2000 HPI Challenge UK

2 July 2000

Round Six - West London

Oh my god!!!  I think that’s a good way to start this report, shocked… a little bit surprised!

What happened?

Well, I think the problem(s) started by the fact that for the first time I couldn’t get down to the HPI Challenge as I was sunning myself up and partying in Germany, but that’s a different story (I’m allowed holidays too you know!!).

Anyway, Round 6 and off to West London for the last time ever…

I sent our heavies, Jamie Booth and Syd Evans down to help run the meeting as normal, but shall we say a mix up in communication between Greg Hill and Colin Felstead from WLRC meant the day had more than it’s fair share of problems.  Drivers briefing turned into a heated debate, a debate in which I wasn’t there to defend myself.  I was embarrassed, to say the least, to hear that the rostrum was used as a podium for voicing unnecessary opinions, let alone the choice of language that could be heard coming from it.  Several drivers I’m told, felt sorry for Syd and Jamie (from HPI) who were left to defuse a situation that realistically could have been sorted out very easily, behind the scenes. 

Anyway, enough of the bad, on with the good.

The track at West London is quite popular and has a decent layout, although the steel barrier around the outside is way too close to the track and can cause unnecessary damage to cars that hit it with force.  There was also a complaint about the amount of smashed glass on the track, nothing a good sweep couldn’t have put right. That said WLRC had its good points, great visibility from the rostrum and all around the track for spectators. A speaker system that people could actually hear and a high-pressure air line for cleaning your car, something that none of the other tracks have provided, so far…

The only other real problem was that we were unable to give out any final positions or winner’s vouchers because with the problems during the day, the meeting ran late and Jamie / Syd thought it would be best to send everyone home and sort out the positions later.  By the time you read this though, you should all have your results and vouchers if you won any!

Putting all this aside we were there to race and have a good time and I’ll be damned if that’s not exactly what we all did. All the drivers tried hard; everybody did all they could to make it a good day and in the end everybody had a nice time.

Qualifying – Mini

Kevin Davis, Mike Rolinson and Paul Morrissey were the only three Mini drivers out today, but that didn’t stop them trying hard. Kevin took pole with a time of 13-301.53 just ahead of Paul’s 13-301.90. Mike couldn’t keep up with the pace during qualifying, but still put in a respectable twelve laps.

Qualifying – Sport

Peter Winton led the pack all day, each round putting in a better time to stay ahead, in the end his time of 17-309.19 gave him the pole. During round one Mathew Truelove took second with 16-305.99 only to loose it in round three by a time of 17-312.25 put in by Ricky Copsey. Dominic Carter was to take third place with a time of 16-303.95. Championship leader Alan Harrington had a nightmare of a day and only just managed to get into the A-final in tenth place, Alan is a fellow team CBA member of mine, so we did the sporting thing and took the ‘Mickey’ at every chance we got (sorry Alan).

Qualifying – Pro

For most of the day qualifying in Pro-class was a three-way battle; with Robin Hammett, Kevin Brunsden and Peter Sergeant all putting in times that kept them ahead of the pack. In the end it was Robin that took pole with a time of 18-309.09 ahead of Kevin with 18-311.83 in second. Peter Sergeant was unable to improve on his second round time of 17-304.14 but this was enough to keep him on third place. Fraser Low just missed out on a top three place by only three quarters of a second. One of the best improvements of the day was Lee Groves who from 29^th after round one managed to place himself in 8^th place in the A-final, not bad when you consider this was his first run out with his Pro.

Qualifying – Super Nitro

Despite putting in a good first round time of 16-317.12 Nick Bruty was unable to improve on this and saw his lead slip away more each round. Round two and James Hart put in a time of 16-310.19 to take the lead ahead of Nick Millett, who’s 16-311.54 time saw him move into second. Round three saw Johnathan Dobney got it together when it mattered and put in a fantastic time of 16-304.74 allowing him to move into the top spot.

Qualifying – Nitro Stock

Matt Colwill took the round one lead with a good 15-306.48 time, just behind him in second was John Davis with 15-309.51 ahead of David Wright and Andy Knowlton.

Round two saw no change for the top four, but Lee Groves had to retire on thirteen laps with interference, a pity as up till then he’d been flying. Round three was close and despite putting in a 15-303.37 time Matt was only just able to stay in the lead, David Wright had moved up from third and just missed out on first place by less than three tenths of a second with his time of 15-303.61

Qualifying – Nitro Modified

Marc Knight put in a great first round time of 17-315.08 a full 4 laps clear of the rest. Rounds two and three saw all the other drivers improve but no one could beat Marc’s time, not even himself. In the end a time of 16-309.94 gave Adam Read second place ahead of Steven Brunsden on 15-305.54 who took third after previously running last.

Concours

Concours was held after qualifying, which unfortunately meant that some of the cars did not look their best. However this didn’t stop James Currie winning with his beautiful Mitsubishi Eclipse, painted by himself and very nice too.

Finals – First Leg

Mini – A

Mike Rolinson was proving to be quite the star in Mini class moving from third to first to take yet another win on fourteen laps. Pole man Kevin Davis, also on fourteen, dropped into second that meant that Paul Morrissey was pushed down to third.

