It’s been ages since I wrote up a race meeting and have a pretty severe backlog to wade through. On that basis, I’ll keep it short and sweet.
A journey to Lincolnshire’s Cadwell Park is always to be relished. Despite failing dismally to find the glorious lanes which so entertained me during 2010’s previous foray, it was a treat to find myself wandering the informal paddocks as weekend racers fettled their steeds.
MSVR must be commended, not only for the tremendous management of Cadwell, but also their roster of superb clubman’s race series. Every series would appear to field large grids and unusually close racing. Clearly this is one of UK motor racing’s great success stories.
As a committed Lotus enthusiast, four races for the burgeoning Elise trophy would be a daily highlight. They did not disappoint with some epic racing from front to back. The usual contenders – Kirby, Speller, Williams, et al – all featured in great lead contests. Williams’ attack on Exige-mounted Speller ended in drama when his roof made a dramatic bid for freedom sending him into a lurid spin out of Charlies. As luck would have it, a gentle meeting with the tyre barrier freed the car of its flapping roof and he was able to continue, but the sting was taken out of the race. Later in the day and the heavens opened, flooding the track casuing even the most committed to tip-toe on their dry-biased rubber. It is at such moments that the spectator must be grateful for Cadwell’s natural arboreal cover which allowed for uninterupted viewing. A final race smash in damp conditions off the start line which claimed five victims didn’t seem to reflect a day of fine, combative racing from a series which must rank as one of the UK’s finest.
If the Elise Trophy reveals the MSVR’s closest racing then perhaps its Production Saloons offer the greatest miscellany. Bringing to mind the National Saloon Championship of the 1990s, this brings together all manner of production touring cars – from E30 BMW M3 to purring Jaguar XJS via Renault 5 GT Turbo and Mk I Ford Escort. This is a spectacle to be savoured. While anyone who witnessed the Group A BTCC of the 1980s will never be in any doubt as to the potency of the Sierra Cosworth, perhaps Colin Tester’s domination of a twisty circuit and treacherous damp conditions came as a slight surprise. In stealth black, his Cossie took on and beat all comers in both races, despite strong opposition. A highly impressive perfromance and more of the same was to follow at Oulton Park the following month.
BMW and VAG marque championships also featured full grids and these cars always show themselves off best around tighter circuits where a lack of outright power is masked by keen direction change. The front-wheel drive challengers in the VAG Trophy luridly three-wheeling through Halls Bends never lost its drama.
A cursory glance at the online timetable for the meeting had revealed races for the rather cruelly-monickered “VW GIT” series. This proved, sadly, to be untrue and an enormous grid of Mk II VW Golf GTIs battled furiously instead. Intentional or otherwise, the misnomer raised a smile. Sadly the final GTI race of the day provided a salutory lesson that motorsport can never be considered a safe pursuit. In almost 25 years of attending race meetings, I have never before seen fire in the aftermath of a smash. On the circuit’s fastest section, the Park Straight, two of the protagonists clashed resulting in a ferocious and violent accident with the tyre barriers, leaving both machines horribly contorted but their hapless pilots mercifully unhurt. When enormous flames erupted from the stricken cars it was a genuinely sickening moment and not something to be forgotten in a hurry. The charred remains of a now banana-shaped Golf in the paddock offered a stark reminder that this beautiful sport can still be a cruel mistress. Thank goodness that both drivers were shaken but otherwise unscathed. Of course, the usual plaudits must go to the marshalls and safety teams who dived upon the accident in their usual fashion – British motorsport will forever owe these men and women a debt of gratitude for their dilligence.
And so it sounds like a slightly negative end to an otherwise fine day in the Lincolnshire countryside. However, having gleaned that the VW drivers were safe, there was some deliberation over whether to remove the roof for the homeward journey. Despite warnings of rain from my pal Rob, I decided to continue sans soft top. As I followed him North towards the M180 I could actually see him laughing in his car as the rain started. And subsequently continued with unabated ferocity leaving me utterly soaked. A gently amusing way to end a day which served to neatly summarise up our magnificent domestic racing scene – great racing, rain and the clubman’s spirit. I wouldn’t swap it for anything.
