Round 7 MSA British Sprint Championship - Kirkistown - 06/08/04
Leinster Conquers Kirkistown
In a Top Twelve Run-off that was seriously affected by the heat John Leinster was a howling success as the unsilenced Pilbeam-Opel flew round Ulster's top motor racing circuit.
The championship contenders were pleased to see the chicane that has blighted the back straight for so many years was missing. The UAC had, in consultation with the Sprint Championship co-ordinator, made the decision to remove it. This was brought about by the number of incidents in 2003 where the meeting had to be stopped to rebuild the avenue of cones.
The Ulster events always draw a representative bunch of Sprint Championship contenders and 2004 was no exception. Ulster is also very hard on the cars with the two laps of Kirkistown being especially so. Practice saw John Sampson arriving at the Hairpin at the top of the circuit at a conservative 154mph. He locked the brakes and despite two attempts to modulate them he had to resort to using the handbrake to try and get the car to turn in. Unfortunately the car only partially turned and then arrowed into the banking. The damage sustained to the Quantum Xtreme were enough to put Sampson out for the rest of the weekend, however in true spirit of sprinting he stayed on to assist the other mainland teams. Several other drivers had problems in practice: Tony Ellis had the rear suspension collapse but soon had it welded back up and Mike Musson broke a throttle cable and a primary chain in the Dual-Force, both proving minor set backs.
In the class runs John Leinster set the two fastest times to take the prime spot in the run-off. Robert Morgan, who hadn't registered for this year's Sprint Championship was second fastest with his 2.5-litre Pilbeam-Millington whilst top mainlander was Somerset's Tony Eyles, in elder brother Rodney's hillclimb Lola. Tim and William Mason were giving their Reynard-Peugeot a shakedown before the Craigantlet hillclimb and were more than impressed with the current sprinting scene. Of the local drivers in the classes top marks for effort went to Billy Stevenson in the Ford crossflow powered Ford Popular 100E. His four-wheel drifts brought spontaneous applause from the spectators. However it wasn't the fastest way round and Michael Beattie took the class in his immaculate Alfa Romeo GT.
TOP TWELVE RUN-OFF
Kicking off the run-off was Tracey Ashby; the reigning Ladies Champion currently leads this element of the championship; however she had her problems. The gearing was slightly off which meant she was consistently hitting the rev limiter and dropping valuable time. Both her runs were affected and she would end up eleventh.
Pete Howgate was the first of the formidable Sheffield Mafia to the line and his first run proved to be his only effort. The Rover K-series was overheating and when it came to the second runs the temperature was still 'off the scale'. Graham Porrett, engine builder of Team Tegra, put in two quick runs that elevated him to eighth. Mike Musson then took to the track in the twin Suzuki engined Dual-Force. However the car shuddered to a halt when another throttle cable snapped. It was Mike's final spare and he was out.
Brian Woffenden, the other half of the Sheffield Mafia, slotted the Ralt into ninth but overheating also sidelined him. Simon Ashby then followed wife Tracey with his first run dogged by hitting the rev limiter. Second time out and he short shifted and managed to clip a couple of seconds off to slip into seventh. Steve Broughton was next in his OMS-Suzuki. The SBD developed car now sports fully automatic up and down shifting as well as a powerful 1500cc Hayabusa unit. Broughton's first effort saw him slot into sixth, but on his second run he made a mess of the Hairpin and spun harmlessly onto the grass - he would have to be satisfied with sixth.
Terry Holmes, the Chichester Chippy, was equally on the pace on his first run. He also made a similar mistake at the Hairpin and spun-out on his second run. Roy Dawson knew he would only be able to take one run as the Suzuki engine in the DJ Firehawk was taking too long to cool down. His effort was faultless and slotted him into fourth. Tony Wiltshire just pipped Dawson by one hundredth of a second on his first run. With no threat to his third place and no chance of improvement he opted out of his second run. Tony Eyles put in a super first run but had driven back into the Paddock. His time of 1min 36.41 was his fastest of the day but would it be enough?
John Leinster had been on the pace all day. His Q-time had been a super 1min 34.17sec and when he knew what Eyles had done first time round he eased into his run. Just holding off giving 100% he put in a still very respectable 1min 34.46sec. What would Eyles do? Tony thought long and hard and decided that second place and an intact car were what were needed so he declined his second run. Leinster likewise had nothing to prove and he too declined his second run. Although the run-off petered out due to the heat and some first class times during the first runs it was still an absorbing tactical battle.
