Post by Catriona on Jun 17, 2010 12:21:33 GMT
(Originally posted 3rd September 2007)
The Scottish Legends Championship guest-starred on the British Touring Car support this weekend and didn't disappoint, three races of high drama being provided. The first heat on Saturday afternoon was brought to an early halt when a coming-together at the top of Duffus left several cars off track and debris everywhere, leading to a red flag. The five lap restart saw Ben Mason and Dave Newsham battle for the win, Mason taking the victory by a hair's breadth. Gerard McCosh and John Higgins followed closely home, Andrew Donald leading home a large group of cars to take fifth.
The second heat on Sunday morning kicked off a day of high profile racing which would see a BTCC win for Gordon Shedden and Jonathan Adam taking the SEAT Cupra Cup Championship. On a sodden track with a lot of spray in the air, Carol Brown made the most of her talents in such conditions by taking an early lead. With John Higgins quickly catching up she didn't put up too much of a fight when he came by but soon found she was a match for him on the slippery surface, getting alongside on the run to the flag but missing out on the win by the tiniest of margins. Newsham finished a distant third with Frank Hynds and Dave Thorburn fighting hard over fifth. Ben Mason suffered an off at the hairpin that would damage his chances in the overall standings for the day, leaving him 21st of the massive 25 car field at the end.
The final took place with the live TV cameras rolling and gorgeous sunshine bathing the circuit in front of a massive and possibly slightly bemused crowd who had stayed on after the Touring Car race and they witnessed a crazy first lap with major shuffling of the order in which Dave Thorburn and Ali Thom took the initial lead. After his poor second heat, Mason was starting further up than some of the other front runners and soon found himself in third, the Setanta commentators unable to believe the action they were watching. Mason quickly took the point with Dave Newsham closing him down and eventually passing on lap 7 with Higgins grabbing third from Thorburn. Mason followed Newsham closely to the flag but couldn't make the move, crossing the line just behind his rival. Higgins took third with Thorburn fourth and Alex Knight fifth. All twenty-five starters made it to the chequered flag to keep the crowd entertained with battles all the way through, followed by the whole field showing their appreciation to the people who had stayed behind to watch with waving and a few donuts!
From a Legends point of view, it was a brilliant weekend with a huge amount of interest shown by the public both during the races and in the paddock, the little cars turning a few heads. I even met someone who had done the Legends Experience in my No.60 car! Huge thanks have to go to the Grattan and Hynds group for putting up sponsorship for the Legends side of the meeting and for making the entry much more affordable for the drivers, the SMRC for making their conference room overlooking the pitlane available to Legends drivers and their guests (great views of the Touring Car qualifying and pit activity on Saturday) as well as Aly Hunter and his crew of ever hard-working staff who organised a great weekend and kept all the cars in full working order, even when there were many repairs required on Saturday night!
It's all summed up by what Aly himself said on Sunday evening when a kid with a broken chunk of Stevie Coull's car showed up at the garage looking for drivers to sign it - "We've made it!"
The Scottish Legends Championship guest-starred on the British Touring Car support this weekend and didn't disappoint, three races of high drama being provided. The first heat on Saturday afternoon was brought to an early halt when a coming-together at the top of Duffus left several cars off track and debris everywhere, leading to a red flag. The five lap restart saw Ben Mason and Dave Newsham battle for the win, Mason taking the victory by a hair's breadth. Gerard McCosh and John Higgins followed closely home, Andrew Donald leading home a large group of cars to take fifth.
The second heat on Sunday morning kicked off a day of high profile racing which would see a BTCC win for Gordon Shedden and Jonathan Adam taking the SEAT Cupra Cup Championship. On a sodden track with a lot of spray in the air, Carol Brown made the most of her talents in such conditions by taking an early lead. With John Higgins quickly catching up she didn't put up too much of a fight when he came by but soon found she was a match for him on the slippery surface, getting alongside on the run to the flag but missing out on the win by the tiniest of margins. Newsham finished a distant third with Frank Hynds and Dave Thorburn fighting hard over fifth. Ben Mason suffered an off at the hairpin that would damage his chances in the overall standings for the day, leaving him 21st of the massive 25 car field at the end.
The final took place with the live TV cameras rolling and gorgeous sunshine bathing the circuit in front of a massive and possibly slightly bemused crowd who had stayed on after the Touring Car race and they witnessed a crazy first lap with major shuffling of the order in which Dave Thorburn and Ali Thom took the initial lead. After his poor second heat, Mason was starting further up than some of the other front runners and soon found himself in third, the Setanta commentators unable to believe the action they were watching. Mason quickly took the point with Dave Newsham closing him down and eventually passing on lap 7 with Higgins grabbing third from Thorburn. Mason followed Newsham closely to the flag but couldn't make the move, crossing the line just behind his rival. Higgins took third with Thorburn fourth and Alex Knight fifth. All twenty-five starters made it to the chequered flag to keep the crowd entertained with battles all the way through, followed by the whole field showing their appreciation to the people who had stayed behind to watch with waving and a few donuts!
From a Legends point of view, it was a brilliant weekend with a huge amount of interest shown by the public both during the races and in the paddock, the little cars turning a few heads. I even met someone who had done the Legends Experience in my No.60 car! Huge thanks have to go to the Grattan and Hynds group for putting up sponsorship for the Legends side of the meeting and for making the entry much more affordable for the drivers, the SMRC for making their conference room overlooking the pitlane available to Legends drivers and their guests (great views of the Touring Car qualifying and pit activity on Saturday) as well as Aly Hunter and his crew of ever hard-working staff who organised a great weekend and kept all the cars in full working order, even when there were many repairs required on Saturday night!
It's all summed up by what Aly himself said on Sunday evening when a kid with a broken chunk of Stevie Coull's car showed up at the garage looking for drivers to sign it - "We've made it!"