BRSCC 1600 Race Report Season 2015 - Issue 3: Grand Prix Circuit, 9/10th May DONNY DRAMA Dussault: Triumph and Tragedy

Jardine Bounces Back BRSCC : Race Report - Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit, 9/10th May CONTENTS Page

Introduction 3

Pre90 Qualifying 4

Post89 Qualifying 6

Faces of FF1600 8

Pre90 Race 1 9

Post89 Race 1 12

Pre90 Race 2 16

Post89 Race 2 19 Data & Credits

Meeting Type: Double Header Words: Dave Williams Circuit: Donington Park Grand Prix Editing: Dave Williams Circuit Length: 2.4873 miles www.gramtext.co.uk

National Championship: Rounds 3 & 4 Copyright on Pictures: Bourne Northern Championship: Rounds 3 & 4 Photographic Triple Crown: Rounds 1 & 2 www.bournephotographic.co.uk

Organised by BRSCC Next Event: Sponsored by Avon Tyres 23rd May: National Championship: Rounds 5 & 6 Northern Championship: Rounds 5 BRSCC FF1600 Championship Co-ordinator: Ian Smith (07939 107888)

Page: 2 www.brsccff1600.co.uk BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit, 9/10th May

Introduction There were points galore on offer when the BRSCC members who race in our Avon Tyres-sponsored Formula Ford 1600 portfolio visited Donington Park on the second weekend of May with results counting towards the National and Northern Championships as well as the Triple Crown. The season can be said to be in full- swing with all 3 of our multi-venue series now under way. What a season it is turning out to be with the Post89 category in particular booming on the National scene. Following on from Friday evening’s exclusive FF1600 test session, which was organised in conjunction with Bookatrack.com, 27 Class A and B cars took to the track to qualify for race 1 on Saturday morning. The number of Pre90 runners looking to take the 2 points for fastest flying lap was also healthily into double figures.

Page: 3 www.brsccff1600.co.uk BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit, 9/10th May Pre90 Qualifying NUMBERS GAME

Running as “lucky” 28 Jamie Jardine took pole This was the weekend Dave Hart advised that he had got the Reynard 84FF that he built-up for Jamie Jardine over the Winter working the way he wanted. There was also a tactical switch away from running as “unlucky” Car Number 1 back to the 28 from Jamie’s multi-title-winning 2014. Jardine certainly had good karma when he topped the time-sheets at the end of 20 minutes of qualifying. He must have been trying hard as he was the only driver to have a lap time disallowed for exceeding track limits. UCLAN Racing drivers were the next 2 fastest with Jaap Blijleven less than 2 tenths away from Jardine’s best – and felt he would have had a chance at pole but for traffic at the Fogarty Esses – while Andrew Thomas was a further half a second further back. Jaap had learned a great deal during Friday’s wet test evening and hopes to reap the benefit in the next race that is held in difficult conditions The UCLAN duo were the only ones to get within a second of Jardine. Mario Sarchet, who was making his seasonal debut, was the best of the rest just ahead of Chris Stones – another racing in BRSCC Formula Ford 1600 for the first time this year. Stones’ best lap was just over a tenth away from Sarchet’s while Michael Beaver and Colin Williams were also within a second of the Preston jeweller. Beaver was in the red Mondiale M89S that he used in the Northern rounds at Oulton Park as he was still waiting for the parts he requires to tweak his white Mondiale M88S to arrive. He may have been higher up the grid but his set up, particularly at the rear, was too stiff. Williams, meanwhile, put in an impressive performance to qualify well into the Top Ten in his Class E PRS and much more was to come from him. Behind Ben Tinkler, ninth and tenth in the shape of Matthew Cowley and John Wilkinson were separated by 0.012 secs. Some great battles throughout the field were expected in the weekend’s races. o

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Page: 5 www.brsccff1600.co.uk BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit, 9/10th May Post89 Qualifying STEPHEN STARS

