Jonathan F
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- Nov 29, 2010
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Croft: July 23rd/24th (Rounds 9 and 10 of BARC’s VTEC Challenge)
Croft
Croft Circuit provided a home for the popular VTEC Challenge over the weekend of the 23rd and 24th of July, for rounds 9 & 10 of the 2011 series.
Set in the beautiful North Yorkshire countryside, this superb 2.1 mile circuit has been developed over 50 years into a top-flight racing venue which now hosts prestigious events such as British Touring Car Championship, British GT Championship, and the British Formula 3 Championship.
As with the majority of the UK’s race circuits, Croft was originally built to house the RAF during World War 2, and in this case was the base for the Canadian RAF.
As a race circuit, the venue opened in 1964 and ran all the way to 1981, when it closed it’s doors to circuit racing, and became a Rally Cross only venue.
Full tarmac racing returned in 1995 and in 1997 a £1.5m investment took place to increase the circuit length to the 2.1 mile circuit it is today.
The fast sweeping curves of the “Jim Clark Esses” and “Barcroft” offer a genuine white-knuckle experience for those brave enough to push their cars to the limits of adhesion. When these sections are combined with the circuit’s high speed straights, slow corners and the famous hairpin leading onto the start/finish straight, you have all the ingredients for a breathtaking experience.
VTEC
Both Andy Harvey and Tim Blowers were new drivers to the fold, running their Honda Integra’s in Class C and B.
Andy’s DC2 has previously seen race action in the Japanese Touring Cars before being shipped to the UK. After passing through the hands of several friends, Harvey has became the cars current custodian and following a few safety updates it was declared fit to race. Usually seen behind the wheel of his 550bhp 4wd Subaru Impreza, Croft would be the first time racing the Integra for the recently qualified ARDS instructor.
Tim’s DC5 in the rare hue of “Vivid Blue Pearl” has been developed from his road/track car into a fully fledged race equipped tin-top specifically for the “VTEC Challenge” by Andy and the team at “vtecdirect.com”. With Croft being Tim’s first ever race, he would be alongside Mark Chese in his Civic Type R in class B.
Amazingly both Tim and Mark drive their car’s to the track, race and then drive home again! True grass roots spirit, which show’s anyone out there who thinks they can’t do this to think again.
“R-Motion” returned to the track with their lightweight EG Civic, which has been rebuilt to take part in the “Tuner” class thanks to a “K” series transplant. Originally running in class D (for cars with engines up to 1600cc) as an exercise to show what was capable on a budget, the tuners have gone all out to produce a car that will challenge for the top spot. Finished only in the days leading up to Croft, it was hoped that all would be well come race time.
With a lot of support carried over from the “HOT” track day that ran on the Friday before, the atmosphere in and around the VTEC Challenge paddock was positively buzzing with excitement, with everyone looking forward to seeing the following:
03 – Tim Blowers - DC5 Integra 2000cc (B)
11 – Dave Roberts - CRX 1600cc (D)
24 – Rich Voaden – DC2 Integra 2200 (A)
31 – Andy Smith - Accord Type R (A)
64 - Rich Chilton - DC2 1800cc (C)
66 - Andy Harvey - DC2 1800cc (C)
70 - Kris Dunlop - Civic EG 2000cc (T)
85 – Stew Hutchinson - Integra 1800 (C)
98 – Mark Chese - Civic Type R (EP3) (B)
Qualifying Race 1:
Scrutineering saw all entrants return with the necessary stickers applied, which meant everyone was good to go, and qualifying could get underway when the allotted time came.
For the weekend, the VTEC Challenge had been asked to allow some of the classes from the Darlington and District Motor Club Northern Saloon Championship to join them on circuit. Classes B,C,D and H for cars of various specs, but all with treaded tyres would line up and do battle. With some serious metal to contend with, as well as two other Honda’s, qualifying would be a close run thing.
