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Father v Son Rivalry Snetteron 23/24th April 2005 O.K the new season is here, and the first 2 meetings are both double headers at Snetteron. Some drivers have changed class, with Howard Kirkham and Neil Taylor (plus Dave Bye when his car is ready) stepping up into the Class B (modified cars), where they can compete for race wins. Peter Dorlin remains in Class A, with his son Richard also joining him in what was last seasons Class winning car. Also new driver Greg Sutton joins the class in Howard Kirkhams old car. This was the Class winner 2 years ago. I believe Robert Drewery is now driving the car that that took Sean Collins to the overall championship last season, though it has changed to class A. So there are some pedigree in cars in Class A, with new drivers in race winning cars. After the first 4 races, a pattern in starting to emerge, with Simon Lewis and Jim Shea (Class B) competing for race wins, and Father and son Peter and Richard Dorlin competing for Class A wins. Richard taking the win on his debut race, with Peter taking the win for the second race to share the spoils. Howard has problems with his new car, unable to finish race 2 or 3, but his team worked tirelessly to get a gearbox in to allow him to start from the back in race 4, and work his way up the field in true kamikaze style, occasionally passing on the track. 
One of the nice things about club car race meetings is the different cars in the other meetings. However in an unusual move, we had 4 Classic Motorbike races at the second Snetterton meeting. There were BSA’s, Triumphs, Nortons, plus some early Japanese bikes. Now I love bikes, so this made it a brilliant meeting. There were a lot of people there who had never seen bikes race live, cars being their main interest, but they were clearly suitably impressed. It would be great to see more of this. Oh, and Gary Thwaites on a Ryan BSA dominated the field.The bikes looked fast compared to the Jags but were they? Simon Lewis qualified 1st in his Jaguar XJ6 - a time of 1:28.151 (79.71mph). The slowest bike in qualifying was Tim Jackson on a Matchless with a time of 1:27.074 (80.7 mph), and the fastest bike was Gary Thwaites on his Ryan BSA in 1:04.843 (108.37 mph). Clearly faster than the Jags! At the second meeting at Snetterton, Richard had a problem in practice, and as a result he had to start from the back of the grid for the first race. This was good experience as he worked his way through the field, but he couldn’t do enough to catch Peter, who took the class win. At the front of the field, whilst Jim Shea lead, Simon Lewis was having a battle with Les Ely in a Jaguar Mk2. He overtook him on the approach to Russell Corner, in a great move, by getting on the inside line. Les then lost it, recovered, but couldn’t pass back and Simon hung on for second. 
In the second race of the day, the starting grids are the finishing position for Race 1. This will make it a lot closer with Richard and Peter.Watching the race from Russell Bend is one of the places, at any race track. And Race 2 was no exception. At the front Jim Shea got off to a good start but was passed by Simon Lewis and Les Ely. Simon was able to get away as Jim & Les had a close battle with Jim looking for a way past but not getting it. Zoe North and Mike Cann were having their own battle for 4th, with Mike Cann coming out on top. Further down the field the fight for class A was electric. Pre-race we expected a good showing from Richard, but as they came into Russel bend for the first time, it was Greg Sutton who was in front. He was being pushed and on the next lap, lost it allowing both Richard and Peter through, before he recovered. This started a trend, and with the drivers all pushing hard into Russells, the lead changed several times between Peter and Richard, with very close racing. Eventually, Peter pulled away, Greg came through for second, and Richard took third in class. If this is an indicator for the rest of the season there will be some very close races. Race reports http://jec.org.uk/racing/index05.htm Race Results www.msttiming.com Oulton Park 14th May 2005
Happy Fathers Day - Donington 19th June 2005 Never mind Glorious Goodwood, this is Glorious Donington – with the sun blazing down, temperatures in the 30’s, and clear skies, summer is here at last. (At least until we got home and the thunderstorms arrived.) In the pits Jaguar had brought along some of their ‘show cars’, featuring the Jaguar XK180, which drew the crowd. Out on the track the competition was fierce. In practice Mike Cann took pole position followed by James Shea and then Les Ely. In Class A, Richard Dorlin pipped his father to take pole and draw level on points overall – (not a nice Fathers day present!). The race itself was a scorcher. In class A the cars spread out quickly and never troubled each other, but they all had battles with cars in other classes. Whilst Richard finished first in Class A, Peter had the fastest lap, to keep him in touch. At the front Les Ely got in front on the first lap, but the following pack had Mike Cann, Simon, Lewis and Zoe North battling it out. Mike eventually dropped back with Nick Gwinnutt coming through strongly. Just when it looked like Simon would take second, Zoe past him on the final bends to claim the position. Meanwhile, further down the field, Richard, whilst leading class A, was battling with the Class B cars, Howard Kirkam, Neil Taylor and Kevin Bourne. Most spectators would not have realised those cars are expected to beat him, and whilst they eventually came out on top, if Richard hadn’t gone into Craner Curves a little hot on a couple of occasions, who knows? He is running well for his first season. There are good grids this year, but with races within races, it is not always obvious which cars are racing each other (the letters are too small) – It would be nice for the spectator to have a better visual clue – (coloured stickers?). Whilst there are prizes for each class, the overall champion will be the driver with most points, no matter which class and this is hotting up, with 4 drivers in serious contention – watch for them in the next round at Cadwell Park.
