Category: 2020

Multiple Champion and 2CV Racing Legend Pete Sparrow, won both races as the short but entertaining season came to a close at Mallory Park.

Lien Davies had led th     e field through on the hectic opening lap, from Alec Graham, Sandro Proietti, Sparrow and James Dartiailh.

But in an immediate reshuffle Graham and Proietti both ousted Davies, with Sparrow down to fifth behind Dartiailh.

The changes continued as a four car break began to appear, with Davies reclaiming the lead for a while, before surrendering to Sparrow on lap six.

“When Alec started to drop back it became a real dog fight, but Pete Sparrow got to the front and went for it,” said Davies.

Nick Roads had joined in with Davies and Graham, but Proietti had hit trouble on lap three and fell well down the order. “I had trouble in qualifying, so was coming back through and when Sandro lost the rear and went off at Gerards, that helped me,” said Roads.

“I had got up to second into the Esses, but was too quick into Gerards, the rear end went loose and I fell off,” Proietti admitted.

Dartiailh had also lost ground, but fought his way back passed Glen Oswin and Mick Storey into fifth, before demoting early leader Graham on lap eight.

Back at the front Sparrow and Roads had managed to break the tow, leaving Davies a solitary third. “I should been able to hang on, but my steering rack was worn and the front wheels wobbled, but I thought I was safe in third,” Davies added.

Dartiailh’s charge had continued however, and he began to reel in Davies and on lap 14 he was through, but couldn’t consolidate his newly earned place. So it was Davies that finally claimed the place into the Hairpin on the last lap, well adrift of leaders Sparrow and Roads.

“I had the pace to stay with Pete but not to overtake him,” Roads added.

Oswin managed to take Graham for fifth on lap 15, while Storey was on his own in seventh. The recovering Proietti, David O’Keeffe and Nigel Hollis rounded off the top 10.

It was Davies to the fore again at the start of the second race, with Sparrow, Proietti, Graham, Nick Crispin and Roads in formation behind. Initially though Storey and Graham had been up there, until Storey had a touch, lost it and dropped to seventh.

But on the second lap Sparrow managed to not only get the lead, but started to make a decisive break as Luca Proietti, Davies, the recovering Graham and Roads all contested second place. “There was quite a bit of contact and Alec tapped Luca and dislodged his wing,” said Davies.

Proietti and Graham briefly got away in second, with Davies trying to hold on, while in fifth Roads and Crispin were duelling too.

As Sparrow’s lead grew, the second place duel allowed Davies to join in again and on lap six he had passed them both.

But Davies’ moment only lasted a lap, as both Proietti and Graham retook took him to continue their private duel.

The fifth place battle managed to close in on Davies, but he fought back to rejoin the second place scrap again, but this time took Roads and Crispin with him.

It was all change again on lap nine though, with Davies falling to sixth, as Crispin had found a way passed both him and Roads.

By the end of lap 10 Sparrow’s lead was over three seconds, but only 0.144 secs split Proietti and Graham.

Davies was out though, which left Crispin and Roads to fight over fourth, promoting Oswin and Storey into the fight for sixth.

“I had gone across the Esses with Nick’s Crispin and Roads and then the car wouldn’t turn in at the Hairpin, so I limped back to the paddock,” Davies explained.

With Sparrow safely on his way to his second win of the day, all eyes were on the fight for second, with Graham back ahead of Proietti from lap 12.

With three laps left Roads had sneaked back ahead of Crispin yet again, as both caught the second place fight. “Nick missed a gear at the Hairpin and we had both been across the Esses. We lost a bit of ground but caught up again,” Roads explained.

Proietti joined the casualty list, having been ignoring a black and orange flag, which then became black. His wing had been flapping for most of the race after contact from Graham, so it became a three-car battle to settle the podium places.

Sparrow had backed off but still had 2.224 secs in hand, while only 0.643 secs covered the next three, with Graham just holding on from Roads and Crispin.

Oswin was fifth after pipping Storey a lap from home, with Roy Eastwood, Patrick Cobb, debutant Luke Wos and Nigel Hollis completing the top six.

When all the points were totalled it was Alec Graham that was crowned 2020 Champion.

WINGROVE/MWR RACING QUARTET TAKE THE HONOURS

The numbers may have been down on last year, with the European visitors unable to make the trip, but the atmosphere and competitiveness were as strong as ever, despite the weather.

Wingrove/MWR’s Euro Hybrid with Peter Dalkin at the wheel was straight into an early duel with Alex Osborne’s AP Motorsport Mini, but it was Osborne that had a 6.661secs after the opening hour, a lead halved by the appearance of the safety car, when Chris Yates went straight on at Riches in the Blueberry Muffins car.

After Osborne had taken charge, Dalkin was straight into a second duel with Team Toyshed’s Chris Slade.

The rest of the top six was made up of Mini’s too, with Slarky Malarky’s Neil Slark, Team Mini-Uns Ashley Shelswell and Lyford Racing, before Pete Sparow led the Classic 2CV class for Team 2CV Lion, well up on Brian Heerey’s Crisis at Tete Rouge car.

