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Club Championship Lexan GT Round 1 - 23rd September

Lexan GT Round 1 - 23 September 2007

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Report

The Heats

The pace was expected to be fast with the ultra lightweight high-speed lexans and the racing didnt disappoint. Racing commenced in the finishing order of last years championship with 3-minute long runs. Ross M and Graham S began where they left off in SCX touring cars with close racing in the first heat of the day and this set the tone for the night. First qualifier was decided in the last two heats with Graham suffering from deslotting on the main straight of green lane, due to the ultra low clearance of his Maserati. This meant he needed to overturn an overall two-lap deficit on blue in the last heat but Ross withstood putting in a very quick performance with his Ferrari on green to ensure first choice for the finals. By far the most popular car of the field was the Audi R10 raced by five of the competitors, the fastest of which was Ian C who put in a solid performance to qualify in third with Scott C, also using the R10, following him. Jim M qualified in a disappointing fifth after grip problems from his newly built Cadillac LMP 02. Qualification order in the middle of the field was extremely close. Douglas M put in a driver of the day performance to qualify in sixth with Jim H and John W only separated by half a lap and at these speeds meaning only a few seconds. The Youngs, driving the nicely team coloured orange Audi R10s both endured mechanical problems of grip for David and a faltering guidepost for Lynn which hindered their qualification. David Bs Ford Capri and Bill C also had car trouble that meant for a difficult first round and neither was able to show their true race pace. Steven and Gary, the youngest drivers racing on the day put in good performances with cars that were not quite up to speed with very little set up or practice time for either driver. Notable absentees were Kenny B and Ross B who both missed out due to illness. The fastest lap of 6.196 was set by Ross M on blue lane. Many drivers felt the track grip was lower than normal as no one was able to match their pace from last weeks practice session and warm up races.

The Finals

There were few changes in the finals from qualification; the best mover of the day was David Young who improved two places from his qualifying position. Carrying on with their duel from the heats was Jim H, just holding off in a nervy finish with John W quickly catching from behind. Jim M was unable to make up for his qualifying position with the same grip problems hampering his chances of moving up into the A final. His cadillac being extremely fast but a bit unpredictable in cornering. The A final started off as a very close affair with all the drivers in contention. Ross M moved into the lead followed by Ian C then Graham who was trying to make up for an early deslot. The young driver tried his best to hold off but eventually Graham overcame when Ian nudged both the drivers off at the parabolica. Graham was correctly put back in first and began to pull away. Scott C also ceased his opportunity by overtaking Ian C near the end of the race as Ian didnt settle back into his normally quick pace. The battling behind allowed Ross to build an unchallengeable lead and to take full points from the first round.

Ross M | 24 September 2007 - 09:56