Post by NS-R on Jul 31, 2007 10:17:06 GMT
Here you go - here's the report for the NSR sponsors - a great weekend for us - Stewart did the business in his first outing...
Cheers
Nick.
-------------
Ford Fiesta Championship – ‘French Connection’ weekend
Rounds 8 & 9
Croix-En-Ternois, France
Introduction
The BRSCC Ford Fiesta Championship made its annual trip to the French circuit at Croix-En-Ternois for Rounds 8 & 9, with a good turnout of 27 cars making the trip. In Class C, there were 4 Fiesta STs with Stewart Scott making his series debut, deputising for John Findlay who couldn’t make the journey due to work commitments.
The testing sessions were used to learn the circuit since neither Nick nor Stewart had visited Croix before and also for Stewart to get used to the handling of the Fiesta ST having previously only raced the Fiesta XR2 model in Scotland.
Qualifying
The qualifying session was on the Saturday lunchtime and 27 cars went out in good sunny conditions. Nick made an embarrassing start pushing too hard too soon and had a half spin at Virage de l’ecole, the only damage being to his pride!
Both Stewart and Nick then set about putting in quick laps and at the end of the session Nick put his Fiesta ST on the front row in 2nd place and Stewart put his in an excellent 7th place at the first attempt.
Ben Roper took pole position with the championship leading Fiesta ST of Dan Rose in 3rd place with an identical time to Nick to the thousandth of the second – Nick getting the 2nd position as he’d put the time in earlier in the session.
Qualifying Result
Nick Sanderson – Position 2nd – Fastest Lap 1:05.405
Stewart Scott – Position 7th – Fastest Lap 1:06.206
Round 8
Nick got a decent start from the grid but David Abbott got past in the lighter Si car. As Nick realised that Ben had the first corner, he slotted in behind to keep Dan Rose behind in 4th place. Stewart lost a couple of places on the run into the first corner and then set about making them back with some close dicing with the front running Si cars.
Nick had Dan Rose crawling all over his rear bumper for the first few laps but having got past David Abbott, he pulled out a small gap and set about closing down Ben Roper. The gap was coming down until Nick was on Ben’s bumper but Ben eased out a gap whilst passing some of the backmarkers in the Zetec cars.
Stewart continued to dice with the Si cars but had a moment at Virage de l’epingle whilst overtaking a backmarker who turned into the corner and the side of Stewart’s car, bending the wing and passenger door.
As this race was 25 minutes long, the tyres started to ‘go off’ and Nick struggled to continue pushing and had to settle for 2nd place, with Dan Rose closing on the last laps. Nick also took the fastest race lap and won the Fiesta ST driver of the day trophy.
Stewart made up some of his lost places and brought his car home in a creditable 9th place in his first Fiesta ST race.
Round 8 Result
Nick Sanderson – 2nd place overall (2nd in Fiesta ST Class) – Fastest Lap 1:05.243 (Overall Fastest Race Lap) – Fiesta ST Driver of the Day
Stewart Scott – 9th place overall (4th in Fiesta ST Class) – Fastest Lap 1:05.906
Round 9
The cars went out onto the circuit in variable conditions so we opted to go out on the full wet Dunlop tyres. Nick started on the front row of the grid in 2nd position with Stewart on the inside of the 5th row in 9th place. Nick got a great start and pulled half a car length in front of poleman Ben Roper but Ben kept his foot in to hold the lead into the first corner. Stewart also made a better start and held his position, with some of the Si cars losing control in the wet conditions, sliding into the gravel at the first corner.
Nick was chasing Ben for the lead but again had championship leader Dan Rose glued to his rear bumper. After a few laps, Nick opened up a gap from Dan after he’d made many lunges and set about closing down Ben. Mid-race, Nick was right on the rear of Ben’s car but again Ben opened up a gap whilst overtaking the backmarker Zetec cars.
Stewart was fighting hard with the leading Si cars and worked his way through the field. Dicing hard with series veterans Peter Daniels and David Abbott, Stewart made the place his own, moving up to 4th place overall.
