Round 1
Round 2
Points
Round 1- Mornington Park- 12/3/24
1st - Callan Thomas
2nd - John Batich
3rd - Mal O'May
1st - Callan Thomas
2nd - John Batich
3rd - Mal O'May
Racing Report - Round 1
It was to whoops of excitement & palpable anticipation that we turned up this week for the first round of the new series of Cartrix Grand Prix cars.
Even without the presence of the two most vocal supporters of this class (DB & Phil), those of us who were in attendance heard nothing but delighted comments coming from the likes of Rob Golley & Bruce Thomas as we prepared to start the first heat……..
Or maybe not.
In actual fact, there seemed to be an awful lot of pre-race complaining & excuse making from many of the drivers, the reasons for which are not entirely obvious to the writer. Bruce was even heard making up reasons why this class couldn’t be run at Gotham Park the following week!
The results of the racing tonight speak for themselves however, with most of the field covered by less than 10 laps difference. So - close racing – tick.
Callan was also one of the vocal critics of the series in pre-race banter, ironically once the racing started it was Callan who proceeded to drive the wheels off his double podded Lancia D50 and racked up a total of 109 laps to take out the first round by a clear 4 laps. In 2nd place on 105 laps, the smooth driving style of the wily JB propelled his Gordini up into the top 3 this week, 1 lap clear of a 2 way battle for 2nd. Both the writer & Adrian Gray finished on 104 laps over the 3 heats, but it was the BRM of Stirling Moss (aka – myself) who took the 3rd place on track position……even though there was some ribbing about the re-placement position of my car after heat 2!.
Adrians 104 laps locked him into 4th, a single lap clear of the Bruce Thomas & Rhys Filbee battle for 5th & 6th on 103 laps. Bruce took this one out on track position from Rhys in 6th.
Rob Golley, despite his derogatory comments on the series, still drove well enough to rack up 102 laps & finish a commendable 7th, which was in turn 3 laps clear of 8th placegetter Scott Wyman on 99 laps. Scott car also looks well balanced & should improve over the series.
Schoee was next in line inside the top 10 in 9th with his total of 94 laps, with Dave Gray rounding out the top 10 on 87 laps & Thomas Males in 11th on 82 laps.
So after round 1, there will be a short break from this series before round 2 comes around, which gives drivers a little time to take stock of the opening round performances & fettle anything that needs attending too.
It was to whoops of excitement & palpable anticipation that we turned up this week for the first round of the new series of Cartrix Grand Prix cars.
Even without the presence of the two most vocal supporters of this class (DB & Phil), those of us who were in attendance heard nothing but delighted comments coming from the likes of Rob Golley & Bruce Thomas as we prepared to start the first heat……..
Or maybe not.
In actual fact, there seemed to be an awful lot of pre-race complaining & excuse making from many of the drivers, the reasons for which are not entirely obvious to the writer. Bruce was even heard making up reasons why this class couldn’t be run at Gotham Park the following week!
The results of the racing tonight speak for themselves however, with most of the field covered by less than 10 laps difference. So - close racing – tick.
Callan was also one of the vocal critics of the series in pre-race banter, ironically once the racing started it was Callan who proceeded to drive the wheels off his double podded Lancia D50 and racked up a total of 109 laps to take out the first round by a clear 4 laps. In 2nd place on 105 laps, the smooth driving style of the wily JB propelled his Gordini up into the top 3 this week, 1 lap clear of a 2 way battle for 2nd. Both the writer & Adrian Gray finished on 104 laps over the 3 heats, but it was the BRM of Stirling Moss (aka – myself) who took the 3rd place on track position……even though there was some ribbing about the re-placement position of my car after heat 2!.
Adrians 104 laps locked him into 4th, a single lap clear of the Bruce Thomas & Rhys Filbee battle for 5th & 6th on 103 laps. Bruce took this one out on track position from Rhys in 6th.
Rob Golley, despite his derogatory comments on the series, still drove well enough to rack up 102 laps & finish a commendable 7th, which was in turn 3 laps clear of 8th placegetter Scott Wyman on 99 laps. Scott car also looks well balanced & should improve over the series.
Schoee was next in line inside the top 10 in 9th with his total of 94 laps, with Dave Gray rounding out the top 10 on 87 laps & Thomas Males in 11th on 82 laps.
So after round 1, there will be a short break from this series before round 2 comes around, which gives drivers a little time to take stock of the opening round performances & fettle anything that needs attending too.
Round 2 - Schumacher Park- 14/3/24
1st - Callan Thomas
2nd - Adrian Gray
3rd - Phil Kalbfell
1st - Callan Thomas
2nd - Adrian Gray
3rd - Phil Kalbfell