Now Can I Start the BARC Classic Raceday Mallory Park 7th April Thread? - Page 2

Tony Harman · 5 Apr 2002, 08:50 (Ref:252528)

Steve - It's probably worth laying in a fused line for the transponder just in case they aren't battery powered.
Well Mallory has a great entry for Group 1, full grid plus a reserve ! FF2000 also a full grid, unfortunately Clubmans can only manage 13 again so far, don't know the reason for the drop in numbers as we have 4 new drivers this year. I think a virtual kick up the bum is needed. Croft up next and because of distance I don't know how many will enter for that...

**Peter Mallett** · 5 Apr 2002, 18:43 (Ref:252904)

Can I put this back on top please?

And just to mention, Ken Clarke (CTCRC Chairman) is marrying his long time partner Aline on Saturday 6th April. It's likely to be a heavy weekend.

Carrie · 5 Apr 2002, 19:30 (Ref:252923)

Have a good weekend to everyone who's racing at Mallory. Would have loved to have been there, but instead I'll be trekking over to Cadwell to watch Minis.

TimD · 7 Apr 2002, 22:42 (Ref:254443)

Wow! Now that was a good afternoon's racing.

Albeit marred by a nasty accident to Peter Nixon's Golf. Hope it's not too bad, Peter.

Peter Mallett's Capri looks absolutely bloomin' magnificent in its new colours, and looks to be a serious challenger when the new cam is sourced. The car looked - to a casual punter - very stable, very quick, and very nicely sorted, and was holding even the mighty "500BHP" Camaro through the corners.

And what a race for Group 1 honours it was. Graham Scarborough, Brian Stevens and Nigel Garrett in the Capri, XJ-S and Camaro dicing throughout the race. And a certain 10-tenths poster in his RX-7 made an absolutely demon start before the red flags came out.

And you know what they say on the tickets about Motor Racing being Dangerous? We had a wake-up call this afternoon. The wheel and tyre from the Formula Ford 2000 which shot into the spectator area at the end of the Stebbe Straight could have been very nasty. A salutary reminder that you really do need your wits about you, even when spectating. Thank goodness the spectator bank was so sparsely populated.

All in all though, a really good afternoon's racing. Roll on the next round....

Hobson · 8 Apr 2002, 06:28 (Ref:254552)

What happened to Peter Nixon's Golf?
Is Mallory cursed for this saloon car club? I remember big accidents last year too.

**Peter Mallett** · 8 Apr 2002, 07:46 (Ref:254575)

Phew, wow!

Well all in all it wasn’t too bad. Considering I’ve been out of the saddle for 18 months, it was a good weekend. Sadly the result didn’t reflect the effort but hopefully by Brands Hatch we’ll have those things sorted.

Firstly to practice.

My previous best at the circuit was mid 57 secs so I was quite pleased to see that my first clear laps were in the low 58s. Half way through practice I was down to the high 56’s, which resulted in 11th on the grid and a best time of 56.53 secs.

Whereas I used to be about 2.5 secs from pole I was down to 1.5secs away. So even with an engine that doesn’t pull over 5000rpm we’ve made a big improvement.

The race was unfortunately marred by a big accident to Peter Nixon’s Golf, which became entangled with a Capri and a BMW 530. Unfortunately it looks like the end for Peter’s golf. That brought the red flags out and my brilliant start, which saw me move up to 9th (I then passed Martin West’s Capri on the outside of the hairpin) went to waste.

We reformed in our original positions and my second start was dreadful. I dropped back two places and although I passed Martin on the back straight I was then jammed behind Will MacAteer’s Golf and Kingsley Martin’s Rover Vitesse. Having despatch the Vitesse on lap ten I went for Will only to develop an electrical problem which cut the ignition in various parts of the circuit. I pulled into the pits but the team couldn’t find anything wrong so having lost two laps and many places I returned to the track to dice with Peter Holten’s Rover P6 (despatched fairly quickly) and give3 way to a lapping leading trio of Graham Scarborough, Brian Stevens and Nigel Garrett. Oh and I kept up with them until the miss fire returned.

So to summarize. I’ve got a car that handles like a dream (drifting through Gerrards was a new experience for me) and I went faster than before so given more power on the straights things are looking good for a move up the running order.

