Qualifying

The overnight rain had cleared by the time the Clubman headed out for the qualifying session, the team was anxious to get a good number of laps under their belt in the Clubmans return to Brands Hatch to lay any demons to rest ahead of the two races. After scrubbing in the new Avon slicks the Clubman began its qualifying session in earnest.

It soon became clear however that all was not well with the Clubman as the lap times weren’t approaching those expected, the Clubman ducked into the pitlane for the team to assess the situation. The problem was diagnosed as a leaking oil seal that resulted in the clutch slipping and therefore the car was not able to transfer power effectively to the wheels. The Clubman returned to the paddock so that the team could rectify the problem before the first race of the day.

Race 1

Between qualifying and the race the team replaced the defective oil seal and the Clubman was sent out to race with a clean bill of health. The compromised qualifying session would see the Clubman starting from a lowly 19th position. From the rolling start the Clubman immediately set about making progress through the field swiftly dispatching a Peugeot 205 and Renault Megane on the first lap. The second lap was equally impressive with an Integra and Nova falling victim to the rampaging Clubman.

The Clubmans charge through the field continued as the rejuvenated machine reeled in its rivals, next to fall was an Escort and shortly afterwards the Clubman scythed passed a Fiesta to take the class lead. Before the end of the race the Clubman had time to pass a turbo charged Golf, Impreza and Sierra Cosworth. Taking the chequered flag in 9th position overall the Clubman had staged a remarkable comeback with a scintillating performance.

Race 2

Following the Race 1 heroics the Clubman would start the second race of the day from 9th position – directly behind its usual sparring partner – a red Peugeot 205. As the race got underway the Clubman latched onto the bootlid of the French machine and sought a way past. The two cars circulated separated by inches and quickly closed the gap to the Peugeot 306 ahead, the two cars driven on by the intensity of their duel. The 306 was caught and passed as the Clubman remained stuck to the bootlid of the 205.

Only the intervention of the safety car interrupted the dogfight between the two cars, the introduction of the safety car causing some confusion as it picked up the wrong car when it joined the circuit. After several laps behind the safety car and some re-shuffling of the field to position the race leader directly behind the safety car the race got underway once more.

From the restart all the way to the chequered flag the Clubman continually harassed the 205 but was unable to find a way past as the red machine took a defensive line through the corners. The Clubman took the flag in 7th place overall and 1st in class to round off a successful weekend.

Whilst the qualifying session didn’t go as planned the team worked hard to ensure that the Clubman was ready for the races and it delivered in style with two class wins and the fastest lap in class in both races (also setting a new personal best lap time). In addition Bill received the “Driver of the day” award for his performances during the two races. The team will now begin preparations for the next race meeting.

Qualifying

The overnight rain had cleared by the time the Clubman made its way to the assembly area for the qualifying session and it was therefore running a full dry setup and was fitted with slicks all round. At the allotted start time of the session the heavens opened and the circuit was soon awash, the Clubman elected to put in the required number of laps to qualify for the race and then return to the pitlane for wet tyres. The treacherous circuit conditions saw the Clubman tiptoe around the circuit for several laps before it ducked into the pits.

The weather eased off once more as the Clubman entered the pits and the team elected to fit a split wet/dry combination of tyres in the hope that the circuit would dry rapidly in the second part of the session and the split set up would allow the most competitive time to be set. By the end of the session the Clubman was posting consistent lap times and would see itself lining up in the middle of the pack for the first race.

Race 1

Sunday dawned dry and there was no prospect of rain for the first race at least so the Clubman was sent out for the first race again on a fully dry setup. From the rolling start the Clubman immediately gained ground passing an Integra and a stricken Alfa Romeo. Consolidating its position over the opening lap the Clubman then set its sights on the cars ahead with a turbo charged Golf the first victim. The Golf held a significant power advantage over the diminutive Clubman but the Clubman held the advantage through the slower sections and soon forged ahead and began to pull away.

The Clubmans progress through the field was halted when it came up against an ex-touring car Renault Megane, the French machine fended off the Clubmans attacks and was positioned well on the circuit to prevent the charging Clubman passing. The two cars circulated nose to tail and several times the Clubman was able to draw alongside the yellow machine but each time the Megane steadfastly held the racing line and thwarted the Clubman time and again. The duel continued until the chequered flag fell, the two cars flashed across the line separated by a tenth of a second with the Megane taking the class win from the impressive Clubman.

Race 2

With starting positions decided by the outcome of the first race the battle between the Clubman and the Megane would restart the second the race got underway. As expected the racing was as fierce and clean as it had been in the first race, both the Clubman and the Megane drove impeccably as the two cars continued to be separated by fractionsof a second. The battle was briefly interrupted by a supercharged Peugeot making its way through the field from the back of the grid having failed to finish the first race.

Once the interloper had departed the main players resumed their duel with the Clubman once again trying to find a way through. Persistence finally paid off and the Clubman sliced past the Megane to take the class lead. The Renaults fightback was unfortunately cut short as its engine expired on the following lap. With the class lead secure the Clubman eased off in the closing stages of the race to preserve the car and it took the chequered flag in 8th position overall.

