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News: Cadwell Park Race Report
GAZ Shocks
Production BMW Championship
Rounds 8&9 Cadwell Park 28/06/2009
The GAZ Shocks Production BMW Championship headed to Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire on Sunday 28th June, for Rounds 8&9. Dubbed the ‘mini Nurburgring’ Cadwell always presents fantastic racing, and this event was no different.
To enable the 36 entrants to each contest equal track time the timetable was split into three races, with each driver given two races. Due to immense fog and dampness on the track first thing, the initial qualifying sessions were forced to take part behind the Safety Car; as the drivers were not able to qualify properly they were to start in championship order within their allocated groups, which added to the level of excitement in many ways.
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Race One:
Heading into round five as championship leader automatically gave Rob Smith the advantage, starting from pole position for the first of three races. Liam Crilly occupied the second spot on the grid, with Mike Dugdale in third. A slow getaway from Smith accompanied by a strong start from Crilly immediately allowed the latter to inherit the lead, as the field headed into turn one for the first time.
Having started fourth, usual championship contender, Tim Wilson, seemingly suffered problems, as he soon dropped to the rear of the field.
As the race began to take form, the leading duo of Crilly and Smith soon pulled away from the pursuing pack. Behind, Dugdale held station in third, heading a six car train, all less than one second apart and tussling for one position – the final podium slot. Gradually Dugdale was able to pull out a distance to the chasing convoy of cars, enabling him to secure his third position.
Further back, Ravi Ramyead had stormed through from 11th on the grid to be challenging for fifth by the half-way stage of the race. Determined to make up even more ground on his midfield starting position, Ramyead was piling on the pressure to the back of Nigel Olive-Jones’ comparable machine, eager to gain another place. The penultimate lap saw the pair side by side for fourth place, with Ramyead trying everything to get by his rival; however, come the end of the nine lap outing, and despite Ramyead’s best efforts, he was unable to find a way passed, settling for fifth at the flag.
Come the end of the nine lap duration, it was Crilly who held off the charging Smith to take his first win of the season, also securing fastest lap. “We’ve worked hard for this.” Said an ecstatic Crilly. “Rob’s had the package this year, but thanks to my good start and his gentlemanly driving it’s the result we’ve been looking for all year.”
James Law had a big off on lap three, forcing him to retire from the race, while a penultimate lap retirement from Mark Gazzard made up the only two withdrawals from the race. Despite struggling early on, Tim Wilson managed to fight his way back through to finish a respectable 14th.
Race Two:
For the second race of the day for the Production BMW’s there was a familiar site at the front of the field – Smith and Crilly fighting for honours. This time, however, it was Tony Smith who stepped up as challenger to the race one victor.
As the lights went out, both Smith and Crilly made outstanding starts, with Tony instantaneously grasping the lead. Just inches behind, Brian Jones made a good start to get the jump on Tim Wilson, taking his third position away from him. Neil Adams, having started eighth on the grid, was up to seventh at the start, and chasing down the cars in front.
As the race at the front remained tense, with Crilly determined to find a way passed Smith, Mark Bate was shown the Driving Standards flag further back, as a result of knocking down all the marker posts at the entrance to the Mountain.
Back in third, Kevin Welsh, Brian Jones, Tim Wilson, Jamie Smith, Neil Adams and Andrew Cotterill, plus others, were all running nose to tail. After a number of laps, this procession began to separate slightly, pairing off into individual battles.
The leading duo had managed to build a 15 second gap by the second half of the race; Crilly had an off at Gooseneck, but managed to rejoin, still in second. The large lead they had worked to build up cushioned his second place.
Tony Smith, echoing Crilly’s race one performance, seized his first triumph of the season. As the race was coming to a close, Jones had an off at the Mountain, forcing him into retirement. This allowed Wilson into fourth, who soon began hassling Welsh for third. As the final minutes of the 15 minute race tumbled down to a close Welsh managed to hold his third position with Wilson coming home fourth.
Race Three:
Liam Crilly had already completed his two races of the day, meaning he had to sit out in race three. This time around it was a pure battle of the Smith’s, with Rob and Tony taking the fight to one another. Rob had the pole position advantage, with Tony along side keen to make it a duet of victories.
Determined to succeed where he faltered in race one, Rob had a good start from pole, only to lose out to Tony at Coppice (turn one), who secured the inside line and also the lead. Mike Dugdale, once again protected his third position, while Brian Jones lost his fourth place to Nigel Olive-Jones.
After starring in race two, Kevin Welsh was back for more, making a move on Jones that enabled the former to steal fifth away from him. From here Jones appeared to be struggling, as the following parade of Welsh, Ravi Ramyead, Nick Barke and Lawrie Dunster all managed to fight their way passed. It was a race long battle for the quartet, as they fought it out until the end of the nine laps.
Elsewhere, Neil Adams missed a gear coming into the Mountain, slipping into fourth instead of second. As a result, and unable to stop in time Dave Arrundale gave him a brief bump, allowing him to also gain a place.
Following another fierce battle at the front, it was Tony Smith who triumphed once again, getting the better of his name-sake. Rob once again came home second, with Dugdale celebrating another third place finish.
All in all it was a fantastic day’s racing. Ravi Ramyead was awarded the MSAR Safety Driver of the Day, completing a successful day for the Leeds-based driver.
Race Report by Leanne Fahy (leannefahy@hotmail.com) |
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