Results and Happenings

Round 6 – Brands Hatch Circuit – Kent, UK 2013

Brands Hatch is a relatively short and technical circuit. So the Time Attack classes had been split-up to allow all drivers the best chance of hitting a traffic-free hot lap. To that end, Club Challenge is split into two and Club Pro is separated from Pro. As a result there are technically four Final sessions. There is a buzz up and down the pit lane. This is the last chance for us to experience the 2013 Time Attack cars in action, and there are still several class Championships up for grabs.

Round 6 Finals:

CLUB CHALLENGE FWD & N/A

Marc Donnelly has pretty much had things his own way this year in Club Challenge FWD. However, today he’s involved in a real tussle with Will Watson and Jonny Fletcher. Marc goes fastest (55.331), but Will is close behind (55.992) when Jonny Fletcher goes faster than both of them (54.875).

Neil Holden tops the N/A leaderboard (56.7), then beats his own time (56.554). His rivals are both in the 57s, Neil Bamford with a 57.047 and Procter with a 57.383. The OHWs are having their own battle, all in the 1-minute range. Neil Bamford is going quicker with every lap. Every time he goes quicker however, Neil Holden responds. With six minutes to go, Holden is leading the way with a 56.395.

Jonny Fletcher goes faster again (54.528), beating his own time and increasingly his lead at the top of the FWD class. Three minutes to go in the session and Procter goes second in N/A with a 56.706.

After winning Qualifying and closing the Championship points gap, Astra driver Will Watson sets a new Personal Best in FWD (55.348), but it’s only good enough for third at the moment.

In the final minute OHW Antonio Giovinazzo sets his own PB in the Alfa Romeo 155 (1:01.688). The FWD class seems settled, it’s the N/A class where things are going down to the wire. Neil Bamford sets a new PB on his penultimate lap (56.345), followed by James Procter who does exactly the same thing (56.635). Can either of them improve on their final laps? They cross the line after the chequered flag, Holden in 56.768 and Procter in 56.754. Bamford is just tenths behind too, after finding some late pace in his Vauxhall Corsa (56.874).

No-one improves their PBs and Holden ‘holds on’ to his victory! It’s a worthy climax to their 2013 season, and shows just how closely matched and hard-fought the N/A Club Challenge class has been this year. While Marc Donnelly loses out to Jonny Fletcher on the day in his Focus RS-powered Mk3 Ford Escort, but scores enough points to become 2013 Club FWD Champion!

CLUB CHALLENGE FWD FINAL RESULTS

POSITION	NAME	CAR	LAP TIME	POINTS
1	Jonny Fletcher	Vauxhall Astra GSI	54.528	100
2	Marc Donnelly	Ford Escort	55.082	90
3	Will Watson	Vauxhall Astra VXR	55.348	80
4	Gerry Atkinson	VW Golf	59.630	OHW
5	Antonio Giovinazzo	Alfa Romeo 155	1:01.688	OHW

CLUB CHALLENGE NATURALLY-ASPIRATED FINAL RESULTS

POSITION	NAME	CAR	LAP TIME	POINTS
1	Neil Holden	Honda Civic Type-R – TDI North	56.345	100
2	James Procter	Honda Civic Type-R – Velociraptor Racing	56.635	90
3	Neil Bamford	Vauxhall Corsa	56.874	80
4	Jeff Alden	Vauxhall Astra	1:03.337	OHW

CLUB CHALLENGE 4WD & RWD

Lee Bullen jumps straight to the top of the leaderboard (52.873), as is fitting for a driver who already has the Club Challenge 4WD class mathematically won. He’s closely followed by Jason Ogg (53.180), who is having a strong finish to the season. The bright yellow Evo of Gary Searl is unmistakable. Which is a shame in a way for him, as he spins at Druids and gets temporarily beached. As concern grows it could halt the session, Gary somehow manages to wiggle his way out. Good work Gary, that isn’t an easy trick to pull off.

Ten minutes remaining and everyone is on a PB. Dave Coe is having a much better weekend after the misfire issues he suffered at Donington Park. He goes third in 4WD with a 53.313. In the RWD class Umar Masood continues to lead the way (53.321), while championship leader Ronnie Amis is some way back (55.623), and is in danger of being beaten by Dave Jackson in the Lotus (55.653).

