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Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship

Round two of the Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship got the full gamut of Knockhill’s legendary weather, a career first pole for series leader David Binks, a first time event winner in Andy Scott and a new championship points leader as SuperModified pacesetter Julian Godfrey climbed to the top of the order.

Supercar
The points leader after round one, Binks (Newcastle upon Tyne) shone during the qualifying heats and placed his Ford Fiesta on pole for the Supercar A final after setting fastest times in each of the first two heats. With a margin of almost two-seconds over the rest in each of the heats, and with no need to drive in the third heat, Binks played safe and left his car in the paddock while the rest fought for fastest time in the third qualifier. In drying conditions, Pat Doran (Winkleigh) set fastest time, the current champion lining up alongside Binks in the centre of the front row while Scott set second fastest time, adding to the same result from the first heat, to qualify third.

Andy Grant (Barnstaple) wa salso enjoying a good run and qualified fourth, second fastest time in the second heat his best run in the heats. Grant shared the second row with Lawrence Gibson (Banbridge) whose Metro 6R4 had taken a knock in the second heat when Gibson ran into the rear end of Steve Hill’s (Aylesbury) new Mitsubishi Lancer E10 which had suffered transmission failure and stopped suddenly in front of Gibson.

Gareth Wood (Newcastle upon Tyne) qualified fifth, the Subaru driver making the most the performance levelling conditions with his self built car. Joining Wood on the third row were Simon Horton (Clitheroe) who set the transmission problems of round one behind him to run strongly here, and Brian Jukes (Newcastle upon Tyne) who again used MB Motorsport’s Audi A4 Quattro in the absence of his Audi TT that is being upgraded before returning to the track.

After suffering further transmission problems, Hill non qualified his troublesome Lancer and Kevin McCann (Rowhook) was also a non-qualifier after his Subaru hit technical problems in the second heat.

From the centre of the front row, Doran got the best start in the final but was in trouble at the first corner where his Fiesta spun. The chasing pack managed to avoid Doran, but in doing so there were other bumps and knocks in the group and Binks was the biggest loser, his Fiesta stopping the second corner. The pole starer was stationary for 40-seconds before rejoining the race in last place and almost a lap down on Scott who now led from Doran who shadowed Scott all the way to the chequer. The lead pair were clear of Grant and Gibson who raced hard for third place, Grant holding the position until the end. Wood won the Impreza battle and took fifth ahead of Horton, Jukes and Binks the last two cars home.

SuperModified
The SuperModified class drew only four starters to Scotland, but the competition between the group was close throughout the day. Dubliner Ian O’Connell joined the series with his new Lotus Exige and demonstrated that he will be a force to deal with by setting fastest time in the first qualifier. Class leader Godfrey went ahead after this and set fastest times in the second and third heats to take pole for the final. O’Connell was second fastest in the third heat to start alongside Godfrey. Mike Howlin (Haverfordwest) was the third qualifier, Phil Chicken (Barnsley) fourth.

Howlin led the way in the A final, the Welshman urging his rear-wheel drive Ford Fiesta into the lead of the race with O’Connell also making a faster start than Godfrey who was third in the opening lap. Godfrey passed O’Connell at the end of the second lap and closed quickly on Howlin. Entering the last lap, Godfrey was piling the pressure on the leader who became one of many to spin the slippery first corner. Godfrey took the lead while Howlin recovered quickly and placed second ahead of O’Connell and Chicken, the latter nursing his VW Golf home with a broken exhaust.

Superfinal
Godfrey and Howlin were both fastest enough to make it into the top eight from the two finals, their good form bumping Jukes and Binks off the Superfinal grid and leaving the latter to watch on as his championship points lead slipped away.

Scott and Grant were side-by-side in the drag race to the first corner where Scott made the pole advantage work for him. Grant dropped in behind the leader but found himself almost two-seconds adrift at the end of the opening lap, Scott having put in a blistering dash over the long gravel section. Maintaining his pace throughout the race, Scott romped away to take a clear victory, his first since moving to the Supercar category last August. Grant, in his second event with his new Focus, was more than happy with second place and another fine drive brought Wood up to third place.

Doran suffered another first corner spin but worked his way back through the field to place fourth, ahead of Godfrey who finished fifth and added sufficient points to go top of the championship after two of the eight rounds. Howlin and Horton completed the finishers, Gibson’s wounded 6R4 crying enough in the first lap of the Superfinal.

Results
Superfinal (5 laps) 1 Andy Scott (Peugeot 306) 4m07.390s; 2 Andy Grant (Ford Focus) +5.634s; 3 Gareth Wood (Subaru Impreza); 4 Pat Doran (Ford Fiesta ST); 5 Julian Godfrey (Ford Fiesta ST S1600); 6 Mike Howlin (Ford Fiesta ST RWD); 7 Simon Horton (Subaru Impreza); 8 Lawrence Gibson (MG Metro 6R4).

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