With the weather being dry and the sun shining down, everyone took to the circuit, with new entrant Tim Blowers leading the way.
With everyone clean out of the holding area, there were 34 cars on track all looking to set their fastest time and secure a good grid slot.
With a few laps under their belts to get everything up to temperature, and to make a mental note of the circuit’s corners and undulations, everyone pressed on.
Andy Smith in the “vtecdirect.com” ATR managed a pirouette mid track, but kept it together without further incident to him or fellow racers.
On lap 6, it looked as though it could be an early bath for the R-Motion Civic as driver Kris Dunlop pulled into the pits.
Suffering with a failing gear linkage Dave Roberts was pushed back into the paddock for repairs.
Thankfully that was the limit to the mechanical woes, and everyone else went on to run the remainder of qualifying unscathed.
Following qualifying, the result showed that it was that man Voaden again who had secured VTEC pole, and impressively taken 3rd place overall ahead of a Mitsubishi Evo 4 and a Metro 6R4 of Group B rallying fame.
Pole: Rich Voaden – 1.37.557 (3rd Overall)
2nd: Kris Dunlop – 1.39.026 (10th Overall)
3rd: Stewart Hutchinson – 1.39.195 (12th Overall)
In the paddock, it was all hands to the pump to help out where required. The misfiring Civic of Dunlop was traced to a faulty throttle position sensor. A spare was borrowed from one of the “HOT” members who had stayed on from the track day to watch the weekends racing.
The majority of pre-race preparation ran to adding fuel and checking the tyres, which again highlights the reliability that these Honda’s possess.
Race 1:
Following the green flag lap, everyone was held on the grid until the red lights went on and then quickly out, signalling the start of the race.
With a the lights extinguished in a fraction of the time usually experienced, some of the racers were caught napping, meaning some accurate driving was needed to avoid any contact.
Running down the long straight to the first corner of “Clervaux” Voaden was unable to hold off the Evo and 6R4, who had both used their 4wd to great effect and launched past him.
Held up in traffic, a Sierra 4x4 turbo and a rapid Citroen Saxo also managed to pull ahead and cut of Rich’s racing line through “Hawthorn Bend”.
Dunlop was next through the first couple of corners, thankfully showing the fix to the car had worked, and he was hard on the gas looking to capitalise on any mistake.
Hutchinson and Harvey were 3 abreast through Hawthorn with the DC2 Integra of Simon Gibson from the DDMC, door handle to door handle, with Hutchinson exiting ahead to lead Gibson and Harvey into the chicane. A battle was brewing for sure between these three.
Chese in the Civic Type R had made a good getaway and was leading the rest of the VTEC pack around the circuit, with Smith, Chilton, Roberts and Blowers flying the flag for the Honda’s.
Through “Barcroft” and chasing Hutchinson hard, Harvey found that the rear tyres were not yet up to temperature as the rear of the car tried it’s best to overtake the front whilst flat out. A composed Harvey buried the throttle and in true touring car style, the Integra pulled itself out of a potential big “moment”.
Undeterred, the two Integra’s continued to dice throughout the rest of the race, with Harvey two wheeling his through the corners, with the help of the kerbs.
Chasing the lead cars, Voaden looked for his way through, and battled with the XR4x4 and Saxo which had passed him earlier. Lap 4 saw him dispatch the Sierra and a lap later it was the Citroen’s turn. With clear air ahead, Rich was soon posting his fastest lap times, and closing the gap to the Evo in 4th. However 5th place would be as high as the driver from Highworth would achieve, due to the distance between him and the Evo and the tyres starting to loose grip.
Dunlop’s Civic was closing the gap to Voaden, passing cars at a rate of 1 every couple of laps. Given a better starting position on the grid, this car has the ability to be on the top step at the end of the race.
All of the drivers were in their own battles, but everyone was climbing the overall leader board, showing their skills to the gathered crowd.
