2011 Season

The Drayton Manor Park

MG Metro Cup

2011 SEASON

Cadwell Park - June 4th

Fourth race of the Championship was held at Cadwell Park on the 4^th June. Despite being preceded by a rather inclement period of weather, the sun made a very welcome appearence for most of the day and made for good racing conditions.

This BRSCC event attracted a grid of 22 drivers. Making a pleasant return in the championship was last years overall champion Lee Mc Namara and it was also good to see Tom Sanderson back in the saddle so quickly after his crash at Oulton just a month ago.

Following practice, Andrew Ashton claimed pole position separated by practically just over one 100 ^th of second by Class C rival Mike Williams in 2^nd position. The first 6 grid positions were then taken solely by Class C. Lee Mc Namara headed the Class B racers in position 7 proving that he hadn’t lost any of his edge from last years season. On the tail of Lee was our youngest driver Thomas Grainger. An amazing achievement for the promising 16 year old in just his 4^th ever race behind the wheel of a car! And last portion of the grid, but certainly not least, leading the Class A pack was Terry Bracey Wright again in his amazing standard MG Metro.

The race kicked off late in the afternoon and the weather had turned cooler. All started well on the green light but it was sadly to be a doomed race. Approaching XXX on the XXX lap, a slight rear nudge between Dave Heasman and Derek Facer sent Dave’s GTi into a spin. Terry Bracey Wright following closely behind, tried to avoid the ensuing drama by passing on the left but was unfortuneately clipped, the result of which locked his steering and sent him careering out of control at high speed towards the barriers. It couldn’t have been worse as Terry managed to collide head on with a section of protruding Armco. An immense impact resulted lifting the MG into the air and causing significant and terminal damage to the shell. The race was promptly halted and the red flag appeared. The rescue team and medics were very quickly on the scene. Terry was transported to the medical centre for injury assessment. It was a very tense moment whilst everyone anticipated news. Although found to be suffering from serious whiplash, it was remarkable to see Terry walk from the crash. No doubt the fine preparation invested in his Metro had saved him from much serious and potentially fatal injury in such a huge impact.

With all back under control, the race was restarted but the mood was more sombre. Lost sadly from the race was also drivers Heasman, Howe and Davies due to an assortment of damage and mechanical ailments. However, undettered, the usual duel resumed between Ashton Jnr and Williams, as did a battle between Mc Namara, Sanderson & Patterson in Class B. With Terry now tragically absent, Class A was now down to just Jon Agar and Justin Marsden.

At the chequered flag, it was Andrew Ashton who crossed the line to take a medley of awards. Not only did he celebrate being race winner and achieve a class C win, he also set a great new track record for Cadwell in the MG Metro Cup. It now stands at 1:46.849.

Mike Williams, just a whisker away, finished in 2^nd place as well as 2^nd in Class C. Taking 3^rd place and also for Class C was James Dunkley in his brilliant MG.

Finally taking a victory in Class A was a delighted Jon Agar with his MGZR.

Class B winner was Lee Mc Namara. A great ending to his “one day only” event in the Cup. Taking 2^nd in Class was Tom Sanderson. Tom had worked very hard to fix his car in time for Cadwell following the significant damage suffered at Oulton so a well deserved win indeed. 3^rd was Iain Patterson who was absent from presentations as he nobly put aside any celebration to assist Terry Bracey Wright on his way home at the end of the day. In conclusion another bitter- sweet day of racing for the Metros which saw some great victories, displayed great comradeship between drivers but sadly claimed a few more casualties this year. Lets hope Silverstone brings better luck to the championship!

Oulton Park (International Circuit) Saturday 7^th May 2011

The third round of the Drayton Manor Park MG Metro Championship was held at a very wet Oulton Park on 7^th May, 2011. Twenty five drivers entered the race ensuring yet another healthy grid for the Cup once again.

This race saw the debut of drivers Terry Bracey- Wright, Jonathon Agar and Brian Owen this season. A warm welcome back to Brian too having taken a two year break from racing following heart surgery. Sadly absent this round was veteran racer Tony Dowler, Justin Evison and young Oliver Hood who was forced to withdraw after suffering a recurrent back problem.

A wet qualifying saw Class C Mike Williams back on pole again with just over 1/100^th of a second between himself and Andrew Ashton in 2^nd position on the grid. Class C Metros dominated the 1^st 7 positions with MG models just outnumbering their Rover rivals 4/3. First Class B driver on the grid was Tom Sanderson placing rival Iain Patterson into 2^nd place with just hundredths of a second between them also. Top qualifier in Class A was Terry Bracey-Wright.

The first race kicked off at 1.10pm promptly following the traditional lunchtime track parade of MGs. The rain ensued during the race making for tentative driving. However, that did not deter Mike Williams who despite suffering from a badly fogged windscreen, remarkably managed to fight off his fellow competitors to gain himself not only another Class C win but become race winner too!

Andrew Ashton clung to his grid position to finish in 2^nd place, quickly followed by Dick Trevett in 3^rd who also achieved fastest lap amongst the Class C cars with a time of 2:23.493 seconds.

Also retaining his grid position was young Tom Sanderson who not only finished with a Class B win in his GTi, but also achieved fastest lap too with a time of 2:30.567 seconds. His fantastic performance also got him nominated Driver of the Race by MGCC. Iain Patterson maintained 2^nd place followed by Jonathon Woodcock in 3^rd. Jonathon’s car now significantly lighter since removal of apparently large quantities of gravel accumulated after two unfortunate runoffs at Brands Hatch!

