Jonathan F
Member
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2010
- Messages
- 58
Mallory Park: September 30th (Rounds 11 and 12 of BARCâs VTEC Challenge)
Set around the twin lakes of Mallory Park in Leicestershire, the 1.35 mile circuit was the latest venue to host the 2012 VTEC Challenge.
With a combination of fast straights, the punishing near third of a mile sweeping corner of âGerrardsâ as well as one of the tightest hairpins of any UK circuit, the circuit at Mallory is known to throw up the odd surprise along the way.
With a couple of the drivers new to the circuit, it would be anyoneâs guess as to how the grid would line up.
Entrants:
04 â Mark Bennett â Production â (S2000)
11 â Dave Roberts â P16 â (CRX)
17 â James Hamnett â Tuner â (EK4)
24 - Richard Voaden - Super Tuner - Integra (DC2)
26 - Rob Williams â Production - Civic Type R (EP3)
31 - Phil Wright â Production - Accord Type R (ATR)
64 - Richard Chilton â Production - Integra (DC2)
70 - Michael Clark â Super Tuner - Civic (EG6)
73 - Stuart King â Production â Integra (DC2)
85 - Stewart Hutchinson â Tuner - Integra (DC2)
98 - Mark Chese â Production - Civic Type R (EP3)
Qualifying:
With dark clouds hovering overhead and the occasional spot of rain falling, it was anyoneâs guess as to how the dayâs weather would play out.
With not even the race organisers wishing for heavy rain to interrupt proceedings, the dayâs events got underway ahead of schedule in a plan to miss the heavy rain which was forecast for later on in the day.
After missing out on all of the excitement at Snetterton, Mallory saw the welcome return for Mark Bennett, James Hamnett and Dave Roberts.
However, missing from the grid was the familiar face of âVTEC Directsâ Andy Smith, whose Accord decided to throw in the towel during a mid-week session on the rolling road. A dropped valve causing bitter disappointment to the crew that have shown total dedication and commitment throughout the season.
With an untested engine since itâs rebuild after Croft, Dave Roberts was hoping for a trouble free return to the grid with his rapid yellow CRX.
Phil Wright had repaired his Accord Type R following his retirement from race 2 at Snetterton. A faulty crank sensor in the ignition system was found to be the cause of his retirement last time out. A test at Mallory on Wednesday revealed all was well, with both car and driver becoming more acquainted with the circuit.
With everyone else ready for the day to begin, the carâs and drivers made off for the assembly area, ahead of the qualifying session.
With moisture in the air, the circuit needed respect until the tyres were up to temperature.
After a couple of laps to make sure everything was as it should be, each driver began to push on and use the 15 minute session to set their fastest laps.
It was Rich Voaden and his âPerformance Autoworksâ DC2 who led the pack and was soon showing the others the way. One such driver to benefit from Voadenâs pace was Mike Clark and the âR-Motionâ Civic. Having got to grips with the circuit and waiting for the rapid Integra to come past, Clark tagged onto the back of Voaden and drafted the Integra to help set 2nd fastest time.
The DC2 Integra of Stewart Hutchinson was suffering with a sticking throttle, (a re-occurring issue from the previous weekend) which meant lap time suffered, however he was still quick enough to set 3rd place.
Rob Williams in the âMotâs R Usâ EP3 Civic gained confidence and pace as the session unfolded, qualifying in 4th place, less than second off pole man Voaden.
Less fortunate was Dave Roberts and the CRX, which developed an unwanted misfire part way through the session. Despite a pit stop to try and identify the cause, when back on track the misfire remained.
Pole: Rich Voaden
2nd: Mike Clark
3rd: Stewart Hutchinson
Race 1:
With an early lunch, race 1 began ahead of the scheduled time, but everyone was ready to race.
The grid was led onto the circuit by the pole man, and following the customary green flag lap, everyone lined up in readiness for the off.
With the red lights holding everyone for what seemed like an age, anticipating the start of the race was going to be a difficult task.
With the lights finally extinguished, it was Voaden who retained his position, and with Clark missing a gear change to 2nd allowed Hutchinson to take 2nd before entering âGerrardsâ.