The rain was getting heavier but from the green flag Dalkin was back ahead again into Riches, as Slade closed on Osborne for second.

Further down the order a great scrap was developing between Lien Davies (Team ECAS), Marcus Burnett’s GR Racing and DD Motorsport’s Kris Tovey.

But after the second hour Dalkin was a lap clear of Osborne, despite having a spin at Coram as Slark and Slade continued to duel for third, with Team Mini-Uns closing too.

Team 2CV Lion had climbed to sixth overall, but there were three more Mini’s on the leaderboard before Heerey’s 2CV in second place.

Davies had broken away for ECAS in for third in class too, with James Northfield’s Twin Snails completing the class top four.

Most of the first planned stops came in the third hour, but the MWR Wingrove car was still a lap clear, as the APO, Slarky Malarky and Team Toyshed Mini’s battled for the overall podium.

“It was very slippery, I kept going around the outside of the Hybrid but he powered back ahead on the straights, then the safety car kept closing us up too,” said second placed Osborne.

But some had problems already, “we had to make an early stop when a wheel bearing broke,” said Rosie Racing’s Julie Walford.

“I did three 3hrs and 20mins, had two spins and an excursion, but waited for the safety car before pitting and it didn’t appear,” Davies explained.

Both Blueberry cars had problems too, “at the first corner the car in front braked hard I lifted and spun,” said the Tarts Jessica Owen.

“My first stop was at the yellow flag when the Tarts spun, then a penalty for overtaking when I was just regaining the place taken off me,” added Muffins Chris Yates.

The Mini’s were still starring with APO’s Kieren McDonald second, from Ben Butler’s Slarky Malarky car, Toyshed’s Elliot Stafford and Mini-Uns Ade Tuckley, before in sixth was the leading 2CV for Team 2CV Lion and Alec Graham.

Crisis @ Tete Rouge were still in second, from ECAS and Twin Snails, but with the rain continuing to fall darkness came early.

Into the night Matthew Cobb put together a string of sub 2 minute laps to build the MW /Wingrove lead. With Mark Waghorn and David O’Keefe sharing to, they were seven laps ahead into Sunday morning.

The Mini duel for second had continued but it was Slarky Malarky now ahead of APO, after Lee Poolman encountered a misfire, with Mini-Uns next up and the 2CV Lion squad fifth overall, from Crisis @Tete Rouge and Twin Snails now third in class after a charge from Paul Rowland. “I am bloody good I am, and Alec got a great slide on trying to pass me on the inside at Coram,” said Rowland.

Toyshed had dropped well down though after a problem. “A bolt came out of the bracket for the clutch and it flexed rather than change gear,” Michael Dryden explained.

But as dawn approached Slarky Malarky had a two lap lead with MW Wingrove six laps off second placed APO after a number of overnight problems. “The crank sensor, the throttle cable and lots of other bits,” they explained.

Mini-Uns were still fourth and 2CV Lion fifth, with Crisis @ Tete Rouge still second in the 2CV class from Twin Snails and DD Motorsport.

Just before 7am there were more dramas, as MWR/Wingrove slowed again and headed for the pits and APO were in with a snapped fan belt.

Slarky Malarky’s quartet of Neil and Ian Slark with Ben Butler and Steve Miles continued to lead the way, but despite their problems MWR/Wingrove were back in charge into the 20^th hour.

They had another throttle cable breakage and had to be towed in. So Waghorn replaced Dalkin for a short stint before Cobb brought it to the flag and sealed victory.

Ian Slark handed to Neil for the final Slarky Malarky stint. “This was when we start hearing things,” Ian admitted.

Team Mini-Uns were third after APO had a two lap tow back penalty after running out of fuel, “Ade Tuckley did two night stints, but we weren’t brave enough in the dark,” Mini-Uns Shelswell admitted.

The Lyford quartet of James and Nick with Alan Evans and Tim Harber were fifth, but there was a dramatic finale to the 2CV class and sixth overall.

Sparrow had taken over from O’Keefe at about 7.15am, but just before 10am he pitted with concern over a front wheel. He rejoined but was soon back in changing the front hub assembly. “I still heard a noise maybe a rear bearing, then it went away and I just got on with it. I decided to stop worrying unless a wheel fell off,” he reckoned.

Their problem gave Crisis @Tete Rouge the class lead, with Twin Snails second, but with Heerey at the wheel, they had a late crisis with two hours left, when a front steering arm broke at Coram.

So Sparrow/Graham/O’Keeffe were back in front and claimed another win, but Crisis @Tete Rouge’s Heerey/Nick Roads/Sandro Proietti and Ian Gibbon were still a clear second, with Martin Riman, Aubrey Brocklebank, Northfield and Rowland completing the class podium for Twin Snails.

DD Motorsport’s Nick Crispin/James Dartiailh/Tovey and Sean Sidley completed the top 10 overall for fourth in class, followed by ECAS, GR Racing, Hollis Motorsport and Jelly Snake.

