[Redneck Rocket]

Hi James,

Nice to meet you on the weekend, and I must say, your SZ is a delightfully pretty car, and very well turned out. I've done a report for the thoroughbreds website which I'm happy to post here:

After a healthy turnout at Snetterton, it was slightly disappointing to see just 15 competitors registered for round two on the AMOC card at Mallory Park. A number of championship regulars were notable by their absence, however hopes are high for stronger grids throughout the rest of the season. Nonetheless it was another incident-free round and highly enjoyable for the spectators, in spie of the short entry list.

The Thoroughbreds filed through the paddock to the assembly area for their half-ten qualifying session, where they lined up in proper fashion; door to door in the assembly area. One of the fantastic things about Mallory Park is that unlike some British circuits, it is still a proper club racing circuit where the assembly area is not tucked away out of view to the general public. How fortuitous as well because it was a lovely sight to look out across a sea of bonnets and see a representation the best of British sports cars from the golden age of motoring.

As nice as they looked standing still, cars were built to drive, and racing cars to race and that is how it should be. So in due course, qualifying began and 15 roared out of the collecting area, through the pits and onto the circuit.

At the end of the 15 minutes it was Mike Hazlewood’s class C TR6 on pole with a 54.026, set right at the end of the qualifying session on his 14th lap. Dave McDonald was the only one close to his lap time, and would share the front row of the grid with a time just 3 tenths slower. Bob Lines showed the some of younger chaps a thing or two and set a very quick time of 55.306 in his D-type replica. Fresh from a complete rebuild, Jon Ellison drove carefully but was 4th quickest although his lack of transponder meant he would have to start from the back of the grid. Joe Parrington was next, and quickest in Class B in his Gulf liveried BGTV8. The next 5 competitors were covered by just over 1 second’s difference (Chapman, Connel, Driver, Burnett & Jones), a harbinger of the close and competitive racing to come. Martin Lewis posted a respectable class A time at 59.501.

A post-qualifying walk round the paddock revealed that many competitors were still fettling and fine tuning their cars following off-season jobs, both large and small. Edwin Driver’s TR2 was a welcome sight back in the paddock, having had extensive work over the winter break, not the least of which was a shiny new coat of ‘Rosso Corsa’. He was working hard with a team of helpers to resolve braking issues which had developed as qualifying progressed. A similar hive of activity could be seen around the TR5 of Noel Barraclough, trying to source the cause of a misfire which had severely hampered his qualifying efforts. Jon Ellison’s complete off-season rebuild appeared to have been largely successful, although both he and his father had their hands full as the morning’s qualifying had been the first time out in the car and a few small problems had cropped up. Even series regulars Bob Lines & Colin Jones were struggling to resolve minor coolant and oil leaks respectively.

The start of the race was delayed by a rather heavy impact between a parked-up Sprite and a Healey 3000 in a preceding race(both drivers thankfully uninjured). This led to a lot of pacing and foot tapping in the paddock as it was evident that everyone wanted to ‘get on with it’. Fourteen eventually took the starting grid – Noel Barraclough having withdrawn when he was unable to resolve the misfire that had plagued him in qualifying.

The start was clean, with Mike Hazlewood getting away cleanly, and opening up a gap of several car lengths down Stebbe straight. Not far behind was Dave McDonald, the two TR’s quickly breaking away from the pack and establishing a lead of several seconds. Further back, the group of close qualifiers could have been covered by a blanket, although Driver’s TR2 began to drop down the order as he struggled with boiling brake fluid. For several laps the group of Parrington, Chapman, Connel, Driver, Burnett & Jones were nose to tail and wheel to wheel as they thundered through the Devil’s Elbow, and down the start/finish straight like a squadron of Spitfires flying out over the channel. They were soon joined by a hard-charging Jon Ellison, who had stormed his way through from the back of the grid. Jones held him off for a couple of laps until deciding that discretion was the better part of valour and letting the larger-engined class C car through.

The next few laps saw a number of changes to the running order. Parrington & Connel got past Lines in the Jaguar, and Chapman nearly did as well. His clean move down the inside at Gerrard’s was textbook, but the experienced Lines held the outside line and held him off. Ellison was picking up places steadily, and right on Lines’ tail fin as the race approached half-distance.

Ellison would eventually pass Parrington and Lines, but not Connel who drove a canny race and ended up 3rd. Series newcomer Jeremy Knight showed that the transition from two wheels to four is going well, by moving up two places to finish 9th, and improving his race pace by nearly a second a lap over qualifying.

Further down the grid there was still good entertainment for the crowd with Phillip Lambe & Terence Burrows lapping in close proximity. Lewis & Driver provided some good close racing as well, and ably represented the road-going class A.

In the end, Hazlewood and McDonald both drove professional and mistake-free races, and it was a TR6 1,2 at the front of the grid when the chequered flag was waved after 13 laps of racing. A pretty good day’s racing all in all, summed up by a ringing endorsement from newcomer Terence Burrows: “I thoroughly enjoyed myself out there!!!!”

The next round in two weeks time should see a thicker grid, as Brands Hatch always proves popular with both drivers and spectators alike. Hopefully all niggling problems will be solved by then, and every car will be on song for the Bank holiday weekend. (note - have been informed 28 are registered for Brands since this report was published)