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Post by NS-R on Sept 27, 2004 8:30:14 GMT
OK - I'll start the Croft thread with my report: - Scottish XR2 Championship Rounds 9 & 10 – Croft Saturday 25th / Sunday 26th September Friday Testing The championship hasn’t visited Croft since 2001 so the first test session was basically used to remember the circuit. It took the best part of the first session before I could take Barcroft flat out in 4th gear as the car feels a bit skittish as we are doing approximately 110 MPH through the corner, and then braking hard for Sunny In. After doing 3 test sessions in the afternoon, I was matching the times of both Sandy Forrest and championship leader Oli Mortimer so prospects were looking good. Qualifying The qualifying conditions were the worst I have ever raced in – a mixture of a wet track and a Historic racer had put a lot of oil onto the circuit in the previous session. The car was sliding at every corner and I lost it going through the 2nd chicane but managed to keep it away from the Armco (just!). I got a couple of good laps in and the very last lap jumped me up from 5th to 2nd on the grid for the first race. Race (Round 9) I was side-by-side with Oli Mortimer going into the first corner and he very nearly spun but managed to control it. I was pushing for the lead but also having to defend as Sandy Forrest was all over my boot lid. At the hairpin at the end of lap 1, I was lining up Oli for the pass but didn’t see Sandy make a move. He nipped up my inside to take the place and then took Oli on the start straight – 3rd to 1st in one classic move! I followed Sandy through and back up into 2nd. We were all suffering from fuel surge out of the hairpin but I knew that Oli seemed to have the problem worse than others so although he was all over me for three-quarters of the lap, I could pull away a little at the hairpin. I don’t think I have ever defended so hard but lap after lap, I managed to keep Oli behind me and was really glad to see the chequered flag at the end of lap 8 – 2nd place – my best ever finish and my second podium in the new car. Race (Round 10) We started the second race how we finished Round 9 so I was again 2nd on the grid. I got a cracking start and led into the first corner – for all of 20 yards. I carried a little too much speed into the corner and got two wheels into the gravel but managed to keep the car straight. Sandy Forrest seized the opportunity and nipped past but lost speed so I was on his boot lid, pushing his rear bumper around Hawthorn and into the chicane. Again, I had Oli Mortimer trying to get past and I made a mistake, locking up at the hairpin which allowed him to get past. The next lap, I returned the favour at the hairpin and was back up into 2nd place. Like the first race, Oli was again pushing to get past but I was driving very defensively and kept him behind. As we crossed the line on lap 6, the red flags came out as Jamie Bicket had put his car on its side exiting Sunny Out so the results were declared and I took another 2nd place. All-in-all, a very successful weekend at Croft which makes it three podiums out of three in the new car. These results now put me in 3rd place, 12 points behind Sandy Forrest but 23 points above Peter Cruickshank in the championship standings. Although there are two rounds left on October 17th at Knockhill, a good result in the first race should give me 3rd overall in the 2004 championship. Cheers, Nick www.ns-r.co.uk |
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Post by NS-R on Sept 27, 2004 10:28:10 GMT
Here are the current XR2 championship standings (without the on-time entry bonus point yet).
1 Oliver Mortimer 231
2 Sandy Forrest 148
3 Nick Sanderson 136
4 Peter Cruickshank 113
5 Ian Milton 104
6 Stewart Scott 98
7 Alan Keith 90
8 George Orr 62
9 Andy Allan 56
10 John Swift 55
11 Ian Forrest 47
12 John Marshall 44
13 Andy Martin 38
14 Jamie Bicket 37
15 Richard Reed 33
16 Ross Marshall 29
17 Marc Baynham 27
18 Alastair Hart 24
18 Lee Adams 24
18 Barry Holmes 24
21 David Dryburgh 22
22 Norman Dalgleish 18
23 Derek McDougall 16
24 Henry Lowson 14
25 Colin MacKinnon 10
25 John Findlay 10
27 Ian Maughan 9
27 Charlie Thornton 9
29 Chris Edwards 8
30 Ryan Stirling 5
31 Patrick Conroy 3
32 Ian Mackie 2
32 Chris Winter 2
32 Russell Morgan 2
32 Scott Addison 2
36 Chris Pass 1
36 Robert McEwan 1
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Post by Mike Hogg on Sept 27, 2004 10:28:23 GMT
Good work there - beating the wonder-kid twice is a serious bit of driving.  We saw the results on SMART and wondered why the second race had been red-flagged so early so thanks for clearing that up too... well done also to Norm and Barry who both came away with a top ten each I believe! Bad luck also to Derek McD, we noticed he didn't last long in race 1 and didn't start race 2.  Hope you guys put on a good show so that this happens again!  |
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Post by NS-R on Sept 27, 2004 10:32:56 GMT
Derek lost his brakes and went heavily into the tyres at Hawthorn - too much damage to fix at Croft - someone said it may be a re-shell - hope not... Lee Adams bottom end went on the Saturday which is also why he wasn't out on the Sunday... Cheers, Nick www.ns-r.co.uk |
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Post by norm on Sept 27, 2004 10:46:23 GMT
Drove down on the Friday morning, which meant an early start!
