James Paterson clinches Championship

Cadwell Park - 12 August 2001

13 on the list – was this an omen? Then we realised that Chas had only had a vague thought about coming and had not paid and we would be a round dozen. (We all rather hoped that Chas was busy mending Simon McDermott’s car so that he can be back to beef up Class A.) Where were all the rest of you? Mauritius, Spain, Middle East, Kenya, France – sunny places, but with nothing to compete with the windblown barbecue of Saturday evening (thanks to chefs Simon OG, Philip McK, David and James) or the waterlogged track and muddy paddock of Sunday. It was WET – not as wet as Oulton (bad luck, Simon OG) but then what do you expect in England in mid-August. The fashion statement of the day was an umbrella to match the car – and drivers who normally take their helmets off to reverse seemed perfectly skilled at reversing with an umbrella up.

The Practice

Not enough of us on the grid to go it alone so there were 4 Triumph TR7s lumped in with us. And because it was so wet, everyone was extremely circumspect during practice. Remarks were heard such as: “Rubbish”; “Fantastic, smooth, couple of wheels on the grass is just a racing technique”; “Wet”; “Very scenic. No trouble if you don’t do more than 30mph”; “Outbraked but recovered”; “Going so slow it was fine” Keith was delighted with his car’s performance, going well after thrashing over from Roadsports at Oulton where he had started 4th on the grid but won by 49 seconds, beating the two Porsche 911s and a Ferrari ahead of him. Poor David James was back in the paddock after one lap with funny noises from under the bonnet, but a bit of grease in the fuel pump and he was able to qualify, showing Cobras, Jaguars and fake Lotuses how to do it properly.

At the end of practice Keith and Rick were summoned to the scrutineering bay for sounding rather noisy (purely subjective – no measurements taken). Keith went straight there and we all assumed that Rick had gone there too, until his car was returned to the paddock on the back of a truck and there was no sign of the driver. The car was in a sorry state and, when Rick emerged from the Medical Centre, we discovered that after the chequered flag for the end of practice he was going too fast to slow on the straight, eased off as he went round Coppice and as he lifted his foot the car right-angled left into the bank. He turned over twice ending upside down. He was trapped by his legs and his advice to you all is “removable steering wheel – everyone should have one”. Having released his, and keeping his hand near the fire extinguisher as petrol was leaking from the ruptured fuel tank, he managed to crawl out before the marshals arrived. He is also willing to give the design for his rollbar to anyone who wants it as it saved him from serious injury – bruises but nothing broken. All suggestions of possible causes of the incident to ‘Ask Jack’ at www.brakehorsepower.net

With much manhandling the wrecked car was put on Rick’s trailer and delivered to Chas (bet he wishes he had been with us after all). Chas said that he has seen some bent Morgans in his time but “never one like this”. However, he is pleased to report that the aero screen and the mirror are undamaged. (Happily, so are the engine and gearbox so Rick will not have to test another 4 to destruction at the beginning of next season!)

The Race

Would it or wouldn’t it start raining again? And if not raining, how wet would the track be? Time for endless debate as the morning practice sessions over-ran and the marshals and officials insisted on a break for refreshment. Our own Phil Brown who was earning a signature as a marshal was seen wandering through the paddock at 1.20 with a takeaway in his hand, saying that he had to be near the Gooseneck by 1.30. There were many more marshals and recovery people in the café…. No-one can grudge them their 45 minutes after such a wet and miserable morning. Well done Phil for joining their ranks for the day.

So, we were about 30 minutes late starting the Morgan and TR race (though only 2 of the TRs turned up). A dignified procession around the track for the green flag lap and then they were off. On the front row James was ahead of Keith into the first corner, but was easily passed there. Behind them was Simon who sat looking at the green light before realising that it meant that he could go now… Chris was easily past him but then kindly let Simon through to try to catch up with James for the Class C battle. He soon speeded up as the TRs were fast approaching and it wasn’t until the next lap that he let them through to get on with their own private ding-dong.

Further back Jack made a stonking start and then appeared to go to sleep as he went along the straight allowing the TRs and Phil Hollins past him. (He told us later that it was part of his plan.) It certainly gave us spectators entertainment as he diced with Phil up The Mountain and passed him through the woodland section. After that Phil said he had a boring Sunday afternoon drive. Jack then set off after Chris and spent the rest of the race harrying him in the woodlands where he was much quicker, and being lost by him on the straights. Chris said he was being given a lesson in lines around the corners – perhaps Jack was quicker because you were looking in your mirror rather than where you were going, Chris? This was Jack’s grand plan come to fruition – Bellinger bullying the bigger ‘B’ boys by bovver-boy tactics, and winning Class D. He never managed to get past Chris though who once again won Class B.

Further back at the start, Ian Hepburn was surprised to find a (temporarily) stationary Stephen Wheatley in front of him. Same problem as Simon, Stephen? When Ian was able to get away he found that both Leigh and David were ahead of him and they stayed there throughout the race. He was able to watch from behind the tussle that Philip McElvey saw in his mirror. Philip had a lonely race, which gave him the chance to perfect his line up the Mountain and watch David James and Stephen Wheatley scrapping.

David, who started from the back of the grid because he had no times in qualifying, overtook Ian at the start. Stephen, having got away eventually, dived past Leigh at The Mountain on lap 2. David and Leigh participated in a couple of overtaking manoeuvres, with David taking 2 or 3 laps before getting ahead again at the left-hander at Hall. By this time Stephen, his rival in Class E, was well away. David eventually caught up and the dicing began. They had a fantastic race for 3 or 4 laps with some very close calls. Stephen commented that although they were only 2 feet apart at times he had absolute confidence in David’s driving ability – the Driver of the Day certainly deserved his bottle of champagne! (A unanimously well-received decision.)

So Stephen got his first Class E win – and David was looking for a 12 lap race. Leigh made the gracious comment that he was happy to be beaten by 2 proper Morgans. Meanwhile, back at the front (if you know what I mean) Keith was beating himself in the race for Class A and driving in a higher gear than usual to keep from getting too far ahead. (Thanks Keith from the slower boys for ensuring that most of them got the full 10 laps). James drove a faultless race and got faster as he saw Keith, the Class C win and the Championship in his sights. Simon meanwhile, from lap 4 onwards was keeping very closely to the racing line to hold the 2 TRs at bay. They exchanged position with each other a couple of times and by lap 8 Colin Pendle in the yellow car was ready to have a go at Simon at Mansfield. (The OGs now have a car with a back bumper with a rather stylish twist to it…) Colin failed to get past that time but as they caught up with the Class E struggle at the beginning of the last lap he overtook on the start/finish straight. After an over eventful practice, an impeccably driven race – at least by the Morgan drivers.

By this time the rain was falling faster and wetter than ever – it had been dry-ish at the start of the race – and rather than wait for the official results, we all foregathered in the scrutineering bay as soon as Ian Hepburn had finished his Northern Championship race (during which he did a rather pretty triple spin at Chris Curve) – and took Serena’s and Mark’s word for it as to who had won!

Let’s see rather more of you all at Mallory, suntans and all…

Kate Orebi Gann