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WSM - RACE NEWS 05 |
contact us - tony@wsmcars.com |
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31/10 Handicap B Overcome . . Equipe GTS runners Tom Smith, Malcolm Johnson, James Cottingham and Bob Luff mugged the handicappers in the 56th Birkett 6 Hour Relay at Silverstone, their MGB's completing 266 (311) laps to the the second place Cobra team's 276 (308). The 3 lap margin saw the MGB's win for the second time in three years, and for Bob Luff it was a repeat of his 1982 success. The Sprite team of Mark Lister, Simon Page, Charles Marriott, John Hopwood and Christian Andrew were 10th with 257 (298) laps. |
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Nurburgring Classic 2005 . . Equipe GTS regulars Paul Freeman, Rob Cull, James Willis and Brian Lambert took a ride on the wild side at the demanding German rollercoaster - RC -'We had a really good time. I love that circuit. It has everything you could want, and I had such a headache after Saturdays practice because I've never concentrated so hard in my life. On the Friday in the dry, it confirmed why I race cars. I had a smile from ear to ear for hours after I got out of the car. That's how awsome I found the track'. |
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02-10-2005 Top Hat at Mallory . . The season finale with the Top Hat series was full of incident, some of which involved re-modelled machinery, although bruised pride and panels were the worst casualties. Lotus 23, Healey 3000 and Austin A35 owners went home with a Xmas wish list for parts as long as your arm. Cloth Cap - Optional Two driver - 25 minute practice - Pia Bianci drove her new love, an MGB roadster, having shared the Fallerac in previous races with husband, former WSM MGB owner Toni Bianci (59.029). Current WSM 207 owner Rae Davis saw his Mini Marcos rolled at Gerrards with Willie Lynch (56.898) at the wheel, but simply popped the front and rear screens out and joined the grid. Healey brethren David Smithies and Chris Clarkson (56.858) were in charge of John Chathams famous DD 300 in class A, and class B pacesetter was Russell Martin (58.236) in an MGB, with TR 2 and 3 splitting the remaining three MGB's (the WSM MGB's meagre 1.004 for 19th may be excused - or not - by a 3.9 diff that had to stay in). Pole came from George Douglas (52.725) in a Ginetta G12, but by a small enough margin from Chris Sharpe (53.128) in an Elva Mk7 that indicated things would not necessarily go his way in the race . . 45 minute race - uneventful until fourth place qualifier Lotus 23B of Seckel/Seckel slammed into the bank immediately after the chicane. A safety car period at the 14 minute mark led to a crammed pitlane with everyone keen to make their mandatory stop while the SC flags flew. Main beneficiaries included the WSM MGB that jumped the Arculas/Chisholm Lotus Elite and MGB of Cope/Stoate to 16th, and the Sharpe Elva, which despite a fastest lap from Douglas of 53.171, held the lead until the flag. Closest finish of the race came from the E-Type of Alistair Dyson who clinched the scrap for 5th spot from the hounding TVR Griffiths of Richard Tyzack, and Russell Martin wrapped up class B comfortably from the TR2 of Chamberlain / Hazelwood. Paddock Extras - Toni Bianchi was coerced into a photograph with the car he owned in the 1970's. As the instigator of the colour change to red from the original white, he approved of the darker 'Tartan' red applied in 2003. The A40 Farina of Sprite racers Mark Lister and Simon Page decided to dispense with brake fluid during practice for 'Oldies But Goldies', but a gearbox breakage then scuppered their race. Bad Timing - DW-S sported a plaster following a shaving accident, and then fell over a Lotus (admittedly easy) in the paddock shortly before Autosport's Marcus Pye sent a photographer along to snap the W-S of WSM beside one of his designs. Product Placement - Alec Hammond in his Chevrolet Camaro fought off a race long assault until the very last lap of the 30 minute Sebring Salute. Despite the cubic inches and steam roller width of the Camaro, he simply had no right to hold off for so long the bewinged, monster tyred piece of kit that was Rod Smith's Taydec sports racer. Driver of the Day - 19 year old Joe Twyman, a regular with the Top Hat series, has battled Leukaemia with chemotherapy since April, AND raised circa £20k for the Teenage Cancer Trust through various methods. Joe's performance in a Lotus 11 for the class win, and D of D tribute, fittingly brought the longest and loudest applause of the day when presented his trophy by Top Hat organiser Julias Thurgood. Thanks to -
Will de la Riviere at Beech
Hill Garage for his expertise, and to Murray
Henderson and Ian Hullett who
took time and trouble to organise pit boards, lap times and pitlane
assist, only for the WSM driver to miss the info completely . .
