The BMR super saloons combined with the Tin Tops kicked off proceedings at Snetterton on Saturday. A warm and sunny day greeted the 18 drivers who had to go through normal scrutineering for the first time this year. Qualifying saw Rod Birley annex pole position with Gavin Dunn (class B BMW) alongside, albeit two seconds slower. Ronan Bradley was third with Nick Sutton alongside. Chris Bassett was doing his giant slaying act again, putting in a time good enough for fifth overall, and almost ten seconds quicker than the next tin top. Sean Fairweather was sixth, with Andrew MacKenzie, Mark Cripps, Martyn Scott and Dave Charlton completing the top ten.
The first race saw Birley take the lead from the start, with Dunn slotting into second. Sutton quickly moved into third, with MacKenzie in fourth. Bradley held sway in fifth, with Bassett staying surprisingly in touch with the more powerful BMW. Positions remained fairly static, until lap six when Bradley found a way past MacKenzie. Dunn kept Birley honest, and the BMW driver actually clocked the fastest lap time. Fairweather had a lonely run in 7th, with Martyn Scott finishing 8th once he had got the better of a fast starting Ken Angell. The T1 BMW slowed as the race wore on, which allowed Charlton to take T1 honours in his Seat Leon. Cripps kept pace with this group to take tenth, as Graham Richardson found a way past Steve Dann on the final lap. In fact the black VW shed a wheel on its slowing down lap. Angell came home 13th at a reduced pace. Ian Seale drove well to keep Jacques Whitehead at bay, with Angelo Massonetto and Alex Baldwin completing the finishers. Nick Wall retired his rather smoky Fiesta.
Race two, at the end of the day, again saw Birley take the lead. It was a bit frantic for second though, as MacKenzie made a slightly optimistic start and went three wide into Riches. Dunn was initially second, but Sutton powered past on lap two. Then on lap 3 Birley pulled off after a lurid moment through Riches. As Sutton was momentarily distracted by the slowing Escort, it allowed Dunn to nip into the lead. A lap later and Sutton was back in the lead. It looked like the Mitsubishi driver was heading for his first win, but then the exhaust came loose and a shower of sparks ensued as it dragged on the track. On the last lap he toured into the pits as Dunn powered past to a slightly surprised win. MacKenzie crossed the line second, but a ten second penalty dropped him behind Bradley. Bassett roared in 4th overall, well ahead in the tin tops. Fairweather was a bit lonely in fifth, but Charlton had to drive hard to hold off Scott and an on song Angell. Richardson secured ninth, as Wall drove up to tenth in his non-smoky Fiesta this time. Whitehead got the better of Seale, with Massonetto and Baldwin again completing the finishers.
The Avon tyres intermarque silhouettes had to wait until Sunday for their races. The morning qualifying was held on a damp slippery track, although 6 competitors were initially disqualified for fire extinguisher issues. Daniel Smith (Mercedes) took pole position, with Malcolm Blackman alongside. Ray Harris lined up third from Lewis Smith. Mike Thurley was the leading senior runner in fifth, followed by Colin Smith and an inspired Philip Young. Richard Smith, Mick Robertson and a returning Reuben Taylor completed the top ten.
The BMR super saloons combined with the Tin Tops kicked off proceedings at Snetterton on Saturday. A warm and sunny day greeted the 18 drivers who had to go through normal scrutineering for the first time this year. Qualifying saw Rod Birley annex pole position with Gavin Dunn (class B BMW) alongside, albeit two seconds slower. Ronan Bradley was third with Nick Sutton alongside. Chris Bassett was doing his giant slaying act again, putting in a time good enough for fifth overall, and almost ten seconds quicker than the next tin top. Sean Fairweather was sixth, with Andrew MacKenzie, Mark Cripps, Martyn Scott and Dave Charlton completing the top ten.
The first race saw Birley take the lead from the start, with Dunn slotting into second. Sutton quickly moved into third, with MacKenz
19 cars made it out for the first race, with the unfortunate non starters being Phil Blackford and Jon Price. The start saw the usual rush to the first corner with Harris emerging in front from Lewis Smith , Blackman and Daniel Smith. The blue Mercedes had been shuffled back, but soon got back into third then a lap later into second. The pace was certainly fast at the front, as these four soon broke away. However, a fifth contender was making notable progress as Steve Burrows was soon up to fifth and matching the speed of the leaders. Another driver on the move was Reuben Taylor, making a welcome return and moving up to sixth spot. Meanwhile Lewis Smith was starting to fall back as Blackman got past and then Burrows followed suit 3 laps later. Harris and Daniel Smith were trading fastest lap times, until on lap 7 the blue Mercedes slowed and made a quick pit stop re-joining in fifth. This left Harris to fend off Blackman, which he did successfully. Burrows should have been third but ran out of fuel, then Lewis Smith was docked ten seconds for exceeding track limits so his brother Daniel reappeared in third. Dave York drove well to overtake Taylor two laps from home and claim fourth, Taylor secured fifth from the penalised Lewis Smith in sixth. Thurley easily won the seniors section in 7th, with Young continuing his good form in 8th. Colin Smith just held off Mick Robertson for 9th, as Phil Spinks and Nigel Beardsmore completed the classified finishers. John Steward was disqualified for an on track indiscretion. The retirements included Ian Hales, Danny Smith (Vauxhall Tigra, broken gearbox), Eric Boulton (broken oil pump belt), Richard Smith and Chris Ayling (gearbox).
Race two should have seen Mick Robertson on pole position, but overheating issues saw him withdraw, so Colin Smith was promoted. Jon Price fixed his car, so he was able to join in at the back, but missing were Thurley, Danny Smith (Tigra) , Ayling and Blackford. The start again saw a mad rush towards Riches, with both Harris and Lewis Smith gaining ground quickly. A coming together between Spinks and Hales saw the white No6 Tigra gyrate, but fortunately nobody else was involved. Meanwhile Lewis Smith hit the front as the cars came into Agostini hairpin, which saw Colin Smith spin wildly out of second spot. This meant that the usual foursome came through in the order Lewis Smith, Harris, Blackman, Daniel Smith. Taylor was next up pursued initially by Burrows, but Steve spun the No.16 Tigra on the next lap and dropped to the rear of the field. There was plenty going on as Hales departed the scene in a cloud of smoke on lap four, just as Richard Smith had a time consuming spin exiting Murrays. On the next lap York had an off near the bomb hole, and then Blackman suddenly slowed going around Coram when a pinion oil seal failed.
Through all this it still looked like Lewis Smith was in control, as Harris was just over two seconds behind. Then on lap 7 disaster struck both of the Smith brothers, firstly Daniel pulled off as he lost drive to the rear wheels whilst Lewis also disappeared. This left a very fortunate Harris over 30 seconds in front of Taylor. Burrows clawed his way back from his early spin to claim third, whilst Colin Smith indulged in another spin at Agostini again. This dropped him behind the senior winner Spinks and Mr Cheese (Young). Completing the finishers were a recovering Richard Smith, Beardsmore, Price and Steward. It was a shame so many cars dropped out as everything was shaping up for a fine battle. Hoping everyone can fettle their machines for a good turnout at Brands Hatch on November 14th and produce a thrilling end to the season.
Snetterton race reports are thanks to Lee Sutton…