28th June

BRSCC
Formula Ford 1600
Race Report
FIRST WIN FOR
TOM MCARTHUR
Oulton Park - International Circuit
28th June 2014
Northern Championship: Round 6
Single Header Meeting
Circuit Length: 2.692 miles
Season 2014: Issue 05
Words & Editing:
Dave Williams
Copyright on Pictures:
Bourne Photographic
BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction
3
Qualifying
4
50 Years of Diz
7
Post89 Race Plus Pre90 Invitation
10
Pre90 Race Plus Post89 Invitation
14
Trophy Presentations
17
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BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
Introduction
Four weeks after their last appearance,
contenders in the BRSCC’s Avon Tyres Northern
Formula Ford 1600 Championship returned to
Oulton Park on the final Saturday in June.
The single qualifying session for all cars
underlined the depth of talent throughout BRSCC
FF1600 with a Class C driver setting the fastest
time in the wet conditions that prevailed and a
Class E man who was as high as fourth.
Further back in the field, it is a pleasure to report
on the progress of many less experienced drivers.
Indeed, race 1 saw a number of firsts as the initial
leader had never been out in front before and as
the 20 minutes unfolded another competitor
scored his maiden victory.
NB: Both Post89 and Pre90 classes
ran together in all sessions
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BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
Qualifying
Despite driving a Pre90 car
Josh Fisher qualified 2 secs
faster than anyone else
FISHER NETS POLE
Conditions were poor for qualifying with a wet track and light rain which became heavier
during the latter part of the 20 minutes. Unsurprisingly, 8 drivers had laps disallowed for
exceeding track limits.
One man who was having no problems with the conditions was Josh Fisher who very
impressively set the fastest time by over 2 seconds in this combined session despite
piloting a Pre90 Reynard 89.
Next up was the first Post89 runner in the shape of Tom McArthur. He was the only
member of his family competing this weekend as his father, Neil, was conserving his
budget while bother, David, elected not to rush an engine rebuild which was being
undertaken following the opening round of the Triple Crown a fortnight earlier at Brands
Hatch. He also quipped that he had decided to give his younger sibling a chance at
winning a race for the first time!
Other potential Post89 pace-setters hit trouble with Doug Crosbie suffering from a
persistent misfire which caused his Van Diemen RF00 to fail the noise test. After frantic
work in the paddock he got out to put in one flying lap at the end of qualifying which was
good enough for eighth.
Nigel Dolan was even less fortunate and failed to register a time after brake failure caused
him to smash a front corner into one of the tyre stacks at Brittens.
All this meant that the third and fourth fastest times were set by Pre90 drivers with Chris
Hodgen’s Van Diemen RF89 ahead of John Murphy’s Merlyn Mk 20A, the latter was the
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BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
fastest Class E chassis. Murphy won’t be racing his Van Diemen RF90 again until the
engine has been rebuilt as it was making strange noises on its last outing. This was the
first time he had driven the Merlyn in wet conditions so he was amazed to see his name
near the top of the time-sheets particularly as (worryingly for the other drivers) he wasn’t
really trying as the primary aim of the day was to take the car home in one piece. He
believed there was more speed to come.
Post89 man Tom Hodgson was in a Class E sandwich with Murphy ahead and the Crossle
30F of Mike Gardner behind him. The latter was treating the day as a test session.
Hodgson found a great deal of pace this weekend after Neil Bold and Brian Young
discovered a worn part in his carburettor while Dave Hart worked his magic on a gearbox
component that had seen better days. Hodgson had also enjoyed some virtual track time
thanks to a “home-made simulator”.
The seventh fastest time was recorded by Stuart Jones while, behind Crosbie, Ian
Wolfenden and Calum McHale completed the top ten. Next up was the first Class D car in
the hands of David Murphy who had been frustrated because he didn’t think he had been
driving fast enough – partly because others kept slithering off in front of him – and so was
delighted to discover that his chief rivals were all slower than him.
David Franklin may well have been much higher up than 23rd had he completed more
than two flying laps however his progress was interrupted when his exhaust fell off. He
was thankful that D. Murphy was able to weld it back together during the lunch-time
interval. Malcolm Cooper was another with repairs to make after his head gasket failed
and prevented him from setting a qualifying time.
A lack of brakes meant Nigel Dolan
clipped a tyre stack at Brittens to the
detriment of his left front corner
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BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
Results
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BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
Diz’s Presentation
50 GOLDEN YEARS
Ian Smith and son Steve show
off the painting and the cake
During the post-racing prize-giving Championship Co-ordinator, Ian “Diz” Smith,
experienced an unexpected turn of events when, to mark 50 years of service to
motorsport, he was presented with a specially commissioned Steve Jones painting of
Malcolm Barfoot piloting an Aintree Racing School Crossle 25F plus some holiday
vouchers. David Murphy’s wife, Natalie, also provided a cake with Ian’s photograph on it despite this unusual decoration, the cake still looked very appealing!