Finally Ronnie finds a chunk of time and improves (54.879), while Lee Bullen is in a class of his own once again, beating his previous best (52.696). Jason Ogg and Dave Coe are keeping him honest though, both in the low 53.1 second range, closely followed by Gary Searl (53.657). Ogg goes faster but the time is disqualified for all four wheels off the circuit limits. He’s not alone as drivers across all sessions fall victim to this rule. Neil Clark is the worst offender in this session, with two laps disqualified in his FC3S Mazda RX-7. At least we know he’s trying!

The bottom line is Umar is too good for the rest of RWD, Bullen the same in 4WD. Umar stretches his lead out further and it’s clear that Ronnie’s tyre issues remain. He later tells us his “newish” front tyres aren’t giving him the confidence to push on, but second is enough to win the title. Dave Jackson (Lotus), Robert Dixon (300ZX) and Darron Wall (VX220) are having a giant scrap. All three set their fastest times on their 9^th lap of 12 total laps, and all are in the 55-second range with just tenths between them. Dave Coe is the only driver to make a late charge, going second right at the end of the session and the entire season (53.108).

CLUB CHALLENGE RWD FINAL RESULTS

POSITION	NAME	CAR	LAP TIME	POINTS
1	Umar Masood	Mazda RX-7	53.227	100
2	Ronnie Amis	Ford Sierra Cosworth	54.744	90
3	Dave Jackson	Lotus Elise	55.347	80
4	Robert Dixon	Nissan 300ZX	55.469	70
5	Darron Wall	Vauxhall VX220	55.714	60
6	Gordon Wright	Nissan Skyline GTS-T	56.214	OHW
7	James Morgan	Nissan 300ZX	57.357	50
8	Neil Clark	Mazda RX-7	58.904	40

 

CLUB CHALLENGE 4WD FINAL RESULTS

POSITION	NAME	CAR	LAP TIME	POINTS
1	Lee Bullen	Subaru Impreza – SD Motorsport	52.696	100
2	Dave Coe	Subaru Impreza STI	53.108	90
3	Jason Ogg	Subaru Impreza – RA Motorsport	53.177	80
4	Paul Martin	Subaru Impreza – Bright Green Detailing	53.217	OHW
5	Gary Searl	Mitsubishi Evo – GMS Design	53.657	70
6	Damien Bradley	Subaru Legacy	53.894	OHW
7	Matthew Lawson	Mitsubishi Evo – Wallace Performance	54.090	OHW
8	Stephen Moore	Mitsubishi Evo	57.436	OHW
9	Mark Flook	Mitsubishi GTO – Eurospec	1:06.305	OHW

CLUB PRO & CLUB PRO 2WD

With only six cars out on the circuit, there should be plenty of space for our Club Pro competitors to get a clean lap. However, the headline news from this session is the seventh car out on track. Somehow a breakdown in communication has allowed Pro OHW Andrew Gallagher out on track. It doesn’t help that the bottom pulley on the YB Cosworth engine failed at the end of Qualifying. As a result the alternator won’t be charging the battery, which in turn means Andrew only has a couple of good laps in theory, before the battery voltage drops and the ignition begins to weaken, resulting in a misfire and slower lap times.

 

So with the red mist descended and Andrew’s determination to make those laps count, he’s missing the waved black flags trying to recall him to the pits. While Andrew circulates, the Club Pro 2WD class has turned into a ‘survival of the fittest’. Romain Levesque is out there in his Honda CRX, minus it’s supercharger so down on power. Richard Marshall is trying to drive around his gearbox issues, while Bo Nielsen’s ruined clutch sadly means he’s a spectator.

Amongst the battle-weary, Mike Cantelo’s bright red Vauxhall VX220 is zipping around happily enough. Mike eventually drops down in the 51s with a 51.951. The reward for Mike’s pace and the VX220’s reliability is the 2013 Time Attack Club Pro 2WD Championship!

