Practice | The Race | Results

As the weather was looking good, and I'd managed to get a fair amount stripped off my car, I decided to go and watch the race at Lydden Hill, and say hi to some of the other drivers who were racing. Although the sun was shining in London when I left, Lydden Hill was quite chilly and cloudy. This was, however, an improvement on the morning, when practice sessions were delayed due to thick fog shrouding the circuit! This delay meant that the Kit Car practice sessions were only 6 laps long, which didn't really give enough time to learn the circuit for the drivers who had never driven there before.

Steve Taylor was on pole for the Class C race, and Andy Charsley was on pole for the combined Class A and B race (class Bs were unusually grouped with the class A cars for this event). Paul Evans was the leading class B competitor.

The Race | Results | Practice

Race 1 - Class A and B

Everyone seemed to make a clean start, and right from the beginning, Jonathan White and Andy Charsley were battling together. Andy Sterling, in his 3.5 litre V8 engined Dax Rush closed up to Jonathan, making several attempts to pass, and Mark Owen was also close behind Andy. Martin Smith capitalized on a good start to lead the class B cars, but he didn't really have much to worry about in terms of opposition - Cliff Barnes in his huge V8 powered YKC Roadster seemed to be closing during the first few laps, but he gradually slipped back - seemingly with oil smoke pouring from his engine. This allowed Ian Creba and Dan Compton to get past him, but Cliff managed to hold off Tom Thornton to finish in 8th place.

Unfortunately, Chris Brown got out of shape exiting Paddock Bend, and after several slides, ended up spinning and hitting the tyre barrier backwards. Chris was unhurt, and jumped straight out of the car, but his car was left in a dangerous position, which resulted in the yellow and black quartered flags being waved to slow the drivers down while the marshals moved the car to a safer position..

Race 2 - Class C

Tim Harmer managed to get the jump on Steve Taylor at the start, and headed off in the lead. Steve was right behind Tim all through the race, and Tim withstood the pressure extremely well to take the chequered flag in first place. The next 5 drivers were slightly more spread out, and the race was fairly processional, but there was another battle further down the field - Jonathan Barnett, Dave Sullivan and John Sims were swapping places throughout the race, with Jonathan gaining the upper hand at the end.

Race 3 - Class A and B

The starting grid for the second race of the day was determined by the finishing position from the first race, thus Andy Charsley started from Pole position. Jonathan White started in second, but gradually fell back during the race, which appeared to be due to an engine problem - it certainly sounded quite rough in the last few laps. Mark Owen again was battling hard with Andy Sterling, but despite drawing alongside Andy on several occasions, Mark couldn't quite make the move stick. Martin Smith was worried before the race about holding off Cliff Barnes and Ian Creba, but his worries were unfounded as he managed to stay clear of them in the first stages of the race, then Ian gradually slipped back with an engine problem, and Cliff was called in to the pits due to the amount of smoke billowing from his car. Ian was also penalised 4 seconds, which moved him back a place after it was claimed that he overtook Paul Evans under a yellow flag.

Unfortunately, more kit cars were damaged in this race when Tom Thornton's Slyva Striker spun in the middle of Paddock Bend and was hit on the right rear wheel arch by Wayne Astbury. Both cars sustained body and suspension damage, but hopefully both cars will be out at the next race.

Race 4 - Class C

Steve Taylor made a better start than Tim Harmer, and was in the lead by the first corner. This lead to an incredibly close battle between these two drivers for the whole 15 laps. Almost every lap Tim would draw alongside Steve going into the Devil's Elbow, but every time Steve would have the better line and come out in the lead still. Tim had some consolation in claiming the fastest lap. Behind these two, the race was fairly similar to the first one, with the only other battles being between Jonathan Barnett and Dave Sullivan, and Nigel Brown, Richard Daw and John Sims.

Andrew Owen was unlucky not to finish in 4th place when his fuel pump stopped on the last lap.

Results | Practice | The Race

Qualifying Times

Race 1

Race 2

Race Results

Race 1

Race 2

Race 3

Race 4