Stephen Daly made a big impression during qualifying

The McArthur brothers, David and Tom, were delayed in Friday tea-time traffic jams and so they missed the start of the evening’s testing which was conducted in very wet conditions. Things got worse for Davd as when he finally got out on track he had a big crash at the top of the Craners Curves on only his third lap. The impact wiped two corners off his car and left him with a bruised hip. A front runner from the opening weekend of the season at Silverstone, Jake Byrne, stayed at home in Ireland as he was studying for exams but plans to return for the Oulton Park meeting. In his absence, we had a newcomer from the Emerald Isle in the shape of Stephen Daly and he made a big impression by setting the second fastest time in qualifying. He was 3 tenths away from Patrick Dussault, the Canadian shone on a one-off outing at Donington last season when he was focussing on . He clearly likes the track as he almost dipped 1 minute 42s with his best lap mid-way through the session. Four cars qualified within half a second of Daly. Chris Middlehurst and Luke Williams would occupy the second row of the grid for race 1 with Oliver White and Jonny McMullan starting behind them. White was having his first run in the Medina Sport tended JL015K while McMullan was finding life tough having never raced at Donington Park before. Friday’s wet test evening meant he was on a steep learning curve during the dry qualifying session. After B-M Racing had restored his car to full working order, David McArthur would start from seventh with his brother Tom alongside him. The Swift Cooper team mates, Luke Cooper and Thomas Capezzone, completed the Top Ten. The former was thwarted by a misfire which later caused the engine to cut out.

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Luke Cooper was thwarted by a misfire

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Page: 8 www.brsccff1600.co.uk BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit, 9/10th May Pre90 Race 1 GOLDEN OLDIE

Colin Williams took a remarkable second overall in his Class PRS

It was a tale of two starts when the lights went out to get Saturday’s Pre90 race underway. Starting from pole, Jamie Jardine had problems changing gear on the run down to Redgate and he found himself down in sixth place at the first corner. The other man on the front row, Jaap Blijleven, made a blinder and took the lead with his UCLAN team mate, Andrew Thomas, right on his tail. The duo swapped places back and forth at the two hairpins which extended the Donington Park circuit to the length required to host the 1993 but the Dutchman began lap 2 with his tenuous lead intact. Jardine quickly recovered his composure and was now up to third right on the tail of the UCLAN cars. Having demoted Thomas he passed Blijleven at the Melbourne Hairpin. The Dutchman swept wide looking for the cutback on the run up to Goddards but Thomas thought he saw a gap… and the UCLAN cars collided. This was the defining moment of the race. Jardine was able to make a break while there were winners and losers in the log-jam that developed as Thomas and Blijleven tried to untangle themselves. Eventually, Blijleven drove to the pits to retire with damage to his side-pod and steering system while Thomas continued with loose bodywork and a nose-cone pointing skywards. Into second place came Matthew Cowley but to his immense frustration he was to drop down the order with a spin later in the race although he recovered to be classified third after a titanic battle with Ben Tinkler on the final lap. Second was taken by Colin Williams after a brilliant dice with Chris Stones until he retired. This was a superb result

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We had winners and losers in the log-jam for a Class E car. Still suffering from the oversteer he endured in qualifying, Michael Beaver felt like a sitting duck to anyone coming up behind him but excellent brakes enabled him to keep ahead of Mario Sarchet allowing fifth to be claimed. Sarchet was one of those most badly affected by the clash between Blijleven and Thomas. John Wilkinson was the seventh driver to take the flag ahead of David Franklin – the latter had a spin exiting Goddards at one point. It was a frustrating Friday evening for Iain Houston with cars blocking his access to the pit garage. This prevented him from getting out before the rain began. He was one of many who invoked the red flags during the course of the evening when he ended up in the mud at Coppice and gave B-M Racing some extra work in addition to repairing David McArthur’s Post89 car. They did an admirable job to get Houston out in time for Pre90 qualifying only for Iain to struggle to get into the groove and end up in the gravel at McLeans. On reflection he felt he had been trying to hustle the car into going faster rather than thinking how to get the most speed out of himself. During the race he was still frustrated by his performance but enjoyed himself nonetheless despite getting “mugged” a few times going into the Melbourne Hairpin. Stuart Dix had a quick car change on Saturday morning. Although his Reynard Lightning had run well on Friday evening, the misfire that is the bain of Stuart’s racing life returned when he got ready to qualify. The organisers gave him permission to switch to his Class E Cooper Chinook and complete his 3 mandatory qualifying laps in the Post89 session. Starting from the back of the grid, he gained a few places to take the chequered flag in tenth. Trevor Morgan and Andrew Kluge completed the finishers after Andrew Thomas’ damaged upper bodywork finally lost its battle with the aerodynamic forces it was being subjected to and detached from the car. He returned to the pits in his naked chassis but was later disqualified from the results.

