Brief Race report for SMRC Knockhill July 13th 2014

SMRC Quick Race Reports 13h July Knockhill It was a sunny day at Knockhill with a pleasant breeze, as the cars assembled for
the Summer Race Meeting.
Scottish Fiesta Championship supported by Peoples Ford
Race One: A smaller than normal Fiesta grid saw Wayne Macaulay dominate the
race and win the ST class. He was chased by Andrew Christie (ST) who got clear of
the XR2s after a couple of laps. The main race action was between the XR2s where
Hamish Smart led from his championship rival Steven Gray until mid race. They were
always close with Gray having out-qualified Smart in his new ex-Charlie Thornton /
Wayne Macaulay car. Smart retired with engine woes leaving Gray clear of the other
XR2s. Behind him a race long three car battle raged which saw John Balfour, Josh
Orr and Jim Deans go head to head. At the flag, the officials gave a time a penalty to
Balfour and Orr which gave fourth place to Deans.
Race Two: Wayne Macaulay again led all race, but this time Andrew Christie stayed
a lot closer and was only around three seconds behind for much of the race. There
was lots of action behind them as the XR2 brigade put on a good show. Jim Deans
led all the way in this battle, with Steven Gray pressing him hard in the early stages.
Josh Orr then took over the chase of Deans with John Balfour behind. Stephen Ward
was close to the XR2s in his ST which had been unable to get out earlier in the day.
Hamish Smart ran just behind him, his car looking as if it was slightly down on
power. Balfour took third in XR2s from Gray and as the top four XR2s ran nose to
tail. Gray then lost it at Leslie’s and went into the tyre barrier just before Scotsman on
lap nine. This brought out the red flags and thankfully Gray emerged from the car
unscathed. Jim Deans took both the XR2 championship win and new comers honors,
while Wayne Macaulay continued his unbroken winning record.
Scottish Classic Sports and Saloon Championship in association with
Yokohama Tyres
Race One: A fine mixed grid started the race, which had lots of good battles and
soon turned into a race of attrition. Pole man Harry Simpson was beaten into the first
corner by reigning championship Tommy Gilmartin in his Morgan. Simpson quickly
dropped to fourth in his Ginetta as the bigger engine cars shot past him. At the third
corner Raymond Boyd took the lead in his 911 from Gilmartin. By lap two Gilmartin
was back at the front and he pulled out a couple of seconds lead quite quickly.
Gilmartin led until lap seven then slowed dramatically and pitted reporting a blown
engine. The race was coming to Shonny Patterson in the TR8. He’d taken 2nd place
on lap three and looked safe in the lead which he inherited on lap 7, this was until he
started lapping traffic around lap ten. This let Harry Simpson close right up on him
and these two were nose to tail on the last lap. Patterson just held on for the win.
Behind them was a Porsche 911 battle. Stan Bernard grabbed the class lead on lap
four from Raymond Boyd. These two were fighting over third place and their class
lead at mid-distance. Boyd passed Bernard on lap ten who then slowed and dropped
down the order with brake problems. Steve Uphill took Class A in his Fiesta well
clear of Ian Morton’s Midget. In fourth place overall the Marcos of Tim Reid
benefitted from the misfortune of others but raced well and kept Jimmy Crow’s Escort
at bay.
Race two: Shonny Paterson took a fine victory leading all the way in the TR8. He
eased away from a frantic battle for second place between Raymond Boyd and Harry
Simpson. Boyd kept just ahead for lap after lap until Harry finally squeezed past as
they went up the hill on lap eight. These two were tracked by Stan Bernard who was
around a second behind them. Simpson went wide at the chicane on lap nine which
allowed Boyd to repass him. Stan Bernard drifted back to sixth as he cruised round
with more brake problems. Tim Reid was 4th less than a second ahead of Jimmy
Crow who tracked him all race. Grant Allan again scored good class points in his 911
after a steady run to 7th. Class A saw an excellent race long battle as Ian Morton’s
MG Midget held off Steve Uphill’s Fiesta. These two swapped places a couple of
times before Uphill managed to keep the Fiesta ahead, although Morton was only a
couple of car lengths back when the flag fell.
