Donington Park Race Report - 6th & 7th June 2009

Stringfellow & Thorne share the honours.

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So, the forecast for the whole weekend was miserable. Reports of torrential rain, with sunny spells weren’t the best weather predictions to heighten expectations! We had been expecting a 10-car grid for Donington. However, Duncan White’s efforts of 3am finishes just weren’t enough to get him to the grid in time. I am sure we will all be delighted to see him slot in the Standard Class at Castle Combe in a couple of weeks time. We may also be welcoming Bexley Motor Works in their Modified Class car if it can be ready in time. Another slight change to the Donington line up was the change of class to the Number 21 (& 31) car of Steward / Foster. They requested the rear wing & front aero package to match that of a Modified Class car so were moved up to Modified Class.

Qualifying
With the weather holding out everyone attacked on the Dunlop Slicks. With a couple of ‘changes’, Dan Stringfellow was keen to set the early pace; he failed to elaborate on these ‘changes’! Jamie Martin had removed his rear wing, perhaps to take advantage of the long high-speed sections. Steve Gill was looking to make an impression following his gearbox troubles at Brands Hatch in June. As the end of the 20-minute session approached the grid for Race 1 was as follows:

It was very close between the top 4, with just 0.5 of a second separating them. With Martin being the only competitor to dip into the 1:44’s.

Race 1

As 09.55 approached on Sunday, all competitors lined up in assembly. Steel was looking to improve on his slow starts at Brands Hatch, and he certainly made sure of it. Into turn one Steel, Stringfellow and Martin were at a dead heat. Thorne was stuck on the line after having to switch his engine off then on again, putting him dead last. After lap one, Steward had taken 4th place, and in Standard Class, Harrison had taken Gill (Modified) for 6th Overall. Thorne had managed to catch back to Steward by the end of lap 1. Into the Melbourne loop on lap 3, Martin attempted a late brake maneuver and spun, keeping Steel in 1st place, up the hill to Goddards Steel suffered engine failure having just the lap previous taken Martin for the race lead. As the race progressed, Thorne made his was up to 3rd, a few seconds behind Steward in the sister M3 of Thorney Motorsport. Martin appeared to be struggling with a few wides, with no reports of any contact.

At the end of lap 5, Thorne had caught Steward with the gap just half a second. Further down the field Gill had retaken in 5th place from Harrison and was continuing to set faster PB lap times. Meanwhile, Martin had caught to Steward, with Steward allowing Martin past at Coppice, only for the number 5 car to spin and go into the gravel moments later. Upfront, Stringfellow had a commanding lead and was setting very consistent 1:45’s. As 20 minutes approached Thorne slipped past Steward at the old hairpin and started gaining on Stringfellow despite being 20bhp down due to the lack of 'sport button'. Martin seemed to drop his pace off to ensure a finish in 4th. Stringfellow then took the Modified Class honours, and John Harrison took his 3rd Standard Class win of the season.

In-Car Video:

Classification:

Race 2
With Foster & Steward sharing a drive in the Thorney Motorsport Modified Class car, Foster was unable to set a time in Race 1 to be assigned a place other than the back of the grid for Race 2. Steel would have been able to join Foster at the back of the grid had his car been repairable in time, unfortunately this wasn’t the case and we had a 7 car grid for Race 2.

Away from the lights and Thorne got a good start and took the lead away from Stringfellow. Foster joined the 4 other modified class cars as they all fought for 2nd and piled into Redgate. As the early laps progressed Thorne had gained 3 seconds on Stringfellow who was being closely followed by Foster. At the Melbourne hairpin disaster struck for Foster, he out braked himself chasing down Stringfellow and ran wide, hitting the wall on the outside. With his car positioned away from danger the safety car remained in the pits for the first time this series. In the meanwhile, Gill had caught Martin who seemed to be slowing off the pace. It was later discovered that Martin suffered a punctured radiator, which led his car to overheat.

Into lap 9 Thorne had increased his lead to 8 seconds, while back in Standard Class there was a fight between Humphrey and Harrison for the top spot. Harrison had been reporting some overheating issues in Race 1, but seemed to be keeping Humphrey at bay. The gap was just 0.25 of a second at the end of laps 6,7 & 8. Humphrey made his move at the Melbourne Hairpin taking an inside tighter line, and made it stick to the end of the race. Upfront in Modified Class, Thorne took the race win from Stringfellow, having this time switched his 'sport' button on, with Gill making a solid performance to earn his first podium in 3rd this season.

Video:

Classification:

Next it’s off to Castle Combe on the 18/19th July, and the championship standings are as follows:

Series Standings: