RIPMAX RACER ROUND 5 (FINALS) - BROOKLAND
Well here we were at the final round of the Ripmax Racer Series 2009, where has the year gone?, as has been the case at the previous rounds this year some drivers had been at the track Saturday getting some practise in and by all accounts they all had a good time.
As today was the finals meeting it was not only your last chance to secure a good placing in the overall Championships, but also for the organisers to present the end of year trophies, plus also do the ‘free’ draw for the prizes provided by the Series sponsors Ripmax.
Ripmax were also present all day with Hai Chu racing in the Saloon class and Alan Perrin turning up towards the end of the day to present the trophies and prizes. Thanks to them both for and to Ripmax for supporting the Series, it is great to have an Importer and Distributor showing so much interest and support to the Series.
On arrival at the track, it was clear many were taking the meeting very seriously and were already set-up in the pit area, the weather looked like it was going to be good as well (we’ve been lucky this year and had dry meetings throughout) and as it turned out it stayed fine and dry all day.
Cliff and his crew got everybody booked in nice and quickly, thanks to those that pre-entered it does help speed things up. A quick drivers briefing was held and covered safety and also the format for the day, and by 10am we were underway.
3 rounds of 10 minute qualifying heats were held, and it was clear from the early heats the track was not giving much grip but this changed during the day as the grip levels came up and the track warmed a bit. In the saloon class it was clear if you wanted to make the A final you were going to need at least 26 laps.
At the end of qualifying we had the following pole positions
Saloon A – Steve Wilks
Saloon B – Dean Wright
Truck A – Mark Woodward (this was a mixed heat of Super and Std Trucks)
Outlaw A - Richard Weller
F1 A – Chris Selfe
A quick break at the end of qualifying while the Finals were sorted, and we were again underway for the 20 minute finals.
First out was the B Saloons, Eddie Goldsmith had shown good pace all day but for various reasons failed to put a good 10 minute qualifier together, he came from 5th on the grid to take an early lead and was never really troubled, Mark Grant has made great progress over the last few months and was setting some consistent lap times to come home in second with pole sitter Dean Wright 3rd and Graeme Eason 4th Hai Chu 5th and first time racer Lee Sanford 6th, well done Lee. Steve Wilkes who had not had a good day, came from 4th on the grid to take and easy win four laps clear of pole man Dean Wright with Chris Selfe in third a further lap back.
Next up was the Saloon A, I didn’t see too much of this as I was in it, but from those cars passing me it was obviously a very fast race !!!!. Steve Wilks and Wayde set off at a great pace at the front with the other front runners just behind them, apparently the pits were empty as everybody was watching the race (if I had known I would have gone quicker) Wayde dropped out after 6 minutes with an electrical fault, leaving Steve clear to take a comfortable win in the end, setting a fastest lap of 21.44 on the way, Crispin Fuggle came home second with Jim Jones 3rd, Andy Baxter 4th and Pete Glover 5th, Cliff Taylor 6th also having electrical problems.
The Trucks then hit the track, I must say over the course of the day I was very impressed with the standard of driving in this class considering it was a mix of super and std trucks the slower std truck drivers were very aware at all times of the fast approaching super trucks and made room for them. The trucks use the whole of the back straight at Brooklands so the sight of seven trucks belting down the back straight is great to watch (providing they remember to slow down for the banked curve) Mark Woodward came home an easy winner in the end with his Super Truck, Andy Scholes had struggled early on with handling of his Std Truck but during the day got it sorted and came home second followed by Ian Young in 3rd, Neil Young 4th, John Ferrigno 5th, Lee Streeter 6th and Keith Plant 7th.
The fourth final out was the Outlaws, we had lost one of the drivers early on when his MCD went off, these guys certainly know how to have fun and at the end of their 20mins there was less than a lap between the top three, with pole man Richard Weller taking the win from Tony Gomez with Barry Mesner in 3rd, Ashley Corke 4th and Colin Freeman 5th.
Like the outlaws the F1s suffered some losses during the day so it was decide to reduce the length of the final, in the end we had a comfortable win for Pete Glover followed by Chris Selfe.
The overall points tables were then calculated ready for the trophy and draw presentations.
In the end we had the following Championship Positions
Saloon
1 Wayde Sandford
2, Peter Glover
3, Jim Jones
Super Trucks
1, Mark Woodward
2, Danny Monty
3, Keith Plant
Trucks
1, Andy Scholes
2, Neil Young
3, Ian Young
Outlaws
1, Tony Gomez
2, Richard Wleller
3, Barry Mesner
F1
1, Pete Glover
2, Tony Jarvis
3, Chris Selfe
Ripmax then presented the ‘FREE’ prize draw (per class) and the lucky winners were (you had to do at least 3 rounds to be included in this draw)
Wayde Sandford – FG touring car bodyshell
Neil Young – Sigma EQ II charger
Richard Weller – Transmitter case
Tony Jarvis – Transmitter case
I hope you all enjoyed the Series, I would like to thank our Sponsors Ripmax, the clubs for running the meetings and you the racers for making the Series such a success.
Ripmax hope to be in a position to support us again in 2010,
As discussed during the day we hope to be able to organise a British GP meeting together with the Wombwell series for next year as part of the Championship.
Keep and eye on the website and RcTek forum for news as things develop.
Pete
