BARC Championship Races

All three of the BARC south east based motor racing series travelled to Mallory Park near Leicester on Sunday for the live televised Motors TV event. Topping the bill was the Dunlop Motorsport News Saloon car Championship and a good entry was received for this special event.

In practice Rod qualified third, although the pole position car of Darren Bly from Essex failed to start due to a turbocharger failure. Therefore Rod moved up to second behind local ace Joss Ronchetti, who qualified over a second quicker than our man. Just before the start our team changed the tyres on Rods Ford Escort WRC. They fitted a smaller set, which would heat up quicker and provide better traction out of the tight hairpin. After three laps behind the pace, because two cars collided on the second warm up lap, Rod appeared to be a little bit over enthusiastic at the start as he beat a very slow starting Ronchetti to the first corner. Undettered Rod sped off hoping to capitalise on a clear track.

As the race progressed Rod edged further ahead, clearly benefitting from his teams decision. By the chequered flag the gap was almost five seconds, but on the slowing down lap the commentator announced that we had received a ten second penalty for jumping the start. However, Rod and the team had not received formal notification of this, and the rules clearly state that a penalty board must be shown during the race (regulation Q12.5). After a stewards enquiry Rod was reinstated as the winner, which also meant he had pole position for the second race.

On the warming up lap for the second race one of Rod’s main rivals, Nick Williamson, spun and rejoined at the tail of the field. However, he moved up through the grid just prior to the start which resulted in him receiving a penalty. This time the penalty board was shown, but it had no effect on another good performance, as Rod sped to a flag to flag win. Setting the fastest lap of the race also underlined his return to form, as he scooped a large haul of championship points in his quest to retain the title.

With just six days to the next meeting, there will be precious little time to prepare the car. On Saturday we will be racing on the Grand Prix circuit at Brands Hatch.