Archive
Radical Club Cup - Brands Hatch
26th August 2008
Race One
Jonathan Wright made it seven wins from ten races, with another fairly dominant double victory. The Club Cup continued to provide a healthy 25 car grid for its visit to Brands Hatch’s Indy circuit, but the Bank Holiday weekend weather did its best to put a dampener on the scene.
Wright’s PR6 had taken pole for the first race by over three seconds from Tom Ashton’s SR3, but it was Ashton that won the dash to Paddock Hill Bend as the lights went out. But Wright quickly recovered from his tardy start and led as they charged up to Druids. “Not a very good start yet again, it’s just me getting my head together. But Tom left the door open at Paddock, I kept my head down and did my best,? said Wright.
Roger Bromiley’s SR3 and Nigel Place’s PR6 attempted to go either side of Ashton as they plunged down to Graham Hill Bend, but by the end of the lap Ashton still had the place, while his rivals had both lost out to Chris Grieve’s SR3.
Wright wasted no time in adding to his lead, but Grieve and Bromiley crawled all over Ashton in a terrific scrap for second, closely watched by Simon Dolan’s SR3, after he had darted past Place.
Robert Baldock’s SR3 had become established in seventh, but Simon Tilling’s SR3 started to lose ground after a promising start. Having lost eighth to Nigel Morrison’s PR6 at Paddock on lap six, Simon Fish’s SR3 followed at Druids. Morrison’s continued his charge and soon reeled in Baldock, taking Fish along too.
Although Wright was long gone, Grieve was able to concentrate on his fight for second, after Bromiley fell back to defend third from Dolan. But on lap eight it was all change. Grieve forced Ashton wide at Paddock to snatch second, Bromiley followed into Graham Hill Bend and Dolan made it past too, leaving the early leader down in fourth. “We fitted a new engine so hadn’t really concentrated on setting up the car. It had been OK in the wet qualifying though,? said Ashton.
A lap later Dolan slid off at Clearways, and with no sign of a safety car the race was red flagged. “I was just too fast into the corner and lost the back end,? admitted Simon.
The restart was red flagged after a matter of yards, when Grieve stalled on the front row, was collected by Baldock, but also took out David Enderby, Andy Harwood and caused slight damage for Richard Stables. “I saw it all in my mirrors it looked really scary,? said Bromiley.
Results were declared after the original nine laps, with Wright, Grieve and Bromiley sharing the podium. Ashton was fourth, with Fish, Place and Morrison in close contention for fifth. “I had sat back at the start, not set the car up for dry. Then I started to pick a few off,? Morrison explained. “I got in the groove after a bad qualifying session, and was catching Tom when the race was stopped,? Fish added.
Grieve still topped the Supersports class, with Jacob Greaves’ SR4 a dominant Biduro victor over Gary Kane and Pickup racer Chris Dawkins. Stables kept his title challenge up with another Prosport win, while Harwood came within a whisker of the Clubsport title, despite his car being extensively damaged in the attempted restart. “I had avoided the initial impact and then got hit. It was my first ever crash. The car stood up remarkably well too,? he said. “All I needed to do was finish the second race and the class was mine I think,? he added.
1 Jonathan Wright (PR6( 9 laps in 7m07.838s (90.77mph); 2 Chris Grieve (SR3) 7m12.076s; 3 Roger Bromiley (SR3); 4 Tom Ashton (SR3); 5 Simon Fish (SR3); 6 Nigel Place (PR6); 7 Nigel Morrison (PR6); 8 Paul Steele (SR3); 9 Simon Tilling (SR3); 10 Robert Baldock (SR3); Class winners: Grieve; Richard Stables (PR6); Jacob Greaves (SR4); Andy Harwood (Clubsport). Fastest lap: Wright 46.167s (93.46mph).
Race Two
It was desperately close at Paddock at the start of race two. Wright had made a better start than earlier, but still not perfect, which gave Ashton the encouragement to go for the lead again. But Wright held the tight inside line before heading the charge to Druids, with Ashton, Bromiley, Morrison and Place in line astern. “I was better this time and it was a determined move at Paddock as I knew he was trying to squeeze me, but I wouldn’t give in,? said Wright. “Jonathan was still there when I turned in, so I had to let him go,? Ashton replied.
Wright pulled out a good lead by the end of the opening lap, while Bromiley was barely inches from the rear of Ashton’s SR3 in his quest for second. Dolan was also on the move again, picking off Tilling and the Place for fifth at Druids, before closing on Morrison. Paul Steele and Fish both started to close on Tilling for seventh, but it was all eyes on second place for the next few laps.
Bromiley made it past Ashton into Clearways on the fifth lap, but lost out again as they flashed past the pits. They were side by side through Paddock up to Druids, with Bromiley exiting on the grass having been forced to give best. “There was some grip on the grass and I thought if I did it again I could get used to it,? reckoned Bromiley.
The battle consolidated Wright’s lead, but also enabled Morrison and Dolan to join in the fight. For a while Ashton managed to pull away, while in sixth Fish had managed to break clear too, from Place, Steele and Tilling.
But by lap 11 Bromiley had re-closed the gap and was side by side again at Druids with his younger counterpart. It was another three laps though, before Bromiley finally got his break. Into Surtees they were closing on backmarker. Ashton read it wrong and lost out, as Bromiley charged around the outside and led through McLaren. “I could see Roger in my mirrors all the time, he even tried on the grass. It was no ones fault when he got me, I just read the backmarker the wrong way,? explained Ashton. “Tom did a fantastic job I tried to put him under pressure as much as I could, but he kept it clean and we had a terrific race,? Bromiley replied.
As Wright cruised through the closing laps, Bromiley was able to consolidate second, as Ashton had his hands full defending third from Dolan. Morrison and Fish completed the top six, despite Steele having closed again in seventh. “Great fun for the whole race. I had to hit the brakes hard though when Roger passed Tom, and that’s when Simon Dolan got me,? said Morrison.
In only his second weekend of car racing, Steve Burgess brought his SR3 home eighth ahead of Tilling, as the race ended under red rather than a chequered flag again, with Nigel Cox’s Prosport off.
While Bromiley took the Supersports class, Stables and Greaves made it class winning doubles in the Prosport and Biduro classes, while Mark Boot found himself unopposed in the Clubsports with Harwood’s absence.
