Round 11 MSA British Sprint Championship - BARC (Wales) Pembrey - 11/09/04
Eyles gets ever closer
With two rounds at Pembrey over the weekend the British Sprint Championship was heading for an exciting climax. Could Tony Wiltshire in a two-litre fend off the attentions of the 3.5-litre Lola of Tony Eyles or could the 2001 champion win again?
Pembrey is always regarded as a car killer in the Sprint Championship and this weekend was no exception. During Saturday practice the Terry Holmes/Graham Porrett Reynard encountered engine problems when the rods holding the block together worked loose. This put a dirty big groove in the block and potentially ended their season. However, before you could say 'We might as well pack up and go home' Phil Lynch offered Terry a shared drive. Graham was also offered drives, but was intent on trying to resolve the engine problem.
After practice and the lunch break the class runs got under way with the Modified Production cars. In the 1400 class it was a battle of the Rovers. Malcolm Allen just held off the challenge of marshal Peter Hills in his Mini to take the win. Peter Evans took third with the rest snapping at his heels. In the two-litre class Paul Perkin had his 'new' Peugeot 205 really flying. The car has all the bits on it from his written off earlier car and is slowly getting up to speed. His first run put him in the lead and despite a second run grass-cutting moment he stayed in top spot.
Jonathan Milne fought back to second in the lurid yellow CRX whilst Pembrey Instructor Nigel Hughes took third in the Pembrey Pace Car - an MG ZR160. In the final Mod Prod class Steve Heath launched his TVR wedge into the lead where it stayed whilst David John was two seconds behind with his smart BMW M3. In the Modified Kit Car classes the British Sprint contenders prevailed. In the 1800 division Garry Dickson's trip down to South Wales from the Orkneys was rewarded with a class win over a brace of Welsh Westies. Meanwhile in the over 1800 division John Sampson hurled the brutal Quantum Xtreme to the class win over Mark Smith's Vauxhall powered Westie.
In the Racing Car classes it was a South West battle in the 1100 class. Henryk Kozlowski from Somerset (!) just shaded out Ross Browne from Avon in the Force. The little Jedi is due an engine transplant over the winter and should be virtually unstoppable in the Welsh championship. Just two Formula Fords made the long trip to Pembrey and it was hot favourite Keith Sollis in the Van Diemen who prevailed. Iain Houston in the Laser managed to cut the deficit to a meagre 0.24 of a second in his chase. The 1600 Racing Car class saw an intense battle up front. Roy Dawson's first run time took the class but he and Steve Broughton recorded identical times on their second runs. Jonathan Varley brought the March-BDA home in third whilst the Pembrey Instructor Nigel Morris was out again in a Formula Vauxhall Junior and took fourth.
In the two-litre class Dave Cutcliffe was unstoppable in his Van Diemen on his first run, then whilst warming the car up for his second shot it went onto two cylinders. The block, which the Bristolian had glued together and riveted after it split, had once again cracked. Tony Wiltshire meanwhile cruised home in second, well clear of a titanic battle between Steve Miles, Terry Holmes, Simon Ashby and Adrian Desoutter who were all covered by just 0.56 of a second! In the over two-litre class Tony Eyles took an unchallenged win as the Dowling/Payne Reynard suffered a split fuel tank. The car was mopped out and the tank temporarily sealed before the run-off.
In the final six classes for Road Modified cars there were the usual tin-top and Locaterfield battles. In the 1400 Production class Dave West took yet another class win in his Historic Austin Mini Cooper S. Clare Sullivan came home second ahead of Steve English and a pack of Minis. The two-litre class went to Gareth Griffiths in his immaculate Renault Clio Williams. The Welshman held off the challenge of Steve Wood in the MG TF160 who in turn had Graham Oxley breathing down his neck in the pretty Lotus Elan S3 FHC. In the over two-litre class Jeff Stokes blasted the opposition away with his EVO 5RS. His sheer speed through the sweeping Debeni took him over two seconds clear of second place man Andrew Meek in the Impreza WRC. Derek Jones just held onto third in his BMW Z3 Coupe as David Wood launched a last run charge in the 993 RS.
