2004 Stock Hatch Round 1, Mallory Park
|
Changeable weather greeted the Stock Hatch invasion of Mallory Park for round 1 of the 2004 championship. 3 seperate qualifying sessions were required, and the weather held off (more or less) through all of them. Possibly the first session was the most slippery, and there were undoubtedly winners and losers in this lottery, but thats racing. After the qualifying sessions, as I wandered around the paddock, I noticed how much ballast is now bolted into many of the cars. I realise that the club needed to do something about the fact that the 106 based cars were outperforming others, but I feel the result has left a dangerous situation of cars carrying 60kg or more of slabs of steel in the car, held in by 2 or 4 bolts (hopefully with load spreading washers). In my humble opinion it is only a matter of time before a car carrying all this ballast is involved in an accident of sufficient severity to dislodge the ballast - and I for one would not want to be in that car when it happens! On to the races then, and with the top 10 runners all making it through into the final, the rest would run in 2 heats to decide the rest of the final grid. I did not take such detailed notes as I usually do, as I was not planning on writing a report for the club mag this time, so I cannot recall who actually did what in this heat, except to say that I know Simon Howard led from the off followed by Martin Boon. Gordon Macmillans brand new 2004 engine, supplied as part of a sponsorship deal from an engine builder unfortunately blew up after just a few laps. Meanwhile his team-mate Richard Horsey was carving through the field from a low starting place, until a wire fell off cutting his engine, and his chances of a place in the final. In the second heat Ian Laughton took the lead away from pole sitter Paul Sheehan, only to lose it again with a big sideways moment into Gerards for the first time. Sheehan held on for ALMOST the rest of the race, until Laughton made it back past to take the win. The start of the final for a moment looked like a repeat of the Cadwell carnage from last year, as Pete Morgan could be seen swapping ends in the middle of the pack. It looked as though Paul Taylor took some damage during all this, and Mark Alden after a brief spell on 2 wheels limped into retirement. Amazingly everyone else kept going, and Paul Taylor was evidently very determined to pick up some of the lost ground, but as his car picked up more damage at some stage, he finally had to settle for 8th (I think). Up front, Felix had led from the start, hotly pursued by Gareth Wright, until just a lap or two from the end, Wright managed to get round the outside of Felix round Gerards. Behind them, Shepherd in his first outing in his new Saxo had a lonely race in third, as did Andy Burgess in his new VW Lupo in 4th. Just one week now until round 2 at Donington, so a few cars will probably need a quick polish! |