Stuart Dix made a last minute switch to his Cooper Chinook

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Matthew Cowley was annoyed as a spin cost him second place

Page: 11 www.brsccff1600.co.uk BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit, 9/10th May Post89 Race 1 PACEY PATRICK

Patrick Dussault drove a fine race to win the Post89 opener

Patrick Dussault had been doing some meditation prior to the start of this race. Perhaps he was a little too relaxed as, from the outside of the front row, Stephen Daly beat him away from the start although the Canadian immediately took the lead back at Redgate. On lap 2, Daly found excellent traction exiting the Old Hairpin and was able to take the lead at McLeans. With Luke Williams and Oliver White filling Dussault’s mirrors, we had four drivers looking for the opportunity to seize victory. Third fastest qualifier, Chris Middlehurst, would surely have been in the mix had he not pulled into the pits with a plug lead problem early in the race. On lap 6, Daly and Dussault duked it out into the chicane. The former spun while trying to avoid contact and dropped down to sixth. This left Dussault with a gap to the battle for second between Williams and White. The latter was able to concentrate on closing down the leader when Williams’ engine let go but there was not enough time to prevent the Cliff Dempsey Racing driver from seeing the chequered flag first. Daly was able to recover to take the final place on the podium with fellow Irishman, Jonny McMullan, in his wheel-tracks less than a second behind. McMullan had broken away from an epic dice with Tom McArthur, Abdul Ahmed, Ben Spurge and Thomas Capezzone. Luke Cooper fell back from this scrap when he had suspension issues and then a chronic lack of brakes – two problems which may have been related. Matters came to a head for him when he was forced to run wide at the Old Hairpin to avoid running into the back of McArthur. Cooper just managed to hold off David McArthur to take ninth, winning Class B in the

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Dolan discovered the Fogarty Esses are much faster than the Roberts Chicane process. The latter’s engine was not on-song following his close encounter with the scenery at Craner Curves during testing. That very wet test on Friday evening was the first time Tom Brown had driven round Donington Park therefore eleventh was a creditworthy finish for him although he was disappointed that he couldn’t find a way past the cars ahead. Another on a learning curve was Nigel Dolan as he had never driven the GP loop section of the circuit until he took part in qualifying. He discovered that the Fogarty Esses are far faster than the Roberts Chicane on the National Layout and the two hairpins lured him into carrying too much speed into those corners. He made a good start to gain places from sixteenth on the grid and was happy to avoid trouble as he recorded a twelfth place finish. That same unfamiliar section of track was something Martin Short struggled to get to grips with all weekend. He was next to take the flag. Friday’s sodden test session could be regarded as something of a baptism of water for James Baldwin. The Daytona DMAX karting champion was making his car racing debut in one of Oldfield ’s Van Diemen RF92s. In the early stages of this contest he was battling with Vincent Jay and Paul Mason before he lost control on the Craner Curves, ending up in the gravel trap. Under the cover of local yellows, the snatch vehicle

With a down-on-power engine, David McArthur (15) holds off Tom Brown (3)

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Pure Pace Racing are now on top of Hamish McAllister’s technical problems was able to pluck his car from the sea of stones. Baldwin then got back into the cockpit and rejoined the track from the grass but elected to retire in the pits. Baldwin’s team mate, Ryan Hayes, also had what could be described as a character building weekend after suspension failure put him out on his second lap of qualifying. He then had to pit during the course of this race when part of his exhaust system came adrift. The delay put him one lap down. Pure Pace Racing are now on top of the technical problems that affected Hamish McAllister’s car in the opening Northern rounds at Oulton Park. He was happy with his speed as he motored home in seventeenth. A lack of fuel pressure put Alan Williamson out of the race on lap 10 and this meant James Harvey was promoted to eighteenth as he held off Jack Wolfenden. Harvey’s team had repaired his suspension after it collapsed at the Melbourne Hairpin during qualifying while Wolfenden was competing at circuit number 3 in the third meeting of his short racing career. George McDonald, Harry Cobbold and Paul Barnes were the remaining trio of drivers who finished on the same lap as the leader. Cobbold was taking part in his first ever Formula Ford 1600 event.

