Round 3 - Snetterton 200 (3 hrs)

TDI Classification

The Fun Cup championship moved to Snetterton 200 on the 29^th and 30th May for round three, with a staggering thirty car grid.

Team Honeywell proved a force to reckon with, after proving unstoppable again, in the JPR prepared car. Post qualifying, their brake disc replacement required conservative laps at the start of the five hour race. The leaders appeared to speed away, but a steady climb to 4th by the first pit window for Neil Plimmer and Geoff Fawcett laid foundation for an exciting four hours ahead.

A combination of great strategy and fantastic pitwork ensured their lead at the three and a half hour point with car 101, Racelogic chasing hard and 211, Track Torque Direct Accident Management sitting on their tail!

Meanwhile, in car 211, the Track Torque car lined up 26th on the grid, after another underwhelming grid draw after the random ballot. With Tim Hartland at the wheel and Nigel Greensall directly behind in the 101 car, the getaway was steady, but clean, and in

keeping with the pre-race plan.

Tim Hartland, said: “It was no surprise to see Greensall, who had started on the second to last row, rocket by on the outside with two wheels on the grass and mud flying, clearly intent on a very rapid passage to the front. Nevertheless, the 211 car had pace, so the first few laps were spent picking a route through the traffic, whilst ensuring that we retained a full compliment of splitters.”

By lap twelve, the 211 car was lying 2nd and pulling a gap to the group behind, but now a considerable distance behind the flying Greensall. At the first round of stops, the Honeywell team made their customary lightening changeover, vaulting themselves to 3^rd in the process, whilst Neil Primrose boarded the 211 car, to continue the frenzied pursuit of the 101 team.

An excellent last minute decision by the quick thinking Primrose, to pit just as the safety car came out, enabled Hartland to hit the front at the third round of stops, with Honeywell now right on their tail and car 101 back to 3rd. The battle with Honeywell was now well and truly on and both teams were to drive absolutely flat out for the next ninety laps, with never more than ten seconds between the two cars, sometimes one leading and then the other.

Finally on lap 158, the race for the lead was settled for good, when Hartland, on the ragged edge trying to claw back a four second deficit to Plimmer, ran straight over a rock lying in the exit kerb at Montreal. There was a huge bang under the car, and when the brake pedal went down for Brundle, the car slid sideways and straight off the circuit as the right rear tyre deflated. The car emerged from the pits with a new tyre and in 2nd place, but now almost a lap down and that's the way it stayed for the final hour. A desperately frustrating end to a fantastic race long battle with Honeywell and car 101.

Julian Thomas takes up the story for the Racelogic, team in the JPR 101 car.

He said: “We had been trying to track down our mysterious loss in power and changed a number of ECU sensors, but to no avail. “

He added: “After qualifying we were 5th fastest overall, about 3/4s off the pace, so we really had to do something about this and made the decision to change the engine! The boys at JPR managed a miracle and changed it with fifteen minutes to go before the race…”

They drew 26th on the grid and the team, which consisted of Ginetta G55 racer Joachim Ritter, Nigel Greensall and Julian Thomas, agreed to let Greensall take the first stint. Greensall had a lightening start as the lights changed and with two wheels on the grass, he overtook about six cars into turn one. With some brilliant overtaking, they were 7th by the end of the first lap, 3rd by the second lap and in the lead by the end of lap three.

Greensall put his head down and pulled out a fifty second lead by the time they had the first driver change.

Ritter left the pitlane about thirty seconds ahead of 2nd place and put in a good series of laps to remain in the lead, until the safety car came out. This was just after the pit window had opened and he had already passed the pit entrance, so they had to do a complete lap behind the safety car before they could pit.

Thomas took over, but the unfortunate timing of the pitstop meant that they had lost a lap on 1st and 2nd place and were back in 3rd. He then caught and swapped places over a number of laps, with Team Honeywell in 2nd place and then set about catching the leaders. They got to within three seconds of the leader before they pitted to change drivers.

Ritter was next out, but had an unfortunate stint, picking up a ten second “stop and go” for overtaking before the start finish line after a safety car period, he then picked up a puncture after running wide at turn three. He limped back to the pits and the team were now out of contention for the lead.

They were running in 4th place before the driver change, but as Thomas went to re-start the car, the starter motor failed! A slow bump start up the pitlane put them even further behind, and he left the pits fifty two seconds behind 4th place. After Thomas’s exhausting stint, Greensall took over, with the task of catching and passing Evolution Racing, car 225, for 3rd place and a chance of another podium.

He began to set fastest lap in the process and caught and overtook them with fifteen minutes to go. Greensall took 3rd place from Evolution Racing and stormed across the line ten seconds behind 2nd place.

Julian Thomas, said: “3rd place on the podium was a good result considering what went on. We are now confident that our car is on the pace and could challenge for the lead in the next few rounds.”

Greensall’s fastest lap was a 1:27.540.

Petrol Classification

In the petrol class, car 105 was the team to beat, with Pete James, John Halestrap and Scott Kavanagh taking the wheel.

Kavanagh took the first stint and started the race from 9th position on the grid. He moved steadily through the field and stayed out until late into the first fuel window, where he reached 2nd place petrol.

A quickly executed driver change saw Halestrap out for the second stint, still in 2nd place, which he held for the stint despite a couple of brief departures from the circuit, one of which saw the left hand front splitter removed. The stint ended with the safety car on circuit, so an early pitstop for fuel and a swift bonnet change then saw James out on the track for the third stint, still with the safety car leading the procession for another lap.

In the scrum that ensued as the race recommenced, James was bumped from behind and thought he had a puncture. He pitted straight away, only to find that despite body damage, the car was mechanically fine. He then sped off down the pit lane somewhat hastily and promptly received a drive through penalty for speeding. This was not the best of starts to a stint and 105 was now sitting in 5th place petrol. But, he quickly settled down and started producing some fast and consistent lap times, finishing the stint as 4^th place petrol.

Halestrap took the fourth stint, and after a fairly consistent drive, pitted in the same position, handing over to Kavanagh who rejoined in 4th position and settled into a fairly quick pace.

During his stint, he managed to pass the 3rd placed Jolly Roger car and the 2nd place Purple Apple. Kavanagh pitted for the final time, having put in the fastest lap of the day and a superbly executed pitstop saw James enter the final stint in 2nd position and now only fifty seconds behind the leader. He quickly got comfortable and gained up to four seconds a lap on the leaders.

There followed a nail-biting session in the pits while they all watched him slowly, but surely, reel in the Jolly Roger car, passing it on the penultimate lap, and holding onto the lead to win, amid much cheering and jubilation in the pitlane.

In 2nd place it was Jolly Roger Racing with drivers Ben Gill and Mark Jaffray at the helm. Congratulations to the team who were delighted to step onto the podium. It was long overdue and well deserved for the pair. Mark Jaffray was especially thrilled after taking home his first ever Fun Cup trophy in ten races!

In car 92, Paul Calladine was joined by Fun Cup regular Mark Hope, who had previously hired for the 2010 season. After they drew pole position for the start of the race, Calladine soon found himself in a dog fight with the top petrol cars, scrapping over the class lead, until an unplanned trip across the grass at Murrays saw him drop back to 7th in class.

However, Hope soon had the car back up into the top three in the class and a three way scrap between them, Jolly Roger and Porsche Byfleet ran up to the end of the race with Porsche Byfleet, catching and passing Purple Apple, leaving the team to concentrate on finishing on the podium with a 3rd in class.

Car 103, JPR/Scuderia Barbarossa set the fastest lap with a 1:30.770.