Combe FF1600

[verglas]

Okay, so this is not about the NW FF1600 so half of you can stop reading now!! Any ideas what happened at Combe today for the first round of their prestigious championship? MST are lamentable with their timings and information.....

[kartingdad]

Kevin Mills boys put their cars 1st and 2nd in Qualifying.

[Ian Sowman]

COMBE ROUND ONE: Moore made to work for victory

Ed Moore took the victory that most had anticipated in the opening round of the Melton Concrete Products Castle Combe Formula Ford 1600 Championship, but the manner of his win was anything but straightforward as inclement weather and opening night jitters created a spectacularly eventful race in which pre-90 class winner Nick Jones proved the star performer.

Qualifying

Nightmarishly slippery conditions greeted the competitors as they returned from the off-season. Although there was a hint of a dry line at the start of practice, heavier drizzle soon followed.

Kevin Mills urged his drivers Nick Jones (Reynard FF89) and Tim Reynolds (Swift SC92) to put in a quick time immediately in case conditions worsened, his acuity rewarded with some committed laps and an all-Kevin Mills Racing front row. Remarkably it was Jones, traditionally fast but luckless, who topped the times with a lap of 1m28.383s, becoming only the third person to take overall pole in a pre-90 class car. With his predecessors being Adrian Cottrell and Matt Rivett, this put Nick in pretty illustrious company.

Ed Moore lined-up third, alongside another pre-90 superstar: Steve Hawkins in a Van Diemen RF88, revelling in the conditions to improve substantially on his usual qualifying position in the mid-teens. Pat Blakeney (Vector MG95) and Matthew Darcy (Swift SC92) completed the top six.

Multiple series champion Bob Higgins looked the most swashbuckling driver on the track when conditions were at their worst, but this was only good enough for 12th in his Van Diemen RF91. Also suffering was Steven Jensen, who had yet to get a proper run in his new ex-Moore Swift SC92 and was left 17th on the 32-car grid.

Race

Disaster nearly struck for Jones at the start as he briefly became stuck in first gear and was almost collected by team-mate Reynolds. Although he survived this scare, Jones’ lead lasted only as far as Avon Rise, where Reynolds slotted in front.

Meanwhile a brilliant start took Parsons Motorsport/www.eventy.co.uk driver Darcy to third, but Moore’s new www.motorsport-events.com Van Diemen RF01 dropped to seventh behind Blakeney, Ben Norton (Swift FB89) and Hawkins. Although he repassed the latter at Quarry, Ed was clearly going to have to work hard for victory this afternoon.

Up front the spotlight was on Blakeney, flying in his “absolutely mega” Vector. Second within a lap, he looked certain to relieve Reynolds of the lead, only for a slight touch of wheels on the high-speed approach to Avon Rise on lap three to send the Vector into a frightening spin. Pat was nonchalant about the incident afterwards (“it’ll fix!”) but of all the frontrunners this experienced sometime Thoroughbred Grand Prix star looked best equipped to resist Moore today.

A few corners later Darcy’s impressive run also ended as his engine died just as he prepared to take second from Jones. “I’ve never had an engine problem before so this is just gutting,” he said.

After a circumspect approach to the opening laps Moore quickly passed both Norton and Jones before closing on Reynolds as they began lap four. Despite his self-confessed rustiness after three years away from Combe, Tim resisted gamely until Tower, where Moore took a lead he would not lose.

The remaining laps were all about the pre-90 class fight between Jones and Norton - third and fourth overall and scrapping ferociously a few tenths behind Reynolds. Although clearly a fraction faster than Tim, Nick was unwilling to risk a dicey move on his team-mate, so instead defended gallantly from Norton, securing his first class victory and overall podium by just 0.14s after going side-by-side with Ben into countless braking areas over the final laps.

“That was great fun, I thoroughly enjoyed that,” said Jones. “I was trying to be fair with Ben but if he wanted to come past he was going to have to do it around the outside.”

“There was nothing at all between us,” agreed Norton. “I haven’t driven the car since last August so that was a great way to get back into it.”

Having crossed the line 4.6s ahead of Reynolds, Moore was similarly delighted with a win that had looked very unlikely in the early stages. Incredibly he had to return to the paddock on a tow rope after a component in the throttle assembly broke on his victory lap, but this failed to temper his elation.

“I could see things were going to kick off ahead of me, but I knew I had the pace to pass them,” he said. “I just had to do the job and not chuck it in the barrier. Might have to look at my starts though…”

The craziness of qualifying ensured similarly frantic action throughout the field. Andrew Harris (Van Diemen RF90) drove a great race from ninth on the grid to fifth place, picking his way through an epic battle involving Hawkins, Higgins and Jon Adlam in his new Van Diemen RF04. Hawkins proved his impressive form was not solely down to the weather by finishing sixth after a close call with Higgins at Tower on the final lap. Adlam and Andrew Jones, another to overcome a lowly grid slot with a determined drive, benefited from this moment and demoted Higgins to ninth.

Nick Lay completed the top ten despite an incredible incident on the opening lap when his Reynard FF89 mounted the rear of Steven Jensen’s Swift exiting Old Paddock. This alarming piggyback moment did little damage to either car, Jensen fighting back to eighth before spinning in traffic while passing Higgins into the Esses. He recovered to finish 13th behind Keith Sekree and Alan Slater, two more frontrunners hampered by the practice conditions.

For the majority of the field this wild race was their first time in the cockpit since the end of the 2003 season, and those who had tested had done so mostly in the wet. Virtually every driver reckoned they would be a lot quicker by the upcoming Easter Monday double-header, so the next rounds may paint a truer picture of who will be challenging Ed Moore for the title.

Matt Beer

[mattray]

Any news on the fastest lap?

[Ian Sowman]

Fastest lap: Moore 1m 13.6s

[mattray]

Oh, would have thought the pace should at least be in the 12's!!

[blue nose]

Matt When are you out next?

[RMR]

13.6? !

shame about the engine matt (darcy), looked like you were going to have a blinder!!

[mattray]

Well hopefully soon but no rush, there will always be racing!

I am in the process of getting all the kit I need for the race car set-up business, got the van today!!! and I have a few customers already so it could be sooner then I thought. Of course any more customers are more then welcome just give me a PM
Matt

[RMR]

just looked at mst and only 3 people in the race posted sub 1.14. and that was only just. whats going on? considering the record is 1:11.7 and the track was running pretty quick too by all accounts.

[darcym]

Thanks Richard, To be honest, I think the pace was a little subject to carnage. My two laps (sigh)was from a standing start and avoiding Pat Blakley going into quarry by lap 3 - 4 the leaders where actually catching some of the back markers and there was another accident by tower I believe - I didn't once see the front runners have 1 clear lap. The next race should show a bit more pace.

[Ian Sowman]

Richard, has it crossed your mind that the quality just isn't as good as it was a few years ago?

[diz]

You'll be able to spot Ian Sowman at Combe. He'll be the one wearing a hard hat if he has any sense. Stand by for some ego dented replies.

[Ian Sowman]

Well, at least it is stronger than NW FF1600.

[diz]

*****

Oh, I didn't realise the autocensor wouldn't like the word for a female dog.