Wurr wins; Bellinger posts 4th fastest lap in 1700cc 4/4

Cadwell Park - 8 September 1996

Cadwell Park is almost unique in this country for providing a challenging and exciting circuit for competitors with unparalleled viewing for spectators and it was there on Sunday 8th September that Round 6 of the Morgan Motor Company Challenge took place.

Seventeen cars went out for practice in dry and bright conditions and among those was Jack Bellinger who, in the absence of his closest rivals in Class E, had sportingly entered his Class C 4/4 for this event. His presence in Class C though added pressure to the only other entrant in the Class, Stephen Lockett, who was visiting the circuit for the first time. Craig Jones was also suffering, but from a lack of power following a slight oversight by his team in the plug lead department!

The only casualty during practice was the Class D leader Martin Kurrein who went off near the Barn causing some body damage and a bent frame front – the latter being corrected later by the use of his Range Rover! The session ended with Matthew Wurr on pole in a time of 1:38.31 and alongside him on the front row was Peter Garland.

The talk was all of tyres before the start of the race at 2.30pm as the promised showers had left the circuit damp and the clouds were threatening. Most opted for wets but significant among those who didn’t was Jack; significant among those who did was Peter Garland. When the lights turned green it was Peter who stormed into the lead followed by Matthew. Simon McDermott, Grahame Walker and Chris Acklam all made good starts, but as the field appeared from the Gooseneck for the first time, it was the red car of Matthew which was clearly in the lead. Simon was 3rd, Grahame 4th and leading Class B, followed by Malcolm Paul, Craig and Jack Bellinger. Martin was 8th and first of the Class D cars, with James Paterson and Chris Acklam completing the top ten. Colin Treble was ahead of Simon Orebi Gann, followed by Peter Sargeant, Stephen Lockett, David James and Jan Bulinski. Sadly the Class D car of Chris Springall had failed to complete even one lap and was stationary in the pits with a broken axle

Crossing the line for the second time, the first three positions remained the same, but a badly misfiring car meant that Grahame had lost his fourth place and was down in seventh. Malcolm was up to fourth but this was short lived because by the end of the third lap Craig had replaced him and to the amazement of everyone, including the commentator, the little 4/4 was all over the back of him. Malcolm was therefore in sixth, but a missed gear change from Jack let Malcolm past again to be up to fifth by the end of the fourth lap. As if this was not entertainment enough an enormous battle was taking place for Class E, being led by Colin, but with barely a whisker between his car and that of David James. Jan was close behind while Stephen Lockett was keeping just ahead of the trio.

Simon Orebi Gann was putting his extensive testing at the track to good use by out braking and passing Chris Acklam to put himself up to tenth. By the halfway stage, Matthew was starting to lap the tail enders and opening a small gap between himself and Peter. While Jack continued to pressure Malcolm, Craig was getting away from them both and reeling in Simon McDermott. Further back, Jan’s decision to lead class E, by taking both David and Colin, ended in a spin, returning him to the track with all but his pride intact.

Meanwhile the battle for the lead was being decided for Peter as the weather remained dry and his choice of tyres was starting to tell. With Matthew pulling away from him he found himself dropping back into the clutches of third place Simon, who himself was being closely chased by Craig. With barely two laps left the two came down from the Gooseneck upon the battling Class E cars and a mistake from Craig had his wheel on the grass and a heart stopping moment for us all. Simon seized the opportunity and put in his fastest lap of the race and finished just over half a second ahead of Craig.

Simon Orebi-Gann meanwhile, was spinning at the bottom of the mountain and handing his hard earned tenth place back to Chris Acklam. Jan did his best to help Peter catch Matthew by spinning in front of him, also at the bottom of the mountain, but Matthew was unimpressed and stormed on to victory to keep his championship hopes alive. Malcolm kept the ever present Jack at bay to win class B and maintain his lead in the championship, but Jack’s hugely spirited drive was rewarded with Class C victory. Martin Kurrein was the comfortable winner of Class D and, after their wonderful race long duel, Class E honours went to Colin who finished marginally ahead of David.