Production S1, Brands Hatch GP June 2006

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RACE 1 60 minutes : PS1, 17th June 2006

Steve Wood - © DSC / EERC

Blazing sunshine greeted he biggest PS1 entry of the season, on the glorious Grand Prix configuration of Brands Hatch, and Saturday morning’s qualifying session saw Calum Lockie, in Paul White’s BMW M3, take pole as the session drew to a close, posting 1:37.175. just over three-quarters of a second faster than Steve Wood and Stuart Scott, returning to the fray in their VW Golf, which hadn’t been used in anger for three years.

The BMW E30 of Nigel Stephens, and the E36 of father-and-son pairing Peter and Matt Seldon had made the early running, and lined up third and fourth respectively. Class 3 pole was bagged by the TJH Motorsport Honda Civic of Jonathan Ridley-Holloway and Simon Mason, the team and drivers on a mission this weekend.

Steve Wood took the lead as the lights went green for the 60-minute race, with both Stephens and Peter Seldon getting the jump on Paul White. A spin into the gravel at Paddock for Martin Depper’s Mini Cooper saw the safety car deployed on lap two, but, as the recovery crew worked extra-quickly, it was out for barely a lap, and the field went green again almost immediately.

Mike Gardiner, sharing a newly-built BMW M3 with Paul Fenton, had made one of his usual storming starts, and seized third from Nigel Stephens, whilst lone driver Kevin Clarke was disputing seventh with the BMW M3 of Michael Symons. Tom Ballentyne was an early pit visitor, retiring the Porsche 944.

Seldon was on Wood’s tail as they crossed the line for the fifth time, but behind them, Mark Lemmer’s Honda Integra and Paul White’s M3 came to blows as they powered along the pit straight, the BMW spinning end-to-end into the pit wall, and coming to rest straddling the pit exit and track, completely wrecked, and Lemmer crawling to a stop on the inside of Paddock, with considerable side damage.

With the Safety Car now controlling the field once again, and the time just about being right, lone drivers Kevin Clarke (BMW 320i) and John George (Honda Civic), took their stops, dropping them way down the order. Time would tell if this was a good call. Wood still led, with Seldon close behind, Gardiner third, Symons now fourth, Stephens fifth, and Peter Heintzleman in the Vauxhall Astra sixth. Jonathan Ridley-Holloway was the leading Class 3 runner.

Just three laps, and the caution was lifted, but, with Kelly-Anne Mercer’s MG ZR beached at Druids, and Depper’s Mini-Cooper once again needing recovery, thee were only three laps of clear running before Gary James brought the silver Saab out to stabilise the field yet again. This time, it was definitely the time for mandatory stops, Ian Lawson, Symons, Stephens, Seldon, and Gardiner all seizing the opportunity, though Wood toughed it out at the front. Ian White, in the yellow BMW M3, stayed out too, moving up to second, in front of Rupert Laslett’s aggressive-looking Lotus Exige, and Anna Walewska, in the red Geoff Steel M3.

Two laps for the Safety Car this time, and, as the field were released once again, it was closing on the half-way mark, which saw those that hadn’t taken advantage of the Safety Car progressively filter into the pits, Jeff Wyatt and Peter Heintzleman being the first. Matt Seldon, having relieved Peter in the BMW M3, was unable to get back in contention after the stops, a puncture putting paid to his recovery.

With 20 minutes to go, and on the cusp of the pit-stop window parameter, Wood brought the yellow Golf in for Stuart Scott to take over. Behind him, though, the race had adopted a different complexion, and now it was Kevin Clarke and John George – the early stoppers, remember - who fell into first and second positions. After the agonisingly long stop, Scott rejoined in tenth, a lap down, with little realistic hope of clawing back to the top.

So, with ten minutes left to run, Clarke had a healthy 26-second lead over George, who, for the moment, held a similar advantage over Andre D’Cruze, who had taken the #90 BMW over from Michael Symons. Nigel Stephens was fourth, but a couple of atypical spins, attributed to gear selection problems requiring a hit-and-miss approach to shifting, dropped him down the order.

Andre D’Cruze was now the man on the move, his initial chipping away at John George’s advantage now gaining new impetus as the time ticked away. Time, though, was not on the Kentish hotshoe’s side, and as the chequered flag fell, the Mardi Gras Honda was just over a second to the good, D’Cruze’s stunning efforts taking 25 seconds out in six laps.

Class 2 cars at the front overall, then, Clarke’s winning Intersport BMW 320i ahead of George’s Honda Civic, with the Ian Lawson/Mike Wilds 320i, third in class and fourth overall. Leading Class 1 contender was the Symon/D’Cruze M3, with the Paul Fenton/Mike Gardiner M3 – a road car up until six weeks ago – a fantastic second, and big Witt Gamski. In his Ferrari 355, third.

Class 3 was settled on the very last lap. Jonathan Ridley-Holloway had done a sterling job in the TJH Motorsport Honda Civic, and Simon Mason’s late-race push, plus a robust move on Stuart Plotnek’s MG ZR, which he had taken over from Gary Smith, confirmed the class victory. Lone driver Rick Kraemer rounded-out the top three in class

RACE 2 120 minutes : PS1, 18th June 2006

Steve Wood - © DSC / EERC

The grid for race 2 was set by the results of Race 1, but with John George withdrawing from the longer, two-hour, Sunday race, everybody behind pole-sitter Kevin Clarke, who for this race was joined by Anthony Wilds, moved up one slot. Nigel Stephens, who tackled Saturday’s race alone, was joined by regular co-pilot Fergus Campbell.