Behind the lead trio Bennett in his S2000 climbed from 5th to 4th, passing Williams in his EP3 Civic. However the driver from Telford re-took his starting position of 4th before the end of the 1st lap and began to pull out a commanding lead over the battling pair of Bennett and Chese, and embark on a lonely race to the flag.
Dave Roberts and his P16 CRX made a perfect start, and by the end of lap 1 had climbed from 11th to 8th place, however, the misfire returned with gusto, and ended the cars racing for the rest of the day.
King and his DC2 began to break away from the trio of Wright, Chilton and Hammett and remained in contention with Chese in the EP3, and later with the S2000 of Bennett until the flagged dropped.
The battle between Bennett and Chese continued to unfold, until on lap 5 Chese capitalised and slotted through to take 5th place.
Out in front Voaden was opening up a lead over Hutchinson and Clark. While fighting each other for position, valuable time was lost, which Voaden used to his advantage. By lap 4, Mike had overhauled Stewart and proceeded to set his sights on the distant Integra of Voaden.
Without Hutchinson to contend with, Clark quickly closed up on Voaden and began to hound him for the remainder of the race.
Voaden continued to push on to take the chequered flag, however any celebration was short lived as a 10 second penalty (due to a start line infringement) was handed down by the clerk of the course, which dropped the Integra driver to 3rd. As a result this promoted Mike Clark to take the win, and Stewart Hutchinson up to 2nd.
1st: - Mike Clark â EG Civic - Super Tuner
2nd: - Stewart Hutchinson â DC2 - Tuner
3rd: - Rich Voaden â DC2 â Super Tuner
Class wins were awarded to:
(P) - Rob Williams
(ST) - Mike Clark
(T) - Stewart Hutchinson
Fastest lap â Mike Clark â 51.552 on lap 6 of 17
Race 2:
With all of the cars on the circuit, the green flag was waved to signal the start of proceedings and everyone set off on their warm up lap.
With everyone in position on the grid, the seconds counted down to the last race of the day.
Not making the same mistake twice, Clark and the âR-Motionâ Civic got a clean start and lead the pack through Gerrards for the first time and onto the first lap.
Hutchinson and Voaden immediately gave chase in their respective Integraâs with Hutchinson holding his grid position as he came under attack from Voaden.
The two EP3 Civicâs of Williams and Chese followed suit as lap one unfolded, with Williams pulling away from Chese to settle down to another lonely race in 4th place.
Phil Wright came through the grid from 8th to 6th place and began to lead the 2nd half of the grid.
Whilst Hutchinson was defending to keep Voaden at bay, Clark utilised the clear track up ahead and began to extend his lead.
Suffering with reduced confidence in his brakes, Hutchinson was beginning to struggle to hold off Voaden. On the run into âGerrardsâ on the start of lap 4 Voaden sized up his opponent, and made the pass.
Now in 2nd place, Voaden began the huge task of chasing down the lead Civic, but despite a faultless drive he was unable to challenge for the top step, and finished the race 4 seconds adrift from Clark.
With Wright in 6th place, the Accord was flying, and holding itâs own against the lighter and more nimble cars of Mark Bennett and Stu King. Whilst Wright held position, directly behind Bennett and King had a âbattle royalâ throughout the entire race, constantly swapping places as the race unfolded.
As the race began to count down to the final few laps, the S2000 closed to within striking distance of Philâs Accord, and made the pass to take 6th place with only minutes to spare!
Looking to make a last minute attempt to pass Phil on the run up to the hairpin, Stu and the Accord had a brief coming together, and the lost time cost him a higher placed finish.
With King recovering, Rich Chilton snuck through to take 8th, with James Hamnett closing out the dayâs proceedings.
1st: - Mike Clark â EG Civic - Super Tuner
2nd: - Rich Voaden - H22 DC2 - Super Tuner
3rd: - Stewart Hutchinson â DC2 - Tuner
Class wins were awarded to:
(P) - Rob Williams
(ST) - Mike Clarke
(T) - Stewart Hutchinson
Fastest lap â Mike Clark â 51.639 on lap 9 of 18
Summary:
Another great couple of races unfolded, with some exceptional competition throughout the grid.
The closeness of the racing entertained all those present, and displayed the kind of racing the VTEC Challenge has become synonymous with.
Thanks again go out to the BARC, and sponsors Yokohama Tyres, HEL, VTEC Direct, Hendy Performance, Petronas Oils, R-Motion and Total Honda for their continuing support.
