Helen Deeley

ANGLESEY JUNE 30th / July 1st 2007 a report by Helen Deeley

The clubs visit to Anglesey to race on the new circuit proved very exciting, with all drivers on an equal footing as we had 2 new tracks to learn over the weekend.

The Saturday event took place on the Coastal circuit, a 1.55 mile circuit with a banked corner, and a “falling off the world” moment coming out of Peel, where all you see in front of you is the sea as the tarmac disappears steeply downhill. A wet half-hour practice session saw Phil Myatt/ Paul Robertson qualify on pole, a massive 1.8 seconds ahead of everyone else.

A first corner melee saw them grass-tracking & drop back to tenth place, so for a few minutes it looked like the rest of us might have had a chance. It wasn’t to be however, as they fought their way back up the order, taking the lead on lap 19 out of 26, and rubbing salt in the wound to clear off & win by 13 seconds from a terrific scrap for 2nd between Steve Panas, Wayne Cowling/ David O’Keefe & Sammie Fritchley/ David Sullivan.

I finished a lonely 11th, which I have to confess I was slightly disappointed with & took my frustration out on my cars owner/ mechanic- sorry Tim! (Public apology, that’ll never happen again!) The only car not to make it was the unlucky Trevor Williams, who suffered a broken engine on lap 14. In the usual 2cv Racing Club tradition, he was mobbed by a bunch of enthusiastic mechanics that evening keen to fix his car & get him out again the next day.

The grid for race 2 on Sunday was determined by finishing positions from Saturday, so the morning familiarisation session was a shake-down for the cars & the opportunity to try a few different lines for the drivers.

This time we were on the 2.1 mile International circuit, which is pretty much the same as the Coastal with an extra hairpin. It looked like it would be a repeat of Saturday as Myatt & Robertson again cleared off into the distance, almost 2 seconds faster than the rest of the pack. Come the race, problems with the car meant they dropped right to the back on lap 9, and finished 11th, having been lapped by everyone else in front, which just goes to show that nobody is immune from bad luck.

Victory went to Cowling/ O’Keeffe, with Sammie Fritchley/ Sullivan getting a well desevered podium on her birthday. Steve Panas came in 3rd, ahead of Trevor Williams & Andy Smith.

I had a much better race, dicing for 6th with Neil Thompson; he just beat me to it. Great drive Neil, I really enjoyed it! I left much happier & looking forward to Silverstone.

Crash Test Deeley

Trevor Williams

ANGLESEY JUNE 30th / July 1st 2007 a report by Trevor Williams

What with Anglesey being 6 hours from anywhere, I should have realised that it would be a long weekend when on the journey uo, the motorhome kept jumping out of 5th gear.

Saturday dawned a bit wet, but that is usual for this part of the country. I was surprised to find myself in 2nd after qualifying, even though it was 1.8 seconds behind pole position. The race started really well with me getting in front of Paul Robertson, and venturing out into the unknown circuit with the rest of the pack behind me. Soon I was joined by David O’Keefe in the Gadget car, amd who I thought was Paul in a Tete Rouge machine.

All was going well until a rocker arm decided it had had enough of its life as an integeral part of an internal combustion engine and decided to become a paper weight. I watched the rest of the race from the tyre wall on the infield, after nearly getting drowned in the puddles that were all over the grassy bits of the circuits.
It was only after the race that I discovered that it was actually Sammie Fritchley that I was racing with and not Paul. I think I desperately need an eye test because no-one could confuse those two!!!

Sunday morning was quite leisurely, what with only a 20 minute “familiarisation” session rather than a qualifying session.

As the grid was set by the results of the Saturday race, I started plum last, but had been planning my start all through the previous night. The plan was to go like stink and do my best Schumacher impression when the lights went out. I managed to do this and found myself 5th by the exit of the first corner, and 3rd by the end of the first lap.

The race was all going to plan, running with the leaders and waiting to make some time in the pitstop. Like most good plans though, a problem occurred. We took too long getting me belted back in after the stop and ended up dicing with Steve Panas and Andy Smith for 3rd for the remainder of the race. Steve got the better of me when I out braked myself at the top of the hill, but all in all 4th was a great result

Fantastic tracks, and it will be a real shame if we don’t get back there. Those who didn’t go missed a great weekend.

Trevor Williams