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Cancellation Costs . . The Manx Motor Racing Club had to scrap 10th/11th September events due to lack of entries. Club officials will have put in time and money, and the disappointment cranks up the pressure for April 2006 plans of a sprint in the North of the Island and hill climb up the mountain - an active MMRC hinges on this event being a success . . |
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Equipe GTS at Zandvoort . . Go to www.historique.co.uk for a Zandvoort update from roving reporter Jim Lowry I Pix above courtesy of Jim Lowry. Pictured right, the Dutch hosts got wind of Jim's birthday, and the first tranche of candles duly arrives . . . Click here for more pix |
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Spridget racing . . Click on FISC for a report on three eventful Zandvoort races on 10th/11th September with the FISC Euro Tour Trophy . . |
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Equipe GTS at Brands Hatch . . Hors D'Oeuvre . . Saturday Practice - The double
header at the UK's best motorsport spectator venue certainly Smith or Jaeger . . ? Saturday - Race One. A soaking
track added interest, and only a mistake from Cottingham
More Ofen Than Not . . Sunday - Race Two. A spirited
response from Cottingham with fastest lap,
but he
Rare shot at Surtees - three WSM's on same grid Cull tured Drive . .
Paddock Extras . .
Thanks to Eden
Conservatories and Rob Cull
for their hospitality on
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MGCC Longbridge 100 . . Silverstone hosted the 28 lap enduro amongst a packed week-end of Octagon thrashing. Free practice on Friday was indulged, no thanks to the WSM MGB starter motor which failed when Paul asked it to help get the car on the trailer, with an out of session blat in the afternoon. Driver tactics revolved, I suspect, around the merits of the crutch fumbling . . " can I secure your harness Mister . . " role that Yvette Webb would play in the driver changeover procedure - practice had shown that practice was needed. And wanted. A mediocre 1m 54s WSM time paled beside the polesetting MGB V8's 1m 37s, but at least Paul Woolmer had no claim on that achievement as his session was cut short after two laps . .
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55th Silverstone International July 23rd . . Slick shod MG ZR, Midget and Metro head up
a 38 car grid for the Longbridge |
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Alias Smith & Smith . .
'Equipe' GTS comment from Jim Lowry - "Our next event on August 13th/14th promises to be another memorable weekend at Brands Hatch, hosted by the Jaguar Enthusiast's Club with support from the Classic Sports Car Club. The weekend celebrates the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Jaguar XJS and Golden Jubilee of the launch of the Jaguar 2.4 Mk1 saloon ( in one of which I started my own racing career "several" years ago ). Expect a fabulous display of classic Jaguars and many off-circuit attractions including the annual Jaguar Enthusiast's Club concours competitions, entertainments, trade stands etc.
Click here for more information on the Brands Hatch event Entry Selection - The 30 grid slots at Brands Hatch are 100% full and were so well before our intended close of entry. We are told that this is a nice position to be in, however it is inevitable that we will be disappointing some entrants who will have to be nominated as reserves. Christophe and I again have decided that we must give some priorities - firstly to those drivers who have supported us over the previous three years, to those cars fully complying with our regulations, and as ever to entries which arrive earliest through my letter box. 'Equipe' GTS races are becoming very popular, so please do not expect a guaranteed place on the grid if you leave your entry to the last minute. " |
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Zolder 03-07-05 - report from Jim Lowry . . Five 'Equipe' GTS regular competitors took advantage following the trip to Dijon and stayed over as guests of the MG Competition / Holland group for a 30 minute race at the following weekend’s European Historic Grand Prix at Zolder.
The MG Competition / Holland series caters for more modified MG cars similar to the MGCC BCV8 Class B cars, but it was Tom Smith in his FIA specification MGB who took pole position, the race win and set fastest lap. For several years the Dutch group have been trying to beat the apparently impossible 2 minute lap, and during the race Tom dutifully spoilt their dreams with an outstanding 1.58.2. Malcolm Johnson’s FIA MGB also managed to beat the 2 minute barrier and finished a well deserved second overall.
Rob Cull’s MGB failed after a strong run in the top ten with clutch failure and John Andon struggled with an incurable misfire in his Triumph TR4.
Regular 'Equipe' GTS competitor James Willis had a good mid-field run, also securing two class wins in the FIA European FIA GTS championship in his ex-works MG Midget Coupe at the same meeting.
Provisional plans are afoot to hold a round of the 'Equipe' GTS series at this venue in 2006. Watch this space . . . |
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Grand Prix De L'Age D'Or 25-26 Juin 2005 . . 'Venez voir courir l'histoire circuit de Dijon-Prenois' The Crown Has Slipped . .