Hutchinson and Harvey fought over 3rd place all the way to the line, with Harvey looking for the slightest chink in the solid defense shown by Hutchinson, but it wasn’t to be.
Mark Chese took care of the MX5 of Daniel Irving on the last but one lap to place 15th overall.
Rich Chilton was battling with the XR2 of Daniel McKay and in the later stages was closing up on Andy Smith and his ATR who was battling with a Peugeot 307 for the majority of the race.
Dave Roberts and Tim Blowers closed out the VTEC entrants, ahead of some more potent and accomplished entrants.
1st: Richard Voaden
2nd: Kris Dunlop
3rd: Stewart Hutchinson
Class wins were awarded to Kris Dunlop (Civic), Rich Voaden (ATR), Mark Chese (CTR), Stewart Hutchinson (ITR) and Dave Roberts (CRX)
Fastest lap: Rich Voaden 1:37.889 sec on lap 6 of 11
With everyone safely back in the paddock, it was time to reflect on a great days racing and look forward to the second race which would take place on the Sunday.
Race 2:
Grid formation for the start of race 2 was taken form the drivers 2nd fastest lap from Saturday’s qualifying.
This meant all the VTEC drivers were spread throughout the pack, where each would be promised some close racing.
With lights out, it was another drag race down to the first corner, where all hell broke loose.
Bogging down off the line, Rich Voaden in the “Performance Autoworks” Integra took a while to get up to speed, but was soon charging down to “Clervaux”. Running alongside the Civic of Peter Dixon from the DDMC, Voaden had the inside line, when the Beetle RSi of Ian Humpish turned across the front of Dixon and then speared into the passenger side of Voaden. Whilst the Beetle’s race ended where it came to rest, Voaden took to the gravel trap in his heavily battle scarred Integra, and re-joined the race, albeit a bit further down the running order. Down, but not out Rich regained control and began to push on to claw back lost positions.
Coming through from 13th and 14th on the grid, it was Harvey and Dunlop who where on top of the carnage before they knew what had happened. Already up with Hutchinson who had started in 10th place, the trio again were battling for position, with Harvey the victor as he lead the VTEC contingency through the chicane.
Although out in front, the Integra of Harvey couldn’t hold off the advances of Dunlop in the “K” Series engined Civic, and following that, the charging Integra of a recovered Voaden. Whilst Voaden closed the gap to Dunlop considerably, he was unable to prise the lead off of Dunlop, who took his first race win of the season.
Coming into “Tower” on lap 6, and comfortably holding 3 place overall, the front left wheel of Harvey’s Integra locked up, causing a massive moment and an untimely retirement from the race. Investigation later found a missing calliper bolt to be the culprit, which had caused the calliper to move and lock on the brakes.
With Harvey out, Stewart in his DC2 JDM Integra took 3rd place, however following a massive lock up coming into “Tower”, issues with the Integra’s steering began to make themselves known. With a decision to retire or push on needed, it was a relief when the chequered flag was deployed.
Mark Chese and Richard Chilton were tooth and nail right down to the wire, with Chese taking the position, over Chilton’s fastest lap.
Dave Roberts was busy fending off the Peugeot 307 of Stephen Maude for his position on track, while Smith and Blowers both brought their cars home safely to round out the VTEC grid.
1st: Kris Dunlop
2nd: Rich Voaden
3rd: Stewart Hutchinson
Class wins were awarded to Kris Dunlop (Civic), Rich Voaden (ATR), Mark Chese (CTR), Stewart Hutchinson (ITR) and Dave Roberts (CRX)
Fastest lap: Kris Dunlop 1:37.596 sec on lap 8 of 11
Summary:
Another brilliant event, which has been hailed as the best racing ever encountered by several of the drivers, comes to a close. This is surely a testament to the series organiser efforts, the close but clean racing and the superb off track atmosphere.
The VTEC challenge heads east to the new layout of Snetterton in Norfolk for rounds 11 & 12, which will be run on Saturday the 27th August.
