Jonathan F
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- Nov 29, 2010
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Thruxton: June 1st/2nd 2013 (Rounds 5 and 6 of BARCâs VTEC Challenge)
For rounds 5 and 6 of the VTEC Challenge, the series headed to the circuit of Thruxton in Hampshire. The circuit is renowned for being extremely fast and a real test of man and machine as the speeds reached here are some of the highest the drivers will ever see.
Running as part of the âSummer Truckfest Meetingâ the monster HGV racers added an additional âchallengeâ with their ability to add a mixture of oil, water and other detritus around the circuit ahead of our track time.
Entrants:
03 â Tim Blowers â Production â Integra (DC5)
04 â Mark Bennett â Production â (S2000)
07 â Dan Ludlow â Production â Civic (FN2)
10 â Matthew Walker â Super Tuner â Civic (EK9)
24 â Rich Voaden â Super Tuner â Integra (DC2)
26 - Rob Williams â Production - Civic Type R (EP3)
39 â Rob Burkinshaw â Tuner â Integra (DC5)
Qualifying:
With the exception of Dan (who had raced here previously), the remaining drivers were taking to the circuit blind and would be having to learn the circuit in full.
Following his retirement from race 2 at Snetterton, Rob Burkinshaw had repaired the gear linkage on the DC5âs box and was back at full strength.
With a leisurely qualifying slot, all drivers made their way onto the circuit, led out by Rich Voaden in his ST Integra.
From the off, Dan Ludlow looked ready to capitalise on his circuit experience and accelerated off into the distance, but trouble was just around the corner.
On lap 2, the Civic took a bit too much kerb which launched it high and when the car came back down to earth, the results were catastrophic. The driverâs side front strut snapped clean in two, which collapsed the front suspension. As a result, the front drive shaft came free and oil spewed from the gear box. Various other components suffered as a result and Dan had no option but to quickly get the car off track to limit the amount of oil on the racing line.
It was clear that this brought about an all too early end to Danâs weekend despite efforts and offers to try and rectify the damage.
There were issues as well for the Civic of Rob Williams, where a damaged oil seal on the gearbox allowed the contents to slowly escape during the session. A trip to Halfords following qualifying to stock up on fresh gear oil was all it took to get the âAneTecâ sponsored EP3 back on track.
With the remainder of the drivers completing their sessions, it was time to see who qualified where.
With another pole position to add to his collection, it was Burkinshaw on pole, ahead of Voaden by 0.4 seconds and Rob Williams took 3rd place on the grid.
Pole: Rob Burkinshaw
2nd: Rich Voaden
3rd: Rob Williams
Race 1:
After lining up on the grid, it was Burkinshaw who held 1st through âAllardâ and âCampbellâ, all the time Voaden was alongside looking for a way through.
A fast closing Williams refocused Voadenâs attentions, so in order to hold onto 2nd place he reduced his level of attack on Burkinshaw and fell into place behind him.
Both of the Integraâs then proceeded to put a little distance between themselves and the Civic of Williams. With cold tyres the ride through âChurchâ was interesting to say the least with the pair fighting for grip.
With the higher powered cars out in front, it was Williams who was leading the rest of the grid ahead of Bennett, Walker and Blowers.
Looking for a way past the leader, Voaden looked to force Rob into making an error, but was unable to unseat the pole sitter. With some time lost, Burkinshaw began to extend his lead.
Not one to give up, Voaden kept up the pace and began to chip away at Robâs lead. After a few laps Rich had clawed back enough time to begin to think about making a move for the race lead.
Exiting âChurchâ the director of âPerformance Autoworksâ was closing on the DC5 of Burkinshaw when the H22 engine in his DC2 suffered a loss of power.
Down to 3 cylinders, but suspecting only a faulty spark plug Voaden carried on, hoping his lead over Williams would be enough to retain 2nd place.
Losing ground to the disappearing Integra of Burkinshaw, Williams and Bennett soon began to reel in and pass the stricken Voaden.
It was then down to fellow âSuper Tunerâ entrant Matt Walker to close in on Voaden and on the last lap he made the move to take the position. Despite a valiant effort by Voaden he was unable to recover and crossed the finish line behind Walker.
1st: - Rob Burkinshaw
2nd: - Rob Williams
3rd: - Mark Bennett
Class wins were awarded to:
(P) â Rob Williams
(T) â Rob Burkinshaw
(ST) â Matthew Walker
Fastest lap â Rob Burkinshaw â 1.26.778 on lap 7 of 14
Race 2:
Thankfully it was just a plug lead that had worked loose causing the loss of power to the Integra of Voaden. So with all four of the plug leads firmly in place, Rich joined up at the back of the grid and all drivers proceeded on the green flag lap.
