All Images courtesy of Jon Elsey Photography
An incident packed weekend at the Lincolnshire circuit….
Cadwell Park Round 5, 6 & 7.
After a 6 week break from racing since the last round at Brands Hatch many drivers took the opportunity during Friday testing to get reacquainted with their cars and find the quickest lines around the challenging Cadwell Park Circuit in Lincolnshire before what would be an incident packed weekend’s racing began.
Unfortunately the fast, twisting nature of the circuit caught out our driver’s representative Ray Worley who suffered a big off at Charlies corner, requiring an overnight visit to hospital. A testament to the strength and safety of the MX5 SuperCup cars is that Ray was back and in the paddock the next day, but would take no further part in the weekends racing.
Saturday
Qualifying
An early 9.30 start for qualifying meant the track had not had time to fully dry following morning drizzle, leaving drivers with a tricky decision on set-up. As the cars circulated the track surface changed each lap with some corners bone dry by the end of the session while areas beneath the trees like Hall bends stayed wet.
Best lap times came towards the end of the session with all drivers pushing hard right to the last as track conditions improved, Tom Roche grabbed pole by 0.8 of a second with a wild but quick lap. Championship Leader Mike Comber going second, followed by Matt Davies then David Chapman in 4th. The changing conditions meant the line between a fast time and being on the grass was a fine one, a number of drivers taking minor excursions. Despite the conditions the qualifying times remained tight right down the grid, the top 10 covered by just 2 seconds setting the scene for race 1 just after lunch.
Race 1
Breezy conditions had dried the circuit from the morning session meaning a fully dry race could get underway. From the lights Roche led away, Comber going with him and Davies slipping into 3rd. During the opening laps the front 3 positions stayed settled, Roche and Comber edging away at the front while Davies was followed closely by Abbie Eaton. Behind this a group of cars circulated together , Paul Sheard, David Chapman and Liam Murphy all fighting for position. Cadwell Park is notoriously difficult to overtake round but on lap 5 Eaton made a brave move stick on the run up the hill out of coppice to take 3rd from Davies, however a mistake further round the lap would see her drop down the order once again following a trip across the grass.
The unconventional grass route down the Goose Neck….
The battle for 3rd place had closed up with Sheard and Chapman pressing Davies for the position, again though an uncharacteristic error from Sheard (possibly due to suspension breakage) gave Davies breathing space but also allowed Murphy to slip passed Chapman into 4th.
At the front Comber had begun to apply pressure to leader Roche, closing the gap to just 0.4 of a second over the line on lap 9. Roche was pushing hard to stay ahead, which lead to a wheel on the grass on turn in to Charlies, sending Roche slithering across the damp grass and into the tyres. Comber took the lead but Roche re-joined still in second. With Comber long gone Roche’s car was looking worse for wear and exhaust was sparking along the tarmac. Davies closed on Roche but was unable to take advantage crossing the line a close 3rd just ahead of Murphy in 4th.
Tom Roche makes a rare mistake….
A strong drive from Darren Standing gained him 5 places, finishing 7th from a starting position of 12th while newcomer Garry Townsend in his first outing finished ahead of the two MGA Motorsport cars of Peter and Nicola Gillat. Nicola was unfortunate to make contact with the tyre wall after being touched by one of the lead cars as it lapped her on the very narrow approach to the final corner on the final lap. An innocent victim, she nevertheless managed to get her car across the line to register as a finisher.
Fastest lap and new championship lap record went to race winner Mike Comber with a 1.42.2 set on lap 4.
Sunday
Race 2
Another early start and again changeable conditions greeted the drivers for race 2 of the weekend. This time a dry line right around the circuit but damp patches either side would make it even harder to overtake. Drivers lined up in finishing order from race one except for a 4 place grid penalty for rapidly improving Liam Murphy which would make things difficult for him.
Hall Bends remain scarily wet for much of the weekend…
As the lights went out on the damp grid Roche made the better start, Comber into second as they entered Park straight. Chapman (promoted onto the second row of the grid) got ahead of Davies into third who was also overtaken by Eaton at the top of Coppice.
6 laps in and Roche’s race one accident came back to haunt him when he was forced to retire from the lead due to exhaust issues but not before setting what would remain the fastest lap of the race. This allowed Comber who was running a close second to inherit the lead and take a comfortable win from Chapman who also had a quiet race in 2nd position. The battle for the final podium spot came down to a close race between Eaton and Davies, Eaton’s first lap move giving her the upper hand as the two pulled away from chasing Bardwell. Side by side a number of times and nose to tail for the length of the race Eaton held on with a fault free drive under pressure.
A tight race between, Rob Way, Chris Lord and John Davies saw the 3 drivers cross the line separated by less than a second in the push for 8th place and novice car racer George Line pipped Murphy across the line just a little further up the road in 6th.
Trouble for Sheard prior to the start and an off track excursion for Standing meant they would join Roche towards the back of the grid for the final race of the weekend.
Race 3
The final race was back to full dry conditions out on circuit. With no Roche alongside him Comber made the best getaway leading Chapman into the first turn, Davies heading Eaton in third. The expectation was that Comber would pull away but Chapman, whose pace had improved throughout the weekend, went with him and kept Comber honest for the opening half of the race. Chapman in-fact took fastest lap but his challenge faded as Combers superior set-up and consistency gave him the edge in the latter stages.
Davies, running in third, broke away from Eaton who herself was soon caught by the hard charging Roche and Murphy alongside George Line and Bardwell who were also vying for fourth place. After some close stuff on the narrow circuit Roche and Murphy made a break and began to close down third place Davies.
With the last lap board out Roche, followed by Murphy was on Davies’ back bumper searching for a way past but a tough defensive line saw Davies still ahead at the last time into hall bends which are well known for being single file, one car at a time only. At this point, and exactly as in race 1 the trio came across the unfortunate Nicola Gillat who was a lap down. There was no way past for Davies, who had to slow, and the concertina effect resulted in nose to tail contact down the queue. Davies and Gillat were both sent across the grass by the collision, Davies losing third place to Roche in the process and Gillat becoming an innocent victim for the second time in the weekend. Roche emerged from the trees with a badly damaged front bumper to take third ahead of Murphy, with Davies recovering to take to fifth.
Davies and Roche catch No.8 at the narrowest point on the circuit…
……and then Davies loses 3rd place.
All drivers (if not their cars!) finished in one piece after an intense weekend’s racing on the most challenging circuit in the country and only 2 seconds on lap time covering down to 13th position Darren Standing in the final race.
If the weather didn’t live up to expectations at Cadwell then the racing certainly did. The pace was frantic and the tough nature of the circuit certainly played to the strengths of the MX5 mk3 race cars. Mike Comber completes the hat-trick of wins at Cadwell to make it 6 out of 7 for the season and with no single driver able to consistently challenge him at each meeting so far his championship progress continues. However with more than half the season still to run and the likes of Brands Hatch race winner Chapman and pole sitter Roche right on the pace anything could happen.
The next meeting is at Snetterton 200 on 12/13th July.
Championship Standing: – http://www.mx5supercup.co.uk/standings
Full Cadwell Park Results:- http://www.tsl-timing.com/brscc/2014/142432xsc.pdf
The only view most drivers had of Comber all weekend….
