Moderator's Report
Summary
A very open race with several drivers in with a real chance of victory. Sam came out the eventual winner having regained the lead he held in the opening laps. Kevin Clark secured a worthy second place having started in the Pit Lane and despite an incident packed race, Tim still managed to grab the final podium place.
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Lap 1 - Start Line - Steve Bird and Tim Muttram
Pole sitter Steve gets away well from the line but applies a little too much power and his Ferrari snaps sideways which throws him into Tim's path. Tim can't avoid him and contact is made. Fortunately Steve's car veers off to the left and Tim's to the right, the rest of the field are miraculously unimpeded.
It is incumbent on each driver to make a clean start (see rules on Racing Etiquette, second bullet point). Steve's actions essentially amount to a simple side by side contact since both cars were on a straight and there was some loss of control on Steve's part. Consequently the incident warrants a 1 place penalty and a further 1 place penalty because the incident occurred on the first lap.
Advisory Note: The Ferrari is notoriously difficult to get off the line and is prone to winding up the differential to the extent that the slip is exhausted and the car subsequently snaps sideways. This can be remedied by setting a power side ramp angle of 85 and using 5 or 6 clutches. Whatever settings are used, it is imperative that drivers practice their starts to ensure they know exactly how much throttle can be applied without risking any loss of control.
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Lap 1 - Start Line - Asbjeurn Tverberg
Like Steve, Asbjeurn applies too much throttle off the line and his Ferrari veers of the track. Fortunately he comes to a halt without taking anyone out.
No penalty is necessary here since no other driver was disadvantaged however the advice given above concerning starts also applies.
Advice - more care at start
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Lap 2 - Turn 3 - Tim Muttram and Michael Turner
Tim gets a much better drive out of Sear than Michael and achieves a significant degree of overlap as they turn into the next corner. Tim has the inside line but Michael hasn't seen him and moves across. Tim realizes what is happening and takes a very tight line. So tight in fact that he has all 4 wheels on the grass. Nevertheless contact is made and Michael is sent spinning off the circuit. Michael recovers and both cars continue apparently undamaged.
Tim had achieved the necessary overlap to justify his attempt to overtake (> 50%) but not enough to appear in Michael's peripheral vision (< 100%). Ideally Michael should have suspected Tim was along side and left enough room (in the interests of his own self preservation if nothing else). Given that both drivers were aiming for the same piece of tarmac this incident is effectively a contested pass.
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Lap 2 - Esses - Kevin Clarke and Steve Bird
Steve Bird blows his engine and is stranded on the racing line. Kevin brakes hard but has no chance of avoiding the stricken Ferrari and contact is made. Kevin looses a wheel but he is entitled to a no fault shift-R.
Racing Incident
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Lap 5 - Esses - James Andrew
James looses it at the Esses and need to make a shift-R but he fails to make a stop and go within 2 laps of the incident.
30 Second time penalty.
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Lap 10 - Coram - Phil Thornton and Tim Muttram
Phil Thornton is pushing hard in an effort to keep the hard charging Tim Muttram at bay. Too hard in fact and he clips the grass on the exit of Coram causing his Ferrari to spin. As he glides across the grass he unfortunately hits a join between the straw bales and the banking which induces a nasty bounce and catapults the car back onto the track right in front of Tim's Honda. Contact is made.
Tim had no chance of avoiding Phil's Ferrari and consequently is entitled to a no fault shift-R.
Racing Incident
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Lap 13 - Bombhole - Michael Turner
Bernie Darwin is trying to fend off Burt and he over cooks it through the Esses and spins his car. Michael is following and despite missing Bernie's practically stationary Cooper by some distance a degree of warp contact is registered. This results in a temporary screen freeze for Michael and he ends up stranded on the banking at the Bombhole.
Michael is entitled to a no-fault shift-R.
Warp incident.