I travelled the well worn path to TORCH again at the weekend, but this time for one of the more important meetings of the year, the BRCA End Of Season Finals for F2s Juniors and the old boys, the Vets, amongst whom I reluctantly count myself.
This was an important meeting for the TORCH boys as it was a chance to prove they are capable of hosting a National level meeting, with all that this entails.
(Click on any pic for photo gallery.)
Despite the online whinging from some of the more northern drivers the turnout was excellent with what appeared to be a full entry, so full that I didn't make it in to the 2wd race on the Saturday and had to settle for a place in one of the ten 4wd heats on Sunday.
It makes a nice change for one of these big events to be held 'darn sarf'.
I arrived early Sunday morning to a campsite full of bleary eyed Saturday racers emerging from their tents recovering from the previous evenings shenanigans, looks like I missed out on a goodun!
The track had been beautifully prepared, as usual, with yet another new layout, to spice things up even further todays meeting was to be run anti clockwise.
Great, I can just about get round the right way!
We had been blessed with good weather so with an early start getting through the busy timetable should be plain sailing with Paul Worsley from the BRCA at the helm.
I was in heat one so was still wiping the sleep from my eyes when I hit the track.
Clear skies meant the day started chilly, hoodies and jackets were very much the order of the day. They would be replaced by shorts and sun cream by mid afternoon however when the temps climbed into the mid twenties.
After the dust settled on the first couple of rounds of qualifying I was pleased to find that today was not going to be the embarrassment I had feared as I was posting reasonable times.
My personal goal for the day was to make the 'B' final so after four rounds of qualifying I was pleased and satisfied to find myself at B8.
Yay for me!
Time to down sticks and have some lunch.
Catering was taken care of by the regular burger meisters . . .
Most seemed pretty happy with what was on offer . . .
A guilty look, is that allowed Rob?
With everybody fed and watered it was time to crack on with the finals.
David Church took up the mike and proceeded to entertain the masses with good commentary and poor jokes, good job DC.
Local lads took care of the scrutineering which was stricter than most regionals but nowhere near as pedantic as a touring car national.
Battery voltage was this weeks favourite flavour.
Mark Sadler has a very special way of coaxing the most out of his lad Mason, subtle it aint.
It worked though as he went home clutching silverware on Saturday but narrowly missed out on Sunday with 4th in the U16 class.
The spectators were treated to some quality driving throughout the classes.
I made a couple of changes to my car that didn't work quite as I'd hoped and meant I struggled a little in my final.
I was still fairly happy with a 7th place finish in the 'B'.
Steve Brown needs to make more room in his trophy cabinet after winning the 2wd on Saturday and making 3rd on Sunday in 4wd.
Tony E had a decent weekend and took the honours in the Vets class.
James B should have looked happier as a Vets 'A' finalist.
Trish talks set up with Steve Ibbotson in an effort to get Schumacher to the top of the results sheet, Steve managed a none to shabby 6th overall in F2.
The marshalling bibs are a one size fits all solution.
Your 'A' final grid, most manufacturers were represented.
The overall F2 result.
Pos
|
Car
|
Name
|
Result
|
Avrg Lap
|
Best Lap
|
Formula
|
Driver Type
|
1 | 1 | Ed Kerry | 2 [ 1 2 1 - 12/ 302.16 ] | 25.18 | 0.00 (0) | F2 | Senior |
2 | 2 | Tony Bishop | 4 [ 3 1 7 - 12/ 312.40 ] | 26.03 | 0.00 (0) | F2 | Senior |
3 | 4 | Steve Brown | 6 [ 2 4 5 - 12/ 312.17 ] | 26.01 | 0.00 (0) | F2 | Senior |
4 | 7 | Chris Lake | 8 [ 6 6 2 - 12/ 313.81 ] | 26.15 | 0.00 (0) | F2 | Senior |
5 | 3 | Richard Drury | 8 [ 5 5 3 - 12/ 316.56 ] | 26.38 | 0.00 (0) | F2 | Senior |
6 | 5 | Stephen Ibbotson | 8 [ 4 7 4 - 12/ 316.60 ] | 26.38 | 0.00 (0) | F3 | Senior |
7 | 8 | Chris Bowater | 9 [ 8 3 6 - 12/ 319.36 ] | 26.61 | 0.00 (0) | F2 | Senior |
8 | 9 | Daniel Harper-Brown | 16 [ 10 8 8 - 11/ 303.88 ] | 27.63 | 0.00 (0) | F2 | Senior |
9 | 10 | Tony Parr | 17 [ 7 10 10 - 12/ 326.63 ] | 27.22 | 0.00 (0) | F2 | Senior |
10 | 6 | Scott Whyman | 18 [ 9 9 9 - 11/ 305.34 ] | 27.76 | 0.00 (0) | F2 | Senior |
I had a cracking day, the weather was good, the company amiable, the racing competitive and the result satisfactory.
Well done TORCH.
Well done TORCH.
A top event.
It's just a shame that the summer season is drawing to a close.
It's just a shame that the summer season is drawing to a close.
Nice report Phil, thanks :)
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