Scottish BMW Compact Cup
Race One: The biggest grid of the day was also a new high for the BMWs as 29
started. Champion Alan Kirkaldy showed his class and pulled away from the field.
Steven Dailly took second place on the run down to the first corner by passing ex
karter Brogan Kinsella, who was starting only his second ever car race meeting.
Dailly slowly opened the gap leaving Kinsella to lead a six car train in the early laps.
In fourth Shaun Forsyth pressed Kinsella and got past him on lap six at Duffus, but
Kinsella fought back to retake the place as the lap closed. He then eased away as
Forsyth dropped back two places with the battle for 4th becoming even fiercer at the
hairpin. Carol Brown moved through from seventh place to take fourth by lap nine
and pulled away from Mark Souter, who had also moved up from eighth. Mark just
held off Cliff Harper with Calum King not far behind at the flag.
Race two: Alan Kirkaldy again led all the way. This time we had a safety car for two
laps on lap four and five. He was chased by Steven Dailly who kept close until mid
distance, then Kirkaldy opened up a couple of seconds lead to win. Carol Brown
grabbed third on lap one and held the place despite pressure from Brogan Kinsella in
the early laps. Kinsella’s car started to smoke on lap six and he retired a lap later
having dropped back a few places. There was a super scrap over fourth with six cars
running in close company. Mark Souter held sway in fourth despite Cliff Harper and
Shaun Forsyth being right on his bumper. Cliff Harper and David MacNaughton were
right with them, but the race ended early, after an exhaust system was seen on track.
MGCC MG Trophy
Race One: A good grip of 15 MG ZRs split into two classes with 190bhp or 170bhp
came north. Scottish drivers dominated their races with Paul Luti leading from pole.
He was chased all race by Colin Robertson who was sponsoring the race in memory
of his late father Stuart. These two eased away from Graham Ross with Ross Makar
taking fourth. The gap at the front yoyo’d in traffic, but Luti was always in command.
Fergus Campbell finished seventh and won the 170 class despite race long pressure
from Richard Marsh.
Race two: Paul Luti led from the off chased by Colin Robertson and Graham Ross.
They kept much closer at the front and on lap six Robertson dived up the inside at
Clark to take the lead. However this only lasted for a lap before Robertson ran wide
as he came out of Scotsman. His dusty exit saw him drop down to third as Luti and
Ross went past. Luti then led all the way until the twenty lap race ended, despite lots
of pressure from Ross who had a moment at Clark on the penultimate lap. Robertson
stuck with them and was only a few car lengths back in 3rd. Fergus Campbell took
the 170 class in 8th despite Richard Marsh pressing him for most of the race.
Scottish Legend Cars Championship
Heat One: John Paterson hit the front on lap three as the cars raced up the hill
passing David Newall who had taken the lead at Clark on lap 1 from early leader Ivor
Greenwood. Duncan Vincent raced through the pack going from 10th to lie 4th by lap
four after passing Greenwood. Up front Paterson eased clear of Newall. Vincent
made it to 2nd on lap six but ran out of laps to close the gap on leader Paterson.
Euan McKay took a well earned third chased hard by David Hunter and Paul O’Brien.
Heat two: Paul O’Brien led all the way despite lots of pressure from David Hunter.
These two eased clear of Daniel McKay in the early laps. John Paterson moved up
from eighth on the grid to be fourth by lap two and took third place at Clark corner on
lap five. He couldn’t shake off McKay who stuck with him to the end. Duncan Vincent
had started fourth, but was one of three cars involved in a synchronized spinning
incident at Duffus on the first lap. He restarted in tenth and had made it up to fifth by
lap six demoting David Newall in the process.