The final three classes for the Road Going Kit Cars saw a close fight in the 1700 class. The father and son team of Philip and Alan Wood took the 1-2 in their Westfield as Stephen Fielding chased hard in his Caterham. The remaining classes only had a single entry each so Gordon Hick in the Procomp Gold and Alex Mitchell in the Suzuki-powered Caterham were just up against the clock.
Top Twelve Run-off
The next victim of the Pembrey hoodoo was to be Simon Ashby. The Tramway Forge Reynard stripped its diff as he accelerated away off the line and he cruised round to record an uncompetitive time and finish 11th. Mike Musson in the Dual Force was struggling still with the gearshifts on the two Suzuki units and was disappointing in 10th. Terry Holmes, having out-qualified Phil Lynch who loaned him the Ralt-Alfa, chose not to run as it could possibly deprive Phil of some much needed points. Bristolian Kevin Lealan who had gone so well on his home track at Colerne just two weeks earlier was on his first trip to Pembrey. He found the horsepower deficit too much and could only manage 9th place. Phil Lynch took eighth in the RT30 but was still wondering where Terry Holmes found the extra pace!
Steve Miles was seventh in his Van Diemen when he suddenly chopped well over a second off on his second run. John Payne felt lucky to finish in 6th as on his second run he stripped second gear. This meant as well as repairing the split fuel tank there would have to be an overnight gearbox rebuild. Steve Broughton was slightly too conservative on his first run, then suddenly found nearly a second's improvement as he slotted into fifth. Martin Dowling only got the one run when John Payne stripped second gear, but this took him to fourth. Roy Dawson was in a rich vein of form as his hard charging style paid dividends. The black Firehawk flicked this way and that as the Scot clawed his way into third. Tony Wiltshire knew that Saturday was his best chance of beating Tony Eyles and after the first run he led.
However, a tad too early on the throttle exiting Hatchetts Hairpin saw the Ralt snake its way to Spitfires and when the clocks stopped at the end of his second run he was slower. The door was open! Could Tony Eyles slip through? His first run had been quick but he was two tenths off Wiltshire's pace. On the second run he had to get it right. Off the line the Lola shot away like a scalded cat. Through the slower early corners and he looked to be off the pace but as he accelerated into Debeni the car squatted nicely and the chase was on. Down to Brooklands and it was still Wiltshire in the lead but on the run through Woodlands to the finish Eyles held his nerve and just shaded Wiltshire by four tenths.
As the work commenced to fix the various broken cars Tony Eyles had a fixed grin. Although he had won it was only the first half of his plan that had been successfully executed. He now had to put that behind him and win again on Sunday!
Results:
1 Tony Eyles (3.5 Lola-Judd/Connaught T90/50) 47.21sec
2 Tony Wiltshire (2.0 Ralt-Peugeot/Longman RT34) 47.61sec
3 Roy Dawson (1.3 DJ Firehawk/Suzuki) 48.89sec
4 Martin Dowling (3.5 Reynard-Judd 88D) 49.42sec
5 Steve Broughton (1.3 OMS-Suzuki 2000M) 49.87sec
6 John Payne (3.5 Reynard-Judd 88D) 50.11sec
7 Stephen Miles (2.0 Van Diemen-Ford/Dunnell RF96M) 50.74sec
8 Phil Lynch (2.0 Ralt-Alfa Romeo/Connaught RT30) 51.58sec
9 Kevin Lealan (2.0 Formula Vauxhall Lotus) 51.80sec
10 Mike Musson (2.0 Duel-Force-Suzuki PT8) 53.58sec
11 Simon Ashby (2.0 Reynard-Millington 883) 114.72sec
12 Terry Holmes (2.0 Ralt-Alfa Romeo/Connaught RT30) DNS
FTD: Eyles 47.21sec.