Set around the twin lakes of Mallory Park in Leicestershire, the 1.35 mile circuit was the latest venue to host the 2012 VTEC Challenge.
With a combination of fast straights, the punishing near third of a mile sweeping corner of âGerrardsâ as well as one of the tightest hairpins of any UK circuit, the circuit at Mallory is known to throw up the odd surprise along the way.
With a couple of the drivers new to the circuit, it would be anyoneâs guess as to how the grid would line up.
Entrants:
04 â Mark Bennett â Production â (S2000)
11 â Dave Roberts â P16 â (CRX)
17 â James Hamnett â Tuner â (EK4)
24 - Richard Voaden - Super Tuner - Integra (DC2)
26 - Rob Williams â Production - Civic Type R (EP3)
31 - Phil Wright â Production - Accord Type R (ATR)
64 - Richard Chilton â Production - Integra (DC2)
70 - Michael Clark â Super Tuner - Civic (EG6)
73 - Stuart King â Production â Integra (DC2)
85 - Stewart Hutchinson â Tuner - Integra (DC2)
98 - Mark Chese â Production - Civic Type R (EP3)
Qualifying:
With dark clouds hovering overhead and the occasional spot of rain falling, it was anyoneâs guess as to how the dayâs weather would play out.
With not even the race organisers wishing for heavy rain to interrupt proceedings, the dayâs events got underway ahead of schedule in a plan to miss the heavy rain which was forecast for later on in the day.
After missing out on all of the excitement at Snetterton, Mallory saw the welcome return for Mark Bennett, James Hamnett and Dave Roberts.
However, missing from the grid was the familiar face of âVTEC Directsâ Andy Smith, whose Accord decided to throw in the towel during a mid-week session on the rolling road. A dropped valve causing bitter disappointment to the crew that have shown total dedication and commitment throughout the season.
With an untested engine since itâs rebuild after Croft, Dave Roberts was hoping for a trouble free return to the grid with his rapid yellow CRX.
Phil Wright had repaired his Accord Type R following his retirement from race 2 at Snetterton. A faulty crank sensor in the ignition system was found to be the cause of his retirement last time out. A test at Mallory on Wednesday revealed all was well, with both car and driver becoming more acquainted with the circuit.
With everyone else ready for the day to begin, the carâs and drivers made off for the assembly area, ahead of the qualifying session.
With moisture in the air, the circuit needed respect until the tyres were up to temperature.
After a couple of laps to make sure everything was as it should be, each driver began to push on and use the 15 minute session to set their fastest laps.
It was Rich Voaden and his âPerformance Autoworksâ DC2 who led the pack and was soon showing the others the way. One such driver to benefit from Voadenâs pace was Mike Clark and the âR-Motionâ Civic. Having got to grips with the circuit and waiting for the rapid Integra to come past, Clark tagged onto the back of Voaden and drafted the Integra to help set 2nd fastest time.
The DC2 Integra of Stewart Hutchinson was suffering with a sticking throttle, (a re-occurring issue from the previous weekend) which meant lap time suffered, however he was still quick enough to set 3rd place.
Rob Williams in the âMotâs R Usâ EP3 Civic gained confidence and pace as the session unfolded, qualifying in 4th place, less than second off pole man Voaden.
Less fortunate was Dave Roberts and the CRX, which developed an unwanted misfire part way through the session. Despite a pit stop to try and identify the cause, when back on track the misfire remained.
Pole: Rich Voaden
2nd: Mike Clark
3rd: Stewart Hutchinson
Race 1:
With an early lunch, race 1 began ahead of the scheduled time, but everyone was ready to race.
The grid was led onto the circuit by the pole man, and following the customary green flag lap, everyone lined up in readiness for the off.
With the red lights holding everyone for what seemed like an age, anticipating the start of the race was going to be a difficult task.
With the lights finally extinguished, it was Voaden who retained his position, and with Clark missing a gear change to 2nd allowed Hutchinson to take 2nd before entering âGerrardsâ.
Behind the lead trio Bennett in his S2000 climbed from 5th to 4th, passing Williams in his EP3 Civic. However the driver from Telford re-took his starting position of 4th before the end of the 1st lap and began to pull out a commanding lead over the battling pair of Bennett and Chese, and embark on a lonely race to the flag.