Terry Bracey-Wright got off to a great start by finishing 1^st amongst the Class A contenders. He also achieved fastest lap with a time of 2:36.616 seconds. Terry’s MG Metro is extra remarkable in that it has competed in 33 races without requiring an engine rebuild.

Sadly four drivers received a DNF, but there was another chance to compete in a specially arranged non-championship race later that day. At 18.00 hrs, 12 drivers stayed on to enter this friendly second event. Though late in the day, the weather had improved and the track conditions were a little drier. With grid positions echoing the race positions amongst the remaining drivers, the race kicked off with Mike Williams in pole once again. Nevertheles, despite being a non-scoring race, no punches were pulled amongst the majority of the drivers taking part. However, just 2 laps into the race spelt tragedy for Tom Sanderson and Andrew Ashton when both lost control of their GTis in a single clash. The race was stopped immediately and with both drivers feared injured, the medical crew were dispatched promptly. It made for a nail biting moment. Thankfully both drivers had escaped serious injury despite the significant damage to both cars.

But with the all clear given, the race was resumed and a most exciting battle took place when Tony Howe and Andrew Ashton fought to topple Mike Williams from 1^st position. With his both rivals racing side by side on separate laps it certainly had the crowds gasping! However, feisty Mike would not be beaten and celebrated his second race “ win” of the day. Class B winner was Jonathon Woodcock in his Metro GTi with Class A award going to Justin Marsden. All 1^st class winners received a F1 style laurel (but sadly no champagne to go with it!) Special awards for extra-ordinary circumstances in the race were then given out to three other drivers. These were presented to Tom Grainger who must be one of the youngest drivers ever to enter the championship at just 16 years of age. The other two awards were given to Paul Ashton and Tom Sanderson in recognition of their support for a friendly race which sadly resulted in the loss of their cars to the championship.

Brands Hatch (Indy Circuit) Sat. 9^th & Sun 10^thApril 2011 Double Header

RESULTS QUALIFYING RACE 1 RESULTS RACE 2 RESULTS POINTS

The first race meeting of the 2011 season kicked off at Brands

Hatch Indy Circuit with a double header on Sunday 9^th April. It was a phenomenal grid with 26 driver entries making the MG Metro Cup one of the premier championships of the day. Amongst those, the Cup warmly welcomed on board new drivers Callum Evison and Justin Marsden both supporting Class A in MG Metros and 16 year old Thomas Grainger in a Rover Metro GTi. The season also saw the return of drivers Miles Gentle and David Heasman.

Weather conditions were dry and sunny ensuring ideal racing conditions. Qualifying started promptly at 10.20 and secured pole position for Class C racers James Dunkley and Mike Williams in a MG Metro Turbo and Rover 100 respectively. Iain Patterson and Tom Sanderson were leading Class B with new driver Justin Marsden setting the precedent for Class A.

The first MG metro Cup race of the day started in supreme fashion with 26 cars on the grid. In Class C Williams and Dunkley jostled for
first position throughout followed by Ashton jr similarly battling with Trevett and Bellamy. Sadly lap one claimed Tony Howe after his
water pump failed and he was later joined by the unfortunate Tony Dowler in lap 14 after suffering a rear shunt. In Class B, Iain Patterson stayed in front with Derek Facer close behind after gaining 5 places. Unfortunately, Brands claimed much of Class B throughout the race with both Wilson and Sanderson in just lap 2, followed by Davies and Palmer in the following two laps. Lap 14 claimed Woodcock and Webb with Woodcock going into the gravel after grappling with the handling of his new car. In Class A, newcomer Callum Evison suffered a DNF in lap 11 but not after setting fastest lap for the class.

At the end of this very testing first race for all , driver James Dunkley took a well deserved race win whilst his rival Mike Williams had to settle for 6^th position overall after suffering a driving penalty. In second place was Andrew Ashton who also claimed fastest lap for the class, with Dick Trevett taking 3^rd for Class C.

Iain Patterson maintained his position on the grid for Class B with a 1^st in class also setting fastest lap of the class, with Derek Facer claiming 2^nd and Miles Gentle achieving a good third on his return to the sport this year.

Last but not least was newcomer Justin Marsden claiming his 1^st win for Class A.

The second race of the afternoon, started yet again with Williams
and Dunkley back on pole. Just 0.027 of a second separated them. Row three also saw the welcome return of Tony Howe after his very premature retirement in the previous race but sadly not Tony Dowler whose car was unrepairable in time for the race.

Once again, Iain Patterson was leader for Class B on the grid.

So with the grid now reduced to 23 cars after Callum Evison, Tony
Dowler and Paul Ashton failed to start. Thankfully, this race claimed fewer casualties with just Tom Sanderson and Pete Thomson sadly suffering DNFs at both ends of the race. Tim Davies GTi also suffered an unfortunate fire after fueling issues that had troubled him
throughout both races.

At the end of race two Mike Williams overcome his unfortunate penalty in the first race to claim the crown for both race winner and fastest lap for class C. However, it was extremely close with just 0.04 seconds separating himself from Turbo driver James Dunkley in 2^nd place this time. Andrew Ashton won 3^rd place from the other 5 remaining class C racers.

In Class B, Iain Patterson fiercely defended his position for the second time that day as he claimed a excellent class B win and another fastest lap in his Metro GTi.

James Webb achieved 2^nd place with Derek Facer achieving another class win but in 3^rd place this time.

Newcomer Justin Marsden was sole runner in Class A after Callum Evison sadly dropped out but did an excellent drive to finish the race in 14 laps in his MG Metro.