Under burning sunshine and clear blue Lincolnshire skies,
Saturday's Track Day Trophy race at Cadwell Park provided the
crowds and drivers with 45-minutes of non-stop excitement and
drama. Potentially the scariest track on the race calendar,
Cadwell's undulating layout was soon tamed as drivers sped off into
- what was for many of them - the great unknown. Yet the bravery
and skill of the drivers soon became apparent as thrilling battles
unfolded throughout the 27 car third race of the series.
Only the second venue on the race calendar, Cadwell proved
popular among fans and drivers and is potentially the most
picturesque track in Britain - most certainly, the UK's answer to
the Nurburgring. Barriers stay close to the asphalt, rolling grassy
hills rise and fall in the distance whilst trees swoop over the
track. It's a challenge but the drivers revel in the chance to race
here. Cadwell is a real emerald in the racetrack crown.
The morning qualifying session saw teams tentatively make their
way around the unforgiving circuit, purely aiming to avoid
crashing, let alone set a respectable time. The pace-setter in
morning qualifying was the KOK Support team of Phill Capstick and
young Jack Goff. Confident from the outset, Goff threw his silver
Lotus Elise round the track with the seeming professionalism of a
Cadwell veteran. Setting a lap time of 1m40.631s was an impressive
feat on its own, placing the team two-seconds ahead of their
nearest competitor, John Hamilton, in his Renault Clio cup car.
But this lap was even more impressive for an admission Goff made
after the session. "I've never raced around here before and
I've never driven a rear-wheel drive car, so getting pole was a
real shock," Goff said. "It's great for our team,
especially for Phil [Capstick] as he's never raced before. We were
consistent and always hoping to get a decent race result."
Rounding off the top three was Team Cream Slice of David Thomas
and Dan Croft who posted a 1m43.247s lap in their Renault Clio cup
car. The teams in Class B posted far more varied times which saw
them spread across the field, intertwined with racers from classes
C and D. Coming out in fourth overall (and pole in Class B) was
James Britton, pushing his BMW M3 to the very limit through the
club circuit section of Cadwell to record a superb 1m43.615s lap.
But only one second behind in seventh overall were two of Britton's
nearest rival teams - the Skellys Heroes team of David Scarborough
and Anthony Sharpe, and the Littlewood Racing team who both posted
incredibly close times of 1m48s and 1m49s respectively.
In Class C, Neil Newstead wrestled his BMW 328 amidst some of
the Class A and B runners, placing fifth on the grid with a time of
1m43.952s. Behind him by almost five-seconds was Team Windgat of
Mike Marais and Clint Compaan, participating in only their second
competitive race event. But try as they might in their Seat Leon
Cupra, the team could only manage a 1m48.341s, leaving them in
ninth position - just two places higher than their nearest
competitors, the McQ Motorsport team, who qualified
11th.
Rounding off the field were the Class D competitors, the leading
team being the Apple Car Centre Renault Clio which placed in
13th position. A mere four-seconds separated
16th and 25th - a nine car gap which includes
cars from all classes. Cadwell was proving that no one had
completely mastered the track.
Most importantly, what qualifying promised was an exciting race
where teams would not only have to negotiate the competition from
their class but also the presence of other classes. A confusing
prospect for the teams - maybe, but an exciting one for
spectators.
With no warm-up lap the drivers twitched nervously on the grid
as they awaited the starters orders. When the lights went out the
field raced towards the first corner, Coppice, trading places as
they fought for track position. Watching a 27 car field climb into
the sweeping left-hander of Coppice is a sight which makes your
heart flutter with excitement and pure nervousness. It looked like
an accident was imminent - it seemed they would run out of
road.
Certainly some drivers did, most notably the Renault Clio of
Team Cream Slice which had to take to the grass. Yet despite a
packed run into the first corner all the cars got away clean as
they climbed towards Cadwell's fast back section before approaching
Cadwell's most famous section - the Mountain.