Results:
1 John Leinster (2.5 Pilbeam-Opel MP88) 1m 34.46s
2 Tony Eyles (3.5 Lola-Judd/Connaught ERH) 1m 36.41s
3 Tony Wiltshire (2.0 Ralt-Peugeot/Longman RT34) 1m 40.43s
4 Roy Dawson (1.3 DJ Firehawk-Suzuki) 1m 40.44s
5 Terry Holmes (2.0 Reynard-Ford/Tegra SF84) 1m 41.80s
6 Steve Broughton (1.5 OMS-Suzuki/SBD 2000M) 1m 42.12s
7 Simon Ashby (2.0 Reynard-Millington 883) 1m 44.46s
8 Graham Porrett (2.0 Reynard-Ford/Tegra SF84) 1m 45.50s
9 Brian Woffenden (1.8 Ralt-Rover/QED RT30) 1m 49.45s
10 Peter Howgate (1.8 Ralt-Rover/QED RT30) 1m 50.66s
11 Tracey Ashby (2.0 Reynard-Millington 883) 1m 57.07s
Mike Musson (2.0 Dual-Force-Suzuki/Powertek) Rtd
Championship Positions:
1 Steve Broughton 73pts
2 Tony Wiltshire 71pts
3 Terry Holmes 68pts
4 Tony Eyles 64pts
5 Simon Ashby 56pts
6 Steve Miles 39pts
FTD Leinster 1m 34.17s - Establishes New Course Record.
Class Winners - All times establish new class records
Graham Stirling (2.0 Caterham Super 7) 1m 54.65s
Alan Gillis (1.4 Talbot Samba) 2m 21.84s
Andrew Ritchie (1.7 Vauxhall Nova) 2m 14.37s
Kenny Allen (1.6 Lotus Elan Sprint) 2m 11.55s
Garry Dickson (1.6 Westfield-Vauxhall/SBD SEiW) 1m 55.22s
Michael Beattie (2.0 Alfa Romeo GT) 2m 18.46s
Dawson 1m 41.62s
Leinster 1m 34.17s
Round 8 MSA British Sprint Championship - Nutts Corner - 08/08/04
Leinster Doubles Up!
In wet and windy conditions John Leinster doubled his points tally at his local venue. The day had started dry and warm but halfway through practice the drizzle arrived. This was doubly unwanted: firstly it always makes the event something of a lottery and secondly after two days of the Ulster Kart Gran Prix the track had a liberal coating of oil and rubber.
Practice also saw a couple of problems for the contenders. Brian Woffenden had a re-occurrence of an old back injury, which made him doubtful for the afternoon runs, and Steve Broughton had the chain break. Broughton hadn't made up a spare so had to set to with an angle grinder to cut a length from a huge piece.
After lunch, with the drizzle getting worse, most drivers still chose to run on slicks. John Leinster again headed the times with Terry Holmes hot on his heels. Third fastest was the incredible Garry Dickson in the 1.6-litre Vauxhall-powered Westfield Mod Prod car. The Orkadian was in his element and looked liable to get a huge points haul. Brian Woffenden did take his first class run and posted a slow-ish time. He sat out the second wetter runs and much to his dismay found that he had qualified!
Local rally driver Martin Elliot joined the sprinters at Nutts with his four-wheel drive Corsa and in the damp to wet conditions he blasted round only a couple of tenths slower than his best time in the dry! Another of the locals to feature well was Seamus Morris in the Darrian. The tarmac rally car has been used mainly on the hills and in sprints and is the ideal all-purpose car for the Northern Irish venues. Both the Ladies Championship contenders who had made the trip to Northern Ireland had problems. Sue Griffiths and Tracey Ashby went off on the first runs and in the second wetter runs Sue had a fuel-metering problem and Tracey was just off the qualifying pace.
TOP TWELVE RUN-OFF
First to the line was Brian Woffenden and in a superb piece of double bluff he had told the organisers he would be putting in one slow run just to get a time. Despite a great deal of pain he managed to drive with one hand on the wheel and one on the gearlever as he found this put less stress on his back. As he finished and rolled the car into the paddock the steely Yorkshire man had to be lifted from the Ralt.
