BTCC Round 6 Report - Cotswolds - 31 / 07 / 06

As we move well into the second half of the season our band of local racers headed to the huge Cotswolds circuit to do battle once more...although it seems just getting there and back again was trouble enough for some! Sean gives us the full story...

This round of the BTCC (6) was to see us all leave Friday afternoon to be at the track for Friday night. This was partly due to the Cotswolds feeling that with the added traffic which was due to the Fairford air show would result in problems for us so they opened the gates Friday. By the time I got to the airfield I had MAJOR problems with my car with the oil light coming on and the engine sounding like a bag of spanners. With the help of Paul H we finally arrived at camp TRAK and were promptly given a beer by the dude. I had decided to call Green Flag Sunday afternoon to get me home and started to concentrate on the race weekend. The getting home episode will follow.

Doug Tanner and his crew had done a fantastic job on making this AWESOME track look sparkling and I was 1st to congratulate him on the best venue in Britain. With a quick practice around this track before dark we started to think about food, but more importantly we chilled the beer. The yard of ale made an appearance at this weekend and was filled up with appx 5 pints of ice cool lager with Justin starting the proceedings. About a pint later it was handed to Jason and then after his 1/2 pint it was given to me to finish. 5 minutes later it was back out, but this time Jason seemed to think it was his and didn’t share it with anybody. More lager was followed by shots and then we nearly all caught light around the camp fire which was spitting cinders at all who were within 5 feet. This is what racing away seemed to be all about.

Saturday

Everybody was soon up and was eager to be out and practise but only after Doug had used his PA system to announce that he wouldn’t allow load shouting and swearing again and was very strict with the outcome should this happen again. I can’t say I heard anything after I went to bed at about 2:30am, don’t know what he was on about....

When we all got out there it was no surprise that we all were in the zone from the start. Jason, Justin, Myself were beating any other 27t car out there and both Pauls were doing the same with there 19t rivals. Les was out there with a much more stable GTRE with James B seeming to have a few problems remembering where the corners were. James M was surprise of the day with a Cyclone which was now on the tail of Paul R in practise and had the same speed. I later found out that shaggy had a 1 way layshaft in his MSX and was also on the pace from the start. Mike was finding lines with his Evo and seemed to be interference free which I am sure added to his enjoyment of the weekend for him. Mike Doody was with us this weekend and I think I may have heard that he was slightly off the pace due to only having old batteries but also looked like he knew his way around. With the serious practise over there was only 1 thing left to do and that was for Justin and Me to go and have a bit of fun on the track. We seem to attract a few who realised what we are up to and this week was more special as we had matching shells. (Thanks to Justin). I can only say that this was probably the highlight of the weekend for me as we were never more than 5 inches apart with some real hold your breathe moments and 100 per cent trust in each other not to hit each other. I later heard that someone was timing our laps and was considering going home as they were not at this pace and felt they were wasting there time being there. Pretty sad eh!! I had put in a 21.4 second lap with Jason putting in a 21.2 second lap with my car and Justin being in a minority of hitting a 20.8 second lap, so we knew that Sunday was there for us to do well.

Sunday

Running 10th in the championship I was hoping for a descent qualifier but for some unknown reason found myself in the "C"s and that was even with 12 cars in a race! Justin was in the "A"s as it should have been and Mike D was in the "B"s to his surprise also. He was to be joined by a 5 year old who had his Dad with him to hold his radio for him...?????? WHY!!!! I was joined in the "C"s by Jason and the new arrival in the shape of a Spanky. I feel that this was the biggest reason I didn’t achieve what I wanted at this meeting as I was taken out every round at least once as I was passing or lapping and even held back by my own son in the last qualifier for another car to hit me off the track 3 times. This resulted in the other car getting a 10 second penalty but as you know “I CANT GET MY TIME BACK" and was left to suffer. Jason was to go on and get a spot in the "B" final with Adrian and Mike D. Justin was to get his spot in the "A". Mike B was to race in the F final. The 19t boys were led by Paul R in the "B"s at 2nd spot with Paul H 1 place behind him. Wayne was to line up at the sharp end of the "C" final with Les B in the "D" and James M and James B in the "E" final. Les also found a rear spot in the GTRE class.