Steve Higgs · 8 Apr 2002, 09:14 (Ref:254623)

I took my Capri to Mallory for the G1 race. Qualified 18th, 28 entered. Locked up big time at the hairpin & flat spotted the 2 fronts. Was getting serious vibration under braking thru the steering wheel.
Changed the wheels & went to race. First start, made up a few places at the start & was going round Gerrards alonside Nick Ellis, (Capri), when a Golf suddenly went sideways in front of us. Must have missed him by about 1"! The race was red flagged as the Golf, (Nixon), had been hit by a BMW, Capri, at least.
Second start, threaded thru making up a number of places. Was being chased by Nick and a few others. Still getting serious vibration under braking th. Was catching Pete Mallett, Will McAteer & Kingsley Marten. Pete & Kingsley pulled off & I caught up with Will. The race ended before I could have a good go at him. Finished 11th, a best lap of 57.
A good race, felt I drove well. Engine pulling well. A few problems: bad vibration under braking, smoke from a back wheel, (sticking brake?). I still run a standard Capri gearbox which is losing me some time changing gear, the rear suspension is standard & the front is almost standard, therefore the car is too soft & leans too much. Some things to sort out........

Stacy · 8 Apr 2002, 12:35 (Ref:254799)

Quote:

Originally posted by TimD
And a certain 10-tenths poster in his RX-7 made an absolutely demon start before the red flags came out.

That was a bit of a choker, but you have to take the rough with the smooth..

I hadn't had a chance to test the car before Thruxton where it was brand new and not to my liking handling wise, and I'd not expected much from Mallory partly because of that, and partly because I've always felt I'm rubbish at Mallory anyway.

I qualified with a 56.009 or something which I was a little disappointed in, but thought I'd be 4th or 5th - didn't allow for a glut of Capri's doing 55's though and ended up 8th on the grid, half a second off Steve Cripps in his Escort but 2nd in class. As I said to Dave my mechanic though, it might as well be 1/2 an hour off Steve if I didn't know how to make it up..

Anyway, hooked it up well at the start and squeezed round the outside into 2nd overall behind the Camaro. The plan was to push on and try a move next lap while his tyres are cold, then make my RX the widest Mazda ever produced for 18 laps.. He was braking early until his tyres had come up to temp. It wouldn't have lasted though, as in the restart my pads cooked when I was braking late trying to keep him behind me - he had missed a gear out of the hairpin.

I tried lining up in 2nd spot on the restart (you've got to try) but they moved me back down to 8th. Of course when the lights changed Steve C knew my hand and blocked, so instead of making up places I had two wheels on the grass and lost some.

Turned out to be a fairly dull race for me, only Malc Best gave me any trouble when I was slowed by a Sunbeam backmarker who didn't seem to have seen me, but Malc lost it in Gerards behind me leaving me on my own, so after that I tugged around in the 57's.

Fastest lap was a 55.5 which was better, but it'll do a 54 with some development and a more confident right foot without doubt.

My girlfriend on the pit wall told me it was the best race she'd ever seen, as Brian and Skid tore through the backmarkers for the lead. The Clerk of the Course told Brian it was "awesome".

Good pace too, another Escort got into 55.2 which gives me something to think about in class C. The Camaro ended up with a 54.6 - very impressive.

So I awarded myself a B minus - adequate, but must try harder. Plenty of things to start work with for Croft..

Cheers

Stacy

spnixon · 9 Apr 2002, 08:37 (Ref:255350)

An eventful day at Mallory on Sunday.

Started qualifying with a very rattly engine (after the overheating problem at Thruxton) and saw blue smoke billowing out of the back of the car. Tried to complete three laps, got black flagged (oops) and came down the pit lane. We had forgotten to fit the breather pipe, did this and went back out, cruised around and did a 58.5 to get myself on the grid.

Made a mediocre start, still nervous of the noisy engine, but managed to stay with Will and Don ahead of me (in the other two Golf's) as we approached Gerards. I slotted in behind Don and got half way through the corner when whack!, another car thumps my rear bumper and throws me into a spin. I tried to catch it, full opposite lock and foot to the floor in fourth gear but at 90-100 mph through Gerards if someone taps you the rest is history.

Headed towards the tyre wall, for a split second thought 'thank God! as I missed it, then with my foot firmly on the brake pedal the car span back across the track in front of the rest of the (full) Group One grid.

