. Paul Buckley had been trying some very unusual lines to outfox his rival and eventually got ahead with a quick lap on lap 12. But Phil was far from finished as his next two laps were quicker than Paul's but the pink 156 was not to be denied and eventually crossed the line 1.6s to the good, an effort that would win Paul the "Chateau Lezongars" Driver of the Day Award.

Ian Stapleton's GTV6 reached the flag at the end of the 20 minute race some 30s clear of a delighted second placed Roger Evans with Andy Page a further 5 seconds back, happy that his new 2 litre engine had survived its first dry race going quickly all the way through. Neil Smith's lap times showed just how hard he had driven for 4th place and the Class B win,  while Clive Hodgkin had made a big effort on the final lap to grab 5th from Nev Simpson, Keith Waite coming home 7th. In Class D, Nik Mantikas's race had come to a sudden end at three quarter distance with a broken front hub which pitched him into the barrier hard at Old Paddock, leaving Mark James as the undisputed class winner from Wayne Ashford and Matt Daly, Wayne enjoying a race long duel with Class C winner John Pogson. Third in E was a delighted Ray Foley who was just ahead of the Class D 33s of Richard Salt and Nick Gooch. One excellent performance that got slightly overlooked was that of Andy Childs who propelled father Tim's 75 Twin Spark to an excellent 6th in Class D with some highly respectable lap times.

Out of the 32 who started the race, 28 made it to the finish and as Martin Jones said afterwards "there was so much going on it was hard to know which way to look!" Alfa Romeo racing as it should be.

Paul Buckley efforts in E had deprived Phil Donaghy of six valuable points. Once adjustments had been made he remained 2 points clear of Phil Donaghy. The calculations can be found in "News & Gossip".

We look forward to returning to Castle Combe in 2008

Prizegiving Photos By James Hodgkin

 

If you have any photographs that you would be happy for us to publish
in low resolution (720 pixels wide / 72 pixels per inch) then please
contact graham@heels.me.uk

 

They talk about abnormal weather events - well we seem to have had our fair share of them this year! Silverstone and Rockingham were cold, Pembrey and Oulton last weekend were drenched, the day at Cadwell started with thick mist. Only Oulton in mid April has given us a warm day out! The forecast for Oulton this time was a wet morning but a better afternoon, but the met office (and the old sages on the gate!) proved wide of the mark. For the class A and B competitors it has been a case of buying new wets or looking for old ones that have seen the light of day for two or three years. Those using control tyres have tried to keep a set around with more tread on them.

Quite often there are a number of delays at Oulton meetings but qualifying this time seemed remarkably trouble free. However, the track was very wet indeed as our 26 car entry started the 20 minute session at the end of the morning. Everyone was taking things very carefully, perhaps the only people who welcomed it being the photographers who were aiming for those atmospheric shots of water streaming off the bodywork and lights reflecting on the track.

Visually, it was clear that Tim Lewis's Alfasud Sprint was the fastest car on the circuit, despite being handicapped by a lack of second gear, but right at the end Neil Smith put in a flier, nearly three second quicker than anything he had before, to grab pole by just half a second. This was despite frightening himself earlier on with a big spin at Druids and it was the first Production Modified pole for many years. Andy Page was giving his new 2 litre engine its first run and would line up third with Roger Evans' GTV alongside him. Julian Birley was making his first appearance of the year in the dramatic looking 75, and was being "engineered" by Nick Humphrey. After a very tentative session he would be on the third row alongside 5th quickest Bryan Shrubb and ahead of Nev Simpson and John Pogson. A very welcome 9th fastest was Chris Snowdon who was making another tempt to get the Lahoma 33 through a race meeting intact. Also back for his first race of 2007 was John Griffiths, his Class B 156 having been re-worked by Neil Smith at NJS.

