Great end to BTCC - 03 / 10 / 06

It's been a long season but our band of local madmen have made it to the BTCC's finalie at Ashby. (My favourite track!) Here's Seans report from the final meeting of what's turned out to be a great season:

With the weather forecast not looking to good I decided to travel up to Ashby Friday night , set up camp and have a late morning to arrive at the track nice and fresh Saturday. With phone ringing numerous times asking "when does the track open" and "where are you" we were all now awake and heading towards a wet track which seemed to be drying out by the minute. With a limited time for practice which was 11am until 4:30pm we were all eager to get a few runs under our belt.

Jamie was on a reserve list for entry to this last of the series and was soon to be told that he was infact now being placed in a heat so he was out on the track with all the front runners in the championship and actually keeping them at bay. Rob West was 1st to let me know that he was going well, as he had on his previous visit when he grabbed FTD in the BRCA juniors. Jason was proving that his choice in Cyclone was wise as he seemed to be very fast around this track and was picking places where to overtake 19t cars with ease. Paul Hopkins was to change set-ups through the day to keep his incredibly quick MI2ec on the track which was seemingly quite hard due to rear grip problems. Paul Rose was again very quick as usual with his Schumacher and found this track a challenge as it was his 1st visit here. James Matthews was joined this week again by Dan who was also out in practice sessions for the fun of it and hopefully gained enough confidence to actually take part in the series next year. James's now had his cyclone out and was looking very stable on a still difficult track to judge due to the weather putting small showers over the track every hour or so. James Bell was also present and was looking the most consistent he has been all year. His Dad was again there with the GTRE class and with a slippery track his monster 6th scale looked far better than it has all year aswell. We were joined this week in 27t by Justin as he couldn’t get his modified place at the last due to the heats being full. At this point we were to go out together with Jason joining us to make it 3 in the "just for fun" run of the day. This had to be the highlight of the whole years racing for me as we were all never more than a foot apart for lap after lap after lap, at one point Justin was bending the rear of my bodyshell all the way up the straight with his bonnet and stayed there all the way around the fast sweeper, on closer inspection it was seen that Jason was about 1/2 inch behind Justin. For anybody watching it was plain to see that the 3 of us had 100 per cent trust in each other and the same amount of respect, this was the show of all shows this year.

The best track in the country. Full stop.

Mike Belcher was a successful reserve entry this weekend and seems to be happier with the Evo 4 and was looking fast and stable on a track which wasn’t to different from Aldershot. Wayne was still showing signs that his "B" final win at Aldershot was far from lucky and wanted to back it up with another great result here aswell and looked more than capable of doing this with some safe practice sessions.
With 4:30 soon arriving we packed away and took the 1 mile trip back to the campsite and all started getting their cars ready for the following day. I was joined in my awning by Justin, Rob West, Paul Hopkins, Jason and Jamie. With the company of Pauline and Susan we were soon having hot Coffee and tea put under our noses while "wrenching" and a seemingly endless amount of savoury and chocolate food mountain being pushed our way, as you can imagine I was now pretty settled for the night!

After the hard work was done we were to take the 400yd walk to the pub, chip shop and Chinese takeaway. After walking in this pub (all 20 of us) it was soon agreed by the landlord that we were all able to bring our food in and eat it there. What more can you ask for, cheap beer and a Chinese takeaway, I wasn’t now pretty settled, I was rooted. Quiet a few beers later and I don’t know how many "after-shots" we were invited to join in a game of poker. I talked Justin into joining in and Jamie was pleading with me to join. Just for a second can you picture this , Myself and Justin much worse for the wear with a 13 year old playing poker in a pub with a 5 quid buy in with the winner taking 30 quid and 2nd place taking 10 quid , serving beer until you left.

Justin was soon to prove he could race an RC car better than he could play cards and went all in with a pair of 4's and was soon to be "all out".
I was dealt a great hand having 2 jacks and 2 kings and was also soon "all out" by Jamie having a full house. With myself and Justin now back in a comfortable chair having a couple more beers we saw others leaving the table and Jamie's chip stack getting higher and higher. 30 minutes later he had won the game and proudly walked off with the winnings. "What a great parent I am"!!!

Wayne attacks the hairpin in 'iffy' conditions (Thanks for the pics dude)

As soon as we walked outside in the fresh air I suddenly realised that I had drunk too much and also realised Shaggy had drunk too much, he had left the evidence all over the pavement. I still don’t remember walking back to the caravan but must have at sometime banged my head as I woke up with it hurting very badly.

With the track opening at 8am we were all up by 7:55am. Others got to the track earlier than that and were asked to move due to pitting in the wrong area. With a drivers briefing being constantly being put back we were not even out on the 1st round until after 10:15 which was unfortunately going to cost us a round of qualifying.

