Round 2 re-run Saturday 2^nd August – Pembrey Circuit

Keith White wins Re-started race

Entry & Practice

Although the weather had cooled a little from the heat of July, and there was a forecast for rain, on the day after some overnight rain and an early morning shower, it was drying up by the time the on-track action began! This was at the unusually late time of 2.30 in the afternoon, as in contrast with the crowded schedule in May, this time it was only ourselves and the Sports 2000 Championships for Pinto, Zetec & Duratech engine cars. However by the time our competitors took to the track there was a nice wide dry line! There were 18 cars out this time, with most of them having already raced with us in 2014, the only real change being the return of Chris ‘Lofty’ Everill and his Class D Ginetta G20. Chris, who last raced with us a few years ago, is seriously quick & would be sure to keep Keith White honest. However it was Keith who took pole with a time of 61.33 seconds. Chris was 2^nd but could only manage 5 laps after his half-shaft broke ‘Luckily we carry a spare’ said Chris as his crew began to work on the repair. Neil Watts was 3^rd with 63.11 with Mike Cond 4^th less than two 10^th  behind.  On row 3 Andy Williams and Geraint Rees were even closer with only 9/100^th between them! On Row 4 were the turbo twins of Jim Lyons and his turbo Mini & Rhodri Jenkins ready to do his Civic duty although there was plenty for Rufus and Rhodri to work on as the engine kept cutting out!  Ken James was 9^th fastest and Glynne Jones 10^th. . Roger Dowden, Paul Flinders, Mellissa and the returning Giles Beck with all 4 setting time in the 69 second bracket! Huw Morgan was 15^th just ahead of Dan Burt,& Tyrone Lufferelli. Dan wasn’t very happy ‘ I made some changes to the car and it seems worse! I want to give it a good try, but if it doesn’t work I’ll change it back for tomorrow!’  Verity Banks was 18^th and was also making a comeback after missing the last rounds.

 The race - 15 minutes plus 1 lap

It was a brisk August day with some cloudy sunshine as the grid came up to the rolling start, and it was Keith who took the lead closely followed by Chris Everill, Neil Watts and Geraint Rees with Mike Cond  in 5^th place.  Andy Williams was an early visitor to the scenery having understeered wide on the exit to Dibeni and spun it on the grass, right in front of his team, who were watching from the banking!  Andy managed to scoop it up without hitting anything and headed back onto the tarmac, to start a long chase back! He was not the last driver to visit the scenery on Saturday! At the front Keith had a small lead over Chris, who looked like he might be saving his car for big push later in the race. Mike Cond passed Geraint and then Neil Watts to run a distant 3^rd. Also on the move in the early laps was Rhodri who passed the fast stating turbo Mini of Jim Lyons for 6^th place. Ken James was initially 8^th but was eventually passed by Andy Williams, who seems to relish climbing back up the order.  Roger Dowden had Mellissa on his bumper, with Mellissa taking 10^th with a nice move, leaving Roger on his own in 11^th place.  In 12^th and pushing on was Giles Beck in the MFI BMW who was comfortably leading Class BT on his return. Paul Flinders initially seemed to be mired in amongst the BT Hot Hatches and would have to push hard to close the gap to Giles after he managed to free himself. Dan Burt was the early leader with Tyrone and then Huw Morgan in pursuit. There was plenty of place swapping, until Tyrone had a grassy moment at the paddock turn, which let Huw have a clear run at Dan. This however didn’t go according to plan and Huw overcooked at Honda trying to get alongside Dan! This put Huws’ Honda into a spin and then a slow roll to come to rest on it’s side, pointing back down the track. (Look for Huws U-tube clip for full details). There was no option other than for the organisers to stop the race with a red flag! Huw showed himself to be ok by trying to get out of the car via the passenger door, which resulted in some comic moments with the door opening & slamming shut again until Huw could overcome gravity and hop out, just as the rescue truck arrived. Later, after being righted, the car was towed back to the paddock, where the general opinion there wasn’t much wrong that couldn’t be fixed with a hammer and some polish!

 It there was a sense of déjà vu, this was dispelled as the organisers decide they had enough time to restart the race!  Glynne Jones had pitted late on and wouldn’t take the restart.

The restart- 4 minutes plus 1 lap

Keith White shot straight into the lead at the restart but he was challenged by a fast starting Michael Cond. This proved to be a problem for Chris Everill at Senna, as he tried to mount a challenge on Keith. ‘I couldn’t see Mike, but I thought he was there, so I didn’t want to turn in hard and hit him! However I then went wide and got on the marbles and around it went! Chris then proceeded to make up time, along with Andy Williams who again visited the scenery! Geraint was 3^rd with Neil Watts 4^th. Rhodri was a strong 4^th ahead of Ken James, Jim Lyons, Mellissa , Roger Dowden, Paul Flinders & Giles Beck. Dan Burt had Tyrone on his tail and then the recovering Chris Everill. Meanwhile Verity had Andy Williams behind her at the start of Andys’ recovery drive! It was fast and furious with only time for 5 laps, but neither Tyrone nor Mellissa made it to the finish. Tryone pulled off on lap 2 with a broken drive shaft and Mellissa stopped on lap 3 when her  throttle cable snapped! Neil passed Geraint on the penultimate lap to take 3^rd place and the class CS win! Chris Everill made it to 5^th place and Rhodri won the battle of the turbos in 6^th with Jim Lyons 7^th. Andy Williams made it up to 8^th, with Roger Dowden 7^th and just ahead of Paul Flinders who was having gearbox problems but still managed to hang on to win Class BT by just over a second from Giles Beck! Ken James had spun down the order and was 12^th with Dan Burt 13^th & Verity 14^th and last! However Keith ran out the winner, although Mike Cond had him under pressure in the final laps! Neil Watts was 3rd

So at last, round 2 is now over and done with! It was onwards towards normal Sunday service.

Times & Result from http://www.tsl-timing.com/barc/2014/143121wss.pdf