Dave Roberts and his P16 CRX made a perfect start, and by the end of lap 1 had climbed from 11th to 8th place, however, the misfire returned with gusto, and ended the cars racing for the rest of the day.
King and his DC2 began to break away from the trio of Wright, Chilton and Hammett and remained in contention with Chese in the EP3, and later with the S2000 of Bennett until the flagged dropped.
The battle between Bennett and Chese continued to unfold, until on lap 5 Chese capitalised and slotted through to take 5th place.
Out in front Voaden was opening up a lead over Hutchinson and Clark. While fighting each other for position, valuable time was lost, which Voaden used to his advantage. By lap 4, Mike had overhauled Stewart and proceeded to set his sights on the distant Integra of Voaden.
Without Hutchinson to contend with, Clark quickly closed up on Voaden and began to hound him for the remainder of the race.
Voaden continued to push on to take the chequered flag, however any celebration was short lived as a 10 second penalty (due to a start line infringement) was handed down by the clerk of the course, which dropped the Integra driver to 3rd. As a result this promoted Mike Clark to take the win, and Stewart Hutchinson up to 2nd.
1st: - Mike Clark â EG Civic - Super Tuner
2nd: - Stewart Hutchinson â DC2 - Tuner
3rd: - Rich Voaden â DC2 â Super Tuner
Class wins were awarded to:
(P) - Rob Williams
(ST) - Mike Clark
(T) - Stewart Hutchinson
Fastest lap â Mike Clark â 51.552 on lap 6 of 17
Race 2:
With all of the cars on the circuit, the green flag was waved to signal the start of proceedings and everyone set off on their warm up lap.
With everyone in position on the grid, the seconds counted down to the last race of the day.
Not making the same mistake twice, Clark and the âR-Motionâ Civic got a clean start and lead the pack through Gerrards for the first time and onto the first lap.
Hutchinson and Voaden immediately gave chase in their respective Integraâs with Hutchinson holding his grid position as he came under attack from Voaden.
The two EP3 Civicâs of Williams and Chese followed suit as lap one unfolded, with Williams pulling away from Chese to settle down to another lonely race in 4th place.
Phil Wright came through the grid from 8th to 6th place and began to lead the 2nd half of the grid.
Whilst Hutchinson was defending to keep Voaden at bay, Clark utilised the clear track up ahead and began to extend his lead.
Suffering with reduced confidence in his brakes, Hutchinson was beginning to struggle to hold off Voaden. On the run into âGerrardsâ on the start of lap 4 Voaden sized up his opponent, and made the pass.
Now in 2nd place, Voaden began the huge task of chasing down the lead Civic, but despite a faultless drive he was unable to challenge for the top step, and finished the race 4 seconds adrift from Clark.
With Wright in 6th place, the Accord was flying, and holding itâs own against the lighter and more nimble cars of Mark Bennett and Stu King. Whilst Wright held position, directly behind Bennett and King had a âbattle royalâ throughout the entire race, constantly swapping places as the race unfolded.
As the race began to count down to the final few laps, the S2000 closed to within striking distance of Philâs Accord, and made the pass to take 6th place with only minutes to spare!
Looking to make a last minute attempt to pass Phil on the run up to the hairpin, Stu and the Accord had a brief coming together, and the lost time cost him a higher placed finish.
With King recovering, Rich Chilton snuck through to take 8th, with James Hamnett closing out the dayâs proceedings.
1st: - Mike Clark â EG Civic - Super Tuner
2nd: - Rich Voaden - H22 DC2 - Super Tuner
3rd: - Stewart Hutchinson â DC2 - Tuner
Class wins were awarded to:
(P) - Rob Williams
(ST) - Mike Clarke
(T) - Stewart Hutchinson
Fastest lap â Mike Clark â 51.639 on lap 9 of 18
Summary:
Another great couple of races unfolded, with some exceptional competition throughout the grid.
The closeness of the racing entertained all those present, and displayed the kind of racing the VTEC Challenge has become synonymous with.
Thanks again go out to the BARC, and sponsors Yokohama Tyres, HEL, VTEC Direct, Hendy Performance, Petronas Oils, R-Motion and Total Honda for their continuing support.
