A much better day, despite the near gale force winds and almost sandstorm conditions!
Practice on Thursday had provided valuable track time and setup information, despite losing one session to rain. It also taught us that the newly surfaced sections of the track were like ice when just damp!
Qualifying saw Stuart 7th on the grid, much closer to the pace of poleman Matt Bettley than we had been at Thruxton.
At the start, Bettley led away but an incident at the Esses saw him enter Coram with dirty tyres - and exit into the tyye wall, bringing out the red flag. Fortunately, Matt was shaken and bruised but otherwise undamaged but many hours work will be required on the car.
So, a 15 minute delay on the grid before the restart for a new race but reduced to 10 laps. Another good start saw Stuart up to 5th by the end of the first lap but it took another 5 laps before he seized 4th and set off in pursuit of the leaders. He caught Sam Maddison at the end of the penultimate lap but the move at Russell saw him take briefly take third before rotating onto the kerbs.....
Still, he recovered the car and crossed the line fifth in class to score 6 points.
A great confidence booster for us all, particularly with Stuart setting third fastest lap time.
Up front, Peter Clarke and Charles Hall battled for the entire race, Peter eventually crossing the line in first place to take a clear lead in the championship. Don't worry, chaps, we will be up there soon!
See you at Mallory Park.
Results
| Pos | Driver | Car | Division |
| 1. | Peter Clarke | Van Diemen RF96 | 2000 |
| 2. | Charles Hall | Tatuus RC96 | 2000 |
| 3. | Sam Maddison | Martini MK72 | 2000 |
| 4. | Ian Temple | Van Diemen RF94 | 1700 |
| 5. | David Lumer | Swift SC94R | 1700 |
This page was last updated on 16 October 1997 17:42:45