CLASSIC CLUBMANS CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
The battle for the Class B crown was the feature of the final round of this years Championship at Donington Park. Clive Wood won the class on the day, but Mark Charteris took the title for the second successive year. Overall race honours went to class A Champion Peter Harper once more.
Despite the late change of venue and date, there was still a healthy 17 car grid. Peter Harper secured his somewhat customary pole position in his Mallock Mk20B. “It was very slippery early on, but I wound it up for decent time inside the lap record,” he said. Malcolm Jackson’s Mk20B shared the front row. “It went alright,” he reckoned. After missing Oulton, Antony Denham was back with the Doris and third quickest. “I poodled around because we tried some carburetion changes and seemed to improve the misfire,” he explained. Mike Hickson’s Mk20B was next up, fractionally ahead of Steve Campbell’s Raffo and Steve Chaplin’s Phantom. “It felt pretty good, we sorted the headgasket during the week and its fine,” said Campbell. “I had a lot of vibration from the second lap, it was getting worse so I came in early,” said Chaplin.
Gavin Childs Gryphon headed the fourth row, “not bad and I had Steve Campbell to chase, so I ended up better than I thought I would,” he explained. Darren Green was back out in Graham Onion’s Mallock Mk14E, “I was just trying to keep it in a straight line after the rebuild,” he said.
Ray Harper struggled through the session in his Mk20B with coolant spraying over his left rear tyre after his filler cap broke off. But alongside was Mark Charteris, who claimed the class B pole on the last lap. “When the lights go out today I am off, “he said after planning his strategy. Richard Mallock split Charteris from class B rival Clive Wood in a one-off outing in Robert Beazer’s MK11. “I had forgotten just how fast these guys are,” he commented.
Wood was gutted to lose pole and the valuable point on the last lap. “I had it for most of the session and then got caught up with the A class cars and upset my rhythm. I was one second up on Mark and thought I was safe, but he took 1.7 off me,” he explained.
Barry Webb’s Mk16 was third in class, “The track and the car felt good, but I got held up by some of the A’s at the end,” he said. Peter Carter’s Phantom was alongside Webb, while the Mallock’s of Dave Facer and Mike Gurr completed the grid with Graham Onion’s Myers Special. “A lack of match practice,” claimed Facer.
All 17 cars survived qualifying and as the lights went out it was Harper that led into Redgate, from Jackson, Denham and Hickson. The lead was already growing by the end of the opening lap, while at the back Gurr was left to recover from a spin at Coppice. “I did it all by myself and I had been leading Barry Webb until McLeans,” he said.
Jackson started to close a little on lap two, as Hickson slipped past Denham to take third into the Chicane.
Although Chaplin was holding his own in fifth, Campbell, Ray Harper, Green & Childs were all line astern. Mallock rounded off the top ten from Carter, with Charteris just holding the class B lead from Wood.
Both Childs and Green slipped past Ray Harper into the Chicane on lap five, while at the front Jackson’s challenge was faltering as Hickson closed on him. But having fallen behind Ray Harper again, Green tried the outside at the chicane, spun and stalled after briefly nosing ahead.
Peter Harper continued to consolidate his lead and Hickson made it into second at the chicane on lap eight. Back in fourth Chaplin, Campbell and Childs were nose to tail, while the class B lead had gone back to Wood from lap three, with Charteris a constant shadow.
There were further dramas on lap nine when Carter pulled off at Coppice with the rear of Phantom ablaze. Denham had already closed on Jackson as the field slowed to pass the scene, but two laps later Jackson was heading pitwards. “The headgasket went and it started missing from the third lap. The revs dropped and it wasn’t worth going on,” he explained.
Harper backed off in the closing laps, to head Hickson by 0.986secs at the flag. “Peter was being very cautious on the oil at Coppice as it was on the racing line and I managed to close,” said Hickson. Denham retained third, “good start but I couldn’t push too hard as the brakes were going,” he explained. Chaplin just held off Childs for fifth, after Childs had taken Campbell on the tenth lap. “It just wouldn’t handle on the corners,” said Chaplin.
Campbell was sixth, from Ray Harper and Mallock.
In class B Wood took the race, but Charteris the title. “I couldn’t do much more. I lost Mark a couple of times and then he tended to reappear off the grass,” said Wood. “Clive got me at the start and I got him back at Redgate. He made it very difficult for me all year and it’s been fabulous,” said Charteris.
Webb, Gurr and Onion completed the finishers.
1 Peter Harper (Mallock Mk20B) 13 laps in 16m09.649s (94.35mph); 2 Mike Hickson (Mallock Mk20B) 16m10.635s; 3 Anthony Denham (Doris CKM); 4 Steve Chaplin (Phantom P79); 5 Gavin Childs (Gryphon C73/75); 6 Steve Campbell (Raffo 77C). Class A 1 P.Harper; 2 Hickson; 3 Denham; 4 Chaplin. Class B: 1 Clive Wood (Mallock Mk20B); 2 Mark Charteris (Mallock Mk20B); 3 Barry Webb (Mallock Mk16BW); 4 Dave Facer (Mallock Mk18BW). Fastest lap: P.Harper 1m12.524s (97.15mph)
Issued by Peter Scherer for the Clubmans Register May 16th 2005. Contact 01332 362577/07802 853244 or peter@scher.freeserve.co.uk