The gifts were organised by fellow Co-ordinator, Matt Hawkins, following a collection
amongst the Formula Ford community when circus visited Oulton a month earlier. This
was further boosted by a donation from BRSCC HQ.
On 4th July Ian turned 66 which means half a century ago he became old enough to
marshal at Aintree Circuit - his local track. His debut coincided with the final race meeting
on the full Grand Prix layout. As one era drew to a close, a new one began!
Smith was a very enthusiastic marshal and soon joined the regional committee for those
who provide safety cover. He was Marshal of the Year in 1969 although he modestly says,
“It was not due to me being the best marshal but because I did the most days!”
Four years later he became Competition Secretary at Aintree Racing Club. It was here that
he served his apprenticeship in catering for the needs of the amateur racing driver. The
lessons learned at this time have benefitted so many in the Formula Ford world.
Towards the end of the ’70s Ian become quite well known beyond the confines of Aintree
when he became an occasional circuit commentator and contributor to Motoring News (as
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BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
it was then titled) at tracks across the North & Midlands.
In 1979 he became involved with Aintree Racing Driver’s School (hence the relevence of
the car in the painting) where he linked-up with Richard Peacock and Malcolm Barfoot.
This relationship lasted many years during which time Ian also became the “Despatch
Manager” for Richard’s Crossle agency. Actually this job title was allocated to him when he
demanded recognition for helping out when returning parts to the manufacturer. Over the
years the word “Despatch” mutated through Desperate, Despair, Dezzy and Dizzy to
become his now infamous nickname Diz.
Diz was involved with what is now known as Northern FF1600 right from the start as he
assisted Richard Peacock when he won the inaugural Champion of Oulton series in 1982.
Three years later, the dynamic duo formed Formula E – quite possibly the ultimate
incarnation of Formula Ford! Some years later this was scrapped as it didn’t fit into the
corporate strategy instigated by Nicola Foulston when she was the head of the Brands
Hatch Empire. Ian still hasn’t got over this episode some 20 years later!
Smith remained a regular face in the Formula Ford paddock and was the natural
replacement when Tom Dooley decided to relinquish the role of Championship Coordinator at the dawn of the Millennium. Aided by his batman, Matt Hawkins, Ian has
developed the BRSCC’s FF1600 offerings to cover circuit-based, regional and national
Championships to cater for all budgets.
He remains an iconic figure in this branch of motorsport where he is well known for his
ready wit, love of Liverpool Football Club and willingness to assist anyone in enjoying their
motorsport as much as possible.
Your correspondent was honoured to
present Diz with his holiday vouchers
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BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
“THANK YOU” says Diz
“It isn’t often I am gob smacked but Saturday at Oulton was one of those occasions.
How I didn’t twig what was going on is beyond me. I saw the photo and words in the
programme on Friday evening and nothing clicked.
My son Steve, Junior Diz, deciding to bring his fiancee Tracey to a meeting as it was his
birthday and nothing clicked. The little sod only goes to meetings if he is on an earner.
‘Er Indoors, Diane, saying that she would come with Junior Diz to avoid a crack of sparrows
start and nothing clicked.
Standing at the trophy presentation thinking “we don’t normally get that many turning up” and
nothing clicked.
And then David Murphy started speaking and I was thinking it would be a bit of jovial banter
and still nothing clicked even though I had earlier wondered why his wife Natalie hadn’t
offered me a choice of home-made lemon drizzle or coffee & walnut cake.
Rachel - our Official Photographer and what a good job she does – Bourne was arranged to
capture my emmbarrassment for posterity.
Dave “Fast Toes” Williams wheeled himself away (or should that be wheelied himself away)
from the on-track action and arrived to report on the activities.
Those who attend briefings in the Media Centre will have seen Steve “the Pressman” Jones
painting away in the corner. He was commissioned to paint me a picture from a photo
supplied by Phil “Mr Pirelli” Rainford. It was of Malcolm Barfoot in his Formula E Crossle 25F
circa 1988. Personally I’d have preferred an arty wench with big boobies, but hey ho you
can’t have everything, so “Hotfoot” will have to do.
The remainder of the funds were used to purchase Thomson’s Holiday Vouchers
And I will finish as I started by saying Thank You One and All.”