Sport – B

This one started off very scrappy, with the first lap being more like a demolition derby than a final. In the end Robert Renshaw had a good win ahead of Daniel Booker, both on fourteen laps. Third place was to go to Simon Rymes also on fourteen but a full lap ahead of fourth place man Andy Bowket.

Sport – A

Adam Read had a great race and after a good start moved from fourth to take first place. Dominic Carter took second place after moving up from third and was less than a couple of seconds behind Adam. Pete Winton who had been on pole had to make do with third place. Championship leader Alan Harrington redeemed himself somewhat by taking fourth, from last on the grid.

Pro – E

Another win here for young James Flaczynski after moving from second to finish a full lap ahead of Bobby Towers in second. Paul Rosenberg took third but was a few laps off the pace of James and Bobby.

Pro – D

Barry Yeend started in first and finished there too, not only that but he was the only driver to put in fifteen laps. Mike Rolinson took second place just ahead of Robert Pelger who had a great run to move up from eighth.

Pro – C

This was another close one with Martin Kowalski taking the win just six tenths of a second ahead of Kit Jones. Pat Piesley came in third, making up a trio of drivers that finished on sixteen laps.

Pro – B

James hart won this one due to shear consistency, moving from ninth on the grid to take the win. Dominic Carter also did well to move from sixth on the grid to take second, ahead of Mathew Truelove, who had been on pole but could do nothing to stop James and Dominic.

Pro – A

Robin Hammett and Kevin Brunsden started as one and two and that’s where they finished, not only that but a full lap ahead of the rest, on eighteen laps. Fraser Low crossed the line in third, just one and half seconds ahead of Kit Smith.

Super Nitro – A

Johnathan Dobney walked away with the win after putting in a time of 17-312.38. Dominic Carter Finished second, a few seconds behind Johnathan but also on seventeen laps. Nick Bruty had third place all to himself, as Nick Millett and James Hart failed to finish and both dropped out after nine laps.

Nitro Stock – A

Mat Colwill took the win from his place on pole, ahead of David Wright who had been unable to improve his second place on the grid. Matt Fisher finished third ahead of Andy Knowlton who made up the last of the four drivers to finish the race; the other six all had early retirements.

Nitro Modified – A

Marc Knight crossed the line convincingly in first place with his beautiful Merc CLK (Marc’s car had been my choice for concours winner). Johnathan Dobney took second place ahead of Steven Brunsden in third. Marc’s car nearly didn’t make the final as a large English Bull Terrier ran onto the track during warm up and tried to attack it, his car was rescued by Jamie Booth (well, sort of). 

Finals – Second Leg

Mini – A

This was an unfortunate one for Kevin Davies, after leading from the start and managing to keep ahead of the others. Mike and Paul were hot on his heels all through the race and couldn’t believe their luck when Kevin threw it away due to a silly mistake on the very last corner. This gave Mike a gift of a win and Paul second place leaving Kevin in third.

Sport – B

This time the win went to Simon Barker on fifteen laps, a lap ahead of the rest. Second place had Daniel Booker’s name on it as he crossed the line fourteen seconds ahead of Simon Rymes who had to make do with third. Young Kristy Rosenberg didn’t let the boys have it all their own way and showed that she could do better than some.

Sport – A

This one could have been better as it started off very scrappy, however it didn’t prevent it from being a close race. Ricky Copsey took the win just eight tenths of a second ahead of Pete Winton who was right on his tail. Dominic Carter took third albeit a lap behind the front two. Alan Harrington had a great run to move from last on the grid to finish fourth.

Pro – E

Another win for James Flaczynski a couple of laps ahead of Bobby Towers. Paul Rosenberg had to retire on nine laps but still took third place. All of these young drivers enjoyed themselves immensely which is what its all about.

Pro – D

All change for this one, Jeff Wheeler moved up from third to take the win. Phillip Rogers took second place and pole man Barrie Yeend dropped down to finish in third place, just a second ahead of Dave Thomas who was hot on his heels.

Pro – C

Oliver Mitchell ran a great race and finished first after moving up from fourth. Pat Piesley took second place but was a lap down on Oliver. Kit Jones who had been in second got moved down into third place less than a second behind Pat

Pro – B

James Hart couldn’t have run a better race and fought his way from ninth on the grid to take the win. Jon Withington started in second but couldn’t improve on it and took second, while Dominic Carter moved up a few places, from sixth, to take third place.

Pro – A

Kevin Brunsden and Robin Hammet were in a class of their own and finished a lap clear of the rest. With Kevin in first and Robin second this left third to go to Peter Sergeant who took it just one and a half seconds ahead of Kit Smith.

Super Nitro – A

Johnathan Dobney led from the start and took the win two laps clear of Nick Bruty in second place. Third place went to Nick Millett although he was a good ten seconds down on Nick B. James Hart who had been running second had to retire on thirty laps.

Nitro Stock – A

The first three on the grid failed to finish which left this open for the rest. In the end Andy Knowlton took first, ahead of Lee Groves in second. Matt Fisher was another one to benefit and came in third.

Nitro Modified – A