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
|