Round 3 of the 2009 Elise Trophy held at Anglesey on 16 May 2009.
Introduction
From the glorious spring conditions of Brands Hatch we move to the blustery Anglesey Ty Croes circuit, perched out on the Irish Sea. With its tight twists and turns, this is very much Elise country.
Practice and Qualifying
As the Marshall blew his whistle early on Saturday morning, he may as well have been summoning the Gods, for spots of rain appeared on cue as the cars took to the track. Thankfully it never did get too wet. Jonathan Walker headed the practice times in his 2 Eleven, from Sean Bicknell, the lack of straights perhaps hindering the Audi turbo-powered car from being able to stretch its legs. Pat McBennett found inspiration from the Irish air being brought in across the coast to sit third, ahead of David Fenn, Connaire Finn, Steve Williams and Doug Setters. Next up were three 2-Elevens, Tom Chatterway ahead of erstwhile pacesetter Scott Cruickshank and Stephen Docherty
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Then we had production pace-setter Paul Quinn, however a gearbox problem ended his day as it had just begun, leaving Paul Harding as favourite for qualifying. His challenge looked to be from Simon Phillips and class frontrunner Marcus Jewell. Next up were Andy Dolan, Matt Franks, Stuart Mason and Ken Savage.
With an hour’s break, qualifying started under similar conditions but if anything the wind and drizzle was building up. Making the most of these conditions was Bicknell, posting a time just over a couple of tenths faster than Fenn, in the invitation class Exige. Walker also got into the 1 minute 37 bracket, heading the 2-Elevens, and these three were a couple of seconds quicker than Cruickshank, who was getting the hang of the circuit. McBennett and Finn were next, ahead of Williams and Setters in their modified cars, just behind them the 2-Elevens of Chatterway, Docherty and Martin Johnston.
Production fell to Harding, lapping over a second quicker than Franks, who headed a gaggle of cars in the 1 minute 44 second bracket. These were Mason, Phillips, Russ Treasure, Dolan and Greg Noble.
Race 1 All Classes
After a shower drenched the track, heavy winds and sunny spells dried much of the surface by the time the grid formed up. Bicknell got away well, but Walker made the best getaway and was up with the Exige at the first hairpin. The move didn’t pay off and the 2-Eleven found the grass on the exit and finding the grass rather damp, performed a quick spin before rejoining several cars back. So it was Bicknell that led the field along the long back straight. Also losing out was Fenn, dropping to the rear of the field as the leaders soon sorted themselves out into a quartet of Bicknell, then the impressive Cruickshank, Finn and Williams. McBennett had been part of this group but was having trouble with his car.
Over in Production, Harding put in some strong laps to give himself a large lead over Franks, so much so that he had Johnston’s 2-Eleven very much in his sights for the early laps. Johnston ran much of the race in company with Setters and whilst they would eventually drop Harding, it looked for a while as though the Production car was in for a giant-killing performance.
Starting way back in 21st placed, Jewell was beginning one of his fightbacks and his challenge would eventually prove irresistible to Franks, however at this late stage Harding was too far ahead. The two finished four seconds apart at the flag.
Back to the main battle and Cruickshank was becoming an increasing threat to Bicknell. Whilst Bicknell’s turbo kept him ahead on the straights, the 2-Eleven would be all over it in the tight sections. Perhaps mindful of this and the thought of an outright win three meetings into the season, Cruickshank made an error in the final hairpin, dropping several places and into the clutches of Walker.
Bicknell’s lead was now being challenged by Fenn. Having fought back from his disastrous start, the Exige was clawing back huge amounts of time, three laps from the finish it was 7 seconds, then 4 seconds, then 1.5 on the final lap. As the occasional backmarker appeared, all eyes were on the finish line. In the end Bicknell got the nod by 4 tenths, scoring another win to add to his increasing tally.
Behind Fenn but some 12 seconds back was Finn, who had battled hard with Williams, almost losing the place at one point. Walker took 5th and 2-Eleven honours, heading similar cars of Cruickshank, Docherty and Chatterway, albeit with ten seconds covering the quartet. Setters and Johnston rounded off the modified and 2-Eleven runners.
With the Production race settled, Franks took the final podium place, just in front of Mason, the pair racing hard for the duration. Mike Davies was a further 8 seconds back, from Dolan, Nigel Ayres, Phillips and Noble, who together with Davies were all within 7 seconds and the final cars on the lead lap. With a four-hour gap to race two, there was plenty of time for the drivers to prepare and the weather to change…
Race summary – 26 starters, 22 finished.
| Production | Modified | 2-Eleven | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|
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Race 2 All Classes
The circuit had been lashed with rain, beaten by the wind and baked in the sun between the races and as the waves lashed against the coast, we turned our attention to the final round of the meeting. Walker was unable to make the grid and with reversed top 8 positions from qualifying, Setters was on the pole, from Williams, Finn, McBennett, Cruickshank, Fenn and Bicknell, before the remainder of the field lined up as for race one.
Setters made a poor start and was swamped by the pack as they made their way to the first hairpin, with Williams determined to make the early running. It was a wise move as Bicknell was scything his way through, Fenn doing the same behind. Pretty soon things boiled down to a fight with Williams, Bicknell, Finn, Fenn and Cruickshank, who had one eye on a good finish, another on getting that last vital signature to enable him to race in the next European series race at Zandvoort.
Bicknell made it past Williams, the Audi-powered Exige lapping at a race to suggest that Sean was in a hurry to the flag. Fenn soon got up behind Williams, but try as he might, he found the Duratec car just fast enough on the straights and couldn’t find a way past in the corners. Adding to his problems was a determined Cruickshank, keeping him honest and diluting his attack. A similar story was happening in Production, for whilst Harding took off into the lead as he had in race one (and keeping in touch with Johnston’s 2-Eleven), Treasure was holding back several cars, who were watching both opportunities ahead and attacks from behind.
At the mid-point the race leader’s car faltered and the rest of the leading pack soon passed. Now race leader, the pressure didn’t get to Williams as lap after lap the Motorsport Elise of Fenn would close up on the back straight, only to fall in behind for the twists and turns that followed. On occasion Fenn would look likely to pass, only to lock up and run wide, leading to a challenge from Cruickshank.
It couldn’t last, Fenn’s car was just too quick, and he passed Williams, leaving Cruickshank to look for a way past. However the attempt never came and the three finished in that order. 3 seconds behind was a fighting Finn, always thereabouts in the race, then 10 seconds back Chatterway, second in the 2-Elevens. Setters finished 6th, on his own and some way ahead of Johnston.
Harding confirmed a second win in Production, eight seconds ahead of Jewell. The fight back specialist was looking at third in class but going into the final corners, Treasure was finding it increasingly difficult to hold off the following pack. At the final hairpin Jewell got a great exit and drew alongside on the straight. The crowd held their breath as Jewell got the advantage, Treasure just holding off Franks on the run to the line. They were followed by Phillips, Mason and Davies, the latter just over six seconds adrift of Jewell.
Race summary – 25 starters, 21 finished.
| Production | Modified | 2-Eleven | Overall |
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Conclusion
Two excellent races, the Anglesey circuit proving challenging for both drivers and spectators alike. With the Euro drivers moving onto Zandvoort in a week’s time, the Elise Trophy’s next stop is at Snetterton in June.