Class Winners:
David West (1.4 Austin Cooper S) 65.06sec
Gareth Griffiths (2.0 Renault Clio Williams) 64.04sec
Jeff Stokes (2.0t Mitsubishi EVO 5RS) 59.95sec
Alan Wood (1.7 Westfield SEi) 61.06sec
Gordon Hick (2.0 Procomp LA Gold) 65.16sec
Alex Mitchell (1.0 Caterham 7) 67.03sec
Malcolm Allen (1.4 Rover 114GTi) 60.26sec
Paul Perkin (1.9 Peugeot 205GTi) 60.64sec
Steve Heath (3.9 TVR 390Se) 59.83sec
Garry Dickson (1.6 Westfield/Vauxhall/SBD SEi) 56.22sec
John Sampson (5.0 Quantum Xtreme) 53.18sec
Matthew Powell (1.3 Cox GTM) 67.32sec
Henryk Kozlowski (1.1 Jedi Mk1/6) 54.26sec
Keith Sollis (1.6 Van Diemen RF86) 58.23sec
Dawson 50.34sec
Dave Cutcliffe (2.0 Van Diemen-Ford DC93M) 48.79sec
Eyles 47.57sec
Mike Griffiths (2.0 Ford Escort Mk1) 62.04sec
Round 12 MSA British Sprint Championship - BARC (Wales) Pembrey - 12/09/04
Eyles closes out Wiltshire
In a suspenseful Top Twelve run-off Tony Eyles completed the Pembrey double he needed. Tony Wiltshire on the other hand succumbed to the pressure with two flawed runs, which saw him pushed down to second place in the standings. It all started in a cold windswept Paddock at 07:00 when the Dowling/Payne Team got to work on the Reynard. The car was repaired just in time for the pair to take their practice runs after a furious morning's work.
Meanwhile the Ashby's had taken a quick look at their Reynard and were scouting out shared drives. Simon ended up sharing the Quantum Xtreme with John Sampson whilst Tracey eventually wound up in Mark Smith's Westfield after she failed to fit into Steve Miles' Van Diemen. Terry Holmes found a new berth in Sue Griffiths' Chevron whilst Graham Porrett managed to blag a drive in Garry Dickson's Westfield.
After a showery practice the first timed run got underway before the lunch break and as the day wore on the rain swept back in. Again it was the Mod Prods leading the way and in the 1400 division it was a repeat of Saturday's 1-2. Malcolm Allen again ran out the winner but Peter Hills was a meagre 0.8 behind. Nigel Hughes took the two-litre division from a sometimes sideways Jonathan Milne whilst Steve Heath burbled to victory in his TVR wedge. Garry Dickson again took the first of the Modified Kit Car classes from the two Welsh competitors whilst Graham Porrett managed just one run to come home in fourth. John Sampson took the over two-litre class aided in no small part by having Simon Ashby as a car and tyre warmer! Simon managed to bring the car home in third as Mark Smith split the pairing despite only having slicks! Meanwhile Tracey Ashby took just one run in Mark Smith's car to collect fourth.
In the Racing Car classes the 1100 division saw Ross Browne take the win as Henryk Kozlowski came home a slithery second. In the Formula Ford class Keith Sollis took the win whilst Iain Houston had a big off in the Laser. The car was caught by a freak gust of wind as he exited Honda Curve and the resultant 'tank-slapper' saw the car slew across the grass on the outside of the course and destroy its undertray. Iain was perfectly ok, but the car would need a new undertray and a good check over. Roy Dawson again took the 1600 class in the Firehawk whilst second spot went to Nigel Hughes. The Pembrey instructor's local knowledge made up for the horsepower deficit as he kept Steve Broughton down in third. In the two-litre class Tony Wiltshire was in fine form and took a comfortable win. Second went to Adrian Desoutter in the Reynard-Zetec whilst Fred Currell took a well-deserved third in his rebuilt Reynard. Once again Tony Eyles took the over two-litre class as Martin Dowling and John Payne brought the repaired Reynard home in second and third places.
With fewer entries the meeting was progressing nicely and we were now into the Road Going classes. Once again Dave West took the 1400 class whilst Clare Sullivan recovered from a spin to take second ahead of Steve and Les English in a Mini clean sweep. Gareth Griffiths again took the two-litre class with Graham Oxley second this time. Jeff Stokes again crushed the opposition in the over two-litre class in the mighty EVO 5RS. Andrew Meek was second in the Impreza whilst David Wood held off a stern challenge from Alan Stevenson in the TVR Chimaera for third. In the first of the Kit Car classes Stephen Fielding defeated the Wood family in their Westfield whilst the remaining classes and their solo runners ran out as before.
