CLASSIC CLUBMANS CHAMPIONSHIP 2008
Black Clouds, Black car! By Sue Facer
On a day dominated by the weather, Mark Charteris won by the closest of margins from Ray Mallock. On a drying but very slippery track, Marks decision to switch to slicks was the key factor. He recovered from a late spin to lead Ray across the line by less that a tenth of a second.
In Class B, Rob Beazer was the star, taking pole in monsoon like qualifying, but just failing to beat Dave Facer in the race. In Class C, it was Richard Fry who logged his first win.
Entry
Seventeen cars made it to Silverstone, to share the Caterhams tenth anniversary meeting.
The ten Class A cars included a welcome outing from Ray Mallock (back from a rather disappointing Le Mans) and seasonal openers from Graham Onion and Paul Bason, Paul in the Myers, normally occupied by one of his sons.
The five Class B cars included Alan Davenport, who put in a monumentous effort to get his car repaired after the brands shunt and it was also good to see Mike Sales, accompanied by wife Sheila in a wheelchair, who broke her foot falling off the pit wall at Brands. (despite being advised to take more water with it!)
It was also very good to see the pristine pairing of Mallock Mk.8’s in Class C, Richard Fry also making a superhuman effort to repair his chariot after the brand startline ‘incident’.
Qualifying
Thankfully the BARC saw fit to allocate us a section of the garages (does our Chairman deserve some credit for this?) as Saturday dawned grey and very wet. There was no let up in the rain and the seventeen cars took to the track in monsoon like conditions.
The intense battle at the sharp end of the field continues, with the leading cars all now shod with the new Dunlop wets. It was Pete Harper who secured pole in the atrocious conditions, just ahead of Ray Mallock, sparkling as ever in the wet, in the Mk.18.
Mark Charteris was third and he was joined on row two by Steve Chaplin.
The conditions proved a great equaliser. Alongside Mike Hickson on row three, was the first of the B-Sport cars, Rob Beazer securing his first ever pole position.
Row four saw a further two B-Sports cars, these being the Mallock of Dave Facer and Mike Sales in the ex Ray Harper Phantom.
Malcolm Jackson was surprisingly far back, on the inside of row five. Malcolm only completed a handful of laps, before coming in complaining that his tyres were like concrete and it was too dangerous to stay out!
Graham Onion joined Malcolm on row five. Graham’s car was only finished at 4:00 am Thursday morning by Darren Green (Don’t worry Darren, it will be good practice for the future. Sleepless nights will soon be quite common!)
Paul Bason was on the inside of row six, in the Myers Special. Paul having a rare outing in the car normally reserved for his sons. Oldest son Ewan is a deep sea welder, so he would have revelled in the conditions! Paul was joined on row six by Paul Marshall, having only his second race. This was a real baptism of fire, but Paul kept it on the grey stuff.
Next up was Richard Fry in the leading Class C car, Richard qualifying ahead of Bob Yarwood for the first time. He was joined on row seven by Alan Davenport, Alan was being extra cautious, keen not to bend it two races running!
Also being very cautious was Robin Booth in the final A-Sport. Robin is no fan of the wet and his tyres must have been as old as Malcolm Jacksons. Bob Yarwood in the second Class C car joined him on the back row.
Race
Most drivers prefer the dry and some quite happen to like the wet. But to a man, they all hate those conditions when it really is in between and tyre choice is a gamble. The rain had stopped some time before, but the lack of wind meant that the track was not really dry. The lack of spray during the previous race suggested that slicks may be possible, but it would be a big gamble.
The battle of wits between the leading championship contenders commenced. At the last moment, both Pete Harper and Mark Charteris opted for slicks. Steve Chaplin joined them, but the most experienced campaigner of them all, Ray Mallock, elected to stay on wets. Further back, Malcolm Jackson had elected to go for slicks straight after qualifying. His logic was simple, if it was dry enough for slicks he would race. If it wasn’t he wouldn’t!
In Class B, both Rob Beazer and Dave Facer elected to stay on wets, knowing that they didn’t have enough power to generate the necessary heat in the slicks. Mike Sales through caution to the wind and took the gamble on slicks. The rest of the field decided to play safe on wets.
As the lights went out, surprisingly it was Pete Harper who lead away from Ray Mallock. Ray soon took early control however and grabbed the lead at Beckets. Mark Charteris was third, Steve Chaplin fourth and Mike Hickson fifth.