All the 1st rounds were out on a damp track and there was all safe times being posted. Les was 1st out with his GTRE and posted a time which was respectable and looked good for a mid grid position. I was still running my spool which seemed to hook into corners better and was reasonably happy with my 1st run , starting 9th on the grid I pulled upto 4th which meant my next round would have so much traffic to start with. Mike Belcher was with me in this qualifier and seemed to be on the pace, especially down the straight where I struggled to match him and pleased that I didn’t take him out and he didn’t take me out. I was then to marshal for Jamie who cut through traffic like a hot knife through butter and headed right up to the front of the grid. Jason was next out and did exactly the same , his cyclone now looking even faster than Saturday practice but unfortunately had little luck with back markers and dropped a couple of seconds down the field. Next out was Justin who as usual was quick, precise and again looking to push up through the field and didn’t take long to do so. The 19t boys were out next and with a track which seemed less forgiving for these quicker motors there was more parking on the grass than the previous heats. James Bell was the 1st 19t out and seemed to have lost his previous days consistency and posted a time that wasn’t to see him gain any places. Wayne, Paul Hopkins and James Matthews were out in the same qualifying group and all seemed to get underway pretty well but all having problems by back markers or even being a back marker, all 3 could have posted much better times but struggled with the traffic. Paul Rose was next out and was better placed in a heat of better and quicker drivers and he was soon to benefit by posting a pretty good time.

2nd round of qualifying was now underway and with les going slightly quicker but not gaining any positions on the GTRE grid it was now looking very grey overhead. I was off the grid in 4th place and with my new Speedo working very well I was up and running to the front of the field, then my car just lost all stability and I saw my great start and promise of a high final disappear in the distance, Mike Belcher was having a good run as I hardly saw him in this qualifier .After the race I found that I had a sheared axle which was only giving me 3 wheel drive and brake. Jamie was out next and with a very poor start he flipped a belt and was out after only a couple of laps. Jason was now the next out and with a start in the drying track soon changing to wet he was unable to improve on his previous time. Justin put his car down and then took his car away with the track now becoming wetter. Qualifying was then brought to a halt as the flashes of lightning and thunder were too close for comfort. After over an hour the track was being brushed of water and it was decided that we would lose the last round of qualifying and go to finals after the 2nd round had finished.

One more shot of that glorious track!

With no real improvements through the field I believe everybody's 1st run was to be the run counted for their final positions. Drive of the day without any doubt was for Jamie who made his 1st A final and the day was to get better for him. Les was to line up midway through the GTRE grid. Mike Belcher was pole in the "D" final, I was midway in the "C" final, Jason was 5th in the "B" final and Justin joined Jamie in the "A"s being 6th on the grid. The 19t boys weren’t as quick this week with James Bell in the "D" final with James Matthews joining Paul Hopkins and Wayne in the "C" final with Paul Rose only managing a "B" final this time out.

As in a previous report I left this area for Justin, This time Jamie stole the limelight with his performance in his "A" final legs. His 1st final he was away of the grid and started to hunt down the pack of 9 very fast drivers in front of him , 1 by 1 he came up and past his competitors and managed to pull up to 6th place across the line. Jamie was in amongst all the front runners in the championships and didn’t let the occasion affect him. He went out for his 2nd final and threw caution to the wind. Seemingly at every corner he approached and pressured the driver in front into going slightly wide and without a 2nd invitation grabbed the place and then hunted down the next. After 5 laps there was a spill in front of him which included Rob West and Jamie picked his way through the carnage and was now in 2nd place, with 3 1/2 minutes remaining I was wondering if he would settle for this position or chase the leader, but after a couple of corners he spun and was under threat for his 2nd place. The next 3 minutes were probably the best 3 minutes racing I have ever seen and Jamie was swapping places with Rob at nearly every corner. At the end of the race Jamie had managed to hold onto 2nd place in this "A" final and was promptly congratulated by all on the rostrum and the commentator. To watch Jamie come of the Rostrum with Ady Bidwell, Rob West, and the rest who are probably the top 10 stock drivers in the UK with a 2nd position made me the proudest Dad there. Jamie was promptly photographed and tech charts taken and given a 12 month subscription to the magazine for his efforts. Jamie was also being watched by a prospective sponsor who spoke to me afterwards. I think he may do quite well in the future but don’t want him being pushed to hard at the moment so prospective sponsorships are being put on hold at the moment.

Jamie finished an overall 4th place with Justin finishing 7th overall. Jason came 2nd in his 1st "B" final and went out with electrical problems in his 2nd final. I finished 2nd overall in my final and with a deal done over a few pints the night before was very proud to give Justin my silverware. Mike won his final after having Speedo problems in his 2nd.

James bell had serious problems with trophy hunters in his final and was hit all over which left him luckless. Wayne, Paul Hopkins and James all fell foul of sleeping marshals in their finals which dropped them down the order. Paul Rose was unlucky in his 1st final with a broken axle which was to ruin his chances of a decent finish and a piece of silverware.

All in all a great weekend with some great results. Congratulations to all who took part and had a great series. This round at Ashby was the last BTCC for Justin and I would like to thank him and his wife for their company at this series and wish them well in the future. I shall miss the fun run on a Saturday practise but look forward to doing it a Vegas. Dude you are the Legend I was borrowing the tag.

Until next year..........That’s a Rap.

Thanks to Sean for providing these great reports for my site this summer, I'm sure i'm not the only one who enjoys reading them and it's been great to keep upto date with the happenings. I'd also like say a huge congratulations to Jamie on making everyone look silly with an incredible performance at Ashby and to wish Justin well on his return to America soon. I still remember the first south west meeting he came to a couple years back. He was in another heat and I remember I was going well that day at Plymouth, yet every time I went faster Justin just went out in the next heat and went faster still, we came to get used to that over the following two years! Thanks for giving us all something to chase mate (even if it was merely a blur!), i'm sure we're all faster for it, winning won't quite be the same without you there, although i'm willing to give it a try!!! lol

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