Anglesey 2024 Race Report

05-09-2024

Anglesey  

Entry and Quali

The Welsh Sports & Saloon Championship, which is its 34^nd year, continued its 2024 season  at Anglesey  with Rounds 5 & 6 in its usual format of Qualifying and 2 races on the weekend 3 & 4^th August.  Usually the Angelsey track is a fair distance away from South Wales, but with this years event so early in August, there was lots of slow holiday traffic which made the trip seem twice as long! However once there, the track made the trip worthwhile, with changes in elevation and some excellent corners

 We were part of the Scottish Motor Clubs event, and were combined with the Scottish Classic Championship, which made it a welcome 27 car grid.  On pole position after quali was the current WSSCC Champion Wayne Spiller (Maxda RX8) and alongside him was one of our Irish guests ,Gareth Blaine with a Seat Leon. 3rd fastest was James Harvey (Porsche Boxster) 4th 5th were Scottish drivers, 6th was Simon Baker (RX8) and  7th was Craig Attard  (VW Scirroco Turbo).  Our  Irish Guest Drivers  including John Cardoo, Joseph Yates John Newport (Our home Town) and Alan Millar all driving Wildcats and 18th was Andy Williams. There was some good natured concern with Andys struggle with his Renault Clio. The general advice was that he should at least soften up the rear suspension

All races were rolling starts

Race 1

Wayne Spiller lead the grid to the startline, and was quickly into the lead. James Harvey was second, but Gareth Blaine hit his stride and quickly passed James, and hounded Wayne for whole of the 11 laps. Wayne drove the 'widest RX8 in Angelsey' Although Gareth tried hard, getting almost alongside at 'Rocket turn' Wayne held on to take the Race Win, and some Scottish Champers! Behind them Craig Attard had a wild grassy spin without damage, and then retired to the pits! Simon Baker was initially 6th, but he worked at it and in the later stages he overcame several big value Scots cars and then passed James Harvey to finish 3rd overall. This action  earned Simon 'The Driver of the Race' award !

Andy Williams reported ' Half way through the race, the car came to me. He had taken 2 secs off his quallifying times! Our Irish guests behind Gareth Blaine (2nd) was John Newport (9th overall) and Joe Yates (11th overall) both in Wildcats (Spaceframe saloons with 2 litre Ford  Zetec or Dutatec engines)

Race 2 Rolling Start

Wayne lead the first lap, but Gareth   passed him by lap 2 and then held the lead for the rest of the 12 lap race ! Late on Wayne made sure of the Class 2 win, as Simon Baker was 3rd overall with James Harvey 4^th.   (Craig did not start the VW) Andrew Williams was 14^th. Our Irish guests behind Gareth Blaine (1st) was Joe Yates (9th overall) and John Cardoo (11)   and Alan Millar(13) all in Wildcats. This time Wayne won 'The Driver of the Race' award.

Times can be found on http://www.smart-timing.co.uk

On the left find 2024 and click on Anglesey

 Qualli is on page 74

Race one page100

Race 2 page 131

Wayne Spiller you tube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzOdVQH561A

2024 WSSCC Easter Monday Castle Combe full Report

27-03-2024

The Welsh Sports & Saloon Championship, which is its 34th year, started the 2024 season  at Castle Combe on Easter Bank Holiday Monday with its usual format of Qualifying and 2 races.  In 2024 the current Champion is Wayne Spiller and he is trying to repeat his 2023 title win! Several other drivers are looking to challenge him, including Simon Baker who is from New Zealand . In the classes, Class One  is for  cars will racing on Treaded tyres. All other Classes the cars are racing on Slicks. Points are scored based on the number of entries in each class. All races are rolling starts. Full details are on www.wrda.co.uk

The Grid, which  we shared with the Classic & Modern Motor Clubs’ Tin Top and Super Saloons  lads and it made for an interesting 30 car grid. Chris Everill was on pole but he had a horde of CC Mc Bmws all around him, with Adrian Bradley sharing the front row and Rod Birley  . Paul Watson and Dave Cowman all close behind.  Fabio Luffarelli was 8^th. James Hunt (no not that one)was 10^th (He wasn’t with us but it was too good not to mention it) In the battle of the Class Two Mazdas,  Wayne Spiller was  14^th and on Class 2 pole, with new guy Simon Baker 16^th in Craig Attards RX8. 21^st was Russell Haggerty in the NMR Kawasaki but the car broke a half shaft so he only recorded 2 laps.  23rd was  Mike COOK BMW 330, 25th was  Andrew WILLIAMS Renault Clio and an excellent  28^th was Verity BANKS, still Ford mounted for the moment!