Practice
- blisteringly hot conditions prompted a keen
eye on temperature gauges and thirty six qualified, from polesetter
JC's 1m44.072 to Jean Claude Wilmart's
2m10.703 with an obvious problem. Tom Smith (1m44.382) and Malcolm Johnson
(1m46.744) maintained their 2005 form - Peter
Edney (1m47.004) 4th Race - After a rolling start, Cottingham eaked a lead of 19 seconds over Smith, with Lambert Senior proving his competitive urge remains to edge Malcolm Johnson to 4th and son Mark to 5th. The gravel trap near the end of the lap caught the unawary, and the twisty roller coaster nature of the track meant that passing opportunities against well matched opposition were limited. Ron Watt took some punishment in the drivers door area but still managed 11th, while the green MGA of Graham Coles went well to 12th, and Michael bloody Van Ofen pipped the WSM MGB with two laps to go for a deserved 14th . Gabriel Kramer kept his Morgan tantalisingly out of WSM reach, Paul Freeman still could not cure the misfire that he brought from Australia with Elizabeth, and James Willis got 11 laps before a DNF with mechanical woes. Not many were too disappointed to see chequered after 30 minutes as temperatures in the coupes were pushing 40 degrees. Drive of the Day - Rob Cull made 6th fastest lap and sprinted up the order from the back before finishing 16th, a technical glitch dropping him from 9th with five minutes left and fortunately one place behind the WSM . . ********************* Extras
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Christophe Wilmart, left, raises a can and a smile, amongst many through the week-end with his unique interpreting.
Above . . "Stay behind me Monsieur and I'll cook for you at Brands . . " Rob Cull confirming that the way to a mans start is through his stomach.
left to right - Mark Way no 41 in assembly area foreground - Michael 'bloody' Van Ofen & Terry Patchett muse - Brian Lambert no 46 foreground - Christophe advises - John Bussey no 52 & Graham Bates no 63 foreground - TP has everything in hand.
left to right - Simon Gurney steps up for cheek to cheek action - Ron Watt imitates a buffalo at a water hole - Tom Smith settles graciously for the silver medal - Brian Lambert makes another clean getaway An awsome circuit that compared to a Brands/Cadwell/Knockhill mix. Mind boggling to think of F1 cars doing their stuff at the limit with such little margin, and to watch the big guns strut their horsepower during our week-end was spectacular. Thanks to the early bird Equipe grid arrivals who insisted on staying in the spacious paddock outside the track - although crammed with goodies, the area within the circuit looked a nightmare to operate from. And last but not least, JC will forgive me for stumbling across this pre-Camilla item and including amongst our luminaries. Never let it be said that 'Equipe' GTS spectators are not well dressed . . Next up, Brands Hatch with 'Equipe GTS' August 13th / 14th for a double header week-end at the Historic Festival. |
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29th May 2005 -
'Equipe'
Get Tom Smith
at Mallory . .
more race pix, courtesy of
Paul Webb, at wsmcars In Competition.
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May 15th 2005 - Chequered 'Equipe' GTS at Donington . .
GTS may well stand for 'Get Tom Smith' if he dominates any more races in this fashion, cruising home at a scorching Donington Park to win the 'Equipe' GTS 30 minute race and his second GTS of 2005.
Above, WSM Midget of Jim Lowry WSM interest lay with the close
proximity on the grid of the WSM MGB Below, MGA of Jon McDonald
Above, Spitfire Le Mans of Colin Elstrop and TR4 of Allen Ross-Jones Post match awards hosted by series
organiser Christophe Willmart included
'Equipe' GTS grids have established a well deserved reputation that has become a lure to more. Well prepared machinery, close racing and convivial company are the not so secret ingredients that have lead to oversubscribed grids. Above, Jim Lowry celebrates 40 + 10  |
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26-04-05 'Equipe' GTS . .
Snetterton CSCC April Race Meeting Virgin Radio Classic Rock Equipe GTS 30 minute race Tom Smith headed the practice
times for the thirty-two car grid at 9am on a sunny Sunday
The race was a cracker and went
to qualifying form, but only after Oliver Bryant
set fastest lap and finished a hairsbreadth in arrears to Tom
Smith. And so it went on Post match details revealed the unlucky Jim Lowry had retired his WSM Midget after 6 laps, Linda Pearcy improved her lap times by a massive 10 seconds, and there were seven retirements, twenty five finishers and fourteen seconds between fastest and slowest lap of the race. The WSM MGB finished 11th (1m 31s) with a new engine being carefully treated.
Thanks to Jim Lowry and Christophe Willmart of Equipe GTS, and WSM thanks to Paul Woolmer for his liberal spreading of expertise throughout the week-end. Onwards and upwards to Donington on Sunday May 15th for the 'Equipe' GTS half hour race . .
and DW-S (left) and Ted discuss
the WSM drivers failings . . more Snetterton pictures at 'In Competition' courtesy of Paul Webb |
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Silverstone
21-03-05 . .
Click here for pictures at WSM - In Competition |
Many
thanks to Eden
Conservatories who will be providing a BBQ dinner
in the paddock on Saturday evening for all 'Equipe' drivers and guests
- no tickets or jackets required. 
