Jonathan F
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- Nov 29, 2010
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Donington Park: April 14th 2013 (Rounds 1 and 2 of BARC’s VTEC Challenge)
Almost 6 months to the day since the 2012 season came to a close at Donington Park, the 2013 season kicked off at the same circuit.
A firm favourite for many a driver, the Leicestershire based circuit provides various technical challenges. From the flat out straights to the test of nerves that are the “Craner Curves” the circuit is capable of throwing up the odd surprise, especially when there is a mix of rain and aviation fuel “fall out” on track!
Drivers have been busy fettling their car’s over the winter months, removing excess weight and increasing power in an attempt to better last years lap times. Almost all of the car’s present had gone through one change or another and for some, this was their first chance to put their work to the test.
Overnight rain had washed away the previous days coating of rubber leaving the circuit green for the VTEC Challenge who were the first drivers out on track for qualifying, whilst overnight wind had done it’s best to uproot every awning in the paddock!
Entrants:
04 – Mark Bennett – Production – (S2000)
07 – Dan Ludlow – Production – Civic Type R (FN2)
26 - Rob Williams – Production - Civic Type R (EP3)
31 – Phil Wright – Production – Accord Type R
39 – Rob Burkinshaw – Tuner – (DC5)
64 - Richard Chilton – Production - Integra (DC2)
73 - Stuart King – Production – Integra (DC2)
98 – Mark Chese - Production - Civic Type R (EP3)
Qualifying:
Having ended last season with a string of great performances, Sheffield based Rob Burkinshaw in his DC5 had to be pegged as the one to beat for pole.
For “Production” class honours it would be a much harder call to make, especially with new driver Dan Ludlow in the mix.
With everyone ready to kick off the day’s events, the car’s and drivers made off for the assembly area, ahead of the qualifying session.
The circuit kept everyone on their toes as it held onto the early morning moisture on certain parts, causing the odd “moment” as drivers found grip somewhat lacking!
Thankfully there were no serious issues to report, and all drivers completed the full 20 minute session before being assembled in the scrutineering bay where several of the drivers had their car’s weighed.
With a pole position almost 2 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, it was the DC5 of Burkinshaw that had posted the fastest lap.
It was closer than expected behind Rob though, with Stu King in his DC2 taking 2nd place overall and the highest placed “Production” class in qualifying with the S2000 of Mark Bennett a mere 0.005 seconds adrift for 3rd.
Closing out the final position on the 2nd row was VTEC Challenge “rookie” Dan Ludlow in his FN2 Civic Type R.
Pole: Rob Burkinshaw
2nd: Stuart King
3rd: Mark Bennett
Race 1:
With the lights out it was Burkinshaw who dominated and led the charge down the corner of “Redgate”.
King and Bennett retained their grid positions, but it was the Civic EP3’s of Mark Chese and Rob Williams who gained the advantage at the start and slipped ahead of the newer Civic piloted by Ludlow.
Already, the “Tuner” class car of Burkinshaw was showing its superior speed and was soon putting some distance between him and the rest of the grid to dominate the first session from lights to flag.
Leading the chasing pack, it was still King in the DC2 until contact with Williams (who had subsequently overtaken Chese and Bennett) at “McLeans” dropped him 5 places which meant re-joining close to the back of the field, undoing all the hard work he’d put in during qualifying and during the opening laps of the race.
Still in 3rd, Bennett and Chese continued to battle for the final podium slot, with the front wheel drive EP3 eventually emerging the victor towards the end of the race, following some of the closest fought racing seen on the day. Both drivers showed fantastic car control whilst racing in close proximity of each other.
Following his trouble free run, it was Burkinshaw with the win, followed by Williams and Chese in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Bennett held on to 4th from Ludlow, with Richard Chilton in his UK spec DC2 in 6th (which was suffering with a lack of power) and King back in 7th having had additional issues during the closing stages of the race.
The Accord Type R of Phil Wright retired on lap 11 with crankshaft sensor failure, which despite a concerted effort (which involved Ben of “VTEC Direct” making a mercy dash from their base in Cheshire) was unable to be rectified for race 2.
1st: - Rob Burkinshaw
2nd: - Rob Williams
3rd: - Mark Chese
Class wins were awarded to:
(P) – Rob Williams
(T) – Rob Burkinshaw
Fastest lap – Rob Burkinshaw – 1.22.457 on lap 3 of 15
Race 2:
Lining up on the inside for Redgate, race 1 winner Burkinshaw was all lined up for the start of race 2, with “Production” class winner Williams on the outside of row 1.