 
 
 Race Results www.msttiming.com Cadwell Park 10 July 2005  I didn’t make the race so I have taken this excerpt from the JEC site. The full report is here: JEC racing Pre-race mechanical problems eliminated three of the major contenders, Zoe North, Mike Cann and Jim Shea who were unfortunately non-starters. Pole position man, Simon Lewis, Class B XJ6, led from the start vigorously challenged throughout by Nick Gwinnut, Class E X300. These two gradually pulled away from the rest of the field leaving Howard Kirkham, Class B XJ40, Neil Taylor, Class B XJ6 and Trevor Baines, Class E X Type, in the tightest possible duel for third position, only 1½ seconds covering these three cars at the finish. However, this was if anything overshadowed by the following group led by Simon Hollingsworth, Class D Mark I, Kevin Bourne, Class B XJ6, Chris Boon, Class E XJ 40, Peter Dorlin, Class A Mark II and Richard Dorlin, Class A XJ6. These five cars were seemingly inseparable in a race long duel, finishing in the same order, with less than two seconds covering them all at the chequered flag. The spectacle for onlookers of such a diverse group of cars fighting for position on such a tight circuit was exciting entertainment, with the high driving standard shown ensuring no untoward incident. Report by Ken Bell
Brands Hatch 13/14th August 2005  Race 1 Simon Lewis in his XJ6 qualified on pole with Les Ely in his MK11 2nd but it was 'new kid on the block' Grant Williams in 3rd that stole the day. With a great start off the line, he flew into the first bend as leader. Grant caught Simon on the hop and his MK1 was untouchable, taking race and Class B win on a wet track. Simon finished less than 2 seconds behind and Ely was Class D winner and 3rd even after a spin at Surtees. Greg Sutton had a great race when he started 16th, finished 10th and stayed ahead of 11th place Trevor Baines in his X-Type. Chris Palmer's X-300 also battled it out with Peter Dorlin in his MK11 to finish 13th and 14th out of a field of 24. Howard Kirkham was happy to take 7th after qualifying 12th, unfortunetly poor Zoe North was having a cracking race in 5th place when she spun at Cooper Straight on lap 13, recovered, then spun again at the same point next lap round, then couldn't restart her car. Race over. Other Class winners were Chris Boon (E), Richard Dorlin (A) and Pat Callis (C).  Race 2 Day 2 and the track was drenched. The race was also now down to 10 minutes after several earlier stoppages and the pressure was on. Race 1 winner Grant Williams was now on pole and Simon Lewis' XJ6 was 2nd. From the off Grant took the first bend, Simon close behind in 2nd and it stayed this way until lap 9 when going up Hailwood Hill Grant lost a gear and this allowed Simon past. But coming out of the last bend on the final lap Grant gave it everything he had and when they passed the line the gap was just 0.09 of a second. This display had the crowd on their feet and cheering. Simon won and also took Class B. Howard Kirkham improved his previous 7th to a 4th and was delighted. Zoe North was once again in unbelieveable form, starting at the back of the grid and finished 7th. Girls can drive men mad but they can also drive cars madly. Andrew Jeffery in his XJ40 XJR fended off the challenge of Dean Sewell in his XJ6 with a gap at the line of 1 second. Other Class winners were Les Ely (D), Chris Boon (E), Peter Dorlin (A) and Pat Callis (C). Reports by Steve Gorey After 2 good results, Simon Lewis has now opened a small lead in the championship. Richard, has dropped off the pace as he was unable to take part in Race 2, and so was unable to build on his class win in race 1.
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