With the red lights out it was Voaden who made the mother of all starts and hooked up perfectly. By âAllardâ the Integra of Voaden was up on the rear bumper of Burkinshaw and chasing hard.
Williams, Bennett, Walker and Blowers all followed suit as the race began to unfold.
After a couple of close fought laps Voaden got the better of Burkinshaw and took the lead. Over the next few laps Rob responded and hounded Rich all the way until disaster struck.
Charging hard towards the start/finish straight, the engine in Richâs DC2 expired in a ball of smoke and flames. With Rich safely off the circuit and out of the car, the marshals dealt with the small under bonnet fire.
Understandably this allowed Rob to retake the lead and command the race up to the chequered flag.
The action further down the field hotted up as Williams came under attack from the S2000 of Bennett. The same issue from qualifying had again raised its head, and the seal on the Civics gearbox was weeping oil. This was finding its way onto the rear tyres meaning Rob was unable to fully commit and on the faster parts of the circuit was finding grip somewhat lacking!
With Rob handicapped, Bennett pushed hard and was soon into 2nd place and pulling away.
This left Rob defending against a closing Walker, where despite pushing as hard as he dared was unable to keep the EK9 at bay.
A clear win for Rob, with a best ever finish for Bennett and a first VTEC podium for Walker to wrap up the day.
1st: - Rob Burkinshaw
2nd: - Mark Bennett
3rd: - Matthew Walker
Class wins were awarded to:
(P) â Mark Bennett
(T) â Rob Burkinshaw
(ST) â Matthew Walker
Fastest lap â Richard Voaden â 1.26.192 on lap 6 of 14
The âApex Trackdaysâ award went to Dan Ludlow in light of the issues he encountered during qualifying.
Summary:
The sun shone yet again throughout the weekend providing the continued tradition of dry weather races, and the relaxed timetable allowed the drivers to take in some of the other racing.
The racing was action packed with none of the results clear cut, a great advert for those looking to join the ranks.
Thanks go out to the series sponsors: Dunlop Tyres, Performance Autoworks, Banzai, Honda Tuner, Apex Track Days and R-Motion for their continuing support and thanks to the drivers and their supporters who came out on the day.
The VTEC Challenge will return at Croft on the 6th and 7th July. See you there.
Words: Jonathan Fletcher
Pictures: Lindsey Fletcher & Jonathan Fletcher
For rounds 5 and 6 of the VTEC Challenge, the series headed to the circuit of Thruxton in Hampshire. The circuit is renowned for being extremely fast and a real test of man and machine as the speeds reached here are some of the highest the drivers will ever see.
Running as part of the âSummer Truckfest Meetingâ the monster HGV racers added an additional âchallengeâ with their ability to add a mixture of oil, water and other detritus around the circuit ahead of our track time.
Entrants:
03 â Tim Blowers â Production â Integra (DC5)
04 â Mark Bennett â Production â (S2000)
07 â Dan Ludlow â Production â Civic (FN2)
10 â Matthew Walker â Super Tuner â Civic (EK9)
24 â Rich Voaden â Super Tuner â Integra (DC2)
26 - Rob Williams â Production - Civic Type R (EP3)
39 â Rob Burkinshaw â Tuner â Integra (DC5)
Qualifying:
With the exception of Dan (who had raced here previously), the remaining drivers were taking to the circuit blind and would be having to learn the circuit in full.
Following his retirement from race 2 at Snetterton, Rob Burkinshaw had repaired the gear linkage on the DC5âs box and was back at full strength.
With a leisurely qualifying slot, all drivers made their way onto the circuit, led out by Rich Voaden in his ST Integra.
From the off, Dan Ludlow looked ready to capitalise on his circuit experience and accelerated off into the distance, but trouble was just around the corner.
On lap 2, the Civic took a bit too much kerb which launched it high and when the car came back down to earth, the results were catastrophic. The driverâs side front strut snapped clean in two, which collapsed the front suspension. As a result, the front drive shaft came free and oil spewed from the gear box. Various other components suffered as a result and Dan had no option but to quickly get the car off track to limit the amount of oil on the racing line.
It was clear that this brought about an all too early end to Danâs weekend despite efforts and offers to try and rectify the damage.
There were issues as well for the Civic of Rob Williams, where a damaged oil seal on the gearbox allowed the contents to slowly escape during the session. A trip to Halfords following qualifying to stock up on fresh gear oil was all it took to get the âAneTecâ sponsored EP3 back on track.
With the remainder of the drivers completing their sessions, it was time to see who qualified where.