Top Twelve Run-off
The rain was still falling as the run-off commenced. Mark Smith was still finding life on slicks a bit of a challenge and he slithered home 12th and last. Garry Dickson only managed one run as the clutch finally gave up the ghost. Despite holding ninth he fell away to finish 11th. John Sampson didn't have the assistance of a tyre warmer and couldn't repeat his earlier pace, finishing tenth. Phil Lynch had looked on to grab some much needed points but fell away on the second run as the spinners picked up pace. Phil would finish 9th and just two hundredths off eighth spot! In that 8th place was Fred Currell who was making his Run-off debut. First time out and he spun so with the increased pressure his second run pace was superb. With 8th to 10th places covered by just over two tenths this was proving to be a nail-biting run-off.
Into 7th and it was John Payne in the Judd powered Reynard. His starts were perfect with very little wheel spin, however a second run opposite-locking moment left him stranded. Steve Miles meanwhile had indulged in a spin on his first run then nailed a cracking run to slip ahead of Payne and close to within a second of fifth place. In fifth was Martin Dowling who put in two cool and calm runs with no fireworks and plenty of pace. However, he had been fourth at one stage and found himself pushed down by Steve Broughton. Broughton's first run was superb being over a second quicker than his qualifying time. His second run saw another four tenths shaved off as he kept Dowling's charge in check.
Tony Wiltshire had desperately needed a win so was in an uncompromising mood. His first run saw the orange Ralt slip and slide out of Hatchetts Hairpin so Wilt had to get off the power and the tenths just drifted away. As he sat on the line for his second run he was third so had to get round without mistakes. The early part of the run was a carbon copy of his first with problems at Hatchetts, and then as he headed round the back of the course he had a quick spin. His time was the slowest of the second runs and he was left marooned in third. However the championship could still be salvaged if Roy Dawson could beat Tony Eyles. After the first runs Eyles had a slender lead over fastest qualifier Dawson. With Eyles next to the stripe he had to put pressure on and cut his time. His start was better, but he still spun the wheels a little too much. Through Hatchetts he was rock solid and the launch down the straight to Honda Curve was pretty good. Through Honda and back on the power the Lola flew down to Brooklands and crossed the line stopping the clocks at the fastest time of the day so far.
He led by an increased margin and Roy Dawson who was now on the line knew it. Could he take his first run-off victory? We were about to find out. Off the line the Firehawk arrowed towards Spitfires. The start had been excellent but maybe it was too good as he arrived at Spitfires quicker than ever before and as he charged through the corner the back end lost traction and the car spun to a halt. It was game over and a win to Tony Eyles.
The championship was effectively over with just one round to go. Eyles was in the lead and if necessary would only have to turn up and make the run-off at the final round to take his third championship. However, with third down to twelfth places still undecided it should be an exciting final round at Three Sisters on the 2nd October. My advice is be there, it should be a cracker!
Results:
1 Eyles 49.80sec
2 Dawson 50.65sec
3 Wiltshire 50.98sec
4 Broughton 53.07sec
5 Dowling 53.30sec
6 Miles 54.31sec
7 Payne 54.59sec
8 Fred Currell (2.0 Reynard-Opel 913) 55.34sec
9 Lynch 55.36sec
10 Sampson 55.56sec
11 Dickson 56.74sec
12 Mark Smith (2.0 Westfield-Vauxhall/SBD SEiW) 57.20sec
Championship Positions after round 12:
1 Eyles 108 pts
2 Wiltshire 105 pts
3 Holmes 93 pts
4 Broughton 89 pts
5 S Ashby 84 pts
FTD Eyles 49.80sec
Class Winners:
West 64.55sec
Gareth Griffiths 61.55sec
Stokes 57.24sec
Stephen Fielding (1.7 Caterham 7) 60.65sec
Hick 67.19sec
Mitchell 67.58sec
Allen 60.04sec
Nigel Hughes (1.8 MG ZR160) 63.71sec
Heath 60.73sec
Dickson 56.74sec
Sampson 53.18sec
Ross Browne (1.1 Force-Suzuki PT10) 55.07sec
Sollis 58.17sec
Dawson 50.36sec
Wiltshire 51.06sec
Eyles 50.56sec
Mike Griffiths 64.04sec
Steve Wilkinson - 20 Sep 2004
