Snetterton, 24-25 August 2008
As we have stated after the last race, we will not be racing again this season. We have started stockpiling parts for the Lancia kappa rebuild, not to mention compiling an ever growing "wanted" list. We have everything in stock for the next engine rebuild - new crank, rods, pistons, another head and a low mileage engine to donate its block. We expect only to salvage the cams from the engine we broke earlier this year - didn't we say just the same about the previous engine we broke? We have also acquired a Motec M800 to replace the Motec M48 we have been running, the M48 has a minor glitch running 5 cylinders, hence the upgrade in search of better (some??) reliability.
In the meantime, Geri passed his ARKs test a few days earlier than planned after we found we couldn't get a test date in at Rye House until October. He has now been entered into his first race at Rye House on 7th September (while the LMA are at Anglesey), then returning to the scene of his ARKs success, Whilton Mill 3 weeks later (while the LMA go to Mallory Park) so it doesn't look like we'll even get to watch the LMA Euro
Saloon and Sports Car championship again this season.
Qualifying:
Morning qualifying, and just like the previous race, it was wet. At least this time it was wet enough to ensure all drivers were properly prepared this time. The Nobles of Mal Davison and Richard Gould set the pace, Davison heading Gould by over a second. Class A leader Nick Williamson was third in the Ford Escort Cosworth - the four wheel drive advantage in the wet being negated by mismatched wet tyres - while Doug Ellwood (Marcos Mantis) narrowly took Class B pole from Rhys Lloyd (Seat Leon), the next four places on the Class B grid order being filled by the Renault Clios which fared better in the wet that the pair of Class B Ford Sierras.
The pattern was the same in Class C, Rob Gough in the fwd Leyland Mini getting the better of Ian Craig's rwd BMW M3 while in Class D championship leader Andrew Neal (Honda Integra) took pole by 1.5 seconds from his nearest rival Jim Mepham (Renault Megane).
Race:
As is often the case at Snetterton, the afternoon race was in fully dry conditions. Richard Gould got the drop on Mal Davison with Nick Williamson also getting by the second Noble at Sears, with Davison losing almost 3 seconds on the first lap alone – it transpired there was a huge (Mal's description!) wasp in the car which delayed him for a few laps. Williamson got by Gould on lap 2 at Coram and started pulling away at 1-2 seconds per lap. Mark Harrison (Mitsubishi Evo) made a flying start leaping from 10th on the grid to 4th by the end of the first lap, but was unable to keep up the pace of the front runners. Williamson started to slow on lap 6 with noises coming from the Escort's diff while the two Nobles were still squabbling over second place. Davison crossed the line on lap 8 3/1000ths ahead of Gould, but it took lap 12 before he was able to make the pass stick, and was now 4.5 seconds behind the lead car. The gap had reduced to 0.4 seconds within two laps, but Williamson managed to hold on to win by that same margin. Rex Stamp (Lotus Exige) moved up into 3rd on lap 13 as Gould lost ground to finish 4th, some 30 seconds down from Williamson.
In Class B, Doug Ellwood played his joker having out-qualified Rhys Lloyd, but by lap 2 Lloyd had got passed, and slowly edged away to record his 7th win of the season. Bradley Gelman recovered from a poor (wet) grid position now he was able to use the power of his Sierra Cosworth gaining six places on the first lap before moving slowly through the field to take 3rd in class leaving the first of the Clios (David Pierce) fully 40 seconds behind. With only two cars in Class C, and Rob Gough's Mini pulling out after a lap, Ian Craig (BMW M3) ran to an easy class win. Class D was much more exciting, with the two championship leaders Andrew Neal and Jim Mepham running in close formation and swapping places all the way through to the final lap, the win finally falling to Mepham as Neal's Integra had engine problems and slowed dramatically losing 19 seconds on that lap.
With the three championship leaders all scoring 20 points, it's all stable at the front for the first time all season. The points stand at Neal (210), Mepham (198), Williamson (188) and Lloyd (170) but take away the two lowest scores and it's a lot closer – Neal (178), Williamson (176), Mepham (174), Lloyd (170) - but Rhys has yet to play his joker so the last three meetings of the season will see lots to play for.
Visit the LMA site for details of the LMA Euro
Saloon and Sports Car championship and standings so far.
Check out the current points
standing.
Send comments to: webmaster@nyssaracing.com
