Round 8 of the 2009 Elise Trophy held at Cadwell Park on 12 September 2009.
Introduction
For the last summer round of the 2009 season, the series returned to the challenging Cadwell Park circuit in Lincolnshire. Tight, undulating and consisting of wooded and parkland sections, this is a great test of the Elise chassis. Also a favourite with many drivers, two grids were run for Production and Modified/211 classes, meaning two qualifying sessions and four races packed into a single day. Last year Paul Quinn and Michael Edwards fought over wins in Production, would Edwards take advantage this time? And with 2008 winners Martin Donnelly and Andrew Walsh absent from the Modified class, would Ben Pitch be setting the pace?
Qualifying Production
The best of late summer conditions greeted the drivers on Saturday morning, as the Production runners were first out onto the track, with the wooded section bound to be a little damp from the morning dew. At the front of the pack and drawing away from the following Stuart Kirkbride, Ken Savage was out setting the pace and determined to capitalise on his strong Donington performance. He ended up on pole but only just, Martin Roberts, in that chasing pack, just a tenth behind, then a couple of tenths to Greg Noble. Nearly a second from pole would be Hans Baumhardt and Kirkbride, then we had Peter Driver, Gary Broad, a slower than expected Edwards, Stuart Mason and in tenth, Simon Phillips. At the very back, a very slow Russ Treasure looked to be a source of entertainment if he could find the source of his problems.
Qualifying Modified
An hour later the Modified runners found an oily track, a legacy of the previous session. It wasn’t just the cement dust flying, last year’s ‘best of the rest’ Pitch claiming top slot, from David Harvey. However the latter could have benefitted from some of that oil, his own engine leaking, spelling an early bath. Dan Norris-Jones would be promoted to second, ahead of Doug Setters, then Chris Headlam, off the pace but suffering a lack of VTEC in his Honda lump.
Behind these four would be the Production runners, Phillips in fifth, from Roberts, Savage, Broad, Malt, Franks, Neil Livsey and debutant David Hay.
The 211 field was reduced to just Tony Verrier in 13th place, after Tom Chatterway well and truly put himself out of the running after a roll in testing, the unfortunate driver bruised but fine.
Race 1 Production
After losing out at Donington, Savage was keen to chalk up a win and made a good start, with Roberts following and Noble and Baumhardt together into the kink. Kirkbride capitalised and slotted into fourth, with Baumhardt now fending off Broad, Driver, Phillips, Edwards and Mason. Continuing his momentum, Kirkbride then took third place and looked likely to mount an attack on the lead, whilst Phillips despatched Driver. Meanwhile at the back Treasure was picking off the places.
During the early running we had a train of cars, the top eight fighting tooth and nail with each other, each driver either looking for a chink in another’s armour or daring not to show weakness to their chaser. Savage made an error at the mountain, taking a wide line into the left-right section and closing the pack. This proved to be a catalyst as Roberts was first to fall, a spin meaning he would emerge in the second pack, leaving the way clear for Kirkbride to mount a serious challenge.
However, Kirkbride would soon have problems, falling some considerable way back, giving second to Noble, from Broad, Baumhardt and Phillips in the leading group. Edwards had dropped back a little but clear of Mason, Roberts and Greg Rumble, these three clear of Driver, who was being caught by Matt Franks. Behind them Stuart Malt was Treasure’s next target.
Phillips then demoted Baumhardt but just as the battle was heating up for the final laps, Treasure‘s fight back ended at Charlies, the car hitting the barrier. This brought out the safety car and with little time to clear the stricken Elise, the race ended under yellows. However Savage had put in a great performance to pace the field and his win was well-deserved. Noble’s second place was well-judged, as was Broad’s third and Phillips would be pleased with his fourth, from tenth on the grid. Baumhardt was a philosophical fifth, from Edwards, Mason, Roberts, Rumble and Driver. Clearly, race two would be something to look forward to.
Race summary – 21 starters, 18 finished.
| Overall | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Ken Savage | 2. Greg Noble | 3. Gary Broad | 4. Simon Phillips | 5. Hans Baumhardt | 6. Michael Edwards |
Race 1 Modified
Pitch made a good start, as did Norris-Jones but Headlam’s was even better. With the car now running properly, he slotted into third, which would soon be second. Roberts would displace Phillips for fifth place, Savage, Broad, Franks, Verrier, Malt, Livsey and Hay following behind.