With his mechanical problems resolved, Hamish McAllister showed his true pace

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Page: 15 www.brsccff1600.co.uk BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit, 9/10th May Pre90 Race 2 JAAP FIGHTS BACK

Jaap Blijleven stormed through the field to finish runner-up

Following the dramas of the previous day, we had the unusual sight of a Class E car on the front row. Colin Williams made a great start to keep pole-man, Jamie Jardine, on his toes all the way to the first corner however Jardine was able to take the lead into Redgate and zoomed off into the distance. Williams conceded second to Ben Tinkler on lap 2 and was soon sitting on the sidelines after a con-rod made a break for freedom through the bottom of his engine block. An unfortunate ending to a superb weekend for him. While all this was going on, UCLAN Racing’s Jaap Blijleven and Andrew Thomas were working the way up from the back of the grid after they had provided more excitement in race 1 than was beneficial to them. They were once again having an entertaining time as the other drivers defended their places in a hard but fair way – there was an abundance of really close racing and spectacular overtaking. Blijleven had a close call when Chris Stones had a suddenly loss of forward motion exiting Coppice as he retired from the second race in succession. Lap 6 was completed behind the Safety Car after David Franklin spun off and became beached in the Fogarty Esses’ gravel trap. The green flag waved the next time the cars crossed the finish line. This interruption was a stroke of luck for the cars coming up from the back as it brought Jardine into range for Blijleven and Thomas who were up to third and fourth by this stage. The UCLAN cars quickly dispensed with second placed Ben Tinkler but they couldn’t quite catch Jardine who managed to edge away by a few meters every lap to take his second victory of the weekend.

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Jamie Jardine zoomed off into the distance Tinkler took the chequered flag fourth on the road but dropped to sixth when a 5 second penalty was applied for breaching track limits. This promoted Michael Beaver and Mario Sarchet who had renewed their battle from the previous day. Beaver was much happier with his car after he and his crew made changes at the circuit to reduce the rear ride height and soften the anti-roll bar to cure his oversteer problem. He also plans to fit softer springs before the next round at Oulton Park. Seventh was Matthew Cowley. This was a good result considering a nudge from another car in the opening skirmishes had unbalanced the front of his Reynard 88FF and then he lost all of his clutch fluid on lap 2 which meant he had trouble going down the ‘box and difficulties when changing up to fourth. After struggling to find pace all weekend, Iain Houston finally got into tune with the Donington Park GP layout during this race. As a former sprinter, Iain starts usually see him gaining places however on the occasion things went awry and he had to pick off those who had beaten him into Redgate. He made good progress until he came up to John Wilkinson. He couldn’t quite get close enough to the man who would be classified eighth to make a bid to overtake. Houston was very happy with his pace nonetheless. Andrew Kluge was another to get to grips with the track. He completed the Top Ten with a fastest lap that was a second quicker than the previous day. Trevor Morgan and Stuart Dix completed the finishers. The latter came out worst when four cars attempted to take the Melbourne Hairpin at once. In the excitement a plug lead came adrift and, while trying to battle on with 3 cylinders, Dix tried to carry too much speed into the Old Hairpin and lost control. He then limped back to the pits where Peter Hackett rolled up his sleeve, thrust his arm between red hot exhaust pipes and replaced the plug lead. Unfortunately, Stuart was a lap down by the time he got back up to full speed after all this drama.

