2023 Formula Classic – Round 6
KOSTERA CUP, WANNEROO RACEWAY, 1st JULY 2023
This round was happily greeted by a fine but very cold, three degree Celsius morning, and although cold it certainly didn’t dampen the spirits of the 13 entrants for the meeting.
Of special note was the inclusion of Murray Charnley having entered in his Lotus 23b after a long lay-off and who also just happened to be celebrating his 88th birthday. Murray is clearly proving inspirational to us younger competitors.
Unfortunately, the repairs to our key Formula Atlantic entrants were not quite completed but the word is that they are very, very, close to being ready to roll again.
Qualifying was entertaining before it had even started. Simon, having just fitted some nice new tyres, managed a lovely pirouette warming the tyres in pit lane before even getting onto the circuit. Once on track though, it proved to be a closely run affair between Simon in his FF2000 and Allan in his RT5. Pole position was separated by just under 0.2 seconds.
The two leaders were then followed slightly further behind by Bill in his RT4 and Andrew Gifford treading gingerly in his recently repaired March 722 and then by a very tightly bunched midfield and Formula Ford group.
Jamie encountered a gremlin or two forcing him out of qualifying early but a quick once over enabled him to get onto the grid for race 1, albeit from rear of field and Bill although being quick (as usual) was unfortunately chasing a throttle / carb issue which persisted all day.
Race 1 was met with a warmer track thankfully. Bill didn’t manage to get to the grid and Jamie, although starting from the back wasn’t planning on being there for too long, hammering past the field towards the front once the lights went out.
The two leaders continued their close battle, being joined by the flying Jamie in his Argo and an increasingly confident Andrew in the March 722.
The midfielders of Lance (Brabham BT23), Harvey in his gorgeous Chevron and the persistent Ricky (Lola) were having a nice tussle and Bob Creasy in the lovely RT1 poking his nose in from time to time as well. The Formula Ford group including the birthday boy enjoying his day out in the Lotus were plugging away swapping positions regularly.
Unfortunately, Murray suffered an oil leak in the Lotus which although not stopping him completing the race did prove to be severe enough to put a stop to his day of fun.
Final positions for Race 1 were; 1st – Simon, 2nd – Allan, and 3rd – Jamie (who also managed fastest lap).
Race 2 – Bill managed to get things sorted and joined the field. Once the race started it was with a bang. Unfortunately for Jamie it was quite literally a bang with a driveline failure off the start forcing him onto the grass and enacting a safety car to clear him away safely.
During that safety car period a few liberties “might” have been taken with numerous overtakes and redressing being performed along with the penalties that go with them. I am sure there were a few lucky (and unlucky) calls given.
When the race restarted, Allan and Simon scooted away however this time being closely followed by Andrew who was impressing with very quick times – dropping nearly 3 seconds a lap over is previous efforts.
Lance and Harvey were pushing on hard with Bill snapping at their heels despite the ongoing carb problem.
The Formula Ford group were keeping each other very honest with close racing as usual. So close in fact that Glenn and Craig were within 0.1 seconds of each other on the finish line in favour of Glenn with Dave Dearden in his Vector right on their tailpipe.
Results were 1st – Allan, 2nd Andrew, and 3rd – Simon (also with the fastest lap)
Race 3 was another close race. With both Bill and Simon out of their usual position, Allan managed to break away in front. Bill got into 2nd on lap 2 followed by the fast charging Andrew in 3rd and Simon in 4th. Not to be perturbed, Simon got his head down and managed to get by Andrew on lap 4. The race continued until the inevitable catching of traffic during the closing stages were things got serious for the front runners. With no quarters given, a close affair was guaranteed with positional changes and a last corner dash on the cards, it was Simon victorious followed by Allan and Bill. There was less than a second covering the group at the finishing line.
Andrew, who must have been feeling well chuffed with his performance on the day was not far behind, consolidating on a successful outing.
The Formula Ford battle was again a continuation of the preceding races being equally as close. This time however Craig managed to overcome Glenn to the line by 0.02 seconds with Dave again staring at their exhaust.
Outright results for the meeting were;
1 Simon Alderson 68
2 Allan Jones 65
3 Andrew Gifford 54
4 Lance Carwardine 49
5 Harvey Leys 46
6 Ricky Virago 42
7 Bob Creasy 39
8 Craig Thompson 35
9 William Norman 33
10 Glenn Swarbrick 33
11 David Dearden 31
12 Jamie Kerkhoff 18
13 Murray Charnley 9
Race report prepared by Ricky Virago.
Handicap results for this round;
1st Andrew Gifford 37 pts
2nd Allan Jones 24 pts
3rd Simon Alderson 21 pts
The next round is at Collie on Saturday 20th August.