Safely in second place and dropping Norris-Jones, Headlam was free to attack Pitch and kept him as close as he dare for several laps. Assessing his chances, he made a great move on the outside of Pitch into the first part of the Mountain section, the overlap being enough to take the inside for the right-hander whilst holding off his rival. Immediately he put in some fast laps and brought the gap out. Pitch redoubled his efforts but Headlam was able to respond and maintained a gap of several car lengths to leave Pitch unable to do anything about it. Norris-Jones was safe in third, as was Setters in fourth and there they stayed to the flag.
The Production fight was as much a race of attrition as it was a battle. Roberts was unable to shake off Phillips, whilst behind them Broad and Savage were just as keen for the win. Franks and Malt were close behind, with Verrier the odd-one-out and keeping things interesting. Broad tangled with Verrier and the resultant tyre damage put him out, Franks and Savage also recording DNFs. So it was left to Roberts and Phillips to take it to the flag. Phillips made his intentions known, looking for the class lead wherever he could but Roberts was wise to the challenge and would take the win. At the flag it was Roberts, Phillips, Verrier, Malt, Livsey and Hay.
Race summary – 13 starters, 10 finished.
| Overall | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Chris Headlam (M) | 2. Ben Pitch (M) | 3. Dan Norris-Jones (M) | 4. Doug Setters (M) | 5. Martin Roberts (P) | 6. Simon Phillips (P) |
Race 2 Production
With a reversed top ten, Phillips would be on pole, getting a good start from Mason, then Kirkbride and Edwards together on the run into the first corner. Edwards had the inside line on the left kink and made it stick and by the time the field got to the Mountain section Edwards had the lead. Phillips held second from Broad, Kirkbride, Baumhardt, Driver, Noble and Roberts.
Edwards’ lead would not last the distance, however. A few laps in he emerged in fourth place, just as it was looking like a three-way battle between him, Phillips and Broad. The latter two started to clear the pack and what a pack it was! Mason headed Edwards, Kirkbride, Baumhardt, Driver, Noble, Roberts and whilst the odd group would form, it wouldn’t last as third to twelfth ran as a train for the distance!
Up front Broad was working hard to keep in touch but Phillips, having found form of late, was determined to take an overall victory. This he did and raised an arm with joy as he took the chequer. Broad remained in second, the two clear of Mason, Edwards, Kirkbride and Baumhardt, running as a sub-group, before Driver, Noble, Roberts, Rumble, Hay and Malt.
Race summary – 19 starters, 17 finished.
| Overall | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Simon Phillips | 2. Gary Broad | 3. Stuart Mason | 4. Michael Edwards | 5. Stuart Kirkbride | 6. Hans Baumhardt |
Race 2 Modified
The attrition-hit race one led to a reduced field for the final race of the day. Up front another good start for Headlam got him within striking distance and perfectly-positioned to capitalise on Pitch’s error into the Gooseneck, which put him to the back of the field. Some determined overtaking brought his car back into second place and chasing Headlam, now some ten seconds up the road, however his attempts were arrested by a black flag and drive-through penalty for overtaking off the circuit – a little too determined! Nevertheless, with more fast laps and the extended race distance, it looked like the final laps would be something to savour.
In the end, however, Headlam was up to the challenge and responded, whilst Pitch then began to lose time and Norris-Jones was in a position to punish him. Whatever the problem was, Pitch nursed his car to finish in an eventual second place, with Setters the final production car home, some way back.
Phillips continued his run, aided by problems for Broad and Roberts. Followed home, albeit by some distance, by Franks, it was a one-two for the Force 23 boys.
Race summary – 8 starters, 6 finished.
| Overall | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Chris Headlam (M) | 2. Ben Pitch (M) | 3. Dan Norris-Jones (M) | 4. Doug Setters (M) | 5. Simon Phillips (P) | 6. Matt Franks (P) |
Conclusion
Sandwiched between rounds at Dijon and Imola gave the races a slightly different look but the Production runners put on a great show in both their races, with Headlam and Pitch providing good entertainment in the Modified rounds. The Cadwell Park circuit again proved its reputation as being hard on both drivers and cars.
Next week many of the Elise Trophy drivers head to Imola to join their Italian counterparts, whilst the next round of the series is at Spa, a joint grid with the Lotus Cup Europe, next month.