Again the cars bunched up. But the fact no one crashed is
tantamount to the skill of the drivers. Everyone got through the
section clean and expertly negotiated the Hall bends, completing
the first lap incident free. And, thankfully, the race lacked
dangerous incidents for some time. By lap three the Lotus Elise of
KOK Support had pulled out a lead of several seconds. The raw speed
Jack Goff bled from the vehicle in the straights was unmatched by
anyone.
But, still on their tail in second place, was John Hamilton in
his Renault Clio. The cornering speeds of the Clio far surpassed
that of the Elise, but in the straights it lost out. What unfolded
was a thrilling battle between speed and traction as both teams
exchanged similar lap times. Further down the field a cracking
battle unfolded between the Class C Seat of Windgat Racing, driven
by Mike Marais, and the yellow Class A Porsche 933 of Team Tactics,
driven by George Wright.
Despite the difference in class, a tentative drive from Wright
came under threat from an aggressive drive by Marais who simply
would not disappear from Wright's rear view mirror. While they
never came together during the race, it was fascinating to watch a
Seat match the lap times of an unstable Porsche through the first
few laps. But by lap 4 the race saw its first retirement when
Andrew Broad, driving the Renault Clio of the 2B Monkey's team, saw
his own front left wheel overtake him as he approached Park
corner.
"I felt some vibration for some time but it seemed to be
going well," Broad said. "Then I raced towards the corners
at the back and I just saw my wheel overtake me. It just collapsed.
Maybe it was a wheel nut issue, and that is a relatively common
thing. It's gutting as we were doing well in Class C. But we'll be
back."
Broad wasn't the only one retiring, as the TFL Racing Subaru
pulled off the track on lap 5. The next batch of dramas began
around the pit stop window 15 minutes into the race. John Hamilton
pitted early in a bid to find some clear track. It started a mad
clamber to the pits from all drivers. At one point there were eight
cars resting in the pits, brakes steaming and drivers rushing
around to settle in before their three-minute stop was up.
Perhaps most notable during the pit stop period was the verbal
disagreement between Colin Philpott, racing in the Powerbell Racing
2 MG ZR, and Neal Blakes in the Powerbell Racing VW Golf. Philpott
argued Blakes had been defending his lines a too aggressively,
something Blakes denied. But despite protestation, lap 12 marked
the end of the day for Powerbell Racing 2 team as their MG
spluttered its final breaths.
Lap 15 saw another wheel nut issue which caused the front right
wheel of Apple Car Centre's Reanault Clio to go rushing off into
the forest by Hall bends. And there was still more action on the
Hall bends when rookie Steven Parker hit the Alfa Romeo of Tony
Talbot while both cars were jostling for track position. Both
drivers retired due to car damage.
Back at the front John Hamilton took the lead. Hamilton put in
some incredible laps, speeding through the corners faster than any
other vehicle to clock up a 16 second lead which he maintained all
the way to victory.
The podium of the Class A cars was finished off by Jack Goff and
Phill Capstick in the KOK Support Lotus Elise, and the Team Cream
Slice Renault Clio cup car. In Class B James Britton maintained his
position throughout the race to finish fourth and win his class.
Second in Class B went to the Team Tactics Porsche 933 which got
bogged down in traffic early in the race, and third was the
Littlewoods.
Class C saw seventh finisher Neil Newstead take the lead with
the excellent rookie team of Mike Marais and Clint Compaan
finishing ninth overall, making them second in the Class B runners.
Finishing 11th overall were the McQ Motorsport team, 30
seconds behind their nearest Class C rivals. Finally, in Class D,
MAD motorsport crossed the line in 13th, winning the
class by only four seconds from the superb Podium Preparation team
and the R&R Racing team Vauxhall Nova of Alex Read and Simon
Richards.
Class A winner John Hamilton said: "It was great to be at
the front after the qualifying and I hoped I'd transform the
qualifying performance into a result. But I never expected to win
overall. It was a really great race and a lot of fun."
That's a statement many at Cadwell would agree with. Of course
thanks has to go to all the drivers, mechanics, families and
members of the public who helped make this event the excellent
spectacle that it was. Now the drivers will be turning their
attention to the next event at arguably the greatest circuit in
Britain - Brands Hatch. Thankfully we've not got too long to
wait until 17th July.
Ashley Scrace