From the off it was Bennett who surprised all, coming through from row 2 and 4th place to narrowly put the nose of the S2000 into the lead, but it was short lived as the more powerful DC5 of Burkinshaw exited “Redgate” in the lead, with Williams close behind in 2nd place.
King was another to benefit from a good start, making up two places on the first lap, and running in 5th place.
Straight away Burkinshaw began to extend his lead, whilst Williams found he had to fight to hold off Bennett during the opening laps as the driver of the S2000 pushed hard to stay in contention. Chese, King and Ludlow began to battle between themselves for 4th place. With hardly anything between them, the 3 car train snaked around the circuit. Eventually it was the EP3 Civic of Chese who gained the upper hand and began to pull away.
Ludlow and King were then left to trade places a couple of times over the course of a few laps, before the FN2 Civic broke free from Stuart’s clutches and began to put some distance between the pair.
Having gone hard from the off, Bennett began to find that his tyres were past their prime and no longer able offer the grip he needed to maintain pace. As a result he found himself slowly dropping down the order to finish in 6th place.
Chese then began to close the gap on Williams by a second a lap as the fellow EP3 driver found he was running low on fuel. Fortunately for the driver from Telford, the clock ticked down before Chese was able to mount a final attack.
With another dominant race, it was Burkinshaw from Williams, Chese, Ludlow, King, Bennett and Chilton.
1st: - Rob Burkinshaw
2nd: - Rob Williams
3rd: - Mark Chese
Class wins were awarded to:
(P) – Rob Williams
(T) – Rob Burkinshaw
Fastest lap – Rob Burkinshaw – 1.22.117 on lap 4 of 15
“Apex Trackdays” driver of the day went to Phil Wright, who with the help of Rich at series sponsor “Performance Autoworks” had to remove, strip, rebuild and refit his smashed gearbox in the week running up to the event.
Summary:
With the trophies collected and the cars loaded back on the trailers, the first event of the season comes to a close.
Thanks go out to the series sponsors: Dunlop Tyres, Performance Autoworks, Banzai, Honda Tuner, Apex Track Days and R-Motion for their continuing support.
Thanks also to Andy Smith and Ben Griffiths of VTEC Direct for their sterling efforts in trying to get Phil back on track.
Finally, thanks to all the drivers and their supporters who came out on the day. I hope that you enjoyed the racing?
The VTEC Challenge will return at Snetterton on the 11th and 12th May. See you there.
Words: Jonathan Fletcher
Pictures: Lindsey Fletcher & Jonathan Fletcher
Almost 6 months to the day since the 2012 season came to a close at Donington Park, the 2013 season kicked off at the same circuit.
A firm favourite for many a driver, the Leicestershire based circuit provides various technical challenges. From the flat out straights to the test of nerves that are the “Craner Curves” the circuit is capable of throwing up the odd surprise, especially when there is a mix of rain and aviation fuel “fall out” on track!
Drivers have been busy fettling their car’s over the winter months, removing excess weight and increasing power in an attempt to better last years lap times. Almost all of the car’s present had gone through one change or another and for some, this was their first chance to put their work to the test.
Overnight rain had washed away the previous days coating of rubber leaving the circuit green for the VTEC Challenge who were the first drivers out on track for qualifying, whilst overnight wind had done it’s best to uproot every awning in the paddock!
Entrants:
04 – Mark Bennett – Production – (S2000)
07 – Dan Ludlow – Production – Civic Type R (FN2)
26 - Rob Williams – Production - Civic Type R (EP3)
31 – Phil Wright – Production – Accord Type R
39 – Rob Burkinshaw – Tuner – (DC5)
64 - Richard Chilton – Production - Integra (DC2)
73 - Stuart King – Production – Integra (DC2)
98 – Mark Chese - Production - Civic Type R (EP3)
Qualifying:
Having ended last season with a string of great performances, Sheffield based Rob Burkinshaw in his DC5 had to be pegged as the one to beat for pole.
For “Production” class honours it would be a much harder call to make, especially with new driver Dan Ludlow in the mix.
With everyone ready to kick off the day’s events, the car’s and drivers made off for the assembly area, ahead of the qualifying session.
The circuit kept everyone on their toes as it held onto the early morning moisture on certain parts, causing the odd “moment” as drivers found grip somewhat lacking!
Thankfully there were no serious issues to report, and all drivers completed the full 20 minute session before being assembled in the scrutineering bay where several of the drivers had their car’s weighed.
With a pole position almost 2 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, it was the DC5 of Burkinshaw that had posted the fastest lap.
It was closer than expected behind Rob though, with Stu King in his DC2 taking 2nd place overall and the highest placed “Production” class in qualifying with the S2000 of Mark Bennett a mere 0.005 seconds adrift for 3rd.