Friday testing
I had never driven at Croft before, but based on the XR2 lap times from 2001 I was aiming to be in the 108s and managed to achieve this so was relatively pleased. All 3 sessions were dry, and it really is a great track to drive when the grip is good and constant. Sweeping through the Jim Clark Esses and flat through Barcroft, you can almost convince yourself that you are a racing driver (but don’t worry, I’m not getting any delusions!). The track is tough on the engine as it is often marginal whether to short shift or to hold maximum revs for a moment. I found that I could tell if I was on a good lap because after Sunny Out I had to briefly take 4th before changing back down for the complex (see previous discussion with Nick and DC).
Qualifying (Saturday)
It had been raining quite heavily in the early morning but had not rained for about 2 hours by the time we went out for qualifying. However, unlike Knockhill, Croft seems to dry very, very slowly. There was a strong wind, yet still the track was wet when we went out, and this was exacerbated by the fact that one of the Historics had dumped a load of oil round the track. So, concentrated on the keeping the car on the track and ended up 15th out of 19 with a 130.8. Despite our little coming together at Knockhill last time out, must point out how well George Orr did – he didn’t make Friday testing, had never driven at Croft, it was soaking wet, and he wasn’t driving his own car, yet still managed to qualify fifth!
Race 1 (Saturday)
Got a good start, and clung to the inside line at Clervaux, though the melee through the first chicane, second chicane, and even Tower didn’t serve me quite so well. Ended up following Ross Marshall, and while I was convinced I could go faster if I could get past, the fact that we were so close probably wasn’t helping his lap times anyway. Eventually Ross made a mistake at the exit of the hairpin and I did get past. By this point we had caught up with David Dryburgh, and I had a lap or so to try to pass him. However, David was determined to hold his place, and was driving very defensively. I made a last corner attempt to go round the outside at the hairpin, but only succeeded in locking up and letting Ross back through! However, 12th was my best final position to date, and best lap time of 108.2. Unfortunately Derk McD had a brake problem which resulted in him spearing off into the tyres at Hawthorn, resulting in terminal damage to the chasis and an early trip home. And Lee Adams wouldn’t make race 2 either after the big end went near the end of the race. Oly was third, but finally mathematically secured the championship, so congratulations to him. Not a bad performance for his debut front wheel drive season....
Saturday night was a good chance to socialise with some of the XR2 crew. John Findlay seemed to be the unofficial pool champion, though only cos the rest of us were put off by the karaoke going on in the room! Ended up in Amadeus, Northallerton’s premier nightspot, but I didn’t stay long. Then had a good couple of hours back at the hotel bar listening to the “oldtimers” (sorry Charlie, Glen and Cameron!) talking about previous racing exploits (rolling a 2CV down Duffus anyone?!).
