Archive

Radical Clubman's Cup, Snetterton, 26-27 September 2009

29th September 2009

Arriving at the Norfolk circuit it was all to play for in the title race, between defending champion Jonathan Wright and Colin Millar. Tom Ashton and Millar shared the victory laurels, with Millar also scooping the 2009 Radical Clubman's Cup. Simon Fish sealed the Supersport class, with Rachel Davies and Mark Boot taking Biduro and Clubsport honours respectively.

Ashton’s PR6 led from pole, with the similar cars of Millar, Wright and Darren Luke slotting in behind as they charged through Riches. The leading trio had already made a break by the end of the opening lap, leaving Luke to fend off Paul Steele for fourth, with Nigel Place heading the next group.
In the Supersports class too, Simon Fish had the luxury of Richard Stables PR6 separating him from duelling rivals David Thorburn and Steve Burgess. Once Charles Loughran had got past David Frankland’s PR6 he closed on the battle too, while Frankland was left to fend off Gary Baxter.
At the front it was more a case of not making mistakes than making progress, as Ashton eased his way clear to a comfortable victory.
Millar was an equally comfortable second, with Wright was third. Luke and Steele had parted mid-race but were nose-to-tail again for fourth and fifth at the flag. Place had a solitary run in sixth, “I did all my overtaking early on, then watched in the mirror and just concentrated,” he explained.
Fish retained his race-long Supersports advantage with seventh overall, “it felt under control but it wasn’t. It took some controlling but at least I had “Hamlet” between me and the others.” Thorburn had sat patiently behind Stables for the entire race: “I wasn’t going to risk a 50/50 and there was just no gap,” he said. Burgess retook third in class and made it a three-way fight for the class title in the final race, with only one point covering all three. “I made a few mistakes and my tyres went off too,” said Burgess. Paul McClughan and Baxter had an entertaining duel, which finally went McClughan’s way with four laps remaining.
James Breakell had the advantage over Rachel Davies in the Biduro class and Mark Boot led Jon Morris and Simon Garmston in the Clubsports.

RESULTS
1 Tom Ashton (PR6) 18 laps in 20m02.637s (105.17mph); 2 Colin Millar (PR6); 3 Jonathan Wright (PR6); 4 Darren Luke (PR6); 5 Paul Steele (PR6); 6 Nigel Place (PR6); 7 Simon Fish (SR3); 8 Richard Stables (PR6); 9 David Thorburn (SR3); 10 Steve Burgess (SR3).  Class winners: Tuned: 1 Millar; 2 Wright; 3 Luke; 4 Steele; 5 Place; 6 David  Frankland PR6); 7 Bill Henderson (SR3). Supersports: 1 Fish; 2 Thorburn; 3 Burgess; 4 Paul McClughan (SR3); 5 Gary Baxter (SR3). PR6: 1 Stables; 2 Nigel Cox.  Biduro: 1 James Breakell (SR4); 2 Rachel Davies (SR4); no other starters. Clubsport: 1 Mark Boot; 2 Jon Morris; 3 Simon Garmston. Fastest lap: Ashton 1m05.679s (106.99mph).

RACE TWO
Once again the top three made an opening lap break, with Millar heading Luke and Wright. But Wright couldn’t live with lead duo’s pace and was already dropping back by the end of the second lap. Luke was in a determined mood and was all over Millar, but the Irishman was in no mood to surrender either as the title was his for the taking.
Place had to shake off a determined Fish in the early laps, as Fish took control of the SR3 class again, with Stables keeping the rest of his rivals at bay. Burgess had been second in class until he spun exiting Coram on the third lap and pitted to retire a couple of laps later. “I picked up a puncture, it just suddenly went down,” he said.
Thorburn moved up to chase Stables, but had to keep a look out for Loughran, charging from the back of the grid with one eye still on the class title.
With the lead pair running so close it was inevitable that clean lapping would be crucial. As they approached Russell for the sixth time, Ian Charles’ Clubsport was just ahead. They went either side of Charles, with Luke emerged as the new leader, but at a cost.   Millar soon reclaimed the advantage but it was all over for Luke. “My back wheel touched his, so I had to pit,” he explained. “I got him back on the straight, I think he damaged his front splitter when he touched my back wheel, but it was a good race and a good way to finish the year,” Millar replied.
Place completed the podium, “I saw them closing down on me a couple of times, so just put my head down and pulled away again,” he explained. Fish retained fourth overall and took the Supersports crown, “I felt some pressure forming up at the start, but wasn’t really aware of Steve early on in the race, I just kept Richard in sight as I knew Charles would be catching up,” he said.
Thorburn was all over the back of Stables for much of the race, but was still happy with second in class, and while Loughran closed considerably he was still fractionally shy of Thorburn at the flag. Baxter and McClughan continued their duel from race one, but this time it was settled in Baxter’s favour. “We’re both red and white cars so we can afford to swap paint,” Baxter replied.
Richard Carver’s SR3 completed the top ten, while Davies took the Biduro class after Breakell retired. Clubsport Champion Boot was also an early casualty, which handed the class victory to Jon Morris, over Garmston and Charles.

RESULTS
1 Millar 18 laps in 20m40.177s (101.00mph); 2 Wright; 3 Place; 4 Fish; 5 Stables; 6 Thorburn; 7 Charles Loughran (SR3); 8 Gary Baxter(SR3); 9 Paul McClughan (SR3); 10 Richard Carver (SR3). Class winners: Tuned: 1 Millar; 2 Wright.  Supersports: 1 Fish; 2 Thorburn; 3 Loughran; 4 Baxter; 5 McClughan; 6 Carver.  PR6: 1 Stables; 2 Cox. Biduro: 1 Davies. Clubsport: 1 Morris; 2 Garmston; 3 Ian Charles. Fastest lap: Millar 1m07.320s (104.38mph).