Phil Donaghy and Ray Foley were very evenly matched in Class E and were surprised to be ahead of Nik Mantikas who had the fastest car in Class D. Keith Williams always seems to go well in the rain and his quickest time took him ahead of both Wayne Ashford and Richard Salt while Andy Inman seemed to be going better now that he could see where he was going. Dave Hughes eventually brought out the red flag after an "off" in his 156 but most people seemed quite happy just to return to the paddock and relate their experiences!

It was quite a long wait until our race was finally called to the assembly area, the afternoon not having been quite so delay free as the morning. Despite a brief respite from the rain mid afternoon, the track remained very wet. It was Neil Smith who made the best start but Tim Lewis was already challenging on the entry to Old Hall but then lost time in the corner allowing Neil quite a lead as he charged off towards Cascades. It couldn't last though. Tim soon had the Sprint on full song, now with all gears working, and completed the first lap with a 2.9" advantage over Neil's 156. Andy Page and Roger Evans were engaged in an excellent contest just a couple of seconds behind while Chris Snowdon was already up to 5th place and looking very sharp, well ahead of Bryan Shrubb, John Pogson and Nev Simpson. The D & E war was being led by Phil Donaghy who, as usual, had made a superb start but Nik Mantikas and Wayne Ashford were both intent on asserting the superiority of Class D although Wayne was being paid close attention by Keith Williams' Class E 145.

By the end of lap 2 Tim Lewis had opened his lead over Neil Smith to some 6 seconds and the gap was to continue increasing by around three seconds a lap. Neil meanwhile was having to watch the progress of Andy Page and Roger Evans, particularly when Roger slipped into 3rd place on lap 4. Roger was finding himself ever more impressed by the performance of his Michelin wets and reckoned that he could catch Neil but sadly we were never to find out. As he went into Old Hall at the start of lap 5 there was a puff of smoke from under the dash, the engine then cut out on the way down to Cascades, a very frustrated Roger pulling off at Island Bend. The "kill" switch had shorted out - race over. This left Andy Page back in third place but not for long as Chris Snowdon was getting progressively more confident in his 33 16v and was right on Andy's tail, moving ahead as they passed the pits at the start of lap 6. Meanwhile Bryan Shrubb, Nev Simpson and John Pogson were having lonely races in the next three places

Loneliness was not a problem further back, however, and there were some close battles keeping us entertained. Nik Mantikas and Wayne Ashford had moved ahead of Phil Donaghy but Wayne was determined to get himself into the class lead which he managed on lap 3. Sadly Nik was unable to respond as his car appeared to have an intermittent problem for the rest of the race (fuel starvation?) which meant that he would eventually have to be satisfied with third in class behind Richard Salt. Phil Astell had made good progress after qualifying well down the field and would undoubtedly have finished 2nd in class had he not indulged in several excursion off the tarmac, one of which finally saw him stuck in the gravel with two laps to go. Thereafter there was no challenge to Wayne who came home half a minute clear of Richard Salt with Nik Mantikas 3rd - joy in the Ashford camp as Wayne had got his first class win at last.

Phil Donaghy continued to lead Class E but Keith Williams was never far behind although temporarily hampered by Phil Astell being the meat in a 145 sandwich. With Phil out of the way, Keith closed right up on lap 6 to harry the Championship leader before passing him into Old Hall with a lap to go. Could he hold on to be another first time class winner - the answer was yes as Phil had dropped some 6 seconds behind at the flag, later explaining that there was some problem with his gearbox. Ray Foley came home third in the class after another excellent performance in the wet but only 2 seconds behind was Andy Inman, continuing the better form he had shown in qualifying and leaving Dave Hughes, Paul Buckley and Graham Heels in his wake.

Tim Lewis had given the commentator at Knickerbrook, and probably himself, a "wake up" call on the final lap as he took to the grass, losing 10 seconds in the process, but it was not enough to give Neil Smith a sniff of victory. A delighted Chris Snowdon brought the Lahoma 33 home in 3rd place (2nd in class), John Sismey joining him afterwards on the podium. Andy Page had slowed on the final lap but retained his fourth spot well clear of Bryan Shrubb and Nev Simpson. Despite major visibility problems, Julian Birley had finally worked his way past John Pogson to 7th and was catching Nev at the end.

