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Round 5 - Donington Park 29th May 2000

Business As Usual

Qualifying

Thirty one cars qualified on Sunday 28^th, using the Donington Park grand prix circuit for the fifth round of the Le Mans AutoItalia championship. The weather threatened rain, indeed a short burst just before the session wrong footed some drivers who went out on wets, but in the event the track was bone dry. Quickest lap went to Enzo Buscaglia (class A, Alfa 75), 8 seconds clear of quickest class B man Alex Heynes (Alfa 33) who was carrying a braking problem. Ian Connell headed class C (Alfa 75) and was 6^th fastest whilst Brian Thorp led class D (Alfa 33) and posted an amazing 4^th quickest time of the morning. Class E pole fell to Graham Warner (Alfa 33).

Try as he might Keith Bisp was unable to fire up his Clan Clover and had to sit out the qualifying session and the subsequent race. Giovanni Di Gennaro, who took 7^th spot in qualifying, withdrew due to engine problems - likewise Ian Mackay with the Lancia Monte Carlo. Newcomer Nick Chester seemed to be experiencing some fuel starvation problems with his delightful Ferrari 308. Russ Yates was one of those caught out on wets, however these had turned themselves in to slicks by the end of the session, but he was left in 24^th position. A clutch problem left Derek Jones missing several gears meaning he would have to work into the night to remove the gearbox. Neville Simpson entered his first AutoItalia race this year with a modified Alfetta GTV, competing in class B with an 1800cc engine.

Race

Race morning was bright and dry as the Le Mans AutoItalia championship made its debut appearance as part of the BRSCC "Package". A text book rolling start saw Graham Warner secure the lead and as the cars settled in to the first lap Brian Thorp was on his tail. Alex Heyne's challenge finished on the first lap, repairs to his brakes had fouled his throttle linkage making his car undriveable. Derek Jones was unable to challenge at the front, his car hamstrung by more gearbox woes, however he finished the race. Three cars exited Goddards together, but yet again it was Graham Warner who took the race lead at the end of the first lap (to win another  Agip jacket, he'll be selling them in the paddock soon) followed by Brian Thorp and Enzo Buscaglia. Predictably Enzo took the lead, however at the end of the second lap Graham Warner was still holding second place from Brian Thorp, but the rest of the modified cars were closing in. Enzo was secure in first and could afford to back off for a comfortable win. Behind him Ian Connell briefly held 2^nd spot, his production Alfa 75 out on slicks for the first time and visibly quicker than usual "£80 for 4 second hand slicks was money well spent" remarked Ian, "the car was much more stable".

Keith Fawdington appeared to be fighting with his Pantera, and it all went horribly wrong at the Melbourne hairpin when a spin left him stranded where he was T-boned by Julian Birley. Keith managed to finish, albeit with an enormous dent in his LH rear quarter, but the De Tomaso Pantera must be a solid thing because the front of Julian's car was seriously deranged.

It was Gary Lucas who eventually annexed 2^nd position, 6 seconds clear of Jim Price who's Minari was obviously working very well at Donington. Ian Connell held 4^th, and 5^th place was secured by Will Winterson following a spot of bother getting past Russ Yates. Graham Warner held on for 6^th position and another class win, likewise Brian Thorp in 7^th spot.

Two jokers were played, Steve Davidson in class D and Enzo Buscaglia in class A. Class wins for Brian Thorp and Graham Warner mean 1^st and 2^nd places in the championship are unchanged (192 & 184 points respectively). Gary Lucas is clinging to 3^rd position (168 points) however Enzo is just 4 points behind (164) and Ian Connell is still in touch with 162 points. We are now half way through the championship and any of the top five men could win. A four week gap, and it will all start again at Cadwell Park on July 2^nd.

(Tony Soper)

( Race Conditions - Cloudy / Dry )

Fastest Laps

Click here for 2000 final points table