It was cloudy but dry for most of the morning, but the heavens opened at the end of lunchtime, and we had a heavy shower, just as the 500s had a grid walk and then the first race of the afternoon. NB the 500s refer to cars that raced from 1946 to 1959 with chassis from Cooper (yes that one) and Keift (from Wales). Basically they were spaced framed single seater car with a 500 cc Motorcycle engine. 500s launched the careers of Merlin Stoss (a humorous misspelling of Stirling Moss) and a certain Bernie Ecclestone. (google him if you don’t know)

Race One  -10 laps  -  Mass Rolling Start  By  the time of our first race, the weather was bright, the track was drying , and Chris Everill took an immediate lead, and looked like he was on for a lights to Flag run. However Adrian Bradley only lasted 2 laps, allowing the highly experienced Rod Birley  to move into  2^nd place. Rod ran just behind Chris, but  on lap 4 he made a big effort and closed right up on Chris.   Chris seemed to have the situation covered, until the last lap as he came on a group of backmarkers! Chris made his way through the backmarkers, giving them some racing room, but Rod followed him through and made a grab for the lead with the finishing line in sight, finishing just 0.887 ahead! Chris was the first Welsh Championship contender home.   Fabio Luffarelli in the meantime had qualified 8^th but pulled up to finish in 6^th place.  Meanwhile in 8^th place Wayne Spiller converted  his Class 2 pole into a Class 2 win, but had a running battle with one of the BMWs,  Chris Haynsford in a ccmc RX8 and when those both dropped out, he had a Honda Civic (read it and weep Mike Moss) and a Pug 308 to deal with, which impressed enough for Wayne to be given the WSSCC ‘Driver of the Race’ award. All of the above were on the lead lap. Wayne also lowered his own Class Two lap record from 01:20.431 in 2023 to leave it at 1:18.362. In 14th place, Kiwi Simon Baker acquitted himself well on his Castle Combe and Welsh Championship debut. In 19th Andrew Williams round out the Class Two Runners and was the last runner on 9 laps. 21^st was Mike Cook (BMW 330) 22^nd was Russell Haggerty, whose  pit crew had worked wonders to fix  and  replace the broken half-shaft, Russell said he  was just going to see  how  It held up in Race 1 and if it was good, then really go for it in race2. 23^rd out of 30 starters and 24 finishers , was Verity Banks who improved her Class One lap record slicing a few hundredeths  to leave it at 1:33.520.

Race 2 -10 laps – Mass Rolling Start –

The cars departed for the pace lap, leading to the rolling start, but with so many cars on the grid it was perhaps inevitable that there may be few cars left along the way. So to give the marshals time to clear them away, the cars took another pace lap.  Chris Everill again took an immediate lead, and completed a lights to Flag winning run. Behind him Rod Birley was initial close but so were all the C&M BMW runners, and they all tripped over each other to ease any pressure Chris might have felt.  Fabio got himself in the mix. In the end C&M BMW Paul Watson was 2^nd. Adrian Bradley came up from row 14 to finish 3^rd (surely C&Ms ‘Drive of the Race if they have one!) 4^th and ahead  of 4 BMWs, Fabio Luffarelli was awarded the WSSCC ‘Driver of the Race’ for his mighty efforts! Rod Birley tumbled away from 2^nd place on the last lap and finished 8^th just ahead of Wayne Spiller who again was the first Class Two runner and was only ½ a second away from taking Rod Birley scalp, (Wayne set a new Class B  lap record on the way, shaving a few 10ths of his race one time!)In 8^th place Wayne was  ahead of one of the other BMWs,  the Pug 308, a Renault Megane and the C & M mc Mazda RX8. Simon Baker was 15^th in Craigs RX8 and was close to the other RX8  as well  and   2^nd in Class B. Andrew Williams was 21^st with Mike Cook 22^nd. All the above were on the lead lap.

 Russell Haggerty was 23^rd and  had a bright start, but sadly dropped back after he was collected by a wayward BMW in one of the worst  â€˜Racing incidences’ in the book.  It seems that the BMW either missed his braking point or ran out of brakes,  and hit Russell,  inflicting a lot of damage to the little NMR. Russell went off the find the Clerk of the Course to report the situation.  Russell had dropped behind Verity but made back in front of her on the last lap. Verity was 25^th.

Castle Combe WSSCC fastest laps Black type = 10/4/2023  Red = 1/4/2024	Race Car	Class	Lap Time
Chris Everill	Ginetta G55	Five	01:10.419
Damian Longotano	Westfield SE	Four	01:12.275
Robert Rees	Mini R56	Three	01:17.745
Wayne Spiller (race Two)	Mazda RX8	Two	0 1. 18.182
Verity Banks  (race One)	Ford Fiesta	One	01:33.520

Points go down to 10^th place in each class.

4 + starters   Ist = 20 points, 2^nd = 18 pts 3^rd = 16pts etc

3 starters   Ist = 18 points, 2^nd = 16 pts 3^rd = 14pts    

2 starters  Ist = 16 points, 2^nd = 14 pts

1 starter = 14pts

For more details about joining in with the championship, contact Robert Allender on 01792

791686 or 07722261988 and also look on The Welsh Racing Drivers Association website   wrda.co.uk     

2024 WSSCC dates so far

13-11-2023

Hi We just wanted to let you know that we have some firm dates (plus some offers and others we are working on)

We will start at Castle Combe on  Eaaster Monday (1/4/2024) and the next Firm date is at Pembrey on 18/19 May. 

BTW This is the only Pembrey date in 2024. 

Please put those dates in you diaries,

We are working on others and will let you know when they go firm. 

But now is the time to register your interest! 