Meanwhile, Dan Rose had dropped back from Nick, allowing him to challenge Ben but at the chequered flag, Ben took the win by 1.296 seconds. Stewart crossed the line in a very impressive 4th place overall in only his second outing in the borrowed Fiesta ST. Stewart fittingly won the Fiesta ST driver of the day trophy for a storming drive from 9th to 4th place. Nick missed the fastest race lap by one hundredth of a second to Ben.
Round 9 Result
Nick Sanderson – 2nd place overall (2nd in Fiesta ST class) – Fastest Lap 1:09.178
Stewart Scott – 4th place overall (4th in Fiesta ST class) – Fastest Lap 1:09.958 – Fiesta ST driver of the day.
Summary
The ‘French Connection’ weekend was a big success for the Kempster Ford / Orion Engineering backed cars with solid results for both cars. Stewart has bought a new Fiesta ST for conversion into race trim with the intention of being ready to race at the final rounds at Brands Hatch. Iain Cowie who runs the cars is also in the process of buying another Fiesta ST so the team should have four cars by the end of the season.
The Fiesta race also set a record with the largest grid at Croix-En-Ternois (27 cars) and the French circuit made us all very welcome. The BRSCC should be commended for their hard work in arranging this event with the Ford Saloons also enjoying the meeting.
The next rounds are at Rockingham in three weeks time where John Findlay will return to the championship. This meeting is the RSOC (RS Owners Club) meeting with an estimated attendance of 15,000 spectators!
Current Standings
Total Championship Points Points with two ‘dropped scores’*
Position Name Points Position Name Points
1 Daniel Rose 135 1 Daniel Rose 109
2 Ben Roper 113 2 Ben Roper 103
3 Nick Sanderson 89 3 Nick Sanderson 89
4 John Findlay 59 4 John Findlay 59
5 Richard Kemp 37 5 Richard Kemp 37
6 Stewart Scott 24 6 Stewart Scott 24
*All rounds score points but the final total is all rounds minus two ‘dropped scores’ (best 13 results from 15 rounds count).
Cheers
Nick.
-------------
Ford Fiesta Championship – ‘French Connection’ weekend
Rounds 8 & 9
Croix-En-Ternois, France
Introduction
The BRSCC Ford Fiesta Championship made its annual trip to the French circuit at Croix-En-Ternois for Rounds 8 & 9, with a good turnout of 27 cars making the trip. In Class C, there were 4 Fiesta STs with Stewart Scott making his series debut, deputising for John Findlay who couldn’t make the journey due to work commitments.
The testing sessions were used to learn the circuit since neither Nick nor Stewart had visited Croix before and also for Stewart to get used to the handling of the Fiesta ST having previously only raced the Fiesta XR2 model in Scotland.
Qualifying
The qualifying session was on the Saturday lunchtime and 27 cars went out in good sunny conditions. Nick made an embarrassing start pushing too hard too soon and had a half spin at Virage de l’ecole, the only damage being to his pride!
Both Stewart and Nick then set about putting in quick laps and at the end of the session Nick put his Fiesta ST on the front row in 2nd place and Stewart put his in an excellent 7th place at the first attempt.
Ben Roper took pole position with the championship leading Fiesta ST of Dan Rose in 3rd place with an identical time to Nick to the thousandth of the second – Nick getting the 2nd position as he’d put the time in earlier in the session.
Qualifying Result
Nick Sanderson – Position 2nd – Fastest Lap 1:05.405
Stewart Scott – Position 7th – Fastest Lap 1:06.206
Round 8
Nick got a decent start from the grid but David Abbott got past in the lighter Si car. As Nick realised that Ben had the first corner, he slotted in behind to keep Dan Rose behind in 4th place. Stewart lost a couple of places on the run into the first corner and then set about making them back with some close dicing with the front running Si cars.
