Sean
Gill in his NP/Sunbeach/ Kerridge/Pirelli/Simpson Motors Rally
Team Suzuki Ignis won the 2nd round of the Sunbeach RallySprint
Cup at the Vaucluse International Raceway. It was an action
packed race day at the St.Thomas facility, and what made it
more interesting was the track was run in the reverse (anti-clockwise)
direction. With a direction change and a very loose track surface,
the stage was set for the most interesting session of Rallysprint
racing thus far.
With the drivers being unfamiliar with running the track
in the counter-clockwise direction, the day started off with
some practice runs. Some drivers still didn't quite get the
hang of it, with some of them clipping the tires at the southern
section of the course. After these runs, the drivers seemed
ok with the change from the norm, and prepared themselves
for the qualifying runs and the knockout runs later in the
day.
The drivers in the Budget class got things underway, and
they did quite well. Their efforts were greatly appreciated
by the spectators, who realised that even though these cars
weren't as well prepared as the other machines to come, the
drivers gave of their all. As
usual, the driver who pulled out all stops was sideways specialist
Geoffrey Ullyett (Budget Nissan). It's even more interesting
to note that Ullyett's Nissan is automatic. Ullyett tossed
his Nissan around effortlessly, but nothing was really more
spectacular than when he power sliding it upon approaching
the entrance of the tunnel and yet again on the outer section
of the track at the North bank. Alex Whitehead was also impressive
on his Vaucluse debut. Sharing the blue Budget Nissan he showed
great potential and is one to watch.
From
the first round of qualifying runs, the action was intense.
The fans eagerly awaited the showdown between Trevor "Electric
Micey" Manning and Paul "The Surfer" Bourne.
When the showdown finally came (even though it was sooner
than people expected) it didn't exactly turn out as the fans
expected. Both Manning and Bourne rocketed away from the starting
line, each wanting to send an early message. However, this
was to be short lived as The Surfer smacked the tires at the
southern section of the course. With Manning being aware of
this, upon exiting of the section under the bridge he offset
his Evo and then flicked it around the hairpin. Not only did
he flick the car around the hairpin, he flicked his lights
at the crowd on the North bank as well. Manning completed
his 2 laps of the circuit, while Bourne, after hitting the
tires made his way around the track and pulled into the pits
as soon as he reached the entrance.
Another
interesting 4WD battle took place between Brian "The
Iceman" Gill (right) and Barry Gale. Barry, sharing Sean
Dowding's Evo V was quite impressive as he too, flicked the
car around the Northern hairpin. Barry said "Even though
there isn't much of a difference in terms acceleration between
Sean's car and mine, however Sean's car is quite quick. With
a little more seat time, I could have done even better times."
Even though Barry wasn't fastest in the group, he was still
consistent throughout the entire race day. Iceman was consistent
as well, probably not as quick as he would have liked to have
been, however.
Group
5 was a proverbial hotbed of activity as well, with Martin
Atwell, Geoffrey Ullyett and Jonathan Still locked in intense
battles. Martin Atwell's Westfield (left) is quite a handful,
showing incredible acceleration and handling. The notes from
its exhaust are a thrill to the ears, when the 1100cc Megabusa
engine is in full cry. Jonathan Still gave a good showing.
His tail-happy BMW M3 is a hit with motorsport fans. Especially
with the rear of the car having the propensity to get out
of line with a little stamp of the throttle. It's sleek looks
and aggressive exhaust notes are added bonuses. Stillo's control
of the car is increasing with every second of seat time, and
he seems to be at home at the Vaucluse circuit. Geoffrey Ullyett
was his usual self, sliding, offsetting and just leaving the
crowd in awe of his skill and car control. Powersliding his
Datsun at will; Ullyett looked as if he was really enjoying
himself. Ullyett even cast a glance towards the crowd on the
North bank as he sped past. The crowd showed their appreciation
with cheers and screams. Probably the most incredible moment
from Ullyett came in his qualifying run against John Corbin.
At the end of the first lap, Ullyett had a commanding lead.
This
was due to the fact that Corbin had to stop on the course
after Ullyett's car cast a blinding cloud of dust across the
track into his lane. Upon exiting the Southern hairpin, Ullyett
stopped and waited for Corbin to catch up with him. The crowd
was shocked and wondered if Ullyett had gone insane (or even
more insane, depending on how you look at it). As soon as
Corbin drew level with him, Ullyett floored the accelerator
and was back to his sideways antics. What followed was an
incredibly quick set up and high-speed slide to take Ullyett
under the bridge. Not only did he putdown some spectacular
slides, he went on to win the race. Spectators were speechless,
questioning the event that had just taken place before their
very eyes.