Meanwhile, one of the closest dogfights in UK Time Attack is taking place. Brad Sheehan is top dog in the early stages, eventually recording a 51.900. Andrew Barbour is in second (52.840), when Marc Kemp shows his raw pace once more, going top with a 50.248. Over the next few minutes the Evo guys battle it out. At one point Kemp crosses the line in 51.425, followed by Sheehan in 51.466. This is ridiculously close. Barbour is catching them too, but still in the 52s. As the session draws to a close things get serious. Kemp blasts in a 49.968 to extend his lead. Brad Sheehan finds a chunk of time from somewhere, setting a new PB of 50.465.

However, no-one can stop Marc Kemp. He’s been on it all day, even completing more laps in the previous sessions than his team would have liked on the new NR Autosport engine. He couldn’t help himself, and the times reflect how much he’s enjoyed today. We’ve enjoyed watching these Evos be so competitive all year, despite being tuned in very different ways.

CLUB PRO FINAL RESULTS

POSITION	NAME	CAR	LAP TIME	POINTS
1	Marc Kemp	Mitsubishi Evo – Panic Link Motorsport	49.968	100
2	Brad Sheehan	Mitsubishi Evo – M.A.Developments	50.465	90
3	Andrew Barbour	Mitsubishi Evo – NR Autosport	52.221	80

 

CLUB PRO 2WD FINAL RESULTS

POSITION	NAME	CAR	LAP TIME	POINTS
1	Mike Cantelo	Vauxhall VX220 – Elise Parts	51.951	100
2	Romain Levesque	Honda CRX – Eurospec	53.222	90
3	Richard Marshall	Vauxhall Astra – Milltek Sport	53.465	80

PRO & PRO 2WD

The Pro cars line up in the pit lane but the NR Autosport Car stays in the garage. Driver Gavin Renshaw tells us he’s going to get the “banker” lap that will secure him and the NR Autosport team a third, successive Time Attack Pro Championship title. A stunning achievement. Once he’s got that under his belt, he’s going to [insert expletive here] the [expletive] out of it. Meanwhile the SVA Imports Evo appears from it’s pit garage to cheers. We’re going to get a proper climax to our 2013 Time Attack year. SVA’s gearbox issues might have put the final nail in their championship challenge coffin, but there’s still pride at stake. Some would argue that’s at least as valuable.

First, lets get the Pro 2WD out of the way. Not because we aren’t interested, but because it’s all sewn up. Simon Deaton and his Porsche Super Cup racer first met at the start of the year. Driving such an unforgiving, rear-engined car after big-power 4WD cars, it’s been a steep learning curve for Simon but he’s made serious progress. He’s capable of pushing the car to it’s limits. And beyond, if his spin at Paddock Hill in Qualifying is anything to go by. Scary place to go off! On the day he’d finish behind Marcus Clutton. There’s no shame in being beaten by a British GT Champion. Marcus won his Championship in a X-Bow. He knows the car and Brands Hatch very well, and it shows. The fact this one has 300bhp, it’s scary to think what the car would be capable of with double the horsepower, something that is, relatively speaking, pretty straightforward to do!

Returning to the Pro shoot-out between Renshaw and Lloyd, you can feel the anticipation in the air. As both cars hit the track it’s difficult to know whether to watch the timing screens giving live updates on sector times and speeds, or the movement of the cars on track. Are they hitting the apex? Are they running into the corner too hot? How do they look, too twitchy, too much understeer? As everyone tries to second-guess the winner of this final battle in the year-long War between Renshaw and Lloyd, NR and SVA, there’s a gatecrasher. BTCC and British GT driver Phil Glew is trying his hardest to spoil the party, despite having to run with less power as a result of that liner movement in the engine. He sets a 49.989 to top the charts. With Clutton’s X-Bow hitting a 50.407, and Morris’ 1000bhp R32 GT-R a 50.447, Glew’s time looks decent.

That is until Gareth Lloyd crosses the line. First hot lap all day, old brake pads and a ton of untried and untested variables, Gareth wrestles the car around in 48.481. It’s stunning. Spectators cheer before turning their attention back to Gavin Renshaw as if to say, “your turn – what have you got?”

By now Gareth has returned to the pits. A quick check for tyre pressures is the routine, but Gareth’s there long enough to hear the gasps and cheers as Gavin Renshaw smashes the rest of the day’s times with a 47.947. It’s not only the fastest time of the day, it’s a new Time Attack lap record!

