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Every race so far this season has been blessed with sunshine, surely it couldn't last. It didn't - Sunday morning at Cadwell Park was a bleak place to be. The skies were grey, it had been raining all night and
continued to do so during the morning.
Sessions before ours were being held up due to a number of crashes and qualifying was halted for an hour due to the track being too wet, with rivers of water running across the start/finish straight and on the run down to Mansfield. At first we were told that we would follow the safety car round for a lap, then we were told we wouldn't. We were at least warned that the track was very wet
Qualifying
Just how wet was emphasised by one of the VW Golfs spinning in the Hall Curves immediately after leaving the pits. Despite this, there were no major incidents during our session and
we were congratulated by the Clerk of the Course for this.
Andy Thompson and Tony Soper headed the qualifying sheet, separated by just 0.065 seconds. The four Class A Road Saloons of Simon Taylor, Ian
Kirk, Lee Scott and Paul Connell occupied the next 4 places and were separated by very little. Pete Simpson was disappointed to be 7th on the grid despite four wheel drive, and Chris Brogden qualified the
little Uno in an excellent 10th. At the back of the grid Julian Brown had been slowed by loss of turbo boost as a pipe blew off and Chris Broad was only able to complete two laps.
Race 1
On the rolling lap it became clear that conditions were much improved from qualifying, although it was still very wet with a lot of spray being thrown up. Julian Brown had elected to play his joker, the
first person all season to do so. If he had seen Andy Thompson pull into the pits half way round the rolling lap with a broken wishbone on the Minari, he would have realised that a class win was up for grabs.
From the start, Tony Soper on pole got away well with the gaggle of Class A Road Saloons following close behind. Pete Simpson found the circuit more to his liking and starting cutting through the cars in front
moving up to 2nd place from 7th on the grid. Further back there were clusters of cars everywhere. Chris Brogden had fallen back into the clutches of the Class B Road Saloons, but Simon Jackson's Nova took an early
trip into the tyre wall from which he was able to rejoin the race in last place. Trevor Nicosia started moving up through a squadron of VW Golfs, picking them off one at a time while at the back, Julian Brown with
full boost now restored was swapping places with Chris Brogden. Unfortunately this battle was the pivotal one for the race as it ended with both cars crashing at the mountain hairpin, blocking the track and causing
the race to be halted. As the race had gone past half distance, the results at the end of the previous lap stood. Tony Soper won from Pete Simpson, with Simon Taylor, Ian Kirk, Lee Scott and Paul Connell in 3rd to
6th mirroring their qualifying order. John Shoesmith won Class B from Richard Hill while Alan Duly picked up another Class D win, this time as sole entrant.
Race 2
Last race of the day, the rain
had long since stopped save for occasional fleeting showers during the afternoon. Tyre choice for the Euro Saloon drivers became critical, Andy with the Minari repaired, and Tony opting for slicks while Pete and
Trevor remained on wets. The latter pair, both playing their joker, realised they had made the wrong choice once out on the rolling lap, with Pete unable to do anything as the race started and Tony just drove away
from him.
This race had close battles wherever you looked. Simon Taylor's Honda Civic was being chased hard by Pete Simpson's Lancia Integrale. Andy Thompson was keeping Tony Soper honest at the front but
faded back into 4th on the final lap with fuelling problems. Ian Kirk had Lee Scott almost glued to his rear bumper all race long. Further back Trevor Nicosia was defending valiantly from John Shoesmith and Daniel
Davies lap after lap until a loss of concentration and a trip across the grass allowed the two VW Golfs through. The race ended with Tony Soper taking the honours by over a minute from Simon Taylor and Pete Simpson
completing the podium places. Steve McIntyre comfortably won the Class B honours with Simon Jackson second, those two having made an early break past Trevor Nicosia.
In the championship standings, a double
win moves Tony Soper to the head of the Euro Saloons, with the joker playing Pete Simpson and Trevor Nicosia moving up to 2nd and 3rd. Simon Taylor left Cadwell Park with a double win in the Road Saloons series and
extends his lead further from Simon Jackson, with John Shoesmith's good haul moving him up to 3rd with just 4 races remaining.
Report by Trevor Nicosia, Car 10
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