Race 2 (Sunday)
From 12th on the grid I got another good start, and was 10th when everything settled down. The pack behind me were squabbling amongst themselves, so managed to open up a gap and didn’t need to bother too much with my mirrors. I was at the back of the pack, with Ross then Jamie Bickett in front of me. Lap times were incredibly consistent, with the 4 flying laps in the race all being 108.0 or 107.9. I seemed to be faster through Sunny and the complex, but struggled with the hairpin, and couldn’t get myself to turn in late enough at Tower to get a good run through the Esses. On the sixth lap Jamie ran onto the grass at the exit of Sunny In, and eventually caught the tyres and rolled bringing out the reds and an early stop to the race (though thankfully he is fine, and his car seemd in remarkably good shape too!). So, I finished 9th, my first top 10 finish. The front 3 finished as in the first race: Sandy, Nick then Oly. Well done Nick!
Overall, was a great trip. Croft is a fantastic circuit to drive, and the facilities have a really fresh feel to them. With 5 out of the 6 sessions being dry the weather was good. And it was great to get the chance to have a few beers with everyone too!
Norm
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Post by Catriona on Sept 27, 2004 11:26:27 GMT
Sounds like a pretty good weekend's racing - it's great to read such detailed reports already Well done on those results Nick - looks like that new car is pretty good if you can be fighting up at the very sharp end of the field now! Good work to Norm and Barry, too, especially Norm with that first top-10! Hope Derek's car isn't too badly damaged, though; that one sounds expensive... I was glad to see such a good field had made the trip, by the way - looking at the results there were 19 cars out in race 1, which really isn't much less than we get at Knockhill. Hopefully that'll be enough to convince the powers that be to organise a repeat trip next year, especially as the Saloons/Sportscars appeared to have a full field of 26 for their first race (even if it dramatically shrunk by race 2), and even the Historics had 13 starters. A pretty impressive showing for the Scottish series all round I think - great to see that! |
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Post by dagman16 on Sept 27, 2004 12:52:06 GMT
Agree with GR there.... well done to the boys from SCR!! Nick, we'll be looking for that elusive win on the 17th.... as long as you don't emulate some of the rallycrossers last Saturday!
One car ended up virtually IN the Railway Straight marshals' post. It sent the marshals flying and landed upside down pouring out fuel. I was at the previous post and had to run up as the marshals there had disappeared rolling down the grass but fortunately no serious injury. The driver was checked over by the doctor and one of the marshals suffered a sore shoulder but carried on.
As I was standing by with the fire extinguisher, someone asked me if the electrics were off. I said we had no problem there and pointed to the car's battery lying several yards away from the car!
The same post was attacked again later in the day but the car didn't go over the barrier that time. Just ended up in the middle of the track with the rear wheels and suspension no longer attached properly! That same car had already rolled at the 2nd corner of the first race and also got buried in some unchartered jungle territory in another.... the guy (sorry, child) was wild to say the least!
Regards
David
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Post by Racemania on Sept 27, 2004 13:48:14 GMT
Well done Nick - 3rd on first outing with new car - 2nd on the second - so we all expect 1st place in the October race meeting.
Does a red car really make that much difference?
Obviously I am not going to get a podium place till I change the colour of my car.
What don’t tell me you think talent has anything to do with it?
Talking of talent I take it you couldn’t beat your PS2 time in your racecar. ;D
Ali
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Post by Charlie on Sept 27, 2004 15:16:39 GMT
Phew! I'm back (without a bang ;D), and in the points. I got a 15th and 13th. Once I sort out which spin, visit to the gravel, and grasscutting episode goes with which qualifying or race lap I'll post a report  Does anyone know who to contact about video footage as I saw several people with video cameras in the official photographers areas. I've heard that my performances at the first corner and first chicane were 'interesting' to say the least. ;D Or does anyone from the forum have footage Charlie |
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Post by TheRealDC on Sept 27, 2004 17:31:02 GMT
Nick
Fantastic results - well done. And well done to all who made the effort to travel to Croft!!
