VTEC Challenge does Snetterton


Jonathan F

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Snetterton: May 10th/11th (Rounds 5 and 6 of Honda VTEC Challenge)

Rounds 5 & 6 saw the Honda VTEC Challenge head East, and to the “300” layout of the Snetterton circuit.

VTC Entrants:

07 – Simon Jessop – Super Tuner – Integra DC2
31 – Phil Wright – Super Tuner – Accord Type R
39 – Rob Burkinshaw – Tuner – Integra DC5
42 – Dawn Boyd – Production - EP3 Civic Type R
66 – Paula Webb– Production - EP3 Civic Type R
139 – Andy Smith – Super Tuner – Accord Type R

Having to sit out the previous event at Croft, it was a welcome return to Paula Webb and her EP3.

In a monumental effort, Paula had to drive from her home near London to the VTEC Direct HQ in Cheshire in order to pick up her recently rebuilt Civic. From there it was a drive to Snetterton to drop off her car, before heading back home to pick up the family before a final leg back to Snetterton! Hopefully the efforts would be rewarded, but only time would tell.

Another driver to be applauded for his dedication is Phil Wright and his sidekick “Kato”!

During a driver coaching session with Paula at Snetterton on the previous Friday, the engine cried enough and threw its toys out of the pram. Faced with only a few days to replace the broken unit, Phil left the car with Performance Autoworks who replaced the pistons, block and numerous other bits in order to get Phil out on track.


Qualifying:

Being first out on track, conditions were less than ideal as the low temperatures combined with a damp surface would make things interesting to say the least!

With little heat in the tyres to begin with, progress was cautious, but even so the conditions caught out a few drivers.

Out in front it was Rob Burkinshaw and his immaculate DC5, setting the pace, with the rebuilt Accord of Phil Wright in 2nd.



With her issues from Croft behind her, it was Dawn Boyd who was to take 3rd place ahead of Andy Smith's Accord.

Pole: Rob Burkinshaw
2nd: Phil Wright
3rd: Dawn Boyd


Race 1:

With the sun shining, the grid lined up ahead of a green flag lap. With a 3 mile circuit to get both driver and car up to speed, eventually everyone was back in their grid slot.




As the time to race counted down, engine rev’s rose and exhausts notes grew louder. Lights out and clutches were dropped and tyres hooked up!

Bogging down off the line, Burkinshaw lost his lead to Wright, who’s Accord had gotten away cleanly to head the pack into “Richies”.

Unable to get around Burkinshaw, Smith in the second of the Accords, found himself going backwards as a number of cars passed him on the outside, giving him a piece of work to do before getting back into the running.

Both Boyd and Jessop got away cleanly to begin their battle for position, but following an off early on it was Jessop who prevailed to take 3rd place and hold Dawn to a 4 second lead by the time the chequered flag fell. Having dropped right back, Dawn battled to claw her way back through the pack and after a few laps battling with Smith (who had also driven back through the pack), managed to prise the position away from his grasp.

Keeping her head, Webb in the second of the EP3 Civics got a great start to hold her grid position and stay ahead of the Pre 2005 drivers that where behind her.



With increased confidence in both her car and ability, Webb found herself battling for position as well as overtaking some of the Pre-2005 drivers and then showing them a clean pair of heels!

Burkinshaw got back into his stride to retake the lead from Wright, who was doing a sterling effort in defending from the Sheffield based racer. Once passed, Burkinshaw pushed on to take the race win, with Wright untroubled for 2nd.


1st: Rob Burkinshaw
2nd: Phil Wright
3rd: Simon Jessop

Class wins were awarded to:

(P) – Dawn Boyd
(T) – Rob Burkinshaw
(ST) – Phil Wright

Fastest lap: Rob Burkinshaw: 2.13:799 on lap 3 of 7


Race 2:

The conditions for race 2 left a lot to be desired, as the heavens opened and turned the track at Snetterton into something resembling a boating lake!

Following the safety car around, it was apparent that rivers of water flowed freely across the circuit and some corners held onto large amounts of standing water.

This would be one tricky race for the drivers as visibility would be severely hampered throughout the grid.

Lining up in their respective grid slots, the view ahead was one of falling rain and slick circuit, not ideal!

Just as the race was about to get underway, Burkinshaw discovered that his TPS failed on the start line, meaning his rev’s hunted all over the place.

Unable to maintain steady rev’s, his start was blighted with masses of wheel spin through 2nd and 3rd gear, which dropped the race 1 winner down to 4th place. Phil Wright capitalised and put his Accord “Kato” into the lead where he could take advantage of the better visibility.



Running down to turn 1 and Burkinshaw was already back on a charge, slipping past Boyd and then soon alongside the DC2 of Jessop.

Following a couple of corners running side by side, the younger of the two Integra’s pulled clear and Burkinshaw began the hunt for Wright.



Not wanting to make a move too early and risk going off, Burkinshaw began to close in on Wright, and whilst doing so looked for where the better track conditions lay, and where he felt he was quicker.

Jessop, Boyd and Smith hooked up into a 3 car train and chased the leaders as their rain lights disappeared into the distance.

Coming around Coram on lap 1 and the river which was running across the track caught out both Jessop and Boyd as their cars crossed over it.

Boyd would live to recover and continue her race following her off, however Jessop became a passenger as the Integra speared the barrier in a high speed off. Thankfully Simon escaped relatively unscathed, but would be a bit sore come Monday morning.

Smith took the opportunity to move up to 3rd place and comfortably held position for the remainder of the race.



Back on track Dawn began to climb her way back up through the field, only to have another off in the same place as before, but again managed to rejoin unscathed to finish 7th overall and 4th in VTC.

Out in front, Burkinshaw had been sizing up his opportunities to pass Wright, and had found a couple of places where he felt he was faster, so into lap 2 and coming out of “Williams” and onto the long straight of “Bentleys” Rob put his plan into action and got much better run onto the big straight and slipped past Phil.




From there on in Rob, pushed on to build a gap and go on to win his 2nd race of the day.


1st: Rob Burkinshaw
2nd: Phil Wright
3rd: Andy Smith

Class wins were awarded to:

(P) – Dawn Boyd
(T) – Rob Burkinshaw
(ST) – Phil Wright

Fastest lap: Rob Burkinshaw: 2.39:192 on lap 6 of 6


Summary:

In spite of the horrendous weather conditions, the weekend was a great success.

In spite of his off, Simon remains upbeat and focussed on getting the car repaired for the next event.

Thanks to the series sponsors: Toyo Tires, Ultra Racing, Performance Autoworks, Finsport, Honda Tuner, R-Motion and MOTORV8 Media for their support.

Thanks again go out to everyone who made the journey to Snetterton and braved the elements. Although driving in those tricky conditions needs much praise, it’s the spectators braving the horizontal rain that require a special mention!

The next race is at Silverstone on the 7th/8th June and will be televised live. Anyone interested in coming out to race, just get in touch at vtecchallenge@gmail.com



Words: Jonathan Fletcher
Pictures: Lindsey Fletcher & Jonathan Fletcher
 
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