GOUGH GOES SILVERSONIC!!! BRSCC Formula Ford 1600 Race Report. Silverstone - National Circuit 9th August Triple Crown won by driver from Class B

Transcription

1 BRSCC Formula Ford 1600 Race Report Triple Crown won by driver from Class B GOUGH GOES SILVERSONIC!!! Silverstone - National Circuit 9th August 2014 Triple Crown: Rounds 5 & 6 National Championship: Rounds 9 & 10 Season 2014: Issue 07 Words & Editing: Dave Williams Double Header Meeting Circuit Length: miles Copyright on Pictures: Bourne Photographic

2 CONTENTS Page Introduction 3 Qualifying 4 Fashion Tips 7 Race 1 8 Race 2 12 Trophy Presentations 15 Page: 2

3 Introduction The first 2014 UK-wide Motor Racing Championship was decided at Silverstone on 9th August when the BRSCC s Avon Tyres-sponsored Formula Ford 1600 Triple Crown reached its climax. Points were also available for the National Championship. Since it started at Brands Hatch in June, the quality of the entry list for the Triple Crown meetings has markedly developed, culminating in the series signing off in Northamptonshire having gathered real momentum with the high standard of the entry attracting further top drivers. With a practice session taking place in the morning followed by qualifying and two races, the 23 drivers present could not complain about a lack of track time and all this was available in a compact one day format. Page: 3

4 Qualifying DRAFTING MASTERCLASS Stuart Gough passes Ciaran Haggerty having received a mega tow which helped him take pole The decisive moment of qualifying came around 7 minutes into the session. Stuart Gough was following the Graham Brunton fielded Rays of Adam Mackay and Ciaran Haggerty as he started this particular flying lap and gradually closed in on them during the first half of the Silverstone National configuration. Down the Wellington Straight Haggerty towed past Mackay pulling Gough along with him. The latter remained in Haggerty s slipstream and had enough momentum to overtake him before Brooklands was reached. Exiting Luffield, Gough then had the Pre90 car of Jamie Jardine ahead. As these older models create an even bigger hole in the air than the newer ones the Oldfield Motorsport Van Diemen RF92 had less air resistance through Woodcote and took Gough to pole position by secs. Of course, although the art of slip-streaming is a crucial factor when the field is so evenly matched, driving talent and high standards of vehicle preparation are crucial in getting on the pace to enable drafting to make that small but crucial difference. To take pole in a 22 year old car, Stuart Gough and Oldfield Motorsport clearly have these required attributes in abundance. Joining Gough on the front row for the opening race was David McArthur. Having been fastest in free practice at the start of the day, he was happy with his speed but reported that We couldn't get a tow for love nor money. Adding to the quality of the field was 2008 Scottish Formula Ford Champion, Graham Carroll. He set the third fastest time ahead of fellow Caledonian, Ciaran Haggerty, who Page: 4

5 had attempted to work with Adam Mackay to draft themselves up the order. They were frustrated as they each had speed at different times of the 20 minutes but this never materialised in a synchronised fashion. Eventually Haggerty, who was making his debut at the home of the British Grand Prix, decided to plough a lone furrow and went as fast as he had done on Friday when he was quick from the outset. Don Hardman team mates, Joey Foster and Abdul Ahmed, annexed the third row. They felt as though they were missing a few tenths in comparison to the front runners and were disappointed as they struggled to successfully get a good draft. Tom McArthur was third during open practice but had to be content with seventh in qualifying even though he was less than half a second away from pole. Behind Mackay in eighth, Luke Williams and Ben Spurge rounded out the top ten. The latter was making his Formula Ford debut behind the wheel of a Cliff Dempsey Racing Ray. The ex-formula Jedi driver had tested with the squad earlier in the year and outqualified his team mate, James Raven, by one place however this was because Raven had suffered a blown power unit and only completed a quartet of laps. In the Pre90 Class, Jamie Jardine set fastest time with Chris Hodgen less than a couple of tenths behind him despite only completing 3 circuits before his engine went off song. This was most annoying as Hodgen had been flying in free practice when he recorded a time of 1 minute 3.8 secs despite using tyres that were 8 races old. The first 16 cars were covered by 1.25 seconds. Ben Norton would have been at the sharp end of things had a clutch problem not materialised while Rob Hall suffered from a carburettor issue. Luke Cooper was a late withdrawal from the meeting after his engine lost power during Friday s test and he decided not to risk a blow up. Adam Mackay flashes across the grid in his Ray GR09 Page: 5

