| 2009 race 6 - Cadwell Park |
|
|
|
|
At the start of the green flag lap, Wilkinson struggled to get away from 3rd, but as the cars came to take their positions on the grid he had managed managed to get back in position. It was hardly worth it though, because as the lights went out so did his chances. Clearly whatever changes had been made to the car were not wholly beneficial, and he parked it in the pits within a lap. The driver at the front was Hollis, who had got past Fritchley and Panas and was trying to pull out a gap, with very little success, managing just over 1 second at one point. Proietti was already charging through the field and was up to 2nd by lap 2. Two laps later it was Panas in the lead, with Hollis, Proietti, Thompson, Hindley, Turner and Fritchley right behind. Sammie may have lost several places from her front row start but she was still very much in contention. Alec Graham and Anthony Robinson had settled into a two-horse race for 8th, followed by Trevor Williams, who was too far behind to challenge them, but too far ahead of the other drivers to be challenged himself. The drivers behind Williams were Helen Deeley, Nick Grant (who had replaced Simon Pearson) and Derek Coghill, who was going well after his start from the back. There was an intense battle for 14th between Lien Davies, Anthony Gaymond (the no. 96 car having been repaired after teammate Chappell's oily off in the first race), Nick Roads and Peter James. Michael Fox was still struggling on at the back, but his lap times were now nearly 20 seconds quicker than they had been earlier in the day, so there was some encouragement there at least! Perhaps the marshal on the start/finish line hadn't had the opportunity to wave a flag before this weekend, as it wasn't too long before the black and orange flag reappeared. This time it was for Coghill, whose front spoiler was flapping a little bit (which usually happens at every race to various cars). Coghill was quickly into the pits and the spoiler was completely removed, rejoining right in the middle of the battle for 14th, now being led by Gaymond. Up at the front, Panas was still in the lead, but he couldn't relax as there were six cars breathing down his neck, and not in a nice way either! Closest of all was Proietti, who attempted what can best be described as an ambitious move at The Mountain, resuling in both Sandro and Steve departing the tarmac. It also shuffled the following cars, so across the line it was now Thompson in the lead from Hollis, Turner, Fritchley and Hindley. Proietti managed to rejoin in 6th, but was too far behind to catch up, whilst Panas managed another lap with a severely rubbing tyre before parking it. To say he was disappointed would be an injustice - he was livid enough to make Gordon Ramsay look like a kitten!Thompson didn't hold the lead for long however, as down the back straight he came under pressure from Hollis and Turner. Running slightly wide at the next corner put him on the marbles and round he went, taking Turner's rear wing with him as Mark tried to squeeze past. So now the were 4 left - Hollis, Hindley, Fritchley and Turner, as Thompson rejoined in the middle of the Graham/Robinson battle. It was about this time that a couple of cars dropped out of what was now a 5 car battle for 12th, led by Coghill from James and Roads. Davies did a slow lap before retiring, whilst Gaymond also slowed before pulling into the pits. Given the fact that it was nearly the end of the race, it was still worth going back out and getting a finish, which he duly did, but at a reduced pace. With a few laps to go, Hindley and Turner both got past Hollis, with Fritchley following suit with 2 laps to go. Matthew wasn't too concerned, expecting the others to fight for position, but he hadn't accounted for Turner acting as a 'rear-gunner' for Hindley, which he was doing very well in a bid to help his 'teammate'. On the last lap, Fritchley went for a gap that Turner duly blocked, but the ensuing reduction in pace allowed Hollis to sneak past Sammie back into a 3rd at Hall Bends, by which time Hindley and Turner were clear and heading for the 1-2 finish. On closer inspection it was lucky Hollis finished at all, his fan having sheared off with about 10 minutes to go!Thompson had come storming back from his spin to finish just 4 tenths behind Proietti after being 10 seconds behind, claiming fastest lap (and a new lap record it is believed!) in the process. An hour or so later, he had been promoted a place after Proietti was penalised for his collision with Panas. That penalty dropped Sandro to 8th behind Graham and Robinson, who had battled all race long. Williams came home 9th after a pretty lonely race, whilst Deeley just held off Grant to complete the top 10. Coghill lost out to both James and Roads in the last few laps. Gaymond finished one lap down after his stop, and Fox was just glad to see the back of a weekend that had not delivered in a way he would have liked.The non-finish of Panas (and consequently Cowling) meant that the championship was far from over. Prior to the second race at Cadwell, they had built up a lead of almost 100 points, but this had been reduced to nearer 30 afterwards. Proietti had climbed to 3rd, whilst Hindley's win had kept him in the hunt. Myatt, Fritchley and Hollis were still in touch after solid performances, but the big loser was Wilkinson who dropped to 8th. All to play for at Oulton!