With another pole position to add to his collection, it was Burkinshaw on pole, ahead of Voaden by 0.4 seconds and Rob Williams took 3rd place on the grid.
Pole: Rob Burkinshaw
2nd: Rich Voaden
3rd: Rob Williams
Race 1:
After lining up on the grid, it was Burkinshaw who held 1st through âAllardâ and âCampbellâ, all the time Voaden was alongside looking for a way through.
A fast closing Williams refocused Voadenâs attentions, so in order to hold onto 2nd place he reduced his level of attack on Burkinshaw and fell into place behind him.
Both of the Integraâs then proceeded to put a little distance between themselves and the Civic of Williams. With cold tyres the ride through âChurchâ was interesting to say the least with the pair fighting for grip.
With the higher powered cars out in front, it was Williams who was leading the rest of the grid ahead of Bennett, Walker and Blowers.
Looking for a way past the leader, Voaden looked to force Rob into making an error, but was unable to unseat the pole sitter. With some time lost, Burkinshaw began to extend his lead.
Not one to give up, Voaden kept up the pace and began to chip away at Robâs lead. After a few laps Rich had clawed back enough time to begin to think about making a move for the race lead.
Exiting âChurchâ the director of âPerformance Autoworksâ was closing on the DC5 of Burkinshaw when the H22 engine in his DC2 suffered a loss of power.
Down to 3 cylinders, but suspecting only a faulty spark plug Voaden carried on, hoping his lead over Williams would be enough to retain 2nd place.
Losing ground to the disappearing Integra of Burkinshaw, Williams and Bennett soon began to reel in and pass the stricken Voaden.
It was then down to fellow âSuper Tunerâ entrant Matt Walker to close in on Voaden and on the last lap he made the move to take the position. Despite a valiant effort by Voaden he was unable to recover and crossed the finish line behind Walker.
1st: - Rob Burkinshaw
2nd: - Rob Williams
3rd: - Mark Bennett
Class wins were awarded to:
(P) â Rob Williams
(T) â Rob Burkinshaw
(ST) â Matthew Walker
Fastest lap â Rob Burkinshaw â 1.26.778 on lap 7 of 14
Race 2:
Thankfully it was just a plug lead that had worked loose causing the loss of power to the Integra of Voaden. So with all four of the plug leads firmly in place, Rich joined up at the back of the grid and all drivers proceeded on the green flag lap.
With the red lights out it was Voaden who made the mother of all starts and hooked up perfectly. By âAllardâ the Integra of Voaden was up on the rear bumper of Burkinshaw and chasing hard.
Williams, Bennett, Walker and Blowers all followed suit as the race began to unfold.
After a couple of close fought laps Voaden got the better of Burkinshaw and took the lead. Over the next few laps Rob responded and hounded Rich all the way until disaster struck.
Charging hard towards the start/finish straight, the engine in Richâs DC2 expired in a ball of smoke and flames. With Rich safely off the circuit and out of the car, the marshals dealt with the small under bonnet fire.
Understandably this allowed Rob to retake the lead and command the race up to the chequered flag.
The action further down the field hotted up as Williams came under attack from the S2000 of Bennett. The same issue from qualifying had again raised its head, and the seal on the Civics gearbox was weeping oil. This was finding its way onto the rear tyres meaning Rob was unable to fully commit and on the faster parts of the circuit was finding grip somewhat lacking!
With Rob handicapped, Bennett pushed hard and was soon into 2nd place and pulling away.
This left Rob defending against a closing Walker, where despite pushing as hard as he dared was unable to keep the EK9 at bay.
A clear win for Rob, with a best ever finish for Bennett and a first VTEC podium for Walker to wrap up the day.
1st: - Rob Burkinshaw
2nd: - Mark Bennett
3rd: - Matthew Walker
Class wins were awarded to:
(P) â Mark Bennett
(T) â Rob Burkinshaw
(ST) â Matthew Walker
Fastest lap â Richard Voaden â 1.26.192 on lap 6 of 14
The âApex Trackdaysâ award went to Dan Ludlow in light of the issues he encountered during qualifying.
Summary:
The sun shone yet again throughout the weekend providing the continued tradition of dry weather races, and the relaxed timetable allowed the drivers to take in some of the other racing.
The racing was action packed with none of the results clear cut, a great advert for those looking to join the ranks.
Thanks go out to the series sponsors: Dunlop Tyres, Performance Autoworks, Banzai, Honda Tuner, Apex Track Days and R-Motion for their continuing support and thanks to the drivers and their supporters who came out on the day.
The VTEC Challenge will return at Croft on the 6th and 7th July. See you there.
Words: Jonathan Fletcher
Pictures: Lindsey Fletcher & Jonathan Fletcher
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