6 Results Chris Hodgen races past the BRDC Club House Page: 7

7 FORMULA FORD FASHION TIPS While accepting the award for the Most Prominent Nipple, Iain Houston (may have) said: Wearing shorts, sandals, socks and a flame resistant vest will certainly get you noticed! Photo: John Loebell Page: 6

8 Race 1 Stuart Gough (29) and David McArthur (15) had a superb battle for the lead GREAT GOUGH! Unlike many circuits, the pole-sitter at Silverstone in this case Stuart Gough starts from the outside of the front row. As this is also on the racing line, there is plenty of grip available from all the rubber that has been laid down. This enabled Gough to catapult into the lead as soon as the red lights went out. Knowing the quality of those racing behind him, Stuart really chucked his Oldfield Motorsport Van Diemen around the fast, sweeping corners of the Northants track as he tried to make a break in the opening laps. Indeed by the end of lap 2 he was over a second ahead of David McArthur who had been busy defending his position from Graham Carroll. With Carroll being demoted by Joey Foster on the following circuit McArthur was able to pull away and close in on the leader as roughly 10 cars battled for third often 3 or 4 abreast on the straights. The front two had a small cushion to all the mayhem that was going on behind and McArthur made his move at the start of lap 8 when a better exit from Copse allowed him to pass Gough on the inside at Maggotts. Gough was in no mood to allow the Black Swan Motorsport Van Diemen LA10 driver to get away and the ninth time they headed down the Wellington Straight he was expertly using the slip-streaming once again as he had done during qualifying so that he went back ahead at Brooklands but McArthur held on by using the inside through Luffield and was back infront as the duo headed past the pits. Page: 8

9 And so, a pattern emerged with Gough reeling in McArthur and passing him at Brooklands only for his rival to flash by again at Maggotts. With 4 laps to go, Foster had broken away from the battle for third and caught up with McArthur forcing him to begin to focus on defending rather than attacking. Gough took a remarkable victory against drivers in much newer cars underlining what an open category Formula Ford is. Meanwhile, Foster was able to catch McArthur napping and relieve him of second as they negotiated backmarkers on the last lap in the final sequence of corners. Having made repairs to his carburettor, Rob Hall made up no less than 18 places to head home the marauding pack in fourth place. Ciaran Haggerty, who can name former Indycar Champion Dario Franchitti among his supporters, had run fourth in the early stages but got shuffled down to seventh before regaining that position... only to be demoted by Hall 3 laps from home. Following clutch and engine failure respectively during qualifying, Ben Norton and James Raven battled up the order to be right in the thick of the fighty for fourth but neither had an improvement in their fortunes as the former suffered a blown motor while the latter ran out of fuel. The Cliff Dempsey Racing team were grateful for the help of Dave Hart and Graham Brunton in assisting to change Raven s power unit in just over an hour between qualifying and the first race however in all the haste that ensued a miscalculation occurred in the refuelling quantity which left James stranded on the exit of Copse 6 laps from home. A distraught Cliff Dempsey posted on Facebook, It hasn't happened before to my team in 25 years and it won't happen again!!! Graham Carroll and Abdul Ahmed crossed the line a whisker behind Haggerty in sixth and seventh. Ahmed was disappointed not to be further up the order but had struggled with the balance of his car through the final section of corners. Luke Williams had been up at the sharp end of the mega battle for fourth until he had contact with James Raven exiting Brooklands on lap 10. This meant he recorded a ninth placed finish just behind Ben Spurge who had been out testing with the Nissan Joey Foster here heads a massive battle and would eventually finish second Page: 9