(reduced to £150 for 2024)

Please pass it on

Regards Robert

Silverstone Race reports

19-08-2023

 The Welsh Sports & Saloon Car Championship  (WSSCC) latest  races   7 & 8 at Silverstone  National Circuit  on  Saturday 29^oh August.  Topping the entry list in Class Five  it was good to see  Keith Butcher, and his Lamborghini Huracan and this time the engine chimed up and kept running, after a change of wiring loom fixed the misfire! Keith confirmed  ‘We were fortunate to borrow  one, as it seems  that Italy shuts down  during August’ (This seemed to be a factor in Robert Rees deciding not to run his Ferrari! ). Joining us in Class Five was  Nigel Mustill from Salisbury in his potent 7000cc Volvo  S60 but David Krayem was missing,  as he had damaged the gearbox in his 7litre Ginetta G50 during Friday test sessions!    

It was nice to see Gareth John back with us in his Ginetta G40 (now Class 4).  in Class Three  we had Mike Cook (BMW 330) In Class Two we had current points leader Wayne Spiller and his Mazda  and also Craig Attard (also Mazda)  and Mark Williams and his Renault Clio. Sadly Andrew Williams wasn’t fit to drive but was looking after Verity Banks in her Ford Fiesta. Plus we also had 2 Guests, Christian Douglas in his Aerial Atom who has raced with us before,  and Scott Parkin in a TCR Audi  TT. From Barnsley, Scott was new to us.  Nice to see Andrew Barron who is part way through the Motorsport UK: Clerk of the Course Training Programme have previously done a similar role in America, and hope to be our C of C in 2024.

The Race 15 minutes Rolling Start Apparently we were the only championship to have a rolling start on the event.  With Nigel on Pole with Keith 2^nd and Christian Douglas 3^rd and all 3 under 60 seconds for the 1.64 mile circuit (Nigel was on 102.19 mph for the lap) it was clear that these would  be setting the pace at the front.  And it was Nigel who jumped into the lead, but Keith harried him setting the races fastest lap early on, only for Nigel to set the overall and Class 5 lap record on lap 6 and pulled a gap to Keith who then had to keep Christian at bay crossing the line after 16 laps with only 4.95 between them at the end.

Scott Parkin settled into 4^th and was the only driver on 15 laps. After a bit of a mix up on lap one it was resolved with Mark Williams leading Class Two until the actual Class Two winner Wayne Spiller caught him to finish  5^th ahead of the returning  Class Four Ginetta G40 of Gareth John who had  Mark WILLIAMS  for close company !   Craig ATTARD was 8^th overall & 3^rd in Class 2.  Mike COOK BMW 330 was 9^th and  Verity was 10^th and picked up ‘Driver of the Race’ award as she had bettered her Quali time by 3.5 seconds.

The grid  We lost Nigel Mustill as he said his gearbox had picked up a leak, and he made an early start for home!  This left Keith Butcher and Christian Douglas on the front row.

Scott Parkin had Wayne Spiller for company.  Mark Williams played his Double point Joker for this race and had Craig Attard for company. Mike Cook and Verity Banks were on the last row!

Race Two -15 minutes Rolling Start  Christian & Keith put on a power  show as they diced for the lead. Christian got ahead, but Keith was at times very close and got into the lead, only for Christian to re-take the lead on the twisty bits.  On the penultimate lap Christian set the races fastest lap  (59.301 seconds  99.58 mph).  Keiths fastest lap set in the early laps was 59.309 seconds - 99.57 mph, so there was not much between them,  but Keith rolled it back as  he knew that Christian was a non-points -scoring guest, so no points were at stake.  One lap down Scott Parkin, Our other guest settled into 3^RD. Behind the podium finishers Mark Williams made a rocket start to lead Class Two point scorers from  4^th and although Gareth John got by Mark early on, Mark was still leading Class Two from Wayne Spiller. Craig however had a slow start.  It took a few laps before Wayne got by but Mark Kept  him honest  all the way to the Cheqeured flag! Wayne set the Class Two fastest lap on his last lap!  Craig was 7^th Mike Cook was 8^th and Verity was 9^th. Christian Douglas was judged to be the ‘Driver of the Race’ by Andrew Barron and his fellow Clerks.

For those who unable to see what the Silverstone National circuit is all about, should look up Wayne Spillers  You Tube feed showing 100 mph on the straight and 60 mph on the corners! Wow That’s what I call motoring!

 You can see the action  on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH2R3IIqroY

Results https://www.tsl-timing.com/file/?f=TCRUK/2023/233330wss.pdf

Current  points

 Hi the latest scores in the Blake Edwards Trophy standings after 8 rounds is

Damian Longotano  3 wins

Nigel Mustill  2 wins

Chris Everill  1 win

Keith Butcher 1 win

Very Latest Blake Edwards & Colin Gundersen Points

07-07-2023

Hi the latest scores in the Blake Edwards Trophy standings after 6 rounds is

Damian Longotano  3 wins

Wayne Spiller 1 win

Nigel Mustill  2 wins

Chris Everill  1 win

Keith Butcher 1 win

In the Colin Gundersen Fastest Lap  Trophy the points after 2 rounds at Pembrey  are

Airbourne Andrew

17-04-2023

WSSCC Rounds 1 & 2 Castle Combe  Monday 10th April Entry and Qualifying.