Wilds took the lead at the start, but it was a fired-up Michael Symons who led as the pack came past the start/finish line for the first time. Mike Gardiner was making his mark, as usual, in third, with Ian Lawson fourth, Fergus Campbell fifth, and the amazing MG ZR of Gary Smith in sixth. Steve Wood was beginning his climb through the order, the yellow Golf starting 11th, and by lap five he was on Symon’s tail, slipping through on the inside of Paddock Hill Bend to take the lead as they started the sixth tour. Tony Brown wasn’t taking any prisoners either, and his yellow M3 was now challenging Gardiner for third. Wood began to eke out a lead, leaving a close-coupled train of Symons/Gardiner/Brown behind him, and now Peter Seldon, who had started from the back of the grid, latched on to the back of the trio.

But not for long, since the M3 was pretty soon past all three of the similar cars, and began a very gradual pursuit of the VW in the lead. An atypically troublesome weekend for the MG ZR of Kelly-Anne Mercer and Sarah Bennett-Baggs came to an end with a small fire, and the VW Beetle of Alex Frick and Terry Flatt expired with wheel bearing problems. Tony Brown’s spirited drive was thwarted by a broken hub, and with 90-minutes still on the clock, the Butler Motorsport M3 was retired. The McInerney’s were, unusually, not figuring in the results this weekend, and Michael, starting in the Honda Integra, clashed with Peter Moulsdale’s Vauxhall Astra at Druids, the first of several incidents which caused the Mardi Gras team, now out of contention, to utilise the track time in testing set-ups.

It was, in fact, the second incident for Michael McInerney that caused the deployment of the Safety Car on lap 22, and an opportune moment for the majority of the field to take their mandatory pit stop. Staying well out, though, was leader Steve Wood, and by the time the field was released again, five laps later, fellow non-stopper Fergus Campbell was just four seconds behind, with the orange Seat of Mark Cunningham, another who had sat-out the Safety Car period, and victim of an early stop/go penalty, third.

Jeff Wyatt and Tim Christmas, sharing Geoff Steel’s white BMW M3, had been expecting better things after a troublesome Saturday race, but a smoky engine blow-up signalled their retirement 30 laps in.

Paul Fenton had been handed the Moore Racing BMW in a good position, and was in fourth, but behind him, Matt Seldon and Andre D’Cruze were slicing through the traffic with a brilliant display of skill, control, and aggression. By the half-way mark of the race, the pair had passed Fenton, claiming third and fourth spots, and set their radar on a struggling Campbell. “We had a misfire all through the race” admitted Fergus later, “It nearly stopped under the safety car, and I reckon it cost us 1.5 seconds a lap”.

Little resistance from Campbell, then, as the Seldon and D’Cruze took him as a pair, by which time Steve Wood was 25 seconds down the road, and, with 37 laps on the board, still not stopped.

Peter Heintzleman had parked the black GA Motorsport Vauxhall Astra out at Westfield earlier in the race, and now, bizarrely, the white Astra of Steve Kent coasted to a halt at exactly the same place, parking neatly behind its team mate.

It was bad news for the leader, too, as Wood made a snap decision for a slightly earlier stop than anticipated, diving in with 50 minutes to go. “I could feel the engine letting go, so I came in six laps earlier than planned” said Steve. The car was refuelled, and Stuart Scott installed behind the wheel, but the team decided retirement was the safer option.

This left Matt Seldon and Andre D’Cruze fighting for the lead, the pair just 0.100 apart, and Andre drew level as they ascended the rise up to Druids, and, after taking the hairpin side by side, Matt, slowed dramatically down towards Graham Hill Bend, and cruised round the whole lap before pitting. Massive vibration, thought to be a puncture, was diagnosed as tyre pick-up, and father Peter was sent out on his way with a new tyre, now two laps down. Ironically, he was soon back on D’Cruze’s tail again, desperately trying to claw a lap back, but, just as he did, he was back in the pits again, but this time the puncture was for real.

Old hands Kevin Clarke and Mike Wilds, in very similar BMWs, had been slogging it out for sixth, but a late in-and-out pit stop for Clarke put paid to a good finish for the Race 1 winner.

D’Cruze took the chequered flag after 71 laps, and a well-deserved win. Andre, Michael Symons, and the whole Geoff Steel team had a busy weekend, competing in the Dutch Supercar Challenge too, where they achieved a brace of fourth places (including what the team considered a moral victory lost in the stewards office), and this was a superb performance from what must be one of the country’s top privateer saloon car squads.

Paul Fenton and Mike Gardiner were a delighted second overall; “We could never match the pace of Seldon and D’Cruze, and we still need to develop this car – it’s got a lot of understeer” said Fenton. Witt Gamski – big man, big effort – came home third in Class 1 after a splendid solo drive.

Third overall, and runaway winner of Class 3, was the TJH Motorsport Honda Civic of Jonathan Ridley-Holloway and Simon Mason. The team had signalled notice of intent from the very start of the weekend, and a pair of class wins, plus an unbelievable overall position, was just desserts for their efforts. Gary Smith and Stuart Plotnek were Class 3 runners-up, and James Thorpe, always there or thereabouts with Mark Taylor in the Xtreme Motorsport Honda Integra, completed the class podium.

Class 2 honours fell to Nigel Stephens and Fergus Campbell in the recalcitrant Metcalf Motorsport BMW E30, in front of Ian Lawson and Mike Wilds (who had been closing on Witt Gamski for fifth overall towards the end) in second, and the understated Paul Horton and Mark Cunningham in third, having recovered from an early stop/go penalty in the Shaws Glass/DEK Graphics Seat Leon Cupra.