Report by the Hollis family.
|













Rewind a few hours before the first race had started and you would have witnessed the second qualifying session. Following his engine trouble in the first session, Derek Coghill had to sit this one out, immediately placing him 19th and last on the grid. At the sharp end it was Steve Panas who managed to secure pole position despite ending his qualifying in the barriers at the bottom of the Gooseneck after an off-track excursion. Fortunately the damage was not so severe as to prevent him from racing. Joining him on the front row was Sammie Fritchley (in place of Myatt), who must have been hoping for another sniff at victory after her performance at Mallory.
At the start of the green flag lap, Wilkinson struggled to get away from 3rd, but as the cars came to take their positions on the grid he had managed managed to get back in position. It was hardly worth it though, because as the lights went out so did his chances. Clearly whatever changes had been made to the car were not wholly beneficial, and he parked it in the pits within a lap. The driver at the front was Hollis, who had got past Fritchley and Panas and was trying to pull out a gap, with very little success, managing just over 1 second at one point. Proietti was already charging through the field and was up to 2nd by lap 2. Two laps later it was Panas in the lead, with Hollis, Proietti, Thompson, Hindley, Turner and Fritchley right behind. Sammie may have lost several places from her front row start but she was still very much in contention. Alec Graham and Anthony Robinson had settled into a two-horse race for 8th, followed by Trevor Williams, who was too far behind to challenge them, but too far ahead of the other drivers to be challenged himself. The drivers behind Williams were Helen Deeley, Nick Grant (who had replaced Simon Pearson) and Derek Coghill, who was going well after his start from the back. There was an intense battle for 14th between Lien Davies, Anthony Gaymond (the no. 96 car having been repaired after teammate Chappell's oily off in the first race), Nick Roads and Peter James. Michael Fox was still struggling on at the back, but his lap times were now nearly 20 seconds quicker than they had been earlier in the day, so there was some encouragement there at least!
Perhaps the marshal on the start/finish line hadn't had the opportunity to wave a flag before this weekend, as it wasn't too long before the black and orange flag reappeared. This time it was for Coghill, whose front spoiler was flapping a little bit (which usually happens at every race to various cars). Coghill was quickly into the pits and the spoiler was completely removed, rejoining right in the middle of the battle for 14th, now being led by Gaymond. Up at the front, Panas was still in the lead, but he couldn't relax as there were six cars breathing down his neck, and not in a nice way either! Closest of all was Proietti, who attempted what can best be described as an ambitious move at The Mountain, resuling in both Sandro and Steve departing the tarmac. It also shuffled the following cars, so across the line it was now Thompson in the lead from Hollis, Turner, Fritchley and Hindley. Proietti managed to rejoin in 6th, but was too far behind to catch up, whilst Panas managed another lap with a severely rubbing tyre before parking it. To say he was disappointed would be an injustice - he was livid enough to make Gordon Ramsay look like a kitten!
With a few laps to go, Hindley and Turner both got past Hollis, with Fritchley following suit with 2 laps to go. Matthew wasn't too concerned, expecting the others to fight for position, but he hadn't accounted for Turner acting as a 'rear-gunner' for Hindley, which he was doing very well in a bid to help his 'teammate'. On the last lap, Fritchley went for a gap that Turner duly blocked, but the ensuing reduction in pace allowed Hollis to sneak past Sammie back into a 3rd at Hall Bends, by which time Hindley and Turner were clear and heading for the 1-2 finish. On closer inspection it was lucky Hollis finished at all, his fan having sheared off with about 10 minutes to go!
Gaymond finished one lap down after his stop, and Fox was just glad to see the back of a weekend that had not delivered in a way he would have liked.