It was a sunny & warm Easter, that is until it came to race day, when an overnight heavy rain band swept across the circuit! This left the track too wet for an early start, and the action was delayed until 10.00 and the Qualifying for the Combined C &M Sliiyhoutes and WSSCC runners  started at 11.30. The track was still damp.  Fastest was C& M mc runner   Lewis Smith  Mercedes SLK  Next  was  Chris EVERILL with fellow Ginetta  driver David KRAYEM.  7^th was Damien LONGOTANO  with  fellow Westfield  driver Nick CROMPTON Westfield was 9^th  Robert REES was 11^th BMW Mini with  Wayne SPILLER Mazda RX8 16^th  The rest of WSSCC runners  were 19^th to 25^th starting with the returning  Jason ‘peg-leg’Peard  for his first race since he recovered from his broken leg, (Honda Civic Type R)  and  Andrew WILLIAMS ( Renault Clio), Both  in Class 2 as they were running slicks for the first time. Next, and making his WSSCCC debut was  Craig ATTARD (Mazda RX8).   Gareth HAYCOCK  joined us as a guest  in his ‘Hot Hatch’ BMW Mini S) and he was really pleased to support us on this occasion.   Mike COOK (BMW 330) and  Verity BANKS (Ford Focus) were the final WSSCC runners ,with C&M  runner Keith WHITE was last (having won the WSSCC Championship in 2014/15 lets hope he can see the new WSSCC regs would suit his car again). Sadly several of the potential runners hadn’t got their cars ready. One of the missing was Nigel Mustill, as he damaged the Volvo S169  the previous  weekend in a warm-up race, so he may know the famous Swedish  drivers Axil Bengt or his cousin Bengt  Axil! Dave Krayem and Chris Everill were also doing the Castle Combe  GT races as well as ours. However Dave had problems and missed our races as well as the 2^nd Castle Combe  GT race.

Race 1 (WSSCC round 1 – Rolling Start )  The Clerk decided to start the C &M Silhouettes first with a light start and us with a 20 second gap would get a flag start.  Chris and Damian are well used to controlling the WSSCC  starts and they kept the gird nice and tight until  the flag waved.  Chris took off like a proverbial scalded cat and chased after the Silhouettes, and he soon caught and passed quite a few, until he pulled up after 8 laps. He said later  ’ I wanted  to catch them all’ However he had done enough to take the ‘Driver of the Race’ award.  This left Damian to take the WSSCC race win. Behind him was Robert Rees who took the Class 3 award. Wayne Spiller headed Class 2 with  Mike Cook  next.  Jason Peard won the battle of the former BT team mates ahead of Andrew Williams.  Verity Banks was the only BT/ Class One  runner .  The weather was dry, but very windy, and there should be an award for ‘Catching Roberts cap!’ It was such a problem that we decided to do race 2 awards at the next race at Pembrey.

Results race One https://www.tsl-timing.com/file/?f=CCRC/2023/231568rc1wss.pdf

In between  races , (the lunch break  didn’t happen) it was nice to catch up with a breaded  Mike Moss and his wife Jenny, who was wearing one of those thick Orthopaedic boots, having fallen downstairs at home! Sadly she said it may be October before she can do without it! Which kind of took the gloss of the old joke that came to mind, about Poison Mushrooms and falling downstairs!

Race 2 (WSSCC round 1 Rolling Start )  Flag start timed at 17.59 ( one minute to 6.00 pm)  At the start of race 2 we were missing Chris Everill who had a big front end  shunt  in the Combe GT race, when someone unexpectedly jumped on the brakes in front of him!  A lot of red tank tape was used, but sadly the car wasn’t fit to do the 2^nd WSSCC race.

However starting from the back we had, Gareth Haycock, who had solved his  race 1 fault . Also starting at the back was Craig Attard  Ã¢Â€Â˜The car had fuel pickup/ pressure problem so i could only use 3/4 throttle and only had 6500 rpm instead of 9500.  I’ ve got a whole new tank and fuel system to go in so fingers crossed for Pembrey. ‘   Nick  Crompton was also starting from  the back, after missing race One. Nick takes up the story   ‘My  daughter called me just before race 1,  upset she was stuck on the motorway on her way up to Combe  as the dsg gearbox had gone bang!  So dad to the rescue, I went to pick the car up with the trailer, so I missed the race’   

As the flag dropped to start the race, Damian went into the lead from fellow front row man Robert Rees, but Nick Crompton was soon on the move!  Unfortunately Mike Cook had to take to the grass to avoid the charging Nick! Nick later apologised to Mike having seen the photos of the start. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t realise it at the time!’  However Nick, using an engine he bought from  Damian, was soon up to 2^ND place, and on the 3^rd lap he was in the lead of Class Four, and the lead of the race!  Entering the closing stages, Damian retook the lead and set the Class fastest lap to stay on the lead lap! Meanwhile Nick, Robert Rees and Wayne Spiller all went  1 lap down.  Jason Peard,  Andy Williams, Mike Cook, Gareth Haycock were on all 11 laps , with Verity Banks on 10 laps.  With the race due to end  at 18.15 (6.15) with the high winds not showing any signs of slackening off, we decided to do the race 2 awards, at Pembrey.

In the meantime

Wayne Spiller leads with 42 points from Jason ‘peg-leg Peard – 36 pts & Robert Rees 34 pts

Pembrey Race Report

02-11-2022

The weather was ok for the final races of the 2022 season. It wasn’t the heatwave conditions we had at Silverstone & Donington, but at least it was dry! We were also in the pit garages for this event!