As Matt Hawkins was unavailable, David
Murphy did an outstanding job in
organising the presentation
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BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
Post89 Race
Plus Pre90 Invitation
A Race of Firsts:
Tom Hodgson leads for the first time
before Tom McArthur takes his first win
FIRST AMONGST
EQUALS
The rain had continued all morning but had stopped in time for the Post89 Championship
encounter although the tarmac was still quite damp. The combined qualifying time-sheets
had been distilled so that the Pre90 cars, who would be racing for their Invitation Trophy,
lined up on a separate grid that the starter released 30 seconds after the red lights went
out.
…and when those red lights sent the first set of cars on their way it was Tom Hodgson who
made the best start from the outside of the front row to lead a motor race for the first time
having only begun his racing career at the start of 2013. A great inspiration for all BRSCC
FF1600 drivers who are developing their skills.
Back on the Pre90 grid, Mario Sarchet thought he had made the getaway of his life as he
watched his rivals disappear in his mirrors but then realised he wasn’t supposed to have
left the grid when the red lights went out! He had reversed back into position in time for his
section’s signal from the Union Flag which was held up for a long time and had everyone
straining at the leash. Once underway Mike Gardner took the lead into Old Hall.
All cars made it through the first corner apart from the chasing Rescue Unit which had a
quick spin on the greasy tarmac!
In the Post89s, poleman Tom McArthur remained right on Hodgon’s gearbox and possibly
this pressure proved critical the second time the Hislops/Knickerbrook complex was
tackled when Hodgson lost control exiting the chicane and spun at the apex of
Knickerbrook. After all the competitors in his class had gone through, Hodgson rejoined
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BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
the race – no doubt he will be wiser for the experience.
Having inherited the lead, McArthur couldn’t relax as Doug Crosbie had already caught up
with him despite his lowly grid spot following the dramas in qualifying. Two laps later
however McArthur looked in his mirrors at Lodge to discover that he was now out on his
own as approaching Druids he had braked earlier than Crosbie had anticipated causing his
pursuer to take avoiding action that sent him on to the grass and on a gripless journey into
the tyre wall so hard that he wiped off two corners.
Nigel Dolan was another who had a qualifying session to forget but he rebuilt his left front
corner and made a great start to the race when he passed 4 cars before reaching Old Hall.
He then had the challenge of getting ahead of third placed Ian Wolfenden with the track
still being wet and slippery off line. This was accomplished at Island on lap 4 just before
Crosbie’s crash promoted him to second.
Dolan didn’t have the pace to catch McArthur who took the flag to win his first ever race
with a 10 secs advantage.
Wolfenden purchased his Van Diemen JL013K with the intention of his son, Jack, driving it
in 2015 however he has decided to use this car himself this season. Still running with a
Novice Cross, Ian was delighted to record his first podium having maintained third place
until the end.
Stuart Jones nearly caught and passed Wolfenden at the line. This would not have been a
major issue as he was running in the Pre90 Invitation Class but it was quite an impressive
feat to have overturned a 30 seconds deficit and nearly catch the third placed man who
was only 17 seconds behind the winner. Having overtaken John Murphy on the opening
lap (Murphy was being cautious because his primary objective was not to damage his car)
Jones pursued Gardner with the first 3 in this category circulating in close order and
enjoying themselves. Following a big slide at Island, Gardner decided to complete this part
of his test day by retiring to the pits.
Calum McHale finished fifth (fourth Post89 car) ahead of the recovering Tom Hodgson.
This pair were initially headed by Paul Mason but when McHale went up his inside at Old
Hall he gave him too much room and lost time. Mason came home behind John Murphy
After qualifying, David Franklin’s
exhaust was refitted to his car
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BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
who had lost contact with Pre90 leader Jones when they began encountering traffic and
also, as the track dried, the ’89 Reynard had greater grip.
David Murphy and Mario Sarchet completed the top ten. They had enjoyed a superb race
and crossed the line just 7 hundredths apart. Ted Pearson had been in the mix with them
early on and came home eleventh with Ian Parkington and Matthew Cowley very close
behind him.
David Franklin, now with his exhaust re-attached to his car, worked his way up to a
fourteenth placed finish ahead of Andrew MacGregor (after he missed the previous
meeting at Oulton due to engine failure in testing the day before) and Malcolm Cooper who
was another to be gaining places following a head gasket failure that caused him to miss
qualifying.
Michael Beaver thought he had solved the engine maladies that had plagued him during
his last outing at Anglesey but discovered this was not the case. On Friday, he decided to
withdraw from the meeting however Championship Co-ordinator, Ian Smith, was not
prepared to see a competitor miss out on some racing action that easily and managed to
source a replacement carburettor for Beaver to try courtesy of Cliff Dempsey and Dave
Hart. Michael was impressed by the helpfulness of the FF1600 Paddock – and not for the
first time this season. The good news was that the new carb’ cured the misfire but then the
bad news emerged that it had been masking an underlying problem with the engine.
