Racing – It’s a roller coaster!

Things didn’t start too well again this weekend. We have had a small coolant leak for a few weekends now and though all the tests have come out fine again and again it has persisted. Rich & Col at Dulfords have now found it anyway - a pinhole spray from behind one of the inlet valve seats on the LH bank. Bugger!

Rich managed to get a replacement set of my highly non-std heads, at the right cc’s by 12 o’clock the next day. Amazing. The Friday afternoon was spent rebuilding the engine. We (about 6 of us) finished at 9pm and I arrived at ‘Combe at just gone 12 am…just in time for a couple of cans with the last remaining die-hards in the Paddock; and trust me I needed one. 5 hours kip and I was up for Qualy. Danny arrived at 7am to help set up and we were into it again. ‘Combe, Rounds 9 & 10.

With all that had gone on, I was really hoping to have a good weekend. ‘Combe is my local circuit and I’ve been watching Tuscans there for about 10 years. As regulars know, it’s a daunting and under-rated track and though not hugely technical there are a few secrets to a fast lap time…and you have to be brave. No run off and some big scary banks can make it a car killer.

With a Griff that has run from 101-128db whilst in my ownership, I haven’t actually driven that many laps at ‘Combe. Fortunately 7 or 8 of those I have been with Mike Caine. Mike still holds the GpA lap record - at 1:06 it’s pretty spectacular as our front runners were posting 1:09 with bigger rubber and aero – so he certainly knows his way round. As well as lapping with me, we had half an hour discussing the circuit and where the time could be found. It turned out that I must have listened!

Qualy went well. I found a good 2-3 clear laps and was happy with the car set up. I seemed to have a miss fire coming out of the corners that I felt all the way down the straights so when I found that our Qualy time had beaten the GpB lap record I was over the moon!  The Gp B lap record was held by Marc Hockin in his Griff at 1:15:9 in 2007 and I managed a 1:15:1 with Tom just pipping me on a 1:15:0 Only a 10th between me and Tom, I was well chuffed, particularly with a miss-fire and with 5 GpA cars behind us on the Grid.

Race 1 was postponed until Sunday due to a big shunt in the Fiestas; the guys were OK, which gave us time to have a look at the car. The Mallory Dizzy cap had the carbon pin missing, so with everything else looking good, we had one ordered and settled back for the other racing including Britcar testing. Race 1 went well really. Didn’t get a brilliant start – maybe due to the miss-fire which was still there – but we settled in fine and managed some tussling with Rich Wright in his Tuscan before the race was red flagged. Deano had been dog-fighting with Hui “Humacher” Marshall from the off and dropped off the circuit at the “Hammerdown” kink hitting the tyre wall hard. That’s the second heavy impact Deano’s had this year, the first being Cadwell, so you really have to feel for the Guy. Defending GpA Champ, his car is always beautifully turned out. I’m sure he’ll be out at Anglesey.

On the restart, Tom Stewart, my Nemesis drained his battery and unable to re-start for the green flag lap he had to start from the back. With 6 cars between us I thought I could take it a bit easy on the restart and warm my tyres a bit. This was a mistake. The misfire was now a completely flat response until 4000rpm and Tom was driving like a demon. He re-took the lead in the first lap and I could do nothing to catch him, though I did manage to stay with him as he battled with Owen. Second again and seventh overall…status quo for me in ’09.

Between races Rich from Dulfords was seconded to have a butchers at the Griff. He confirmed all was OK as we thought, but had an idea that the accelerator pumps in the carb’s may not be quite right. He tweaked them by eye and we hoped for the best. Race 2 and immediately the difference was obvious. On the exit of Quarry, the car headed into the chicane like a bullet…we were on! Tom was pulling a bit of a lead on me as I tussled with Owens immaculate Tuscan when I saw him raise an arm and pull off the circuit…I had the GpB lead and the car was fantastic. Owens freshly fettled Tuscan started to pull away on the straights and Ben in the TWR Tuscan started to make his presence felt in my mirrors. We hacked about for a lap and he passed on the straight. I just can’t keep those bad boys behind me!
I caught Ben up again in the twisty bits (he’s from urrpnorth so hasn’t done Combe before) and was hoping to force a mistake, when I noticed Owen was recovering from a spin at the chicane. As it turned out this would be very unlucky.

As Ben pushed hard, and as he crossed the start line, his engine let go. A vapour trail became a huge white rooster tail as his engine detonated at around 130mph. He somehow managed to move over to the infield and away from the wall as his car disintegrated around him, finally losing it as the car span on it’s own oil. I was lucky. So close behind him, the fluids were mostly still airbourne and I could see where they were. Avoiding the trail, I saw Ben spin to the infield, harmlessly I thought, and I carried on through a spattered windscreen. By the time I reached “old Paddock” corner the red flags were out and I could see the white smoke from Ben’s stricken Tuscan. Still unaware of the incident, I was miffed that my good race would be compromised by a safety car, but hey, that’s racing. As I continued round however, I saw a huge black cloud from the same location. With no cars behind me, I became aware that something much more serious had happened. As the marshals stacked us on the grid, the gravity of the situation became apparent and we exited the cars.

As the pack had followed onto the main straight, they would have been flat out as they hit the fluid drenched track at between 100 and 140mph. With the trail going from the racing line to the infield, there would have been little or no chance of missing it. Oil & slick tyres and on the fastest and bumpiest part of the lap would have meant they were passengers. Dave Chant, Tim Davis, Gary Lancashire and Tim Broughton all spun off at high speed. How they all missed each other and the wall I will never know, but Owen O’Neil wasn’t so lucky. As his car spun out of control, it hit the back of the stricken TWR Tuscan passenger side on at what must have been well over 100mph. Ben was knocked unconscious and as Owen started to exit his own car, the ruptured fuel tank leaked its contacts onto a hot exhaust and detonated. He ran from his burning car straight over to Ben to aid his exit. Still unconscious, Ben has pulled from the car by Owen (who had now been joined by Tim Davis) and Tim and the assembled marshals. The cars were extinguished and the racing stopped.

Ben regained consciousness by the time the ambulance arrived and was asking where he was, where his girlfriend was and how his car was. Owen amazingly only suffered a couple of bruised ribs. Considering the speed and severity of the incident, it’s astounding that no one was seriously hurt. Owens car is totalled and the TWR car is almost certainly beyond economic repair. That doesn’t mean that it won’t return, but there’s much to be done if it does. By around 9pm, both Ben and Owen were back at home or hotel respectively and I’m sure it was only then that their good fortune would have started to sink in.

We all know the risks when we go racing. We prepare as best we can and take care that the cars are well turned out and safe. We trust in the skill and integrity of the other drivers to race, race hard and race fairly; but at the end of the day we don’t like to think of a worst-case scenario. Statistically we are more likely to be injured on the way to the circuit than on the Track itself but shit happens and we place our faith in the cars and marshals to look after us when/if the time comes. But it’s all part of why we do it…and love it. I’ll happily tell you now, that at the start of every race…on the line…as I run the green flag lap…I ask myself “what the f*ck am I doing here?” But I keep finding myself out there. Personally I think we are all NUTS!

See you at Anglesey.