Entry and Qualifying

The races were on the ‘Classic’ AXA National Circuit It was the first time in many years that all our races had been on this layout.   We had a good grid of Championship points scorers, plus a few guests, most notably Ian Hall in a big-engined V8 Darrrian Wildcat T98-GTR 5995. Ian, an old-time engineer set the 6th fastest time but his big engine must have blasted the silencer wading and he was taken to task for being too noisy!  Some people offered with some spare wading but Ian was content to have found his car could turn left, and decided to miss the race! Another driver who would practice but miss the race was Roger Dowden, who was having his first race of the season,  but found the engine on his Davrian Mk6 had blown up! (Same as last year)  Verity Banks was missing from the grid as her car has sprung an Oil Leak. A Man that did make it was Martin Davies, who had now bought back the RS 2000 that he used and gave him his first races in the WSSCC in 1992! Unfortunately, all he had this time, where some unsuitable rally tyres !

Pole went to Chris Everill in CE Commercials Ginetta G55 with Deri Davies alongside.

Damian Longotano was 3rd with Mike Manning 4th

5th and on the Class BS pole was Gareth John with a gap where Ian Hall should be

7th was Todd Garner with Wayne Spiller alongside making it a Class BS1-2-3

9th was Robert Rees with Colin Dunn 10th and on Class BT Pole

11th was the sideways  MGB GT of Aled Dark. 12th was  Andrew Williams Honda Civic R

13th  was the also sideways  Martin Davies 14th was Rodney Teague Renault Clio

15th was Tyrone Dowsell  Renault Clio in 16th should have been  Roger Dowden

17th was Mike Cook and the big  BMW 330 Clubsport in  18th was  Alan Smith and his Ford KA Sport on  AT tyres

19th was  Russell Haggerty with his Ford KA on BT tyres and 20th was  Neil Thomas (guest Class I) with his 2.5 MG B GT 2.

In the paddock,  Damian Longotano was flat out (actually on his back,) underneath Gareth John's car, helping to pack his exhaust, to help get Gareth’s car to pass the noise test!

At the start of the race, Colin Dunn, had one hand on the Overall Winners Trophy, but he needed to finish both the last races of the 2022 season, as he had Wayne Spiller and Tyrone Dowsell close, if he had any hiccups!

Round 13

After the pace car lap, the car showing first was a fast-starting Deri Davies who got his Darrian going first but he was overtaken by Chris Everill who has stalked by Damian Longotano, who took over to win after pressuring Chris into a tyre-locking moment at Hatchets Hairpin. I don’t propose writing too much as we paid to have the race covered by the BARC film crew. Suffice to say that having passed the Ka’s,  Neil Thomas had a wild spin and worked hard to keep it away from the crash barrier! Meanwhile Neil's mate and fellow MG driver Aled Dark was going well, (but with a lot of tank tape on his bonnet), until he noticed a Black and White Flag showing with what he thought was his number ‘ I could only see the ‘5’ so I thought it might be my number (135), and maybe it was because the tank tape was coming off,  so I pulled into the pit lane but the Clerk of the Course told me he didnt want to see me!  It was too late to make up time, and I ended up as NC!’ (Not Classified as a Finisher) Robert Rees had a race-long duel, with Mike Manning, and got past on what should have been the last lap! Mike repassed Robert on the next lap! However, the organisers realised their mistake and started to show the Chequered Flag, but counted the results back to the 15-minute mark, which put Robert 4th and Mike 5th!

Robert was awarded the ‘Driver of the Race’ as decided by the Pembrey Marshals.

Round 14

So the grid set off for the final race in the 2022 season. Damian Longotano won the race but Chris Everill kept a close watch on the Westfield! The other sight was seeing the Class BS runners all in one close order.

Deri Davis got the Driver of the Race’ for race 2.  At the end the race 2, it was Colin Dunn, who was the overall champion, with Wayne Spiller and Tyrone Dowsell tied on points for 2nd place overall.

So having had some great racing in 2022, we now need to start planning for the 2022 awards night and the 2023 season!

In the meantime, you can relive some of the 2022 races.

WSSCC on Camera Pembrey  on Camera with Race 1  2hr 24m  Race 2  7hr 15m

On the BARC Truck Racing Pembrey  Oct 9th https://youtu.be/00mIo3Cm2p4

Castle Combe 12th June 2022  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkm61w2ei6Q

DONINGTON PARK CIRCUIT  2022 WSSCC Donington Park Race 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inffLq4qqew

750mc Anglesey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HF_LdAuv5w

Donington News Report - Rounds 9 & 10

19-08-2022

 The 2022 Welsh Sports & Saloon Championship (aka WSSCC) was at Donington Park on Sunday 14th August with its usual format of Qualifying and 2 races, to make up the 9th &10th rounds in the 14-round 2022 Championship. The last time the championship raced on the Donington  Park  National Circuit it was wet & windy, and as the 14th of August had better weather,  it may well be that the current Lap Records will fall!

Pre-event Championship points  Andrew K Williams BT Honda R/Clio 153 points, Tyrone Dowsell BT   Renault Clio 154 pts, Colin Dunn BT  Renault Clio 146 pts Todd Garner BS  Renault Clio 139 pts, Wayne Spiller BS  Mazda RX8 130 pts, Gareth John BS  Ginetta G40 112 pts, Chris Everill D  Ginetta G55 110 pts Damian Longotano CS  Westfield SE 96 pts, Verity Banks BT  Ford Fiesta 90 pts, Rodney Teague BT  Renault Clio 65 pts

Entry & Qualifying. It was another heat-wave weekend, only this week there were no garages to shelter in! Barc Clerk Andrew Harris gave us a briefing, which included not damaging Johnathon Palmer's grass! With dire consequences, if you did!