Gavin has risen to the challenge, and then some. Excited words are exchanged up and down the pit lane while Gavin rolls back around into the pits for the same tyre pressure and lap-time checks. It’s hard to know what either driver is thinking. How much lap time are they leaving on the track, if any? It’s almost as if there are no other cars on the track. Although there is a mighty fight going on for third place in Pro with OHW Mark Biggers (50.365), Marcus Webster (50.442) and Paul Doyle (50.593) all setting these personal best times within seconds of each other. Perhaps they’re feeding off the energy of this duel? Or maybe it’s the end-of-season, throw-everything-you’ve-go-at-it mentality? Either way, everyone is going faster.

The bonnet is off the SVA car and a laptop is attached. What are they doing? Checking logs for engine detonation? Downloading another 100bhp? At this point we don’t care. We just want to see if both drivers can go faster still. Gareth Lloyd leaves the pit lane, followed by K-Sport Impreza driver Paul Doyle, who has overcome his own problems today and it’s incredible he’s still out there. Some ‘foreign objects have travelled through the turbo and engine. His K-Sport team have performed a series of temporary repairs, helped by Garry Plant of GR Performance. They’ve Paul out in the hope it all holds together.

Gavin leaves the pits too.

Gareth Lloyd rounds Clearways on his first flyer back out – 47.517! There follows a couple of laps with both drivers in the 47s but not improving; Renshaw 47.956, Lloyd 47.553. Both drivers are within tenths of each other. Gavin goes closer with a 47.855. It’s his fastest of the day. As both drivers pull into the pits, we wonder if that’s everything they have to give. They’ve both broken the record, they’ve pulled clear of the chasing pack. Surely there’s nothing left on the track?

Three short minutes remain in the 2013 Time Attack Championship. We know NR Autosport have won the Championship, but who will emerge from this bar-fight of a Final the victor? Suddenly our Commentator Maz yells in excitement: “Gareth Lloyd has crossed the start-finish Speed Trap at 151mph, the fastest speed of the day!” – It’s going to be his last effort. He couldn’t go quicker again, surely? After all, he’s spent all day in the garage. The most driving he and the car have done is up on the air jacks this morning before Warm Up. The SVA Imports Evo sounds angry. Gareth shoots deep into Druids and has to tip-toe around the outside, being patient with the throttle. He’s neat rather than aggressive though Graham Hill bend. Every movement of the white and blue Evo is being analysed by the crowd. He screams round Clearways and onto the straight. “46.869!!” Gasps. Cheers. Clapping. It’s an awesome time.

Gavin has to settle for second place today, but then the 2013 Time Attack Pro Championship title isn’t a bad consolation by any stretch! It’s the third successive Pro title for Gavin Renshaw and NR Autosport too. A Time Attack record.

What a fantastic crescendo to the 2013 Time Attack season. Made even more special by the fact Paul Doyle somehow fires his poorly K-Sport Impreza into third place, beating Glew in the BC Racing Impreza by the smallest of margins – 0.003 seconds. There’s something in the air today. Gavin Renshaw/NR Autosport win the Championship, but the day belongs to Gareth Lloyd/SVA Imports. It’s been a fitting way to end 2013.

PRO FINAL RESULTS

POSITION	NAME	CAR	LAP TIME	POINTS
1	Gareth Lloyd	Mitsubishi Evo – SVA Imports	46.869	100
2	Gavin Renshaw	Mitsubishi Evo – NR Autosport	47.855	90
3	Paul Doyle	Subaru Impreza – K-Sport Racing	49.542	80
4	Phil Glew	Subaru Impreza – BC Racing	49.545	70
5	Mark Biggers	Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R – MGT Racing	49.972	OHW
6	Marcus Webster	Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R – Midlands Performance	50.072	60
7	Walter Morris	Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R – Midlands Performance	50.134	50
8	Michael Mahoney	Mitsubishi Evo – Wallace Per4mance	50.222	OHW

PRO 2WD FINAL RESULTS

POSITION	NAME	CAR	LAP TIME	POINTS
1	Marcus Clutton	X-Bow Clubsport	48.945	100
2	Simon Deaton	Porsche Super Cup – Motor Shop Stop	50.681	90

Thanks Brands. See you all again next year?

Report by Dan Goodyer