Final: Another frantic Legends race. Euan McKay raced away from the battle for
second place and looked comfortable in the lead. Then he pitted with a problem on
lap eight which left Duncan Vincent in the lead. Vincent had started tenth and fought
his way neatly through a gaggle of cars taking 2nd place at Duffus on lap six. He
pulled away for a good win as Paul O’Brien held off Paterson and Paul McKay. David
Hunter and David Newall were right behind this battle.
Paul O’Brien was awarded Driver of the Day after his strong showing in the three
races.
Scottish Formula Ford 1600 Championship in association with Peoples Ford
Race One: It may have been a lights to flag for Ciaran Haggerty but it was far from
easy. Championship leader Jordan Gronkowski sat on his exhaust pipe for the whole
race ahead of the returning Ali Dow, who put in an untroubled drive for third. Matthew
Chisholm sat behind Neil Broome on lap one, but took fourth at Duffus on lap two. He
then slowly pulled clear to be comfortably ahead by midrace. Broome sat in a safe
fifth as Clay Mitchell tracked him. On lap seven Colin Turner took sixth place from
Mitchell and Seb Melrose also demoted Mitchell. Melrose then pitted with a
dislodged nosebox. Dario Franchitti had arrived to watch his young protégé Haggerty
and commented that “it was a really good drive from Ciaran under pressure, in fact
both guys drove well.”
Race two: Ciaran Haggerty led away from pole and quickly established a decent gap
back to Jordan Gronkowski. Gronkowski was ahead of Ali Dow. But Dow slowly
dropped back though was safe from Matthew Chisholm. On the opening lap Colin
Turner had made a good start and had passed both Chisholm and Neil Broome, but
Chisholm retook the fourth place back at Clark. Clay Mitchell also had a brilliant set
of opening laps and moved up to fifth by lap three. He was having a good close
scrap with Broome but went off on lap nine into the gravel trap at Scotsman, which
brought out the red flags. Haggerty took a good win from Gronkowski to close the
gap in the championship.
Scottish Saloon and Sportscar Championship
Race One: In the usual mixed grid of saloons and sportscars, Graham Davidson
stood apart. He led from pole in his Noble sportscar and ran away with the race.
Behind him Cameron Purdie held second in his Westfield until lap two when
Cosworth power took Robert Drummond past him into second. He held the place
despite constant pressure from Purdie which only relented on lap ten when the
yellow Westfield spun into the gravel trap at Clark while passing a back-marker. Gary
Wait held fourth on lap two after demoting the Ginetta of Alister Robertson. Wait
pulled three seconds clear by midrace but Robertson closed the gap by the flag. In
the MX5 class Olly Ross ran away with a class win, while Mark Dawson continued
his fine points run in the VW Corrado finishing 6th only 4 seconds behind the Porsche
GT3 of Peter Cooke.
Race two: Graham Davidson again led all the way and pulled well clear of the field in
his Noble. Robert Drummond had a slow start in his Escort Cosworth and dropped to
fourth place by Duffus. Gary Wait grabbed second with Alister Robertson’s Ginetta
running third. Two hundred meters later Gary Wait went off at the chicane in his
Escort Cosworth and dropped to fourth. Lap two saw Drummond back in 2nd with
Robertson right on his bumper. These two stayed close until mid race when
Drummond slowly eased clear. Wait retired on lap four leaving the Porsche GT3 of
Cooke in a safe fourth. Further back Mark Dawson moved up passing the other
Corrado of Chris White on lap seven. He was chased by the Subaru of Mark Robson
who ran side by side with him on the final lap drag race to the line. They were
separated by one thousandth of a second, Robson getting the verdict and 5th. In the
MX5 Cup Ross again took the honors and was well ahead at the end. Paul Bell
brought his Mini Cooper out and chased David Gebbie’s Porsche Cayman, finishing
1th.
KP / JC

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