The front row had a familiar feel! Chris Everill was on pole in his red  Ginetta G55  1:14.756. Alongside him was  Damian Longotano  with his Westfield SE

On the 2^nd row and  3^rd fastest was the first of our Irish guests  Paul Parr and his SHP Wildcat 2000 and his mate Charlie Linaanne  SHP RT2000 2000

On row 3 was one of our UK guests , Klaas Kooiker  and his  BMW M3 plus  Gareth John who took the Class BS pole with his Ginetta G40

On row 4   was Todd Garner (Renault Clio) and fellow BS man Wayne Spiller (Mazda RX8) Todd had a straight-on, tyre smoking moment at Redgate. It may have been he was trying too hard, for a quick time!

On row 5 were Robert Rees ( BMW Mini R56t) and Colin DUNN who took the BT pole with the first of the many BT Clios .

On row 6 was another  Irish pair of  John Newport and Gary Grattan both in Wildcats (seem like the RT2000 cars from several years ago.

On row 7 was an all BT row of  Andrew WILLIAMS (Honda) and  Rodney Teague Renault Clio 2000

On row 8 were Tyrone Dowsell (BT Clio) and Alan SMITH Ford KA (AT)

On row 9 was  Russell Haggerty also with a Ford KA but not on List 1a tyres so Class AS

On row 10 it was a low start for  Mike COOK (BMW 330 Clubsport) and Verity BANKS (Ford Focus)

We should have had at least 2 more starters but one of the Irish guys Gary Cochran, damaged his engine in testing

 And John Morris who couldn’t get to Donington.

Race 1 15 minutes – Rolling start. As the cars approached the lights, Chris Everill took a lead he was never to lose, although Damian Longotano closed up to a couple of 10ths of a second, Chris’ lead had grown to a second or so by lap 7. And that’s where the fun ended, as  Andrew  Williams had gone off on the same lap, and the safety car was scrambled. With Andy stuck, the race ended under the safety car! Meanwhile, Tyrone Dowsell had disappeared to the pits! Behind the flying Chris & Damian, the first of the Irish rovers,  Paul Parr was in 3^rd place. 4^th was Charlie Linanne, but he disappeared leaving our UK guest, Klaas Kooiker and his  BMW M3 in 4^th place.  And he worked at closing the gap to Paul, until the safety car stopped play! Gareth John was then 5^th but Jon Newport (Irish Wildcat) passed him and began close the gap to Klass. Up until lap 5  Gareth seemed well in charge of Class BS, but then he spun down the order, as he explains,’ I’d managed to build up quite a healthy lead but then mid-way through the race I overheated my tyres just pushing too hard in the heat. Turned into McLeans and suffered huge understeer, tried to correct it but ended up spinning the car and ended up in the gravel trap. I managed to get across the gravel onto the grass but ripped part of the rear bumper in the process. I managed to get back onto the track by which time I’d lost a lot of time. Was slowly catching Wayne and Todd back up, but then the safety car came out and so it was game over! Ah well that’s how it goes sometimes. At least I had the fastest lap as consolation!’   All this drama let Todd Garner into 6^th place followed closely by Wayne Spiller, and Robert Rees, with Gareth now he passed Robert to finish 8^th!  Behind the Class BS runners, it was hammer & tongs time in Class BT. Verity Banks disappeared early on, but this time it was just a Flat Battery, (that was soon fixed for Race 2, thanks to Colin Dunn ) Leading Class BT was Andrew Williams, (back in  Jason Peard’s Honda), by a narrow margin from Colin Dunn and Tyrone Doswell.  Gary Gratton (Irish Wildcat)  and Mike Cook (BMW 330) were also in the mix! Andrew continued to head the class, but Colin was keeping the pressure on! Suddenly on lap 7 at the Craner Curves Andrew had a brief trip around the edge of the Gravel Trap! With a flat tyre and tyre-rim full of gravel, the marshals were not minded letting Andrew continue, although he wanted to.  Rod Teague had retired to the pits. With cars stranded around the circuit, the safety car was scrambled, and the race ended under the safety car! So Colin was the Class BT winner with Tyrone Dowsell as the only other BT finisher, although 5 Class BT cars had started! Behind them, Russell Haggerty and Alan Smith, had a battle of the Ford KA’s, although Alan was in AT as he was on list 1 tyres, and Russell would be in Class AS as he wasn’t.  So the race ran its 15 minutes distance under the Safety Car with Chris taking his 5^th win of the year. 