Closing out the final position on the 2nd row was VTEC Challenge “rookie” Dan Ludlow in his FN2 Civic Type R.
Pole: Rob Burkinshaw
2nd: Stuart King
3rd: Mark Bennett
Race 1:
With the lights out it was Burkinshaw who dominated and led the charge down the corner of “Redgate”.
King and Bennett retained their grid positions, but it was the Civic EP3’s of Mark Chese and Rob Williams who gained the advantage at the start and slipped ahead of the newer Civic piloted by Ludlow.
Already, the “Tuner” class car of Burkinshaw was showing its superior speed and was soon putting some distance between him and the rest of the grid to dominate the first session from lights to flag.
Leading the chasing pack, it was still King in the DC2 until contact with Williams (who had subsequently overtaken Chese and Bennett) at “McLeans” dropped him 5 places which meant re-joining close to the back of the field, undoing all the hard work he’d put in during qualifying and during the opening laps of the race.
Still in 3rd, Bennett and Chese continued to battle for the final podium slot, with the front wheel drive EP3 eventually emerging the victor towards the end of the race, following some of the closest fought racing seen on the day. Both drivers showed fantastic car control whilst racing in close proximity of each other.
Following his trouble free run, it was Burkinshaw with the win, followed by Williams and Chese in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Bennett held on to 4th from Ludlow, with Richard Chilton in his UK spec DC2 in 6th (which was suffering with a lack of power) and King back in 7th having had additional issues during the closing stages of the race.
The Accord Type R of Phil Wright retired on lap 11 with crankshaft sensor failure, which despite a concerted effort (which involved Ben of “VTEC Direct” making a mercy dash from their base in Cheshire) was unable to be rectified for race 2.
1st: - Rob Burkinshaw
2nd: - Rob Williams
3rd: - Mark Chese
Class wins were awarded to:
(P) – Rob Williams
(T) – Rob Burkinshaw
Fastest lap – Rob Burkinshaw – 1.22.457 on lap 3 of 15
Race 2:
Lining up on the inside for Redgate, race 1 winner Burkinshaw was all lined up for the start of race 2, with “Production” class winner Williams on the outside of row 1.
From the off it was Bennett who surprised all, coming through from row 2 and 4th place to narrowly put the nose of the S2000 into the lead, but it was short lived as the more powerful DC5 of Burkinshaw exited “Redgate” in the lead, with Williams close behind in 2nd place.
King was another to benefit from a good start, making up two places on the first lap, and running in 5th place.
Straight away Burkinshaw began to extend his lead, whilst Williams found he had to fight to hold off Bennett during the opening laps as the driver of the S2000 pushed hard to stay in contention. Chese, King and Ludlow began to battle between themselves for 4th place. With hardly anything between them, the 3 car train snaked around the circuit. Eventually it was the EP3 Civic of Chese who gained the upper hand and began to pull away.
Ludlow and King were then left to trade places a couple of times over the course of a few laps, before the FN2 Civic broke free from Stuart’s clutches and began to put some distance between the pair.
Having gone hard from the off, Bennett began to find that his tyres were past their prime and no longer able offer the grip he needed to maintain pace. As a result he found himself slowly dropping down the order to finish in 6th place.
Chese then began to close the gap on Williams by a second a lap as the fellow EP3 driver found he was running low on fuel. Fortunately for the driver from Telford, the clock ticked down before Chese was able to mount a final attack.
With another dominant race, it was Burkinshaw from Williams, Chese, Ludlow, King, Bennett and Chilton.
1st: - Rob Burkinshaw
2nd: - Rob Williams
3rd: - Mark Chese
Class wins were awarded to:
(P) – Rob Williams
(T) – Rob Burkinshaw
Fastest lap – Rob Burkinshaw – 1.22.117 on lap 4 of 15
“Apex Trackdays” driver of the day went to Phil Wright, who with the help of Rich at series sponsor “Performance Autoworks” had to remove, strip, rebuild and refit his smashed gearbox in the week running up to the event.
Summary:
With the trophies collected and the cars loaded back on the trailers, the first event of the season comes to a close.
Thanks go out to the series sponsors: Dunlop Tyres, Performance Autoworks, Banzai, Honda Tuner, Apex Track Days and R-Motion for their continuing support.
Thanks also to Andy Smith and Ben Griffiths of VTEC Direct for their sterling efforts in trying to get Phil back on track.
Finally, thanks to all the drivers and their supporters who came out on the day. I hope that you enjoyed the racing?
The VTEC Challenge will return at Snetterton on the 11th and 12th May. See you there.
Words: Jonathan Fletcher
Pictures: Lindsey Fletcher & Jonathan Fletcher
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