Snetterton in July turned out to be a rather warm place which greeted the competitors from our three series. The “all in” format ensured that the club broke even as far as the money side was concerned.
Qualifying took place late on Saturday, with 31 cars taking to the long 300 circuit. With just 15 minutes available, it was essential to get a clear lap. Ray Harris did just that on his 7th and final lap, annexing pole position by over 3 seconds in his Ginetta G40. A late car change saw Wayne Spiller debut his Seat Leon and take second spot (also leading the super saloon contenders). Third went to Russell Humphrey in his familiar Vauxhall Tigra followed by local circuit expert Martin Reynolds in his quick Mk.2 Ford Escort. Next up was Paul Knight in his Vauxhall Tigra, with Mark Cripps alongside in his newly acquired BMW E46. Colin Smith lined up 7th in his Ginetta followed by the BMWs of Dave Avis and Paul Watson. Mick Robertson completed the top ten in his VW Corrado. Keith White and leading tin top Matt Rowling shared row 6. The rest of the times are listed here: tsl-timing.com/file/?f=BRSCC/2024/242931qu1sul.pdf
Race one on Sunday morning saw Reynolds make a super start to go into second behind Harris. Spiller made a cautious get away and dropped back to sixth, whilst Cripps had a spin exiting Williams. Harris led at the end of lap one with Humphrey getting past Reynolds and latching on to the blue Ginetta. Reynolds held third as Knight and Smith squabbled over 4th. Bassett had made his usual rapid start to usurp Rowling and lead the tin tops. On lap four Humphrey made an attempt to slip inside Harris at Nelson, but unfortunately spun. He quickly re-joined only losing two places to Smith (who had moved past both Knight and Reynolds) and the Mk.2 Escort. Russell took over a lap to get past Martin, then quickly reeled in Smith before charging off in pursuit of Harris again.
Meanwhile Knight found a way past Reynolds, as Spiller closed in as well. Paul Watson got the better of Avis (who took class C honours), these two being chased by Keith White. Robertson was fairly lonely in tenth, until the last lap when Peter Seldon, who had started last, came charging along albeit in an ominous cloud of smoke. Jon Price had a good run to take 12th, as James Hunt held off Jacques Whitehead in their BMW battle. Rowling came home 15th, winning the tin tops section, as Bassett slipped back to 17th behind Dave Cowan. Cripps recovered to 18th, whilst Martyn Scott won class D in 19th overall. Paul Cocksedge brought his silhouette Vauxhall home in 20th. Adrian Matthews was the third tin top in his Volvo, as Wayne Shorney won class A of the saloons from Rod Birley. Rod was again driving the E90 BMW belonging to Phil Bennett, although the power steering failed early on. Completing the finishers were Sam Haywood, winning T1, Gary Deal, Rick Skelsey, Graham Richardson, Lee Cleugh, Ian Seale (winning TP) and welcome returnee Angelo Massonetto (winning T3). Baz Johnson and Neal Gardiner were the only two retirements, as Alex Sidwell failed to start due to clutch issues.
Race two saw Seldon, Massonetto and Sidwell non-start, as Harris made another good getaway to lead Humphrey. Smith slotted into third, with Reynolds again leading the saloons from Knight and Spiller. A quick start again by Bassett put him into the lead of the tin tops which proved crucial a couple of laps later. Johnson’s Pontiac had a very dramatic transmission failure on the Bentley straight, which caused a small fire. The ever vigilant marshals were quick on the scene, but it necessitated a lengthy safety car period. Luckily we did get to see a one lap shoot out, although Harris had everything under to control to take his second win of the day. Humphrey took a comfortable second, from leading senior runner Colin Smith. Reynolds bagged his third super saloon win of the season, as Knight held off Spiller for 5th. Watson was promoted to 7th (and second in class B) as White was dropped one position for gaining a place under caution. Price suffered a similar fate, which dropped him from 10th to 11th, as Avis took 9th (winning class C) from Cowan in 10th. Bassett won the tin tops in 12th, followed by Hunt, Rowling and Whitehead. Cripps, despite another spin, finished 16th and won the BMR driver of the day award (for passing the most number of cars twice). 17th was Scott (winning class D) from class A victor Shorney, then came Matthews (winning the Caesar electrical best prepared car award) and Birley (still without power steering). Haywood nipped past Richardson on the last lap to win T1, with Cocksedge, Deal, Skelsey, Cleugh, Seale (TP winner) and Gardiner completing the finishers. Robertson was disqualified for a yellow flag infringement.
The next rounds are back at Brands Hatch on the Indy circuit on September 1st.