Race 2 – Rolling start! Earlier in the programme, the 50-minute Britcar took an age to complete with 2 red flag moments and lots of clearing up to do! This had a knock on effect and instead of our race starting at 17.50 (with a Circuit curfew at  18.30) it actually started at 18.23! However Chris Everill was missing, ‘I had a problem with my lorry and had to get that sorted so missed the race!’  ( Gareth John will understand. He got stranded at Silverstone when his tow car stopped!!) This left Damian Longotano to charge into the lead! He was chased by Paul Parr who keep him honest and Jon Newport!  Klaas Kooiker moved into 4th place and a quick starting Robert Rees was 5^th until the Class BS trio caught and passed him!  Todd Garner was under pressure from Gareth John, who pushed him all the way. Gareth confirmed ‘ I could have a made a pass on him a few times during the race, but it would have been too risky. He would pull too much of a gap on me on the straights and I just couldn’t get close enough to make a clean pass. I still enjoyed the race. It was clean to be fair to Todd, and he defended well. Again I had the fastest lap so I was happy with that.’ Wayne Spiller was 6^th and Robert Rees was the last runner on the lead lap and finished 7^th. The leading runner on 11 laps was Gary Grattan (Irish Wildcat) who finished in 8^th place and was chased all the way by the Class BT winner Colin Dunn. 10^th and on 10 laps was Mike Cook. (Class CT BMW 339. If I say the remaining runners included Alan Smith, Russell Haggerty, and Verity Banks (2^nd in Class BT), you may say, ‘What happened to the rest of the BT starters!’ Redgate is what happened!  Having taken the start, Andrew Williams and Tyrone Dowsell found themselves disputing the same piece of Track! Andrew’s (or is it Jason’s) Front bumper/aerodynamic aid was stranded in the middle of the track until one of the marshals dashed out to collect it! Both Andrew and Tyrone were out on the spot, and Verity Banks stopped to avoid the chaos, but restarted, and motored on to take some welcome points! Alan Smith was another to emerge from the fracas, but did not get off lightly, with a huge dent in the passenger side door and front wing area!  However, the adrenaline must have been flowing, as he stalked, and then passed Russell Haggerty!  In the latter stages, Jon Newport retired to the paddock, with a dead engine!  So Damian ran out as the winner, as the race eventually finished a few minutes after the curfew!    

Post-event Championship points  Colin Dunn BT  Renault Clio 187 points, Todd Garner BS  Renault Clio 175 pts, Tyrone Dowsell BT   Renault Clio 172 pts,  Wayne Spiller BS  Mazda RX8 160 pts, Andrew K Williams BT Honda R/Clio 153 pts Gareth John BS  Ginetta G40 144 pts, Chris Everill D  Ginetta G55 124 pts Damian Longotano CS  Westfield SE 130 pts, Verity Banks BT  Ford Fiesta 108 pts, Rodney Teague BT  Renault Clio 65 pts

Blake Edward Trophy for most outright wins in 2022 WSSCC

21-06-2022

Chris Everill leads after Silverstone Double

Mallory Park WSSCC Round 3 & 4

25-05-2022

Mallory Park Sunday 22^nd May 2022 The Entry and Qualifying.

In contrast to the ferocious heatwave of 2021, this time the sun was there but so were some clouds, making the 2022 event much nicer. An intrepid band of WSSCC competitors made the trip for the Classic and Modern Motorsport Club run meeting.  In the paddock we had our first sight of Andrew Barron’s Rover BRM  (basically an MG XF under the skin, but renamed to honour the BRM Chassis used to house the Rover Gas Turbine experiment at Le Mans in 1963 & 65 driven by the legends that were Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart) Also new was Darren ‘Daz’ Owen who had a very pretty and very potent spaceframe Ford Escort with 2.4 Duratec engine. Darren, who is well known for his exploits in other cars, was having only his 3rd race with this car, and we have to thank Deri Davies for recommending him to us. Darren recounted the story. ‘I was on holiday in the area and dropped into a Butchers shop in Aberystwyth, which turned out to be Deri Davies shop! We got talking about racing’ he said ‘Why don’t you join the club! So here I am’.  Also seen for the first time this year in Class BT was Colin Dunn, (Clio) after sorting out some wiring issues and a dodgy connection, he was at least ready to race. Andrew Williams was using Jason Peards Honda in between getting his own Clio going. Jason broke his leg in a road car accident, so hopefully, he is on the mend. Tyrone Dowsell (Clio) and Verity Banks (Ford Fiesta) completed the Class BT runners. Local lad Todd Garner’s 1.6 Renault Clio was the fastest car in Class BS ahead of Wayne Spiller and Gareth John.

There were several CMCC runners and one of their BMWs coated the track with oil, which put paid on any mega last laps attempts! Darren ‘Daz’ Owen was on pole! The BMW E36 of CMMC member Gavin Dunn was alongside. Todd Garner was 3^rd & also Class BS pole winner, with Wayne Spiller 4^th  Gareth John was on row 3 with CCMC runner Vic Hope alongside. On row 4 it didn’t take Colin Dunn long to get back in the swing and he took the BT Class Pole with CCMC runner Ken Angell alongside.

Andrew Williams (Class BT Honda TypeR ) was on row 5 with CCMC runner Matthew Johnson for company.

Row 6 was an all WSSCC Class BT affair with Tyrone Dowsell (Clio) ahead of Andrew Barron (Rover BRM). Verity Banks was the last BT runner.