Cheers .. DC
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Post by XR2 Baz on Sept 27, 2004 18:32:29 GMT
We've just returned from Croft today having stayed on last night since we were off on holiday today anyway and didn't fancy getting home at 11 on Sunday night! Trundled down on Friday morning for the afternoon test session and started scaring myself near to death trying to take the Jim Clark esses and Barcroft flat out. I soon realised it was possible and started to really enjoy myself at what felt like a ludicrous speed! Most comical moment: seeing a yellow flag as I came out the Jim Clark esses on an out lap and wondering what it was for, only to see the tiny spec of a car that was Derek recovering from a spin through Barcroft putting him miles off into the infield! Saturday qualifying was more than interesting with a wetish-oily track. Plumped for wetish-oily settings and went out for a high speed slide around and back to scaring myself near to death trying to take the esses and barcroft flat  Wasn't too happy with the session, but putting myself in 8th put a smile back on my face. Race 1: Made a good start and nipped by Derek who was starting in a cloud of spinning tyre smoke. By the first corner, I was 6th and going well. Derek caught up to me and nipped by somewhere, then ran wide through Clervaux where myself and Jamie Bicket took advantage, putting my back into 6th. Jamie started harrasing me for a bit till Derek got back onto terms with him and kept him occupied leaving me to pull out a gap in 6th and begin catching George Orr in 5th. I soon realised that I was somewhat slow through the complex and hairpin as I could really close up on George through the fast bits and Sunny, but he pulled away from me out of the hairpin. Within a few laps I saw Derek spear off into the tyres at Clervaux in my mirrors which gave Jamie the chance to catch back up on me. On the second last lap I was defending from Jamie into the hairpin only for him to punt me into a half spin allowing Stewart Scott to nip by the both of us and put me back into 8th, where I finished. Damage was minimal with a bashed door and rear wheelarch, however annoyingly this did trash one of my tyres. Race two: Got a reasonable start and opted to try what I did in the first race, going round the outside but this was my undoing as when I tried to turn in to Clervaux I found every square inch of tarmac occupied by XR2. This lost me a bucket load of places, one of which I picked up straight away. I was then behind David Dryburgh who I passed next time round at Tower after getting a good run out of Hawthorn. Next up was Scott Addison who despite being slower than me was determined not to let me by, weaving back and forth across the track. At one point I backed off to avoid trying to turn into tower on the grass but next lap round I got a good run out of Tower and still had to pass him on the grass into the esses. A lap later Jamie ended his race with a roll which in turn ended everyone's race as the red flag came out. This was a bit of a shame as I was catching Marc Baynam and possibly could have got myself back into the top ten with the three more laps we would have had, but I had to settle for 11th. Thouroughly enjoyed the weekend. Good to get out for a few pints with a some of the other drivers and company, definitely nice to be more sociable and get to know people more. Croft really is a great circuit to drive, though I was a little disappointed with the facilities, especially being stranded way out the back of beyond in the far away paddock. Congrats to Oly for sewing up the championship whilst Sandy did all he could to stop him with two superb wins. Well done Nick on the two second places, I told you red was the fastest colour! Commiserations to Derek as it looks like a twisted shell with bent floor and buckled chassis leg and not a nice way to finish the most expensive weekend of the season. See you all at Knockhill on the 17th Baz |
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Post by XR2 Baz on Sept 27, 2004 19:05:39 GMT
Newcomers standings if anyone's interested:
Pos No Driver's Name TOTAL
1 31 George Orr 186
2 32 Jamie Bicket 155
3 35 Marc Baynham 134
4 24 David Dryburgh 120
5 16 Alistair Hart 112
6 25 Barry Holmes 103
7 33 Ian Maughan 78
8 74 Henry Lowson 42
9 36 Patrick Conroy 39
10 34 Ryan Stirling 34
11 51 Scott Addison 31
12 23 Chris Winter 21
13 26 Christopher Pass 12
14 60 Vitte Crolla 0
Baz
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Post by NS-R on Sept 28, 2004 6:13:43 GMT
Cheers guys - yeah, red cars must go faster! I just need to get a red racesuit, helmet, boots, nail polish erm - oops! See you all in a few weeks time at the 'hill... Cheers, Nick www.ns-r.co.uk |
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Post by TheRealDC on Sept 28, 2004 6:26:17 GMT
Nick
Never mind the make-up, go for red underwear. Rumour has it that Charlie's performance at Croft was assisted by a RED corset!!
Only kidding Charlie .... or am I???
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Post by NS-R on Sept 28, 2004 6:59:36 GMT
Charlie in a red corset - it would have to be the size of a red CORSA !  ;D ;D ;D (I think I might get a slap for that one...) Nick www.ns-r.co.uk |
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