Keith Williams was the "Chateau Lezongars" Driver of the Day.

Phil Donaghy left Oulton with his Championship lead intact from Neil Smith, Keith Williams and Richard Salt but from now on the "dropped scores" rule (two worst results) will start  coming into play and this leaves the situation at the top of the overall table as follows -

1	Phil Donaghy	132
2	Neil Smith	126
3	Tim Lewis	106
4	Ray Foley	104

See you at Castle combe on July 14!

 

After the arctic temperatures of Silverstone, the cold wind of Rockingham and the torrential rain in Wales surely a June race in Cadwell would at least be kind to us on the weather front. Well no – Sunday morning arrived and we were greeted with a heavy Lincolnshire fog.

Cadwell was always going to be a busy day. The second of our three double header meetings and this one would see all the track action on just the Sunday. Added to that the twists and turns of Cadwell mean that only 28 cars can race . . . . once our entry had crept up into the mid 30s the BRSCC reworked the timetable and agreed that for the first time in over a year we could split the classes. The entry meant that this would be one pair of races for classes A, B and C and another pair for classes D and E.

The entry looked strong with Chris Snowden and Andy Millar returning in Class A and also the first appearance of Roger Evans in his familiar GTV – however the car is now running in Class A with a 3.8 litre V6. Joining Roger in the Peak Alfa team would be Gareth Haywood in a Class B 156.

The Class D entry was the strongest this year with previous class winners Mark James & Phil Astell joined by the returning Nik Mantikas. One unfortunate driver was Nick Gooch who had suffered gearbox problems whilst testing on Saturday and would be a non-starter.

With the return of Ian Fisher Class E would field it’s best ever entry of 9 cars – headed by Championship leader Phil Donaghy.

So 9am came and the Class D & E drivers sat in the assembly area waiting for the fog to clear and qualifying to start. With a busy day ahead of them, soon after 9.30 the officials decided that qualifying had to start but with the visibility, particularly on the far side of the circuit, so bad it would consist of just 3 laps behind a pace car. Not the best option for what many think is the trickiest circuit on our calendar but the only one open to the officials.

The result was that the Championship co-ordinator was left to come up with a grid for the start of the race – the grid would need to be as fair as possible with safety also a consideration. Eventually it was decided that the grid would be in Championship position order with the the Class D front wheel drive cars followed by the Class E cars and then the rear drive Class D cars.

By the time the Class A, B and C cars were ready to qualify the mist had cleared so they would get a normal session.

Pole position was taken by Adie Hawkins. However, Adie only completed 4 laps as, towards the end of lap 5, Adie lost control of the 33 and struck the barrier at Hall Bends. With the car spinning down the barrier many of those who saw it (and heard it) thought the car would return with major damage to both ends. However the new barriers did an amazing job of stopping the car without too much further damage – the rear of Adie’s 33 looked virtually unmarked. Much work would now be done to attempt to get the car to the race. Also not having much luck was Chris Snowden in the Lahoma car – a mechanical problem seeing him complete just a couple of laps & Andy Page with a serious engine problem.

Ian Stapleton and Tim Lewis qualified behind Adie with Roger Evans and Andy Millar both going well with their heavily revised cars. Neil Smith topped Class B whilst Graham Seager had the edge over John Pogson in Class C.

The start of race 1 would be interesting – for many drivers this would be their first fast lap of Cadwell for a year or more – for some the first ever! Everyone seemed to cope well and in the early stages Phil Astell lead from Mark James. The man on the move was Nik Mantikas, up from 7th on the grid to 3rd on lap 3 – just as it went wrong for Phil Astell, giving Richard Salt the chance to lead a Class D race for the first time before Mark James took over a lead he would never give up despite Nik’s close attention.

Part of the reason for some of Phill’s problems was a result of the Class E racers behind. David Hughes, right behind Graham Heels’ 147 on the first few laps had run across the kerb at Park corner damaging his sump to the