Newsletter and Rissington Race report

Rissington Round 3 – June 3^rd

Round 3 of the 210 Challenge also incorporated Round 2 of the Supa 60’s and Round 2 of the Rissington Club Championships. Saturdays practice saw a relaxed, warm and breezy day against race day on Sunday which was still and very hot with shade at a premium. Suntan lotion supplies were depleted and looking at a us as we left the track early evening ‘Aftersun’ stocks and shares sharply rose!!! We were the only gearbox grid of the weekend and well looked after as ever.

 

Heat 1

Plain led heat 1 and by lap 3 was the whole length of the Start Straight ahead of Perkins and D. Bury!! A little further back saw T. Bury, Whyte, Henry, Fowler, Woodward and Hancock all tussling for 4^th place. Lap 4 saw D. Bury rob Perkins of his 2^nd position: Whyte was up to 4^th and Henry 5^th thus thankfully putting them a little way ahead of what would occur two laps later. As the group of T. Bury, Fowler, Woodward and Hancock exited the back straight Fowler spun, the eventual result being T. Bury and Hancock were side-lined with Woodward striking the front of Hancock’s kart causing some major damage. Lap 9 saw Whyte pass Perkins on Parc Ferme corner to claim 3^rd.  By now Plain was streets ahead and finished an astonishing 12 seconds in front of 2^nd place man D. Bury.

1^st Plain, 2^nd D. Bury, 3^rd Whyte, 4^th Perkins, 5^th Henry and Woodward completed the top 6.

 

Heat 2

With the realisation that with the new timing system the drivers had completed a heat of 14 laps which would be the norm for a final a quick drivers meeting was held. Taking the hot weather also into account with a majority vote it was decided to reduce time to 5 mins plus a lap which equated to 10 laps. The final would be 7 mins plus a lap. D. Bury took the early lead hotly pursued by Plain, W. Cox, Perkins, Woodward and Whyte. On the next lap Plain motored past D. Bury along the back Straight to snatch the lead, whilst Perkins claimed 3^rd spot. Lap 3 saw Woodward demote Perkins to 4^th although Perkins would be reinstated on lap 5 as Woodward clipped the kerb and spun, unfortunately this resulted in him black flagged 2 laps later, due to a dislodged bumper. W. Cox was now in 4^th, Whyte 5^th and Green 6^th.

1^st Plain, 2^nd D. Bury, 3^rd Perkins, 4^th W. Cox, 5th Whyte, 6^th Green. However Green was judged to have made a jumped start and given a 10 second penalty promoting S. Cox to 6^th

 

Heat 3

Woodward saw a brief glance at the lead but within seconds Plain had once again taken control at the front. On lap 2 D. Bury was up to 2^nd Woodward 3^rd, Whyte 4^th, Perkins 5^th and T. Bury 6^th. By Lap 5 W. Cox was up to 6^th with a charging Hancock and Green at his heels. Hancock and Green would swap places a few times before eventually passing W. Cox on lap 7. Plain led with Woodward doing his best to grab his 2^nd place back from D. Bury, Whyte and Perkins remained in 4^th and 5^th. On the last lap Hancock moved up to 6^th with a little help from a Novice. At this point it’s worth a mention that the true 210 camaraderie that we’ve all witnessed and gladly appreciated over many years came into force. Thanks to quite a few people, the Callaghan’s, Plains, John Morrish to name just a few had banned Hancock from being anywhere near his kart after heat 1, they straightened, welded and repaired the sustained damage in record time for him to continue racing.

1^st Plain, 2^nd D. Bury, 3^rd Woodward, 4^th Whyte, 5^th Perkins and Hancock completing the top 6

 

Final

The front row was hosted by Plain in pole, D. Bury and Whyte. Plain did as we’d come to expect and shot off into the lead, followed by Whyte, D. Bury, Perkins, Woodward and Green and the rest. Lap 3 saw Woodward demote Perkins to claim 4^th and on the following lap both D. Bury and Woodward passed Whyte. Lap 4 and Plain had already extended his lead by the length of the Start Straight D. Bury was now in 2nd, Woodward 3^rd, Whyte 4^th, Perkins 5^th, Green in 6^th had Hancock, Fowler and Henry severely hassling him. By midrace distance Woodward had made several attempts to gain 2^nd but D. Bury kept to his line, Fowler and Hancock had passed Green for 6^th and 7^th. The Cox brothers, Wayne and Shane had had a good family race between them all day and this was no exception and Shane lead his brother for half the race until old age and treachery over youth and exuberance won the private battle. On lap 12 Woodward’s patience paid off and he made an unorthodox move on D. Bury taking the outside line on the corner at the end of the Back Straight (deemed to be the fastest corner on the track!!) Hancock demoted Fowler to 7^th.

As the chequered flag fell Plain who had dominated the whole day came in victorious 2^nd Woodward, 3^rd D. Bury, Whyte who had maintained 4^th place throughout was seen stranded along the Back Straight and was out, Perkins was now 4^th, Hancock 5^th, Fowler 6^th, Green 7^th, W. Cox 8^th S. Cox (N) 9^th Tom Stone (N) completed the top ten.  

Kate