Tuscan Results
Scores on the doors after Castle Combe
Sprint Race
A paltry thirteen Tuscans turned up to race at Castle Combe this weekend. The drivers were going to have to try extra hard to entertain and luckily for us they did.
The first race saw Richard Hay take an early lead from Ben Samuelson, David Mason and Lee Caroline. The other normal contender Phil Keen had started from the back of the grid having had another dose of problems with his car. His determination won through though and he barrelled up the field into 4th place behind Caroline within no time at all.
Richard Hay built a comfortable lead whilst those behind him scrapped. Some top side by side action ensued with Caroline clawing his way up into second followed by Keen.
Caroline was threatened with a ten second penalty for jumping the start which would have seen him sacrifice his second place on the podium behind Hay, but having reviewed the video evidence, the powers that be withdrew the penalty and the placing stood.
Phil Keen's run of bad luck continued when TVR's Ben Samuelson ran into him spinning him off. Keen managed to rejoin and finish third whilst the Samuelson careered off the track with broken front suspension ending his race.
There was drama further down the field too with Rob Talbot and Hugh Marshall having a good tussle. They touched, Marshall then touched Peter Wheeler sending him into the tyre wall! Not a good move to bump off the Chairman! Wheeler rejoined without signifiance damage and all three made it to the finish without further drama.
Feature Race
The second race of the day took place in a ridiculous amount of water. The cars set off with waves of water sloshing off around them and several cars starting from the pit lane after scrabbling around trying to find wet tyres.
The cars roared off in a plume of spray with the usual culprits at the front. Some drivers called it a day almost immediately with Bob Ross and Rob Talbot pulling into the pits after no time at all.
Up front David Mason led the bow wave with Caroline and Hay behind. Hay and Caroline had a coming-together but Caroline kept his cool whilst Hay lost significant time. Caroline hauled his way through the water to try and attack Mason's lead.
Many slippery and sideways moments ensued but Mason kept his cool and made it to the line in one piece. Lee Caroline managed a bit of show-boating (almost literally) with one last lunge sort of across the grass and then sideways towards the line!
Phil Keen managed an almost uneventful race and notched up another useful 3rd place.
Ben Samuelson spent all race in Andy Holden's wake with Holden securing a sixth place - his best yet.
Dramatic stuff and another fun weekend.
- Sprint Race Result
- Feature Race Result
- Points Table
- Pictures courtesy of www.davidlord.co.uk
As the cars waitied on the grid "This could be the most expensive bath tub race going".
In an excited fast tone as the lights changed;
"as they squirm away off the line....!".
I also watched the race from HAMMERDOWN corner, which seemed very apt!
You can actually hear what the commentators are saying all the way around, and having two people at opposite sides of the circuit, that clearly interact well with each other worked really well.
Other circuits please take note!!! Rich
Damage is not good (I'll put some pictures up tonight to show just how safe racing cars can be - lots of progressive failure) - should know more tomorrow, but we could be looking at a new chassis.
Still, qualified 16th from 30, and was running tenth (well, side by side with 9th actually), going up Avon Rise on lap seven. I'm sure that you can all guess the rest
. On a positive note, took the car to Joolz last week, and he has transformed the handling. Should be able to post some good results for the rest of the season.
Rich
Still, easy for me to say that, I was on the sidelines nursing a sore neck and even sorer wallet. The only conclusion that can really be drawn is that the race was dull as - we definitely provide a better spectacle in the dry.
daydreamer said:
Yes - the blue one - last seen abandoned in the padock just round from the orange 99 one
Think we saw this - that'd be the one with the front wheels pointing in two different directions and the radiator making a spirited attempt to climb into the engine, would it? Commiserations if so, hope it's fixable.
A good day's racing, although the Tuscan and Caterham grids seem to be shrinking alarmingly - at least the battles are as fierce as ever.
caro said:
Think we saw this - that'd be the one with the front wheels pointing in two different directions and the radiator making a spirited attempt to climb into the engine, would it? Commiserations if so, hope it's fixable.
Sounds familiar
. . Although, with a bit of angle grinder action on the front chassis members and the nearside wishbones, and the addition of two ratchet straps, the wheels were pointing reasonably stright again.
Always fixable - just ask Andy. The cost aspect will sink in when it does. At the moment I'm ruing a possible top ten finish (crashed trying to take ninth, and my times were a good few places better) in the first race and a good grid in the second.
After some joospeed attention, the car was flying - before it - erm - flew.
Rich
>> Edited by daydreamer on Monday 21st June 11:38
daydreamer said:
Yes it was 'kin slippy, and yes, with a full wet tire, there would be more grip, but watching the race, and talking to the drivers that did line up, although it wasn't pleasant, the cars were at least controllable.
you should try a tasmin in the wet on Kumho v700's we dream about a tyre like yours.... sorry to hear about prang though...
Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff