Donington Park Sunday 20th October 2013

Having taken as much medication as possible following the events of October 6th it was with some trepidation that I ventured trackside again! It was BRSCC Championship Finals weekend at Donington that enticed The Spectator back out on the Sunday of a 2 day meeting. 14 races were scheduled for Sunday with the majority of the BRSCC's championships racing both days. Several other BRSCC championships were having their Finals Weekend on the Silverstone International circuit this weekend so a difficult decision for Midlands based spectators to chose which meeting to go to. Even despite the fact that a Caterham Formula One car was being demonstrated at Silverstone and that the meeting there was free to get in to, The Spectator chose Donington simply as it's nearer!
A damp track greeted competitors for 3 qualifying sessions in the morning before racing started in earnest and the circuit gradually dried as the day progressed until about 3.00pm when the heavens opened and led to a brief delay before racing could resume. The timetable was always going to be tight, up against the ever shortening hours of daylight at this time of year, but the final race of the day ended at 6.05pm without a single race being lost......Please note GT Package!!
I needed a good days racing to rejuvenate my enthusiasm to be honest and thankfully that was what the rather sparse crowd were treated to. This was a good days club racing on the National circuit with only 1 race (the first Toyo Tires Porsche race) being red flagged due to an incident. The Formula Jedi race was stopped but only because slick tyres don't like monsoon conditions.....
One of the best decisions made by the organisers was to combine the 7 Super Mighty Minis with the 21 Mighty Minis which not only helped the timetable but led to an entertaining race with the faster Supers intermingling with the slower Mightys towards the end of the race.
Other races that impressed were the trio of Track Attack Race Club Autumn Series affairs which catered for the clubs 3 series - Toyota MR2 Mk1, Nippon Challenge & French Trophy. A huge grid of cars meant lots of action and the 3 races were won by 3 different drivers. I particularly liked the battle for the lead in the 3rd race of the day where the Subaru of Kevin Middleton's front lights weren't working in the gloom as he battled with the Peugeot 205 of Gordon Mason. Not seeing your opponent is a frequent excuse by racing drivers but it was literally the case in this race!
The Production Golf Gti's had 2 races and won the "Who can have the most out of control cars without having a major accident" award of the day as they slithered around on a very greasy circuit. Also impressive were the 2 Porsche races with the modern Boxster joined by the venerable 924 to provide a very good grid of cars. Special mention too for the MSA British Superkart drivers who always put on a show but in my opinion are as mad as box of frogs doing what they do!!
The only slight concerns during the day were a few thinnish grids for Euro Saloons & Sportscars, Formula Jedi & the Ford XR Challenge. The end of season can lead to smaller grids than usual though as budgets and enthusiasm diminish. The obligatory roll in a Fiesta XR2 was provided by Steve McMurrough as he got out of shape in the Craner Curves and entered the gravel trap on the inside not only at speed but at a 90 degree angle......
All in all a very entertaining meeting and the difference between this and my previous meeting couldn't be more marked.Admission was £10 with £5 DPRAC discount and programme £3

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