The race (WSSCC round 3) – Rolling start – 15 minutes  at 12.05

So the pace car lead the pack around and it was Darren in the Escort that emerged as the leader with the BMW E36 of CMMC member Gavin Dunn in 2^nd place. However, Darren’s tenure in the lead was short-lived, for although he set the FTD at 50.401 on the way, he only lasted 5 laps in the lead and then drifted down and then out of the race on lap7, but had done enough to earn himself the ‘Driver of the Race Award! Verity Banks was already out, having stopped at the end of the first corner!  So the BMW E36 of CMMC member Gavin Dunn took over the lead he was not to give up. Local lad and WSSCC Class BS points scorer Todd Garner was in 2^nd and had wisely chosen to use his Joker! Gareth John tried hard to catch Todd but admitted he could not catch him. Behind Gareth, Wayne Spiller drove his Flame-spitting Mazda hard and kept Gareth honest, finishing only 2.36 seconds behind at the end!  CMMC members Ken Angell and Vic Hope (Honda Type R) had a great race in 5th & 6^th place.  Class BT cars made up the rest of the finishers, with Colin Dunn taking the BT win, ahead of Andrew Williams (Honda Type R) (Two Hondas in the top 10 – and 3 Clios -somebody may read that and weep!) Tyrone Dowsell (Clio) and Andrew  Barron (Rover) were the final finishers!

The race (WSSCC round 4) – Rolling start – 15 minutes

In the lunch interval, we had lost Gavin Dunn and Andrew Barron but had re-gained Verity Banks, so it was only 10 starters that made the grid but it showed there can still be some great racing. So the pace car lead the pack around and it was Todd Garner on Pole with Gareth John 2^nd and Wayne Spiller 3^rd  CMMC members Ken Angell and Vic Hope looked set for another classic dice ahead of the Class BT runners of Colin Dunn (now playing his joker) Andrew Williams, Tyrone Dowsell and Verity Banks. Darren Owen in the Escort started last.  From the lights, Todd Garner took a lead he was never to lose. Gareth John kept him in sight for a while but then had Wayne Spiller keeping him honest. Darren Owen made up to 3rd by lap 4 but then pulled off again. (He said it was nothing serious and he hoped to join us again at Donington Park!)  CMMC members Ken Angell and Vic Hope had another great race, whilst Colin Dunn made the most of his joker but Andrew Williams kept him in sight. Tyrone Dowsell was 3d in BT whilst Verity Banks got some mileage out of the Ford Fiesta. So the race ran to a close and Todd Garner made it a full race win! Not only that, but he also took the Class BS  1^st in Class award and also ‘Driver of the Race’ award, and a special Winners trophy from the event organisers. Just as well his dad bought a big family SUV!

With Todd & Colin using their Joker cards, the points will make some interesting reading!

All the results are on https://www.tsl-timing.com/file/?f=SPECIAL/2022/222091wss.pdf 

Countdown is on as the 2022 WSSCC Racing Season Starts Soon!

07-04-2022

Pre-season action. Silverstone seemed to be the venue of choice for those drivers who wanted to blow away the cobwebs with some pre-season action. Amongst those who did, (but not all on the same day!)were  Rhys Lloyd,  Andrew Barron, Gareth John. Mike Manning and Jason Davies (2014 Welsh Young Driver of the Year) who blasted to two race wins

Re the 2022 Welsh Sports & Saloon Car Championship. There is only 4 weeks to close of entries (29^th April) to the rounds 1 & 2 at Pembrey on May 8th. Please note at all BARC events, although  ‘Signing on’ will be electronic as per last year. However Barc events will see the reintroduction of physical safety scrutineering, which will take place at all BARC race meetings. It is of paramount importance that you check all relevant aspects of both your race car and race wear, in particular things such as fire extinguisher systems and belts / harnesses, to ensure that they comply with the latest regulations.  In addition, items such as the pull cables, rain lights and tow hooks - as well as many more - should all be checked as they will be physically inspected before you are permitted to race this year.  I suspect this will be the same at all other meetings we go to, as well.  For Race entry forms go WRDA.co.uk  and  on the left ‘Membership’ and drop down to WSSCC

Re Mallory Park. 22nd May-WSSCC rounds 3 & 4- Please note the WSSCC have been allocated more places on the grid, but even so please get your entries in asap! The closing date is May 4th to encourage early entry, after that you get charged an extra £30, (up to May 18th  ) subject to space.  For Race entry forms go WRDA.co.uk  and  on the left ‘Membership’ and drop down to C&CMC

 As in previous years in addition to the WSSCC Class & Overall Championship, there will be the Blake Edwards Award for race winners and the Colin Gundersen award for the Fastest Laps at Pembrey.

 (Photo - 2021 champion Gareth John in action at Thruxton)

2022 Season - Some Important News And Dates

08-03-2022

2022 Racing Season Starts Soon!

The 2022 Racing Season starts soon! and those who need a boost to get their cars ready for the new season, there is only 2 weeks to go to get your entry to C&MCC for the Pre-season races at Silverstone on March 20th!

Re The 2022 Welsh Sports And Saloon Car Championship  (i.e WSSCC) There is only 8 weeks to close of entries to the rounds 1 & 2 at Pembrey.

Please note at all BARC events, although 'Signing on, will be electronic as per last year; BARC events will see the reintroduction of physical safety scrutineering, which will take place at all BARC race meetings. It is of paramount importance that you check all relevant aspects of both your race car and race wear, in particular things such as fire extinguisher systems and belts / harnesses, to ensure that they comply with the latest regulations. In addition, items such as the pull cables, rain lights and tow hooks - as well as many more - should all be checked as they will be physically inspected before you are permitted to race this year.

I suspect this will be the same at all other meetings we go to as well.

Re Mallory Park. 22nd May - Please note the WSSCC have been allocated more places on the grid, but even so please get your entries in asap!