Rally racers had been up to second in class after some sterling work from Freddie Martin-Dye and Dan Willan. “It was going great until it broke, I think I passed every car twice,” said Martin-Dye.

All 21 cars that started took the flag in some form, some as they had started and some rather modified.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Racing was back in style at Cadwell Park, with action throughout the 2CV field before Alec Graham and Luca Proietti shared the victory spoils.

Graham had started from pole and led through Coppice on the opening lap, from Matthew Hollis and Sandro Proietti, before Lien Davies surged through into second as they arrived at Park.

By the end of the opening lap Davies was pressing Graham for the lead, leaving Hollis and Proietti to dispute third from Brian Heerey, Nick Crispin and Mick Storey.

While the lead duel intensified, Proietti made it into third on lap two and broke clear, while both Crispin and Storey edged out Heerey.
It was soon a five-car train for fourth place, as Hollis slipped into the battle and Crispin went to the fore.

The duel for the lead however had allowed Proietti to join in, but as he started to threaten Davies, Graham took the opportunity to make an escape.
But this only spurred Davies on and he snatched the lead for a lap, before Graham fought back, while all the time Proietti lay in wait.

Hollis’ challenge continued to fade and after six laps the top six had split into two three-car battles. It was Graham still with the advantage, but Proietti had ousted Davies, while behind them Crispin was just holding off Storey and Hollis, before a gap to Glenn Oswin, Richard Hollis-Brown and Michael Fox.

Proetti has his eyes on the lead though, he chased Graham into Charlies on lap seven, as Davies fell back. Two laps later Proietti was ahead out of Barn, only for Graham to surge back in front at Coppice as they started the last lap, sealing his round one victory by only 0.172 secs.

“That was my Pete Sparrow tactics, don’t lead onto the last lap and everything seemed OK,” said the victorious Graham.

But Proietti was so close in the closing laps, having succeeded in dropping Davies’ challenge. “Alec was so together, but I made sure he knew I was there,” Proietti added.

Davies was still clear in third but had struggled from mid-race. “We had a spare engine in this weekend, I got the lead but after a little push from Sandro at Park I lost the tow,” he explained.

Despite not being happy with his new car, Crispin had held onto fourth for most of the race, but after Storey and Heerey had shared a couple of exchanges, they both made it passed on the final lap.

Storey took the flag in fourth, with Heerey only 0.320 secs behind, as Crispin was left to complete the top six. “That was fine, very enjoyable,” said Storey. “I lacked grunt and found it hard to keep up,” Heerey added. “It’s just not right, that’s everything,” Crispin concluded.

Hollis had also struggled for pace and settled in seventh, leaving Oswin, Hollis-Brown and Fox to round off the top 10. Aubrey Brocklebank, Chris Hall, Chris Yates and Andi Donaldson completed the finishes, with Nigel Hollis the only retirement.

Although Luca Proietti had pole for the second race, once again it was Graham setting the early pace, with Storey heading the pursuit.
Proietti had slipped into second on lap two and led out of Barn, as the lead trio started to put daylight between them and their rivals, who had Davies, Hollis, Heerey and Crispin in contention.

Storey then briefly nosed ahead too, but the swaps and changes had allowed the whole of the top seven to close up.

It was a big reshuffle on lap four as Graham hit the front, from Davies, Proietti, Storey, Heerey, Crispin and Hollis, before Heerey made it into fourth at the Mountain a lap later.

Proietti had fought back into second and had started to attack for Graham’s lead again, while Storey was back in third from Crispin, as Davies fell back and Heerey was missing in action. “I had a clash with Lien, we both arrived at the corner at the same time,” said Heerey. “Brian took me off,” Davies reckoned?

While it was down to Graham and Proietti for the lead, third was still any one from three, with Storey, the recovering Davies and Crispin, while Hollis was doing his best to hold on.

Going over the Mountain for the penultimate time it was almost side by the time they reached Hall Bends, but Graham kept the door firmly shut. But Proietti was still fighting and his persistence finally paid off.

“Timed to perfection, I got him through Mansfield after he got a bit loose at the Gooseneck. I backed off and just got him down the inside under braking and then just kept the door shut,” Proietti explained after his lap success.

“One mistake, just too deep into the Gooseneck, but I thought I had it. Brilliant race though,” Graham added after taking the flag 0.968secs adrift.

Storey claimed a late third from Davies. “Just brilliant, but I nearly got caught up in Lien and Brian’s incident too,” he said.

Crispin followed Davies home in fifth, “better but not brilliant,” he reckoned, “I just had no power uphill and had to monster it just to try and catch up,” Hollis added.

Martin Riman settled in seventh from lap six, from Oswin, while Nigel Hollis survived a tank slapper on the Mountain crest for ninth, leaving Yates to complete the top 10.

Donaldson, Hall and Fox were the final finishers, after Heerey and Hollis-Brown retired.

The next outing for the Championship will be the annual 24h hour race at Snetterton on August Bank Holiday 29th/30th, possibly the only chance to do a 24hour race in the UK this year.