First to collect me was Mike Moore's BMW with a heavy impact to the rear offside, that sent me into another spin and I was hit another 3-4 times by various Capri's before being left facing the right way on the track with a very second hand car.

The marshalls came running over but at first I was reluctant to undo my belts in case another car came round. Once I realised the marshall wouldn't be on the track if there were still cars coming (silly me) I started to try and get out, my chest was painful where the harness had been. The marshalls then tried to start pushing me off the track but it was obvious the wheels were all locked with bent bodywork. I was still bang in the middle of Gerards with a full pack approaching in about 30 seconds, I wasn't happy so just screamed out 'For f***s sake stop the race!' to the guy by my door, he hesitated for a second then signalled to the marshall post - red flags came out. Phew. Then I got out of the car and was taken top the side of the track to watch the grid go past.

I was taken to the medical centre in the Doctors car for a full check up, everything seemed OK (apart from heavy bruising) so I went back to the paddock and had a cup of tea (thanks Kelly).

The car is destroyed - shell is twisted, rear beam bent, all four corners wrecked and the force of the impact ripped the top off the gearbox where it bolts on to the engine mount. Gulp.

So I suppose its a racing incident, and you have to expect this sort of thing. It made me realise how important the safety gear is - the cage held, the expensive harnesses I bought proved their weight in gold, the cheap seat I use caused all the bruising and now I know why tubular steel framed seats are ****. The marshalls and medical centre were great and lots of people came over to commiserate with me afterwards. Special thanks also to James Hall, Carl (from Ken's team) and some of the Raven Motorsport guys for helping getting the car into a state where it could be dragged onto the trailer. In the end Carl had to chop the rear panel off so we could move the wheel.

The only bad feeling I have about the whole thing is that no-one came across to admit to shunting me off in the first place. I'm fairly sure I now know who it was, its frustrating because if I'd been allowed to go for another few seconds I'd have been gone 'cos I was lapping quicker than them anyway. Maybe in the heat of the moment the responsible guy didn't notice he'd made contact? Possibly, there was certainly no malice or intent, just bad luck. 28 cars through Gerards was always optimistic!

So now its a reshell over the summer, I doubt I'll be out again this season.

Congratulations to Will on winning class D, I've been looking forward to racing him all year and I havn't managed a single lap. Noticed his race time was 1/10 quicker than mine last year, we might have had a good battle for honours in 2002. Maybe next year.

Peter Nixon
SPN Racing Golf (ex-Golf)

**Peter Mallett** · 9 Apr 2002, 10:51 (Ref:255466)

Bad luck Peter but we were all glad to see you were ok.

The Beemer looked a bit second hand too.

Hope you can get out sooner rather than later.

Stacy · 9 Apr 2002, 11:11 (Ref:255487)

Bad luck Peter.

Will has had his car smashed to pieces twice before, and knows how you feel.

It's a shame you're not out, he was a bit rusty (last time his Golf did a 56.1) but the other times such as Oulton looked like they would have been good races.

Commiserations.

I know it's a bit late, but Will always says get to the inside at Gerards on lap 1. To the extent that we were arranging to let eachother in if necessary. As it happens on the first start I decided that the people ahead (Brian, Nigel, Steve, Graham S etc) were not monkeys and I was happy to go the long way. Worked out on that occasion, but mid-pack I would have thought better of it I guess.

Stacy.

Steve Higgs · 9 Apr 2002, 11:16 (Ref:255494)

It's always a bit fraught in the middle. I was alongside Nick Ellis, but was confident he wasn't going to do anything stupid. He said the same of me.
On a different point, I had arranged to rent a transponder, (they come with batteries when renting). But, the MST guy 'left it in his garage'. They took my times by hand. The cut off date is the end of April when you HAVE to have a transponder.

Stacy · 9 Apr 2002, 12:12 (Ref:255550)

Quote:

Originally posted by Steve Higgs
The cut off date is the end of April when you HAVE to have a transponder.

I think they are a bit haphazard in recording your times without one now though. Will's transponder hasn't worked from day 1, and in the race I can't remember what they clocked his fastest lap at but it was a fair bit more than his in car lap timer which clocked him at a low 56.

I suspect they are not checking every lap.

Stacy.