Graham Porrett was next and he recorded his best 'wet' time to move into a temporary lead. Tony Ellis, in his first ever British Sprint Run-off, let his right foot get away from him and arrived at the chicane far too fast and duly spun out. Peter Howgate then brought the yellow Ralt back to the line and put in a banker to get at least one time on the board. Simon Ashby, now with gearing more suited to the track, was next and he duly took the lead with a steady run. Mike Musson was fired up and was quickly into his stride. Too quickly as it turned out as he too failed to negotiate the chicane and ended up facing the wrong way!
Roy Dawson, who was driving the Firehawk in the wet for the first time, was pleased to have qualified. His first run was electrifying with big twitches at the top end of the circuit and a power slide out of the chicane. He duly romped into the lead. Tony Eyles, who dislikes Nutts Corner but needed the points, was next and his mind set was all wrong. He was somewhat lethargic in his start then when he arrived at the chicane he locked up all four wheels and pirouetted to a halt.
Tony Wiltshire had made up his mind to put in a banker first run and duly did ending up a satisfied fourth! Garry Dickson's decision to miss out his second-class run backfired as he had a quick spin exiting the chicane however he recovered and posted a time that slotted him into an incredible fifth! Terry Holmes was another to put in a conservative first run and despite this approach he was lying third. Final runner first time round was John Leinster. The Pilbeam driver was awesome in his attack on the chicane finding more grip on the red and white concrete kerbs than most found on the tarmac. When the clocks stopped the Ulsterman had nearly two seconds in hand over Roy Dawson.
Brian Woffenden was in too much pain to take his second run but still held a tenuous ninth place. So first to the line for the second runs was Graham Porrett who indulged in a quick spin and failed to trouble the timekeepers. Tony Ellis needed a time and he duly scrabbled round to post one and move ahead of Howgate and Woffenden. Peter Howgate then restored the status quo and slipped past Ellis into eighth. Simon Ashby was some four seconds quicker and slotted into fifth. Mike Musson, like Ellis, needed a time and with grim determination he got the slimline Force to the line and moved into sixth. Roy Dawson was flying on his second run until the second time through the chicane when a quick spin cost him dear. He would have to rely on his first run time, which still had him in second. Tony Eyles then seemed to be in cruise mode as he took the hillclimb Lola round into fourth.
Tony Wiltshire languished in fifth: could he pick up more places? Off the line the Ralt squirmed for grip and through the chicane it seemed as if on rails; lap two was a repeat and as the clocks stopped Tony was elevated to second place. Garry Dickson had some time to make up and in a superb display of opposite lock driving the Westfield driver lopped over seven seconds off his first run time to climb from seventh to fourth. Terry Holmes and Graham Porrett had been studying Leinster's lines especially through the chicane and Terry was keen to try out this approach. Off the line and down through the bottom part of the course the Reynard was on the pace. Through the chicane Terry climbed the kerbs found the extra grip but was spat out as he bottomed at the exit. Round the circuit he was still maintaining his pace but not wishing to spin out he took a more conservative line through the chicane second time round. As he crossed the line all eyes were on the clocks. He had improved by a massive four seconds, slotting into second but still over half a second behind John Leinster. As the Ulsterman sat revving the Opel V6 he was quickly signalled to cut the engine. After all if your leading and it is still bucketing down why risk the car in an unnecessary gesture?
Despite the rain Round 8 of the championship had proved pivotal. There was a shake-up at the top of the points table as Steve Broughton fell to third and Tony Wiltshire and Terry Holmes moved into the first tow places. Tony Eyles had also closed in and with four high-speed rounds to come he remains in many eyes the man to beat.
Results:
1 John Leinster 1m 41.93s
2 Terry Holmes 1m 42.61s
3 Tony Wiltshire 1m 42.78s
4 Roy Dawson 1m 43.72s
5 Garry Dickson 1m 45.20s
6 Tony Eyles 1m 46.41s
7 Simon Ashby 1m 50.43s
8 Mike Musson 1m 54.64s
9 Graham Porrett 1m 58.32s
10 Peter Howgate 2m 4.10s
11 Tony Ellis (1.1 Megapin-Suzuki/Ellis) 2m 5.76s
12 Brian 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
Steve Wilkinson - 20 Aug 2004