Justin was racing some good guys in the A's and there was also a Dyson in there. Gary Dyson had an ear full from me again this week as he was trying to get Justin disqualified for having an illegal wing. I pointed out to him that he wasn’t a scrutineer and to go fourth and multiply. The Dyson gets "Tit of the week" award for the 2nd time running and is sure to be a top contender at the next event. We also would like to apologise for an incident Saturday night. It seems that the "Team Scream" sanitary contingent may have bombed the wrong table, Oh well; he must have got some fallout at least.

Justin was to stay in 3rd place in his final until the aforesaid "Tit of the week" rammed him off the track with no sign of an apology or even hinting of stopping which later was to cost him his 3rd place and drop him to 4th. Jason didn’t get out in his 1st final due to a wiring problem until after 4 or 5 laps by this time Mike D had taken 5th with Adrian taking 6th. My final was like my qualifiers and I was punted on the 1st corner but worked back to 6th at the end. Mike finished his 1st final 3rd. The 19t was led again by Paul R who won the "B" final with Paul H coming back after a 1st lap pile up to claim 2nd spot. Wayne finished 2nd in his 1st final, he didn’t seem comfortable in 1st place and then looked fast when chasing. James M won his final with James B unable to compete due to diff problems with his TC4. Les seemed to struggle with his GTRE which was later to realise he had the wrong gearing on it.

In the 2nd round of finals we saw Justin pull off due to a brush fault and Jason storm away on the 1st lap and win the "B" final by a mile. Adrian was also to retire due to brush problems with Mike D coming home 5th. I sat behind 1st, 2nd, and 3rd car for the whole 5 minutes waiting for them to make a mistake which didn’t happen so came home 4th with a race lap of 21.2 and average of 21.4 which was pleasing on a personal level. Mike B came in 4th which just missed a trophy spot. Paul R was to finish 2nd in his final and win the "B"s overall with Paul H to fry another motor but still finish 4th in the "B". Wayne went on and finished 3rd in his final and took 2nd place overall. James M finished high in the order to complete a win in the"E" final with Les seemingly to have more issues with his GTRE after putting flat batteries in his 19t car.

Very hot weather was to give fast times all day for everybody and to cause big problems with thunder flies and fruit flies crawling all over your face on the rostrum. All in all some very good results by all and some people probably annoyed that they could have done better. Another great weekend with great company.

The Trip Home

Firstly a big thanks to all who helped me across the airfield, Les pulling my car and Paul pulling my caravan. Mike stayed with us all the way home which was to prove eventful and late. James M took Jason and Rhiannon home and also my little 4 legged Holly. So a big thanks to you lot.

The lengths some people will go to save on fuel money!

After winching my car and putting my caravan on the back of the recovery vehicle we headed home at around 9pm. After stopping for coffee and food we headed back with Mike and Wayne following close behind. All the lads ringing and asking if all was going ok we settled in and made it to the bottom of Hamlin way before I heard a bang from the recovery vehicle. After a couple of hundred yards I felt compelled to ask if there was anything wrong and without hesitation the driver said all was ok but would pull over and check. After seeming to be well we headed up the hill , we got as far as kings ash before he realised he had no clutch and the brakes were about to lock on. So in the next lay by my broken down car was on the back of a broken down recovery vehicle. I felt that this could only happen to me and started to wish that I had booked Monday off work. An hour later 2 recovery vehicles turned up. 1 for my car and 1 for my caravan. Now comes a problem, my car is on a flat bed which isn’t working so can’t get my car to the floor....??????? Lets get another flat bed reverse it up to the other 1 and winch it across I heard someone say , I think it sounded a bit like Mike B but soon hid when I said I thought that was a bad idea. The recovery drivers thought it was a good idea and went ahead with the plan. I do believe that this was a 1st for all concerned but it worked and I finally got home at 2:30am. James M had come back out and picked up Pauline and Jamie and Mike and Wayne were still with us until we got in our front door.

Words fail me... ;-)

After all the hassle and problems I had that weekend I looked back and was thankful to have very good friends in this hobby.
I thank you all. Southend is the next venue for us all, lets hope I can get there.

Thanks Sean for that update on our mad lot for another meeting, I'm only sorry I wasn't there to laugh at you in person Sean, help, I mean help! ;-)

Good luck at Southend guys, you'll need it, along with about 10 spare wishbones on that track ;-)

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