Mallory Park Sunday 12th June 2016
750MC were in charge for a 12 race schedule that saw double headers for Formula Vee, Classic Stock Hatch, 750 Formula, Historic 500cc F3, Stock Hatch/Hot Hatch & 750 Trophy.
Rain was forecast but the days qualifying started dry and even when the expected rain did start to fall it was never that heavy thankfully. Indeed the days heaviest rain came during the lunch break so given the events at Silverstone, Mallory was fortunate to escape the pleasures of Summer weather in the UK!
With 4 reserves in the 28 car entry list, Formula Vee is seeing a resurgence after a few years where car numbers were starting to dwindle. Paul Smith had a 100% win record so far this season and left Mallory still with a 100% win record. He truly dominated race 1, winning by 20 seconds which is quite a margin on the small Mallory circuit after 15 minutes of action.
Race 2 was a much more closely fought affair with Martin Farmer always keeping Smith in check and just 1.96 seconds the winning margin this time around. Race 2 was the best race of the meeting as the Vees were perfectly suited to Mallory and lots of action was to be seen throughout the capacity field. Spectating at the entrance to Gerards, there were some brave moves to be seen!
Mention the words Mallory and Stock Hatch and action is always guaranteed...Classic Stock Hatch qualifying in the morning saw Richard Groom and Stewart Place collide heavily at The Esses with Groom rolling in the gravel trap with 3 wheels on his (Fiesta XR2) wagon, wheel number 4 rolling up the hill towards the Hairpin!
Pip Hammond's Vauxhall Nova wining both encounters where the top 5 cars were always close but fairly static throughout. Race 1 saw 3 cars meet the Gerards bend tyre wall with varying levels of force but race 2 saw a distinctly calmer race for all concerned.
It was actually 750 Formula that saw both races stopped early. Race 1 for Bill Rutter's Batten becoming stranded at the exit of the Esses. Race 2 saw a superb 3 way dice for the lead between Bill Cowley's Cowley MKIV, Robin Gearing's Darvi & Peter Bove's Darvi where 3 abreast was to be seen at times. Sadly an errant backmarker chose the wrong moment to dive into the paddock at the Esses right in front of Cowley which left him on the outside line and he speared off into the tyrewall at speed. The car was badly damaged and a worrying delay ensued while Cowley was removed from the car and taken out of the circuit in an ambulance. Thankfully the commentator reported that Cowley was OK and he was more upset about the damage done to the car cutting him out!
Peter de la Roche's Cooper MKV easily won both 500cc F3 races which should probably have been amalgamated with the 750 Trophy on the day. Race 1 in the 750 Trophy was red flagged on lap 1 following Ron Welsh hitting the barrier on the inside of Gerards on a circuit that was rendered very greasy by drizzle and oil. A high rate of attrition in both races meant that they weren't the most entertaining of affairs although 2nd race winner Christien Pedersen triumphed despite using some of the old rallycross course on the exit of Gerards at one point....
With the Stock Hatch class dwindling in numbers, the re-launched Hot Hatch series provided the bulk of their combined grid. Tom Bell's very well prepared Fiesta ST wining by a mammoth 27 seconds first time out, then by just 6 seconds in the second race, shortened in time following Bill Cowley's accident. Worthy of note was the energetically driven VW Golf of Mark Robinson...his attacking of Gerards lap after lap was hugely entertaining to witness, with numerous spins throughout the day!
Indeed the last action of the day finished with 3 minutes to go before the 6.00pm curfew imposed at Mallory so all in all a busy day's racing.
Some of the crowd stayed to watch the days final races, however a printing error in the programme saw the final 2 races of the day missing and several people out of earshot of the PA left thinking that the day was coming to an end...Thankfully printing off the timetable before the meeting is something I always do and no leaving early for me!
This was a good days racing as always from the 750MC. The proximity of the barriers at Mallory mean that a relatively small mistake can still bite and there were several drivers needing to find the telephone number of a bodywork specialist come Monday morning. It was sad to see the Cowley MKIV so badly damaged but good to report that it's driver was unharmed.
Admission on the gate was £12 and a programme was £3. Strangely the circuit map on the front cover is the never used these days British Superbike layout complete with 3 chicanes....Now that would be a sight to see a grid full of Stock Hatches try to get through those!!
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