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Season finale at Rockingham sees win for Palmer
Debutants Adams and Boon take Class B and C wins
Despite the championship and all class titles being sewn up last time out, which meant that a few drivers sat out this race, and the loss of Richard Perks' Honda Civic in a testing
accident the day before, a few newcomers to the series ensured an LMA Euro Saloons entry of 20 cars, double the entry of most other races on the same meet. Final proof that the LMA Euro Saloons has been a success
story this year.
Championship winner Simon Taylor had elected to sit out the race, his Honda Civic is now up for sale as he intends to defend his title from the Production Modified class next season.
Tony Soper had not repaired his Alfa GTV from last week's diff woes, and Richard Buckley took the opportunity to give his Class B Rover Tomcat a run as he couldn't catch Simon Taylor's points total.
Qualifying:
Despite an overcast morning, the rain held off. Derek Palmer set the pace in his 2000 spec, ex-Matt Neal Nissan Primera supertourer, being a full 3 seconds clear of Simon Blanckley's
Honda Accord supertourer and out-going champion Peter Challis' 1995 Nissan Primera. Challis was unable to complete qualifying due to clutch problems and was forced to pull out of the race.
Chris Boon,
was making his debut and headed Class C with the production touring car Honda Accord, with Mark Adams (Sierra Cosworth) and Anthony Allitt (Honda Civic) making up the top 6 places.
Further back, Lee
Scott headed Ian Kirk in Class E, but had run the big ends on his Fiesta's engine. The paddock were treated to the sight of his team of helpers trying to change engine, unfortunately in vain as it wasn't ready for
the start of the race. Zak (MG ZR) had an easy time leading Class D, while Jim Mepham (VW Golf) looked to have the measure of his Class F competitors.
Race:
A mix-up at the front of
the grid meant that the first attempt at a rolling start was red-flagged, and the drivers lined up for another go. Simon Blanckley pulled his Honda Accord off the grid, and coupled with non-starts for Lee Scott and
Nigel Ainge (head gasket problems), we were down to 16 runners.
Derek Palmer got off to a flying start, and translated his 3 second advantage in qualifying to an easy win by 41 seconds from Chris Boon
(Class C) with Mark Adams (Class A) a little further behind. Richard Buckley overcame a poor qualifying position and heavy first corner collision to move up to 5th behind Jason Holmes in the Tomcats.
Zak ran out an easy winner in Class D, but Chris Brogden's (Fiat Uno) second place was enough to ensure 3rd place in class. Tim Morgan-Barrett and Julian Brown provided another of their close finishes with Tim
getting the better of Julian by 2.5 tenths.
Simon Jackson (Vauxhall Nova) won Class F, but only after Jim Mepham (VW Golf) lost a fan belt curtailing a great battle between these two that had them
swapping places everywhere, leaving Jim with the consolation of fastest lap. After helping team-mate Lee Scott with the engine change, Alan Duly (Ford Fiesta) was rewarded with the Class G win.
Overall:
Winner: Derek Palmer (Nissan Primera), 2nd Chris Boon (Honda Accord), 3rd Mark Adams (Ford Sierra Cosworth), 4th Jason Holmes (Rover 220 Turbo), 5th Richard Buckley (Rover 220 Turbo), 6th Zak (MG
ZR160)
Class Winners:
Class A Palmer, Class B Adams, Class C Boon, Class D ZAK, Class E Ian Kirk (Honda Civic), Class F Simon Jackson (Vauxhall Nova), Class G Alan Duly (Ford Fiesta)
Fastest lap: Derek Palmer 1:32.896 (87.19mph)
Championship standings:
Simon Taylor is the 2005 LMA Euro Saloons champion from Richard Buckley and Tony Soper. Jason Holmes finished the season with the same number of points
and wins as Tony, but lost out on third due to Tony's greater number of second places (9-6).
Class A: Tony Soper (Alfa Romeo GTV/Harrier LR9) from Peter Challis (Nissan Primera) and Alvin Powell (Ford
Mondeo), although Richard Hawken (Vauxhall Cavalier/Nissan Primera) gets the 3rd trophy due to the 5 race minimum rule
Class B: Jason Holmes (Rover 220 Turbo) from Nicky Leventis (BMW M3) and Dave Nixon
(Rover Tomcat)
Class C: Richard Buckley (Honda Integra) from Richard Perks (Honda Civic) and Stuart Jefcoate (Porsche 911 Carrera 3)
Class D: Tim Morgan-Barrett (VW Golf GTi) from John
Hammersley (MG ZR) and Chris Brogden (Fiat Uno)
Class E: Simon Taylor (Honda Civic Vtec) from Lee Scott (Ford Fiesta) and Neil Threadgill (Renault Clio)
Class F: Simon Jackson (Vauxhall
Nova) from Ian Adams (Ford Fiesta) and Jim Mepham (VW Golf GTi)
Class G: Alan Duly (Ford Fiesta) from Kieran Fribbens (Ford Fiesta)
Report by Trevor Nicosia, Car 10
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