10 GT Academy the previous day. In tenth and eleventh were Tom McArthur and Adam Mackay while twelfth placed Thomas Capezzone took the flag with Pre90 winner, Jamie Jardine, right on his tail. Jardine was looking forward to renewing his season-long duel with Chris Hodgen but the latter s electrical problem from qualifying returned on the green flag lap and he was unable to take the start although at least he was judged to have served the 5 place grid penalty that had been hanging over him since the previous meeting at Donington. The final unlapped runners were Adam Quartermaine, Steve Chapman and the dizzy Vincent Jay. The dizziness of Jay was a result of him spinning so many times he confessed to 6 gyrations during the course of the 20 minutes. Iain Houston was making his first visit to the Silverstone National circuit and joined the Medina Sport squad for a day of testing on Friday he particularly enjoyed the challenge of trying to take Copse fast and neat even though he never felt he quite achieved it! Nonetheless, he was pleased to be no longer missing gearchanges as he had done at Donington having discovered a failed thrust bearing and broken pressure plate inside the casing. Immediately after the meeting in the East Midlands he had been chastising his own ham-fistedness so he was grateful to find a mechanical explanation. Houston was sorry that Hodgen failed to take the start as with him starting just ahead due to his penalty, Iain planned to follow him up the order as far as he could. Slightly disturbed, Iain bogged down at the start. Despite this he got ahead of Dave Franklin and stayed there until he lost the place after a couple of laps on the Wellington Straight. Franklin and Steve Bracegirdle then raced away from Houston who was left perplexed as to why he was lapping a second slower than the previous day despite bolting on a new set of tyres that he had scrubbed in on Friday. Further annoyance arose for Houston from the fact that he had regularly beaten Bracegirdle when they raced together at Castle Combe but at least he took fastest lap in Class C. Don Boyack completed the finishers. Ben Spurge showed good pace on his FF1600 debut Page: 10

11 Results A quality field lines up ready for some great racing Page: 11

12 Race 2 For over 2 thrids of the race Ciaran Haggerty held the lead despite constant pressure from the pack HAGGERTY HOLDS OFF ALLCOMERS Another lightning start from pole saw Stuart Gough take the lead into Copse once again. This time he was unable to open up a gap and as early as lap 2 he was having to weave down the Wellington Straight in attempt to prevent Joey Foster from gaining too much advantage from his slipstream. At the start of the following tour Foster made the same move at Maggotts that had served David McArthur so well in his fight with Gough earlier in the day. As before Stuart was immediately able to draft alongside his vanquisher down the main straight but this time Foster braked late enough into Brooklands to hold on to his newly acquired lead. McArthur had taken a gamble on set up that wasn t paying off and was already almost half a second behind the front pair before Ciaran Haggerty took third from him when he left the door open on the inside at Luffield on lap 4. Haggerty had made a poor start in which he dropped from fifth on the grid to seventh at the second corner but now he was well a truly in the groove having taken Abdul Ahmed round the outside at Brooklands on lap 2 before closing in on the duelling Luke Williams and Graham Carroll through Luffield. Exiting this long, long corner he had enough momentum to make it 3 abreast past the pits. Carroll was in the middle of this trio and backed off approaching Copse allowing Haggerty into fifth soon Ciaran was fourth when greater traction exiting Luffield enabled him to demote Williams across the grid hatchings. By lap 7 a couple of manoeuvres down the inside of Gough and Foster on consecutive laps at Beckets and Copse respectively had put the young Scot, who turned 18 four days Page: 12