Chris Y · 9 Apr 2002, 12:19 (Ref:255556)

Terrible luck Peter N - but at least you got out okay. Hope you manage to put it together for another run this year.

Pete M, encouraging news about your car - when you get the cam and misfire sorted you should be flying! Hope you get to use it more than a few times this year..

**Peter Mallett** · 9 Apr 2002, 12:47 (Ref:255591)

Well,

In the laps when I was following Will and Kingsley they were definitely slowing me and when I finally got in the clear my times were in the low/mid 57s. That was with a transponder so maybe Will's in-car timer needs a service? I didn't get lower because of the mis-fire.

Stacy · 9 Apr 2002, 16:10 (Ref:255736)

Quote:

Originally posted by Peter Mallett
Well,

In the laps when I was following Will and Kingsley they were definitely slowing me and when I finally got in the clear my times were in the low/mid 57s. That was with a transponder so maybe Will's in-car timer needs a service? I didn't get lower because of the mis-fire.

Suspect that's not the case, if they are at fault then they don't send at all. More likely the perception was wrong. He did low 56's before, and the stopwatch on the wall for the lap chart matched the lap timer too. He may have done the lap when you weren't around too.

He's just quick round Mallory basically. Qualified 4th overall a couple of years ago I seem to recall.

When I watched Post Historic qualifying it seemed as though the Mini was keeping up with Nigel Garrett too, the reality was a bit different on the stopwatch.

Stacy.

Chris Griffin · 9 Apr 2002, 17:58 (Ref:255813)

My commiserations Pete. I know it's gutting when something like that happens. I seriously reshaped my Dolomite at Mallory a few years ago after losing it on oil left on the line through the esses. Several others lost it too but I made it to the tyre wall on the inside. I spent the last few yards trying to make it go in side-on to spread the impact a bit. I was lucky not to have killed it. Two doors and wings and lots of paint was all that was required to mend it (and a new lid for me as I nutted the side window out on impact!). Thankfully the sub-frame didn't suffer.

Mallory does seem to have claimed a lot of victims over the years. Last year's Historics round was no exception.

From my point of view, I was a bit disappointed with Mallory. The resurrection of Dave Nixon's RX3 and my inability to get quick laps in made for a so-so meeting for me. Dicing with the fastest and widest Mini in the club was the highlight. Seemed like Thruxton all over again yet the results were better that time.

Chris

Steve Higgs · 10 Apr 2002, 10:07 (Ref:256238)

good pic & report on the G1 race in Motorsport News today. Wonder why they didn't mention my barnstorming drive from 18th on the grid to 11th right behind Will McAteer in the race.....:-)

Chris Griffin · 10 Apr 2002, 10:23 (Ref:256244)

They probably held that bit back for the front page of Autosprat tomorrow Steve!

Isn't it time someone fired up a Croft Classics Raceday thread? I wont be there as a: it's a Saturday and it would take most of Friday to get there and b: I'm still looking for work!

Chris

Slowcoach · 10 Apr 2002, 11:43 (Ref:256308)

Hi Chris , just on a technicality its actually Sat+Sun. - I got caught out on the same thing , decided to take friday off and drive up only to find out my practice is Sat. 10.40 and my race is 2.30.....Sunday. So I threw all my toys out of the pram and phoned them to say I couldn't be away for two nights and I wasn't going to get up at 2.00am to drive up from Essex so I shall be practicing out of session late on Saturday and starting from the back of the grid ! At least ,I'm told, the 10 second penalty has been abolished.

Lorna · 10 Apr 2002, 18:53 (Ref:256667)

Sounds like you all had fun

I'm off to check my calendar and see when I can make a CSCC race or two.

Chris Griffin · 11 Apr 2002, 09:08 (Ref:257038)

Pic kindly donated by Dominic Weaver who just happened to be in the right place. 1 of 2

Chris Griffin · 11 Apr 2002, 09:10 (Ref:257040)

2 of 2

Tony Harman · 11 Apr 2002, 09:13 (Ref:257044)

OUCH !!!

spnixon · 11 Apr 2002, 10:40 (Ref:257092)

Excellent - one to keep for prosperity.

I don't suppose this Mr. Weaver has bigger/original copies of the pics?

Busy sorting a Mk1 shell at the moment, the SPN Golf will return....

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