The team can be thoroughly satisfied with the weekends work, the Clubman performed heroics on a circuit that theoretically doesn’t suit the cars strengths taking a class win and a second in class as well as smashing the class record for the circuit. Once again the Clubman punched above its weight and was involved in some of the most intense racing of the weekend with the battles with the Megane being a particular highlight. The team will now begin preparations for the next meeting – at Brands Hatch on the 15th of August.

Final fettling of the car took place at the circuit and the untried car went through the scrutineering process with no problems. After undergoing a final checkover the team was satisfied that the new Clubman was ready for action although given that the car had yet to turn a wheel expectations were naturally kept in check.

Qualifying

The sight of the Clubman heading out onto the sun bathed circuit for qualifying was a satisfying sight for the team and marked a welcome return to action. As the Clubman had not been tested prior to qualifying the early laps of the session were used for basic checks and to give the car a brief shakedown to ensure everything was working as expected. As the session progressed the Clubman picked up the pace and began to post some representative lap times. Finding clear air on the circuit the times were fast and consistent with the new car performing well. The Clubman ended the session 5th overall on the grid only 5 thousandths of a second behind the car ahead (in fact a group of 4 cars including the Clubman was covered by less than 2 tenths of a second). The team was ecstatic with the performance of the Clubman – the untested car had turned in a superb performance and set about making some minor set up changes ahead of the first race.

Race 1

A non-starting car promoted the Clubman to 4th position before the first race got underway but from the rolling start the Clubman was beaten into the first corner by a fast starting Renault Megane. Slotting in behind the French machine the Clubman sought to regain the lost position and immediately set about trying to pass. For a number of laps the Clubman harried the Megane and several times drew alongside but the Megane was well positioned on the circuit and resisted the Clubmans attacks. Finally the Clubman was able to make a move on the Megane going into Chessons and once ahead pulled away from the now ailing Megane.

Having dispensed with the Renault the Clubman quickly closed the gap to its familiar adversary in the shape of a Peugeot 205. The two cars circulated nose to tail with the Clubman applying unrelenting pressure to the 205 as the duelling pair spurred each other on and closed the gap to the leaders. Getting a good exit from the Devils Elbow the Clubman was able to make a successful pass and snatch 3rd place away from the Peugeot. Initially the Peugeot fought back and attempted to regain the lost position but as the race continued both the 205 and Clubman eased off to save the cars for the second race – the hot ambient temperatures had already taken their toll on other competitors. At the chequered flag the Clubman was 3rd on the road and 1st in class – a superb result for its first race outing.

Race 2

Starting from 3rd on the grid for the second race the Clubman was setting its sights firmly on taking 2nd position from the Subaru Impreza ahead. A good start saw the Clubman immediately on the offensive and latching onto the bootlid of the Impreza. The turbo charged machine held the initial advantage but soon had its mirrors full of Clubman as the smaller machine snapped away at its heels.

Each car sought to play to their strengths and time and again the Clubman was able to get alongside the Impreza but couldn’t make the move stick. As the race wore on the battle continued unabated, the Clubman allowing the Impreza no respite with the cars separated by inches. Finally the Clubmans persistence paid off as it got a better exit from Paddock and passed the Impreza as the cars ran down towards Chessons. Once ahead the Clubman sought to fend off the Impreza as the roles were reversed for the final part of the race. The Clubman stayed ahead of the Impreza to take the chequered flag 2nd overall and 1st in class after another superb race performance.

The team can be rightly proud of their days work, the new car ran faultlessly throughout the day in demanding conditions – a testimony to the teams workmanship and build quality of the new machine. To qualify first in class, take two class wins, two fastest laps and a second and third place overall is a superb result and a deserved reward for the effort that has gone into getting the new car onto the circuit for this meeting. Both races also showed once again that the Clubman can compete with more powerful cars and that races involving the Clubman are never dull with clean hard fought action throughout.

The team would once again like thank all their sponsors and supporters for all their help in getting the new car on track so soon after the accident at Brands Hatch. Without their generous support this result would not have been possible. A big thank you must also go to everyone that came over to see the team in the paddock – it’s good to be back!

With Bill still feeling the effects of the Brands accident the team elected to run a shortened qualifying session. After some initial sighting laps the Metro was brought up to speed and began posting competitive times. Returning to the paddock the Metro sat out the end of the session but had done enough during its time on circuit to secure pole position for the first race.

The first race saw the Metro beaten off the line but the Duratec powerplant soon hauled the Metro back into contention. The Metro soon regained its position at the head of the field and stayed out in front for the remainder of the race taking the chequered flag and securing pole position for the second race of the day.

SEMSEC are running longer races for the second race of the day this season – this would prove to be a stern test of both man and machine with the Metro being a physically demanding car to drive. Once again the Metro lost out on the run to the first corner but as in the first race was able to get on terms with its opponents quickly and regain the lost positions. The second race may have been longer than the first but the end result was the same with the Metro taking the victory after an impressive drive.

The team can be very satisfied with the days efforts – the Metro took pole position and two outright race victories proving once again that it may be old but it is still a very competitive piece of machinery. Possibly more importantly though was Bills successful return to competitive action proving that despite the severity of the accident at Brands Hatch he has lost none of his speed or racecraft. The team would also like to extend their congratulations to Bill Richards Racing customers Mary Grinham and Tristam Barden for taking class wins in their respective classes.