David Franklin reverses into the gravel trap at the Fogarty Esses

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Michael Beaver had less oversteer in this race

Page: 18 www.brsccff1600.co.uk BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit, 9/10th May Post89 Race 2 BACK TO FRONT

As misfortune befell others, Chris Middlehurst (2) won from last on the grid

Patrick Dussault was eager to get the race underway but he had to wait on pole position for a good 30 seconds before Oliver White joined him on the front row. When the red lights went out, it was Stephen Daly who made the best of start from third on the grid and he was able to gain a place from White. Before long, the pair had made contact – this caused the latter to drop to fifth as Daly turned his attention to challenging Dussault for the lead with Jonny McMullan closing in on both of them. This high speed trio had everyone on the edge of their seats. Just after half distance, Daly grabbed the lead at the Melbourne Hairpin but a lap later he ran wide at the same corner and dropped to third behind Dussault and McMullan but almost immediately Daly was back ahead of McMullan. That’s the way the order remained until the finish as White came home one place off the podium having passed Tom McArthur soon after his clash with Daly. After such an enthralling race there was more drama to come as the leading quartet were judged to have regularly exceeded the track limits when trying to take as straight a line as possible through the Fogarty Esses. Dussault and Daly were both excluded while McMullan and White received 45 second penalties which put them down to eighth and fourteenth respectively. This meant victory went to Chris Middlehurst – the first in the World for a GV15K chassis – and no one could say he hadn’t worked for it as, following his plug lead problem in race 1, he started last on the grid and put in a storming drive which saw him scythe through 13 cars on the opening lap. The all-important fifth on the road was secured two laps from home. Tom McArthur, the final person he overtook, quipped on

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Tom McArthur would have defended morec resolutely had he known a win was at stake! social media that he would have defended more resolutely had he known a win was at stake! Tom’s brother, David, would have been involved in this fight for what became the victory but his crash in testing on Friday meant his engine was below par all weekend and finally cried enough early in this race. Ironically, he pulled off at the top of the Craner Curves close to where his problems began on Friday evening. Abdul Ahmed completed the revised Top Three. He had battled throughout with Ben Spurge and then drafted Middlehurst to the point where he was only 0.3 secs from McArthur at the finish. Spurge finished a couple of seconds behind and is learning fast in his first season of Formula Ford 1600. The misfortune of others meant the two Swifts of Luke Cooper and Thomas Capezzone were classified fifth and sixth. Cooper was frustrated by a down on power engine. Another to be hit by one of the dreaded track limit penalties was Martin Short. His misdemeanours only resulted in 5 seconds being added to his race time and it wasn’t enough to lose seventh place on the results sheet. With his exhaust system repaired, Ryan Hayes held on to the coat tails of Middlehurst in the opening laps as they charged up the order. He made it up to ninth in the final classification and his race time was half a second away from taking eighth off the penalised McMullan.

Thomas Capezzone presses on through the Fogarty Esses

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Alan Williamson had the consolation of completing a lap more than in the 1st race! Hayes had become embroiled in a frantic midfield scrap for what became the final position in the Top Ten. That place was taken by Paul Mason who got the better of Nigel Dolan, Vincent Jay and Chris Acton. Dolan was had been further up the order on the opening lap but was delayed when Ahmed, Capezzone and Tom Brown tried to occupy the same piece of tarmac at the Melbourne Hairpin. Brown, on the inside, was sent skywards in the incident and made a quick pit-stop to check for damage. Although a couple of wishbones were bent, he was able to rejoin but he was now last and 12 seconds behind the car in front. Despite severe pain from a bruised spine, Tom fought back to be classified sixteenth behind Hamish McAllister. Brown has overturned his deficit to such an extent that he finished ahead of George McDonald, Paul Barnes, Jack Wolfenden and James Baldwin. In his first car race meeting, Baldwin gained speed all weekend and was pleased that his best lap was only 2 seconds away from the front-running pace. Another completing his debut was Harry Cobbold but proceedings came to an end for him earlier than he would have liked as a fuel system problem prevented his engine from exceeding 5,000 rpm and his weekend finished in the pit-lane. Retirements were also posted by James Harvey and Alan Williamson. Both these drivers had their engines die on their eleventh circuit. In the case of Williamson this was due to his master switch coming adrift which was a total mystery as there was nothing in the vicinity of the component that could have knocked against it. He had the consolation of completing 1 more lap than he did in the first race.

Ryan Hayes showed his true speed in this race. Here he leads Chris Acton

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