Can it get any better than this? Join us to find out.
Croft
Croft Circuit provided a home for the popular VTEC Challenge over the weekend of the 23rd and 24th of July, for rounds 9 & 10 of the 2011 series.
Set in the beautiful North Yorkshire countryside, this superb 2.1 mile circuit has been developed over 50 years into a top-flight racing venue which now hosts prestigious events such as British Touring Car Championship, British GT Championship, and the British Formula 3 Championship.
As with the majority of the UK’s race circuits, Croft was originally built to house the RAF during World War 2, and in this case was the base for the Canadian RAF.
As a race circuit, the venue opened in 1964 and ran all the way to 1981, when it closed it’s doors to circuit racing, and became a Rally Cross only venue.
Full tarmac racing returned in 1995 and in 1997 a £1.5m investment took place to increase the circuit length to the 2.1 mile circuit it is today.
The fast sweeping curves of the “Jim Clark Esses” and “Barcroft” offer a genuine white-knuckle experience for those brave enough to push their cars to the limits of adhesion. When these sections are combined with the circuit’s high speed straights, slow corners and the famous hairpin leading onto the start/finish straight, you have all the ingredients for a breathtaking experience.
VTEC
Both Andy Harvey and Tim Blowers were new drivers to the fold, running their Honda Integra’s in Class C and B.
Andy’s DC2 has previously seen race action in the Japanese Touring Cars before being shipped to the UK. After passing through the hands of several friends, Harvey has became the cars current custodian and following a few safety updates it was declared fit to race. Usually seen behind the wheel of his 550bhp 4wd Subaru Impreza, Croft would be the first time racing the Integra for the recently qualified ARDS instructor.
Tim’s DC5 in the rare hue of “Vivid Blue Pearl” has been developed from his road/track car into a fully fledged race equipped tin-top specifically for the “VTEC Challenge” by Andy and the team at “vtecdirect.com”. With Croft being Tim’s first ever race, he would be alongside Mark Chese in his Civic Type R in class B.
Amazingly both Tim and Mark drive their car’s to the track, race and then drive home again! True grass roots spirit, which show’s anyone out there who thinks they can’t do this to think again.
“R-Motion” returned to the track with their lightweight EG Civic, which has been rebuilt to take part in the “Tuner” class thanks to a “K” series transplant. Originally running in class D (for cars with engines up to 1600cc) as an exercise to show what was capable on a budget, the tuners have gone all out to produce a car that will challenge for the top spot. Finished only in the days leading up to Croft, it was hoped that all would be well come race time.
With a lot of support carried over from the “HOT” track day that ran on the Friday before, the atmosphere in and around the VTEC Challenge paddock was positively buzzing with excitement, with everyone looking forward to seeing the following:
03 – Tim Blowers - DC5 Integra 2000cc (B)
11 – Dave Roberts - CRX 1600cc (D)
24 – Rich Voaden – DC2 Integra 2200 (A)
31 – Andy Smith - Accord Type R (A)
64 - Rich Chilton - DC2 1800cc (C)
66 - Andy Harvey - DC2 1800cc (C)
70 - Kris Dunlop - Civic EG 2000cc (T)
85 – Stew Hutchinson - Integra 1800 (C)
98 – Mark Chese - Civic Type R (EP3) (B)
Qualifying Race 1:
Scrutineering saw all entrants return with the necessary stickers applied, which meant everyone was good to go, and qualifying could get underway when the allotted time came.
For the weekend, the VTEC Challenge had been asked to allow some of the classes from the Darlington and District Motor Club Northern Saloon Championship to join them on circuit. Classes B,C,D and H for cars of various specs, but all with treaded tyres would line up and do battle. With some serious metal to contend with, as well as two other Honda’s, qualifying would be a close run thing.
With the weather being dry and the sun shining down, everyone took to the circuit, with new entrant Tim Blowers leading the way.