Nick had Dan Rose crawling all over his rear bumper for the first few laps but having got past David Abbott, he pulled out a small gap and set about closing down Ben Roper. The gap was coming down until Nick was on Ben’s bumper but Ben eased out a gap whilst passing some of the backmarkers in the Zetec cars.
Stewart continued to dice with the Si cars but had a moment at Virage de l’epingle whilst overtaking a backmarker who turned into the corner and the side of Stewart’s car, bending the wing and passenger door.
As this race was 25 minutes long, the tyres started to ‘go off’ and Nick struggled to continue pushing and had to settle for 2nd place, with Dan Rose closing on the last laps. Nick also took the fastest race lap and won the Fiesta ST driver of the day trophy.
Stewart made up some of his lost places and brought his car home in a creditable 9th place in his first Fiesta ST race.
Round 8 Result
Nick Sanderson – 2nd place overall (2nd in Fiesta ST Class) – Fastest Lap 1:05.243 (Overall Fastest Race Lap) – Fiesta ST Driver of the Day
Stewart Scott – 9th place overall (4th in Fiesta ST Class) – Fastest Lap 1:05.906
Round 9
The cars went out onto the circuit in variable conditions so we opted to go out on the full wet Dunlop tyres. Nick started on the front row of the grid in 2nd position with Stewart on the inside of the 5th row in 9th place. Nick got a great start and pulled half a car length in front of poleman Ben Roper but Ben kept his foot in to hold the lead into the first corner. Stewart also made a better start and held his position, with some of the Si cars losing control in the wet conditions, sliding into the gravel at the first corner.
Nick was chasing Ben for the lead but again had championship leader Dan Rose glued to his rear bumper. After a few laps, Nick opened up a gap from Dan after he’d made many lunges and set about closing down Ben. Mid-race, Nick was right on the rear of Ben’s car but again Ben opened up a gap whilst overtaking the backmarker Zetec cars.
Stewart was fighting hard with the leading Si cars and worked his way through the field. Dicing hard with series veterans Peter Daniels and David Abbott, Stewart made the place his own, moving up to 4th place overall.
Meanwhile, Dan Rose had dropped back from Nick, allowing him to challenge Ben but at the chequered flag, Ben took the win by 1.296 seconds. Stewart crossed the line in a very impressive 4th place overall in only his second outing in the borrowed Fiesta ST. Stewart fittingly won the Fiesta ST driver of the day trophy for a storming drive from 9th to 4th place. Nick missed the fastest race lap by one hundredth of a second to Ben.
Round 9 Result
Nick Sanderson – 2nd place overall (2nd in Fiesta ST class) – Fastest Lap 1:09.178
Stewart Scott – 4th place overall (4th in Fiesta ST class) – Fastest Lap 1:09.958 – Fiesta ST driver of the day.
Summary
The ‘French Connection’ weekend was a big success for the Kempster Ford / Orion Engineering backed cars with solid results for both cars. Stewart has bought a new Fiesta ST for conversion into race trim with the intention of being ready to race at the final rounds at Brands Hatch. Iain Cowie who runs the cars is also in the process of buying another Fiesta ST so the team should have four cars by the end of the season.
The Fiesta race also set a record with the largest grid at Croix-En-Ternois (27 cars) and the French circuit made us all very welcome. The BRSCC should be commended for their hard work in arranging this event with the Ford Saloons also enjoying the meeting.
The next rounds are at Rockingham in three weeks time where John Findlay will return to the championship. This meeting is the RSOC (RS Owners Club) meeting with an estimated attendance of 15,000 spectators!
Current Standings
Total Championship Points Points with two ‘dropped scores’*
Position Name Points Position Name Points
1 Daniel Rose 135 1 Daniel Rose 109
2 Ben Roper 113 2 Ben Roper 103
3 Nick Sanderson 89 3 Nick Sanderson 89
4 John Findlay 59 4 John Findlay 59
5 Richard Kemp 37 5 Richard Kemp 37
6 Stewart Scott 24 6 Stewart Scott 24
*All rounds score points but the final total is all rounds minus two ‘dropped scores’ (best 13 results from 15 rounds count).
