| Main Startline Menu | Main Monoposto Menu | For Sale |
|
|
Startline OnLine | ||
|
| Track & Race
Cars Magazine Mono Championship Woodhouse Wins, TFR Breaks Suspension, DP Breaks Duck Practice The track wasn’t brim-full for practice, but it was certainly pretty busy out there. A couple of people failed the noise check, which was much better run than at Snetterton, but they made it out after the application of traditional remedies such as the “baked bean can silencer”. Peter Whitmore and Stephen Brooks circulated together at first, presumably sharing the views from the very attractive Coastal Circuit. Both Chris Woodhouse and Kat Impey looked to be very quick, with Chris under the lap record. He had had a nasty fright in testing when the front wing let go and launched the car, but fortunately he escaped further damage. John Kirby from Aztec Motorsport brought up a spare overnight and the team fitted it with no problem – although later in the day they had another niggle, this time with the rear wing mountings. Geoff Fern had brought out his very innovative looking TFR09, but had a problem when a drive coupling let go, possibly a hang over from a teething problem with the new car in testing – but their was unfortunately worse to come for him in the race. Darren Freeman was at Anglesey for the first time, in fact it was only his third ever race, and was having trouble dealing with the traffic and learning the circuit. Tony Davies went well at first but then saw a return of his clutch problems, which were successfully fixed with help from Ewen after practice. Ian Hughes it was who took the Class Pole in the not-at-all-noisy-really Agent, a very good showing for his first race of the year. In the Mono 1800s Peter Bragg took the Class Pole, from an on-form Jim Timms who was going very well. Further down the grid Geoffrey Cowells lovely Cowell Hi-Tec also had a front wing failure (is there something about Angelsey that puts extra loads on the wings?) and Jonathon Baggott raised a sweat when the car wouldn’t start for practice until a recalcitrant ignition pack had been re-earthed. Race The race starts for these classes sound fantastic, with the scream of the bike engines and the deeper grunt from the Zetecs. Chris Woodhouse got the lead, but Kat was right on him, and looked to be very serious indeed, with Stephen Brooks in a strong third overall. Somehow – and the details are blurred - Tony Cotton emerged with a substantial lead in the Mono 1600s, and Pete Bragg was already showing the form which made him unbeatable in Mono 1800 all weekend. Then we had a disaster – Geoff Fern had some sort of car problem in the TFR09 under braking at the end of the straight, clipping Stuart Digby off in the process, and mangling the new car against the wall – really unfortunate. This brought out the Safety Car, which was some sort of cross between a baby buggy and lawnmower. However it did work well as the field lined up behind it, although a couple of drivers (who will remain nameless to spare their blushes) hadn’t quite grasped the principles involved, and had to visit the Clerk of the Course later to have their positions re-adjusted (which can be painful…). More seriously at least one other competitor got clipped into a spin during this performance so - please everyone – do read and remember the Safety Car Procedures – it is better than a red flag but it relies on competitors knowing what to do, and when to do it. While the Safety Car was on track, Kat Impey suddenly disappeared. One of Anglesey’s many stones had got under the throttle pedal, jammed it wide open, and a really impressive debut drive in this years Championship was over. As the field took off past the green flag it was Woodhouse from Brookes. Chris was not going to be headed and took the win from Stephen. Third on the road, second in class was Darren Freeman, having driven an absolute stormer for only his third ever race. Once Darren learns the circuits he will be a real force to reckoned with. Tony Cotton had Jim Timms in his sights at first and was clear of a squabble between Dave Parkinson, Tony Davies and Ian Hughes for the other top 1600 places. Then the Treasurer dropped the car bigtime into a full 360 spin at Church and fell behind the pursuing threesome, who could have been covered by a hanky for the rest of the race. A delighted Dave Parkinson took his first time win from Davies and then Hughes. In the 1800’s Peter Bragg took the class and fourth overall – he clearly meant business over the whole weekend. Michael Dale was off the podium but did get the Aztec Motorsport Driver of the Day rising from 15th to 9th overall.
Simon Davey. Pics by Simon Davey and Norwich Photo
|
Chris Woodhouse's wing
Geoff Cowell's wing
Douglas Maclay spins; Len Turner and Tony Cotton avoid
TFR09 comes to grief with Stuart Digby
The race lines up behind Uncle Bryn's Picasso
|
||
 |