With everyone clean out of the holding area, there were 34 cars on track all looking to set their fastest time and secure a good grid slot.
With a few laps under their belts to get everything up to temperature, and to make a mental note of the circuit’s corners and undulations, everyone pressed on.
Andy Smith in the “vtecdirect.com” ATR managed a pirouette mid track, but kept it together without further incident to him or fellow racers.
On lap 6, it looked as though it could be an early bath for the R-Motion Civic as driver Kris Dunlop pulled into the pits.
Suffering with a failing gear linkage Dave Roberts was pushed back into the paddock for repairs.
Thankfully that was the limit to the mechanical woes, and everyone else went on to run the remainder of qualifying unscathed.
Following qualifying, the result showed that it was that man Voaden again who had secured VTEC pole, and impressively taken 3rd place overall ahead of a Mitsubishi Evo 4 and a Metro 6R4 of Group B rallying fame.
Pole: Rich Voaden – 1.37.557 (3rd Overall)
2nd: Kris Dunlop – 1.39.026 (10th Overall)
3rd: Stewart Hutchinson – 1.39.195 (12th Overall)
In the paddock, it was all hands to the pump to help out where required. The misfiring Civic of Dunlop was traced to a faulty throttle position sensor. A spare was borrowed from one of the “HOT” members who had stayed on from the track day to watch the weekends racing.
The majority of pre-race preparation ran to adding fuel and checking the tyres, which again highlights the reliability that these Honda’s possess.
Race 1:
Following the green flag lap, everyone was held on the grid until the red lights went on and then quickly out, signalling the start of the race.
With a the lights extinguished in a fraction of the time usually experienced, some of the racers were caught napping, meaning some accurate driving was needed to avoid any contact.
Running down the long straight to the first corner of “Clervaux” Voaden was unable to hold off the Evo and 6R4, who had both used their 4wd to great effect and launched past him.
Held up in traffic, a Sierra 4x4 turbo and a rapid Citroen Saxo also managed to pull ahead and cut of Rich’s racing line through “Hawthorn Bend”.
Dunlop was next through the first couple of corners, thankfully showing the fix to the car had worked, and he was hard on the gas looking to capitalise on any mistake.
Hutchinson and Harvey were 3 abreast through Hawthorn with the DC2 Integra of Simon Gibson from the DDMC, door handle to door handle, with Hutchinson exiting ahead to lead Gibson and Harvey into the chicane. A battle was brewing for sure between these three.
Chese in the Civic Type R had made a good getaway and was leading the rest of the VTEC pack around the circuit, with Smith, Chilton, Roberts and Blowers flying the flag for the Honda’s.
Through “Barcroft” and chasing Hutchinson hard, Harvey found that the rear tyres were not yet up to temperature as the rear of the car tried it’s best to overtake the front whilst flat out. A composed Harvey buried the throttle and in true touring car style, the Integra pulled itself out of a potential big “moment”.
Undeterred, the two Integra’s continued to dice throughout the rest of the race, with Harvey two wheeling his through the corners, with the help of the kerbs.
Chasing the lead cars, Voaden looked for his way through, and battled with the XR4x4 and Saxo which had passed him earlier. Lap 4 saw him dispatch the Sierra and a lap later it was the Citroen’s turn. With clear air ahead, Rich was soon posting his fastest lap times, and closing the gap to the Evo in 4th. However 5th place would be as high as the driver from Highworth would achieve, due to the distance between him and the Evo and the tyres starting to loose grip.
Dunlop’s Civic was closing the gap to Voaden, passing cars at a rate of 1 every couple of laps. Given a better starting position on the grid, this car has the ability to be on the top step at the end of the race.
All of the drivers were in their own battles, but everyone was climbing the overall leader board, showing their skills to the gathered crowd.
Hutchinson and Harvey fought over 3rd place all the way to the line, with Harvey looking for the slightest chink in the solid defense shown by Hutchinson, but it wasn’t to be.