Steve Roberts was the final Post89 man while Trevor Morgan was the first lapped car to
take the flag having fended off Andrew Kluge for the whole 20 minutes. Kluge was
enjoying new found competitiveness following some coaching from Cliff Dempsey Racing’s
James Theodore during Friday’s test day.
Steve Nixon and Robert Binfield completed the finishers, the latter was driving an
immaculate Titan Mk6.
The list of retirees included David Billington who lost second gear when all the teeth
stripped off, Alan Williamson and James Rooker-Edwards.
Stuart Jones and John Murphy:
1st & 2nd in Pre90 Invitation class
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BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
Results
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BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
Pre90 Race
Plus Post89 Invitation
CHRIS THE CHARGER
Chris Hodgen charges across
the grid markings on his way to
another victory
Josh Fisher was the leader at the end of lap 1 of the Pre90 Championship race but all was
not well with the Wayne Poole Racing-run Reynard as the brake bias mechanism had
broken meaning there was no retardation being applied to the rear wheels. Whenever
Fisher attempted to slow for a corner the back of the car was attempting to overtake the
front.
With tyre smoke darting from the overloaded front wheels somehow Josh defended his
position from Chris Hodgen for four and a half laps until Hodgen outbraked him into
Hislops. Although Fisher remained on the gearbox of the leader, it was all he could do to
stay on the tarmac yet alone mount a challenge therefore he took the flag just over half a
second behind.
Having moved ahead of Mike Gardner and John Murphy, Stuart Jones had made it a
three-way fight for the lead but lost more ground than he could make up when he clouted
a kerb heavily at Brittens. He was also running an intermediate set-up which was a
disadvantage on the drying tarmac.
Once he had completed his testing Gardner again headed for the pits leaving Murphy to
take fourth. Following a pre-race rain shower, he had intended to race the Merlyn with a
wet set-up but made a late decision in the assembly area to switch to a dry configuration.
This proved to be the correct choice although John was plagued by understeer which he
later discovered was due to the rear anti-roll bar being disconnected following the rushed
alterations in the assembly area. Nonetheless, he set fastest lap in Class E.
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BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
Andrew Thomas was en route to taking fifth but he was unaware of a short in his electrical
system. This drained his battery such that it expired as he exited Knickerbrook on the final
lap causing the closely following duo, Mario Sarchet and David Murphy something of a
fright as they headed up Clay Hill, D. Murphy then got a run on Sarchet exiting the final
corner to pip him at the flag for the second time that day.
Brian Young, David Franklin, Ian Parkington and Ted Pearson had all run in close order
throughout in a battle for seventh. The latter was overtaken by Post89 Invitation winner,
Tom McArthur, with a couple of laps to go.
Malcolm Cooper pounced on John Wilkinson the final time they tackled Druids to claim
twelfth. With the grid order being the same for both races, Cooper again had to start at the
back having missed qualifying.
Tom Hodgson and Ian Wolfenden finished fourteenth and sixteenth at the same time as
taking second and third in the Post89 Invitation section. Wolfenden was delighted with his
second podium finish of the day. Furthermore he gained enough signatures to remove the
Novice Cross from the rear of his car.
They were split at the finish by Matthew Cowley. The 16 year old was pleased to have
moved closer to the front of the pack despite this being only his third car race meeting
having made his debut at the Anglesey Winter Race Day last year. Accident damage during
testing and schooling commitments have limited his outings to one other day at Oulton.
Despite this, he recorded his fastest ever lap of the full configuration. The former karter
would love to have more track time as being too young to drive on the public roads he is
unable to practice even the basic aspects of car control such as changing gear.
Paul Mason had pursued Calum McHale in a Post89 contest until the latter coasted to a
halt at Cascades with clutch failure.
Following his gearbox failure in the Pre90 Invitation event, David Billington was grateful to
David Murphy for the loan of a couple of cogs and Dave Hart for helping team manager,
David Bailey, to bolt everything together while nephew Tom changed the car to dry
settings. After all that hard work, Billington set his fastest ever lap of the International
Circuit on his way to eighteenth. He reportedly went home a happy man.
Behind Trevor Morgan and John Swift, Steve Nixon and Andrew Kluge battled over 22nd
while James Rooker-Edwards completed the finishers as, sadly, Alan Williamson failed to
complete a lap while Michael Beaver’s engine finally bit the dust a few tours later. Beaver
left Oulton with plans to fit a new Neil Bold unit.
Malcolm Cooper gets a little bit sideways
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BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
Results
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BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
TROPHY
PRESENTATION
PHOTOGRAPH
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BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Oulton Park 28th June 2014
This report was produced by
www.gramtext.co.uk
&
Visit www.bournephotographic.co.uk for over 350 pictures of this meeting!!
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