Post by Catriona on Sept 14, 2003 19:38:00 GMT
Right, time for a more complete report now I suspect we're going to have several rather unhappy drivers around here after today's races, as sadly Lance's result was really the only particularly good thing for the drivers on this forum, while a few of them have big repair bills
The best racing of the day for the people here was definitely the Legends - myself and KF arrived just as the first race was about to start, and immediately had a nice surprise to see Gary back out - we caught up with him in the paddock, and he told us he's missed the last few meetings due to lack of funds, and the fact that he keeps getting minor damage from other cars, which makes it too expensive for him. He looked a little out of practice, but still raced well in the midfield for much of the time, as well as having some fun powersliding through the hairpin!
Alasdair had a great race in the first heat, getting 9th place in the end, I think (was that your first top ten?) - well deserved place there, after a great race Btw, I noticed the Legends grid system has altered slightly, so that the new drivers are at the very back, while the drivers who choose to start from the back are now in a middle grid of their own - is this likely to be a permanent thing? It's a good idea, anyway, as I always thought some of the drivers who choose to start from the back are too good to be in among total newcomers
And onto the star of the day - Lance had a broken halfshaft early in race 1, sadly, which ended his race, but he had a great race to finish second in race 2. The DNF in race 1 put him on the front row for the final, and he led it all the way - fantastic performance, and a very well-deserved win. Here's hoping it's the first of many!
Almost forgot to mention that as this was the last appearance for the Legends this year, the championship was decided. Colin Noble and Jamie Clarke were very close through the first two races, but sadly something broke in Noble's suspension early in the final, dumping him in the gravel at the hairpin. Really bad luck for him to lose the championship that way, as I'm sure everyone would have liked to see the fight go to the end of the race, but in the end, Clarke has had a great season, so he deserves to win the championship
The XR2s were a big contrast to the Legends, as far as the luck for our drivers went - we have eight who contribute on these forums, but sadly only four of those even made the races, after Russell's testing accident, while Barry and the Moon River cars didn't show at all.
I suspect John wishes he hadn't run, as well, as I think his new car has met a premature death... from what we've heard of the incident, Nick got it sideways through the chicane, and John hit him in the driver's door. Peter Cruickshank had nowhere to go and piled into the back of John's car, resulting in a Fiesta that's about two feet shorter than it should be. I'm no expert on cars, but it didn't look very repairable Though considering the terrible luck he's had with that car, maybe John won't be so sorry to see the back of it....
Nick's day wasn't much better, as he came out of race one with a 12th place finish (he worked his way up to 7th after the accident with John, but spun on the last lap), a huge dent in his door and a wonky right rear wheel. Plenty of hammering and magic tank tape later, the car was looking considerably better for race two, but that didn't last too long, as someone hit him from behind and knocked the exhaust off, so that was his race over.
Norm is the only one of our drivers to have got away without much in the way of damage, but he seemed to be having some trouble with the damp track in race one, especially at the hairpin, where we saw him spin a couple of times. Race two was better in that he kept it pointing the right way as far as we could see, but he seemed to be struggling for pace a lot
Derek had a far better day than most people, though - in race one he got punted off into the tyres in front of us, suffering some damage to his front end (luckily it seemed mostly cosmetic). He got going again, and picked up enough places to finish in 14th, so getting a couple of points. In race two, he was very competitive, running in the top ten for several laps, and always keeping in touch with the cars ahead of him. He eventually got passed by a group of faster cars who'd started down the field for various reasons, but he crossed the line in 13th, well on the pace, so a great performance from him
Haven't had a lot to say about the front of the field, seeing as none of our drivers were near it, but in race one, Finlay Mickel took pole, spun off on lap one, then worked his way up the field to win anyway, as most other people had problems - Sandy Forrest had mechanical trouble, Ian Forrest was mysteriously off the pace, Andy Allan fell off, Nick was involved in several incidents... in fact it was only really the Burnbrae cars who didn't have any trouble (um, if you don't count Stewart Scott, who seemed to be involved in a few things )!
Race 2 was a great battle between Ian Forrest and the top three Burnbrae cars - Colville led for a while, before making a mistake at McIntyres which let Forrest, Robertson and Martin through, and that was how it finished in the end. Ian Forrest now has a 20-point lead in the championship, so it looks like he'll probably win it, but there should still be some good battles out there next time out... assuming most people can get their cars repaired and back out!
The FFord race was another disaster zone for our drivers... Duncan didn't finish (not sure why), while Alan was taken off by his teammate, and lost a couple of laps getting repairs in the pits... Cannon and Adam were well on the pace again, and this time got a one-two finish - very impressive driving from them, and it makes a change to see the normal order of things turned around like this!