Mark Chese took care of the MX5 of Daniel Irving on the last but one lap to place 15th overall.
Rich Chilton was battling with the XR2 of Daniel McKay and in the later stages was closing up on Andy Smith and his ATR who was battling with a Peugeot 307 for the majority of the race.
Dave Roberts and Tim Blowers closed out the VTEC entrants, ahead of some more potent and accomplished entrants.
1st: Richard Voaden
2nd: Kris Dunlop
3rd: Stewart Hutchinson
Class wins were awarded to Kris Dunlop (Civic), Rich Voaden (ATR), Mark Chese (CTR), Stewart Hutchinson (ITR) and Dave Roberts (CRX)
Fastest lap: Rich Voaden 1:37.889 sec on lap 6 of 11
With everyone safely back in the paddock, it was time to reflect on a great days racing and look forward to the second race which would take place on the Sunday.
Race 2:
Grid formation for the start of race 2 was taken form the drivers 2nd fastest lap from Saturday’s qualifying.
This meant all the VTEC drivers were spread throughout the pack, where each would be promised some close racing.
With lights out, it was another drag race down to the first corner, where all hell broke loose.
Bogging down off the line, Rich Voaden in the “Performance Autoworks” Integra took a while to get up to speed, but was soon charging down to “Clervaux”. Running alongside the Civic of Peter Dixon from the DDMC, Voaden had the inside line, when the Beetle RSi of Ian Humpish turned across the front of Dixon and then speared into the passenger side of Voaden. Whilst the Beetle’s race ended where it came to rest, Voaden took to the gravel trap in his heavily battle scarred Integra, and re-joined the race, albeit a bit further down the running order. Down, but not out Rich regained control and began to push on to claw back lost positions.
Coming through from 13th and 14th on the grid, it was Harvey and Dunlop who where on top of the carnage before they knew what had happened. Already up with Hutchinson who had started in 10th place, the trio again were battling for position, with Harvey the victor as he lead the VTEC contingency through the chicane.
Although out in front, the Integra of Harvey couldn’t hold off the advances of Dunlop in the “K” Series engined Civic, and following that, the charging Integra of a recovered Voaden. Whilst Voaden closed the gap to Dunlop considerably, he was unable to prise the lead off of Dunlop, who took his first race win of the season.
Coming into “Tower” on lap 6, and comfortably holding 3 place overall, the front left wheel of Harvey’s Integra locked up, causing a massive moment and an untimely retirement from the race. Investigation later found a missing calliper bolt to be the culprit, which had caused the calliper to move and lock on the brakes.
With Harvey out, Stewart in his DC2 JDM Integra took 3rd place, however following a massive lock up coming into “Tower”, issues with the Integra’s steering began to make themselves known. With a decision to retire or push on needed, it was a relief when the chequered flag was deployed.
Mark Chese and Richard Chilton were tooth and nail right down to the wire, with Chese taking the position, over Chilton’s fastest lap.
Dave Roberts was busy fending off the Peugeot 307 of Stephen Maude for his position on track, while Smith and Blowers both brought their cars home safely to round out the VTEC grid.
1st: Kris Dunlop
2nd: Rich Voaden
3rd: Stewart Hutchinson
Class wins were awarded to Kris Dunlop (Civic), Rich Voaden (ATR), Mark Chese (CTR), Stewart Hutchinson (ITR) and Dave Roberts (CRX)
Fastest lap: Kris Dunlop 1:37.596 sec on lap 8 of 11
Summary:
Another brilliant event, which has been hailed as the best racing ever encountered by several of the drivers, comes to a close. This is surely a testament to the series organiser efforts, the close but clean racing and the superb off track atmosphere.
The VTEC challenge heads east to the new layout of Snetterton in Norfolk for rounds 11 & 12, which will be run on Saturday the 27th August.
Can it get any better than this? Join us to find out.
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