With the qualifying runs over, it was time for the knockout
runs to commence. What was to follow was some of the most
competitive and heart-stopping action ever seen at the Vaucluse
International Raceway. Alex Whitehead on his Vaucluse debut
took Group1 honours. Freddie Gale and Neil Barnard had an
enthralling battle in their group final. Sean Gill held off
Kirk Watkins to take the Group 4 win. The Group 5 final between
Martin Atwell and Geoff Ullyett was barnburner. Atwell in
his super-quick Westfield, and Ullyett in his faithful Nissan
aka "Yellow Fever" would be using every iota of
his skill. It was a thrilling race from beginning to end,
both drivers giving it their all. At the midway point it was
too close to call. Atwell's Westfield rocketing down the straights
and Ullyett's Nissan powering through the corners: who would
be victorious? Coming down the top straight, it seemed too
close to call. When the cars made the penultimate turns to
come back to the finish, Atwell seemed to have a slight advantage,
but Ullyett was giving it all he had. Atwell cross the line
less than 2 seconds ahead of Ullyett, and
even more drama was to come. The next race pitted Sean Dowding
(right) against crowd favourite Trevor "Electric Micey"
Manning. From the start of the race, there was drama. As the
lights went green, Dowding sped away from the starting pad.
Manning however was slow to leave. His Evo stalled, thus giving
Dowding an advantage. Within no time, however, Manning was
on level terms with Dowding and making a charge for the victory.
With one lap to go, the cars were pretty evenly matched. Manning
was pushing hard, wanting to obtain those valuable Sunbeach
points and a chance to move on to the group final. As Manning
approached the Northern hairpin, his car was set up to scandi
around the tires. Then the unthinkable happened
Micey
spun out. The Evo came to a halt in the middle of the turn.
This allowed Dowding to take the victory and advance to the
group final. Barry Gale then defeated Brian Gill. Barry seemed
more at ease with the car and remained clean and consistent
on his way to victory. It was nothing short of eye candy seeing
Barry toss the Evo around and flick it through the hairpins.
This just might be a sign of things to come from Mr.Gale,
who has already shown himself to be a competent driver. Micey
went on to defeat Iceman in the 3rd place final.
The handicap knockout matchups looked like this: Whitehead
versus Barnard, Gill versus Ullyett and Atwell versus Dowding.
Whitehead edged out Barnard in the first race. Whitehead,
having defeated Barnard now went on to face the winner of
the run-off between Sean Gill and Geoffrey Ullyett. Ullyett
was driving his Budget Nissan and Gill piloting his Suzuki
Ignis. Ullyett didn't have much of a head start, and Gill
quickly whittled away at Ullyett's lead. Gill was clean and
quick around the course, the Ignis sitting down and handling
quite well. Sean Gill went on to defeat Alex Whitehead. Martin
Atwell then lined up next to Sean Dowding. This proved to
be a great race, Atwell's flighty Westfield and Dowding's
powerhouse Evo V. Atwell rocketed away from the start pad,
knowing that he didn't have a lot of time to play with. As
Dowding stamped his Evo and propelled it into the first turn,
one could see that he was a man with a mission. At the end
of the first lap, both cars were close, with one not having
that much of an advantage over the other. Atwell hurtled over
the bridge and Dowding scandied the Evo around the Northern
hairpin. Both drivers giving it their all. Then innocently
as ever, Dowding spun his Evo this gave Atwell the victory,
yet another upset during the day's racing. This
set up a final between Atwell and Sean Gill. With the cars
having run almost identical fastest times, instead of a handicap,
their showdown became a head-to-head race. Gill was focussed
on his task, and so was Atwell. Knowing that the slightest
mistake could cost them a victory, the drivers wanted be as
competitive, but still as careful as possible. Right until
the final few turns, the cars were inseperable. Both drivers
pushing their machines to the limit, not giving an inch, personifying
what RallySprint races are all about. Gill's Ignis crossed
the line less than 2 seconds ahead of Atwell's Westfield.
Gill not only took the win, but also assumed the lead of the
Sunbeach Rallysprint Cup, demoting teammate Trevor "Electric
Micey" Manning to 3rd . Freddie Gale is second in the
standings.
It was a spectacular day of racing, full of thrills and spills.
Paul "The Surfer" Bourne hit his Impreza WRC, Graham
Gittens Rolled his Toyota Starlet and Chan Geberdhan rolled
his Budget Nissan. Apart from these incidents, it was a great
day enjoyed by all. Special thanks go out to the organisers,
and marshals who ensured the event was safe for all and run
smoothly. Congratulations to all drivers. The 3rd RallySprint
will be on June 1st. This will be International Rallysprint,
where those drivers who are on our shores to take part in
the Rally Barbados will tackle the Vaucluse International
Raceway as the first part of their Barbados Rally Carnival
endeavours. See you there.
|