13 after this meeting, into the lead and, very impressively, here he stayed for the remaining 12 laps despite a barrage of attempted passes from numerous far more experience drivers. The other man from North of the Border who was making good progress was Graham Carroll he had got himself up to second on the ninth circuit having drafted past Gough into Brooklands only for Gough to execute exactly the same move a couple of tours later. Meanwhile Foster went in the opposite direction to Carroll and slipped down to fifth although he was soon enroute back to the sharp end of the action. Lap 13 and Carroll really had a head of steam as he got back up to second on the inside of Gough at Luffield before going on to really put Haggerty under serious pressure the pair were frequently side by side for the next couple of circuits but Carroll just couldn t quite get a decisive advantage. As he tried to get in front down the inside at Copse on lap 15 Gough and Foster both swept round the outside. Worse was to follow for Carroll as James Raven moved into fourth before the cars triggered the TSL Timing beam again. Raven had put in an exceptional drive from 23rd on the gird after he ran out of fuel in race 1. Foster drafted past Gough into second with 2 laps to go and then the latter fluffed a gearchange the next time he wound up to V-max on the Wellington Straight. In an instant, Raven and Carroll had pushed him down to fifth. With Haggerty and Foster holding first and second places until the chequered flag, Carroll attempted to take third from Raven around the outside line at Brooklands on the penultimate circuit but ran out of road and dropped a place to Gough. When the points were added up, it emerged that Stuart Gough had done enough to win the 2014 Post89 Avon Tyres Formula Ford 1600 Triple Crown in the 22 year old Oldfield Motorsport Van Diemen RF92. As the cars returned to the pits, however, Gough had other matters on his mind. Fuel leaking into the cockpit meant he had been sitting in a pool of petrol which had been burning into delicate areas of his anatomy no wonder he had missed-cued on an upshift in the closing stages! No sooner had he brought his car to James Raven (middle car in this group) put in a stellar performance as he finished on the podium from 23rd on the grid Page: 13

14 a halt, Stuart dashed into the paddock to take an immediate shower still fully-clothed in his race-suit. Rob Hall hung on to the rear of the lead battle throughout and he overtook David McArthur 5 laps from home to be classified sixth. While the other McArthur brother in the race, Tom, demoted Ben Spurge on lap 14 and, due to the demise of Abdul Ahmed with a failed battery plus Luke Williams retiring when his engine overheated, he finished one place behind his brother in eighth. Thomas Capezzone then pushed Spurge down to tenth on the final circuit. Adam Quartermaine finished a whisker behind Spurge on the road and he held on to eleventh despite the stewards later applying a 5 second penalty for exceeding Track Limits. Adam Mackay was 1 and a half seconds away from stealing the place on the corrected time sheets. The other section of the Triple Crown that for Pre90 cars was settled in the favour of Jamie Jardine who clinched it with a class victory following a race-long dice with the Post89 car of Steve Chapman. This pair finished ahead of Vincent Jay who was the final unlapped runner. Chris Hodgen s continued electrical gremlins prevented him from leaving the Assembly Area. Although Iain Houston had found speed in each of the previous 3 sessions of the day, he was still around a second away from the lap times he had recorded in testing on Friday. In desperation, he considered switching back to the old tyres he had been using then but decided to persevere with his new rubber. At the start he used more revs than he had done for race 1 and this resulted in a much quicker getaway but everyone else also left the grid faster than they had done earlier. Houston made a late-braking lunge to move up the order at Maggotts but locked up and lost momentum. This allowed Stephen Bracegirdle and David Franklin to pull away from him. The latter had been finding more speed each time he took to the tarmac and was able to engage in a battle with Bracegirdle. As this duo held each other up, this allowed Houston to reel them in over the course of the next 8 laps at which point, with the aid of a draft down Wellington Straight, he got his nose ahead of Franklin at Brooklands only to discover he had braked later than the laws of physics permit and spun off. He kept his engine running and rejoined to bring his Van Diemen home in eighteenth ahead of the final finisher Don Boyack. Winner of the Pre90 Triple Crown: Jamie Jardine Page: 14

15 Results In both races Stuart Gough convert pole into the lead Page: 15

16 TROPHY PRESENTATIONS Page: 16

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18 Why have I all these trophies left over? Page: 18

19 This report was produced by & Visit for over 375 pictures of this meeting!! Page: 19