Rob Beazer grabbed the B-Sport lead, hotly pursued by Dave Facer. Slick shod Mike Sales was third, but under severe pressure from Paul Marshall.
The drying conditions allowed the quicker A-Sports at the back, to find a way past the B-Sport tussle. Both Malcolm Jackson and Bob Crozier were quickly through the field and tagging on to Mike Hickson, as the cars made their way towards Brooklands for the first time.
The slippery conditions at Luffield caught out Pete in second place and he was relegated to fourth after a spin. As the field completed lap one, it was Ray from Mark and Steve Chaplin, with Pete hotly pursued by Mike Hickson and Malcolm Jackson and Bob Crozier.
In Class B it was Rob from Dave, these two well clear from Mike Sales and Paul Marshall, these two embarking on the most intriguing duel of the race. The very experienced Mike on slicks against newcomer Paul, on older Dunlop wets (which were probably the best tyres to have!)
Also mixing it with the Class B boys were the A-Sports of Graham Onion, Paul Bason and Robin Booth, with Graham soon to break clear. Richard Fry headed Alan Davenport and Bob Yarwood to complete the field.
The leading pair were soon well away and on lap four the lead changed. Mark had got sufficient heat in his tyres to find a way past Ray as they entered the Brooklands/Luffield complex. On the same lap, Dave Facer used the draft from the Robin Booth/Paul Bason pairing to sneak up on Rob Beazer and take the class lead under braking for Beckets. Paul Marshall had also found a way past Mike Sales on the run from Copse to Maggots, only to lose it again on the run down to Brooklands.
By half distance the leading pair had already started lapping the Class B and C cars. This allowed Ray to close the gap. Steve was having a lonely race in third and after his spin, Pete was having a surprisingly quiet race in fourth. Malcolm had found a way past Mike Hickson for fifth and Mike was having to work hard to keep Bob Crozier from stealing sixth from him. Graham was secure in eighth whilst Paul and Robin hotly disputed ninth.
Dave was ahead of Rob in Class B, trying to maintain a lead and protect his tyres. Mike was third, but being pushed very hard by Paul. Richard Fry headed Class C, followed by the final Class B runner, Alan Davenport. Bob Yarwood was having a very careful race in last place.
On lap ten, Ray almost found a way past and into the lead, but Mark managed to hold on. Then, two laps later, Mark half spun at Brooklands, allowing Ray to sneak through.
The status quo remained elsewhere, except the battle for the final podium place in B-Sport. Mike Sales, still under severe pressure, missing his braking point for Beckets and allowed Paul Marshall though into third.
On the final lap Ray and Mark came into the Brooklands/Luffield complex glued together. It was Mark however, who got the power down first and just outdragged Ray to the line, winning by less than one tenth of a second.
Steve Chaplin was third, Pete Harper fourth and Malcolm Jackson fifth. The titanic battle for sixth was finally resolved in Mike Hicksons favour, Mike pipping a rejuvenated Bob Crozier by less than a second, as they crossed the line, the last unlapped runners.
Graham Onion was eighth and it was Robin Booth who won the battle for ninth, just ahead of Paul Bason.
Dave Facer won Class B, finishing just over a second clear on an ever improving Rob Beazer. Paul Marshall was delighted to take third, in only his second race. Mike sales recovered to take fourth and Alan Davenport was fifth, a further lap down.
In Class C, the honours went to Richard Fry, beating Bob Yarwood for the first time.
It was a small field and the numbers are worrying, but there were a lot of positives that came out of this meeting; Despite the trying conditions, all seventeen cars finished the race. There were heroic efforts to get their cars out from Richard Fry and Alan Davenport. Alan’s efforts being rewarded with the mechanic of the day award and Richard being rewarded with his first win!
An equally heroic effort from Mike and Sheila Sales. Mike a late entry, despite Sheila being confined to a wheelchair, after her bad fall at Brands left her with a multiple fracture of her left foot.
A real step up by Rob Beazer resulted in him receiving a much deserved driver of the day award.
We now have a four week break ,before the long trek north to Croft (for us spoilt Southerners anyway!). Despite the geography, I’m told it’s well worth the trip and the Register is funding the Saturday evening barbeque! As you know, I’ll go anywhere for the three F’s……. Fun, food and falcohol!
So come on guys, don’t shy away from the distance. We really do need to keep the numbers up. I’d hate to see that yellow card!
Sue Facer
The Demonic Perm