2002 Stock Hatch Rounds 11 & 12, Snetterton
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Again the SRIS team's pair of 106 would not run this weekend, due to one of the possible drivers having an operation on a broken nose just the day before this event, and the other choosing to go to Cadwell Park where the team is running in Auto Italia in the same weekend. So I braved the paddock to see how Gordon Macmillan would get on in his second outing in the car the team built a few weeks earlier. If I had a pound for every nose joke I heard this weekend, I'd have my racing funds for life!! Still, on with qualifying, and noise checks and scrutineer checks. Did you see how much money Stokes had to pay to bribe his car through the noise test?? Well none actually, but damn, that car is close! The Saturday B race was largely uneventful from the bit of track that I was watching, but elsewhere Paul Taylor was trying to make up for a dismal run in qualifying, and came unstuck at the first bend. It was eventually won by Wayne Bailey The A race was a hotly fought battle by comparison, with Burgess, Felix, Scarlett and Morgan forming a splinter group at the front, leaving the rest to squabble for the scraps. It finished in that order, but with race lap times setting grid positions for Sunday, there were a couple of upsets. In all the confusion Gordon Macmillan had been left largely on his own in 5th place, and this meant he had time to set a fantastic lap whilst the lead group held each other up, and he would start the Sunday race second on the grid. The Sunday B race was a lot more entertaining at the Esses than the previous day had been. It seemed every lap someone was having a good scrap through the Esses and into the bombhole - not to mention Mr Cottrell's roll, and the other chap lifting so much dirt I cannot even identify who he is! Not sure who won that one in the end, but I am sure there was a PINK Nova in there somewhere! The Sunday A race was led from the off by a hard charging Gordon Macmillan, determined to embrace this opportunity for a podium finish. He continued to lead until around half distance when he missed a gear change dropping him back to third as Felix and Scarlett pounced - again that is the order they finished. I understand we can look forward to a couple of engine checks in the coming weeks, and then it all happens all over again at the same circuit in a few weeks time.
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