The MGs were good fun to see (TL, you're an idiot to miss this ) - those things aren't slow, and for all that there were three different kinds of car out there, they were all very competitive with each other, and the racing was very close. Anthony Reid showed exactly why he's been in the BTCC for the last five years, and won both races, but he had to fight for them, so it definitely wasn't a case of him just running away with it. Colin Turkington finished second in race one, but retired from race two with a mechanical problem. Have to say it's great to see a couple of touring car drivers around the place again, especially Reid, who's been around for some time now - he said in an interview that he thinks the chances of the BTCC returning to Knockhill next year are good, btw, so here's hoping we see him again soon
The best racing of the day for the people here was definitely the Legends - myself and KF arrived just as the first race was about to start, and immediately had a nice surprise to see Gary back out - we caught up with him in the paddock, and he told us he's missed the last few meetings due to lack of funds, and the fact that he keeps getting minor damage from other cars, which makes it too expensive for him. He looked a little out of practice, but still raced well in the midfield for much of the time, as well as having some fun powersliding through the hairpin!
Alasdair had a great race in the first heat, getting 9th place in the end, I think (was that your first top ten?) - well deserved place there, after a great race Btw, I noticed the Legends grid system has altered slightly, so that the new drivers are at the very back, while the drivers who choose to start from the back are now in a middle grid of their own - is this likely to be a permanent thing? It's a good idea, anyway, as I always thought some of the drivers who choose to start from the back are too good to be in among total newcomers
And onto the star of the day - Lance had a broken halfshaft early in race 1, sadly, which ended his race, but he had a great race to finish second in race 2. The DNF in race 1 put him on the front row for the final, and he led it all the way - fantastic performance, and a very well-deserved win. Here's hoping it's the first of many!
Almost forgot to mention that as this was the last appearance for the Legends this year, the championship was decided. Colin Noble and Jamie Clarke were very close through the first two races, but sadly something broke in Noble's suspension early in the final, dumping him in the gravel at the hairpin. Really bad luck for him to lose the championship that way, as I'm sure everyone would have liked to see the fight go to the end of the race, but in the end, Clarke has had a great season, so he deserves to win the championship
The XR2s were a big contrast to the Legends, as far as the luck for our drivers went - we have eight who contribute on these forums, but sadly only four of those even made the races, after Russell's testing accident, while Barry and the Moon River cars didn't show at all.
I suspect John wishes he hadn't run, as well, as I think his new car has met a premature death... from what we've heard of the incident, Nick got it sideways through the chicane, and John hit him in the driver's door. Peter Cruickshank had nowhere to go and piled into the back of John's car, resulting in a Fiesta that's about two feet shorter than it should be. I'm no expert on cars, but it didn't look very repairable Though considering the terrible luck he's had with that car, maybe John won't be so sorry to see the back of it....
Nick's day wasn't much better, as he came out of race one with a 12th place finish (he worked his way up to 7th after the accident with John, but spun on the last lap), a huge dent in his door and a wonky right rear wheel. Plenty of hammering and magic tank tape later, the car was looking considerably better for race two, but that didn't last too long, as someone hit him from behind and knocked the exhaust off, so that was his race over.
Norm is the only one of our drivers to have got away without much in the way of damage, but he seemed to be having some trouble with the damp track in race one, especially at the hairpin, where we saw him spin a couple of times. Race two was better in that he kept it pointing the right way as far as we could see, but he seemed to be struggling for pace a lot
Derek had a far better day than most people, though - in race one he got punted off into the tyres in front of us, suffering some damage to his front end (luckily it seemed mostly cosmetic). He got going again, and picked up enough places to finish in 14th, so getting a couple of points. In race two, he was very competitive, running in the top ten for several laps, and always keeping in touch with the cars ahead of him. He eventually got passed by a group of faster cars who'd started down the field for various reasons, but he crossed the line in 13th, well on the pace, so a great performance from him
Haven't had a lot to say about the front of the field, seeing as none of our drivers were near it, but in race one, Finlay Mickel took pole, spun off on lap one, then worked his way up the field to win anyway, as most other people had problems - Sandy Forrest had mechanical trouble, Ian Forrest was mysteriously off the pace, Andy Allan fell off, Nick was involved in several incidents... in fact it was only really the Burnbrae cars who didn't have any trouble (um, if you don't count Stewart Scott, who seemed to be involved in a few things )!
Race 2 was a great battle between Ian Forrest and the top three Burnbrae cars - Colville led for a while, before making a mistake at McIntyres which let Forrest, Robertson and Martin through, and that was how it finished in the end. Ian Forrest now has a 20-point lead in the championship, so it looks like he'll probably win it, but there should still be some good battles out there next time out... assuming most people can get their cars repaired and back out!
The FFord race was another disaster zone for our drivers... Duncan didn't finish (not sure why), while Alan was taken off by his teammate, and lost a couple of laps getting repairs in the pits... Cannon and Adam were well on the pace again, and this time got a one-two finish - very impressive driving from them, and it makes a change to see the normal order of things turned around like this!
The MGs were good fun to see (TL, you're an idiot to miss this ) - those things aren't slow, and for all that there were three different kinds of car out there, they were all very competitive with each other, and the racing was very close. Anthony Reid showed exactly why he's been in the BTCC for the last five years, and won both races, but he had to fight for them, so it definitely wasn't a case of him just running away with it. Colin Turkington finished second in race one, but retired from race two with a mechanical problem. Have to say it's great to see a couple of touring car drivers around the place again, especially Reid, who's been around for some time now - he said in an interview that he thinks the chances of the BTCC returning to Knockhill next year are good, btw, so here's hoping we see him again soon