Article by Andrew Blacklee

…and so to Mira for Round 6 of the tvr Speed Championship 2007.  This was the second time the Championship has been invited by the Bentley Drivers Club to the Motor Industry Research Association Sprint Track which is on the inside of their substantial banked test track.  Entry is very much by invitation only and with a clear “no cameras” policy being enforced by the security guards.  This is also the only event on the Speed Championship fixture list where the Portaloos have mahogany styled surfaces.  Only the piped music was missing!

There was a late surge on applications for this event following the cancellation of the two Anglesey races the following weekend – in all some 20 tvrs arrived on the morning.

The first driver out for practice was Simon Cole in his 350/480 who set an extremely fast 55.27 seconds straight off the trailer.  As it happened no other driver besides Simon himself was to beat this time all day!  The concern amongst other drivers was evident when it was realised that after the first round of practice only one other driver - Steve Lyle (58.39secs) - was able to record under 60 seconds.

Second practice gave another opportunity to narrow the gap with Simon Cole but, unfortunately for the 19 other divers, this failed to materialise as whilst three other drivers got below 60 seconds, Geoff Stallard, Alan Davies and Adrian Duggleby, Mr Cole himself went even faster at 54.94 seconds.  There was an interesting tussle developing between the two leading five litre drivers with Alan Davies (Chimaera) nudging ahead by 0.3 seconds of Adrian Duggleby (Griffith).  This close rivalry in the different models was to last all day.

The two timed practice laps were over by 11am and whilst there were some 20 tvr drivers there was only a total entry of some 68 competitors and, importantly no pesky Caterhams with their habit of falling off the black stuff at every other corner!  The first round of timed runs was therefore possible before lunch and this led to two more drivers breaking the magic 60 second mark namely Richard Blacklee in a Chimaera 450 (59.50sec) and John Cucchi (Griffith 500 – 59.81 secs).  By now drivers were also comparing notes as to their speed through the speed trap in the middle of the course, which clearly favoured the late brakers.  By way of indication Richard Blacklee’s top speed jumped from 83 miles per hour on the first practice run to 106 miles per hour on his final timed run due to some extremely late braking which enabling him to equal or better the Cerberas and Griffiths.  The top speed went to Simon Cole at 113 miles per hour although this did precede an incident at the following corner which led to his not recording an important first timed run and also the necessity for the substantial use of tape to hold the front spoiler in place if he was to compete in the final round.

Whilst all this was going on, back in the pit Hugh Davies was showing the other drivers his birthday present to himself which included new wheels, new Toyo tyres and engine management system for his Chimaera 450.  Unfortunately this merely gave the other Chimaera divers even more incentive to try and beat him.

By the time of the final round most drivers attention was on whether or not the ever- darkening clouds would produce a downpour and if so whether or not they could get their drive in before or after it rained.  Simon Cole had problems of his own having not as yet set a qualifying timed run due to his “off” in the first round.  He was first out and recorded a ridiculously quick 52.76 seconds which was almost three seconds faster than the rest of the field and gave him first place.  Steve Lyle in his V8S recorded a marginal improvement on his first timed run with a 55.39 seconds and Geoff Stallard in his Vixen S2 likewise continued to improve with a 57.87 seconds which after handicap gave him 3rd place.  A splendid result for a Vixen on the Mira circuit.

Alan Davies and Adrian Duggleby’s tussle in their 5 litres eventually concluded with Adrian’s Griffith finally beating the Chimaera by 0.9 seconds only to be over turned by the handicap rule leading to a 4th place for Alan Davies.  Chimaeras rule!

Mike Horn struggled to find the pace he had earlier in the season having won the first round at North Weald but still managed a respectable 60.25 seconds in the final timed run.

Mention must also go to Richard Blacklee who consistently improved during the day to record a timed 59.03 seconds and secured 6th place and some 21.49 points towards the championship where he currently lies in 3rd place overall.  It was noted how he is more competitive in rounds such as Mira and North Weald where he double drives the car with his brother than other “solo” events.

Overall an excellent days racing and congratulations to Simon Cole who marches on seeking his second progressive Championship with his fourth outright win.

Full and detailed results can be seen on our website
http://www.tvrspeedchampionship.co.uk/