Mcguinness makes car racing debut
Twenty-three-time Isle of Man TT winner John Mcguinness made his debut racing cars in the Fun Cup at Donington Park last weekend alongside downhill mountain bike world cup winner Steve Peat.
Mcguinness recently passed his ARDS test at Mallory Park and took the opportunity to compete while all motorcycle road racing remains suspended. He was introduced to the Fun Cup by multiple truck racing champion and former British Touring Car Championship driver Stuart Oliver.
“I went up to see Stuart, to have a look at his trucks, and we were chatting away about this Fun Cup,” said Mcguinness. “I looked at the dates and this worked. I thought with what’s going on, I’d just get one in and then at least we can see how I like it.
“You look at a Fun Cup car and you think, ‘They look a bit odd, don’t they?’ You get in it and it feels right. The shift, the brake… down Craner Curves and into the Old Hairpin and Mcleans, it’s happening – you’ve got to hold onto it. I went out on the track and people were passing me and I was stressing a bit. But once I settled down I just thought, ‘I’m going to watch what he does.’”
In wet conditions, Mcguinness and Peat finished 12th out of 25 in the GT Radial car they shared with Ellis Hadley.
“I really did enjoy it,” said Mcguinness. “I’m just like a fish out of water though. I’m trying my best and people are passing me and they’re sideways and they’re on the kerbs.
“It’s a lot, lot harder than I thought it was going to be and my respect for all the drivers in this Fun Cup has just gone rocketing up. On two wheels, you’ve only got such a small contact patch – we’re just always trying to keep grip, no sliding, so I’m maybe being a bit conservative.”
After sampling rallycross at Lydden Hill in the RX150 category and Ollie O’donovan’s Ford Focus Supercar last year, Mcguinness has not ruled out further circuit racing appearances on four wheels in the future.
“I still love my bikes,” he said. “I’ve got a little bit of unfinished business. My next TT start will be my 100th so there’s a few little areas I want to tidy up there, and then, yeah, maybe… I don’t think my wallet’s big enough for this car racing!”
Rising stars took on the established names and came out on top in the opening weekend of the National Formula Ford Championship at Donington Park. Alex Walker led the way with two storming wins in the dry after Rory Smith’s wetweather success on Saturday.
A thinner field than in recent years did not reduce the sharp end’s intensity. American teenager Max Esterson
(Ray GR18) harried polesitter Chris Middlehurst’s Van Diemen LA10 in race one, before Festival winner Smith maximised his Medina JL18’S traction to close in and passed the pair in one move at the Roberts chicane. With Smith’s exit compromised, the trio ran three-wide into Redgate, Middlehurst spinning as he clipped Esterson’s right rear. B-M Racing’s Smith was chased home by Esterson, with the Kevin Mills Racing Spectrum 011C of Walker third from seventh on the grid.
Walker’s progress continued in race two. He led within half a lap, passing
Smith into Redgate and benefiting from Esterson’s mistake at the Old Hairpin. A mid-race safety car was no hindrance as Walker eased to a 6.6-second victory. Second for Jamie Sharp was his best yet, albeit after making contact with teammate Smith – who recovered to fourth behind Esterson – as he passed him.
From eighth on the reversed grid,
Walker was third within three laps of the final race, then prevailed in his scrap with Smith and Luke Cooper (Swift SC18). “It’s not shabby, is it? Two firsts and a third,” grinned the triumphant youngster.
One-time National champion Middlehurst’s weekend worsened with two punctures, while clutch, brake and engine temperature woes severely hampered triple Festival winner Joey
Foster’s updated Firman chassis.
Last year’s 310R runner-up James Murphy rebounded from stalling on Saturday’s grid to win the next morning on his debut in the Caterham Seven UK Championship.
Murphy pounced as the leaders lapped the 310R frontrunners, but was chased down by race one winner Stephen Nuttall. Having nipped past at Roberts on the penultimate lap, Nuttall intended to repeat the move after allowing Murphy back ahead, only to be thwarted by yellow flags.
Nuttall survived contact with team-mate Gordon Sawyer to prevail again in the finale, which was prematurely halted when the two leading packs converged. Murphy was edged onto the grass approaching Mcleans but held on to third behind old 310R foe Greg Monks, as several others were left in the gravel. Pete Walters avoided the trouble to take his second 310R win, sandwiching Lars Hoffmann’s success in race two.
Caterham Academy champions Taylor O’flanagan and Tom Cockerill split the wins in two typically thrilling Roadsport races. The pair swapped the lead with Domenique Mannsperger throughout Sunday’s race before O’flanagan’s trip through the Mcleans gravel as they ran three-wide on the final lap. Cockerill triumphed over Mannsperger by just 0.136s. Hugo Bush, part of the lead group before an off in Saturday’s wet prequel won by O’flanagan, carved through from the back of the grid to sixth, despite skating across the gravel as he challenged the leaders on the last bend.
Third in the 270R opener behind Will Rossetti and Harry Eyre, Blair Mcconachie scored an 11s victory in the sequel from former Ginetta man Rob Keogh and Eyre.
The 38-car Citycar Cup field included 23 novices, and the experienced Nic Grindrod was unchallenged en route to two sizeable wins. Duncan Stone and top novice Liam Browning headed a terrific tussle for the remaining podium places in race two after Stuart Bliss and Patrick Booth had done so
in the less frantic opener.
Past champions Fabio Randaccio and
Scott Fitzgerald (Uvio/hofmann’s Lotus) stormed to a Fun Cup victory of more than a lap over Despatch Bay’s Andy Bicknell/ Harry Mailer. Former United States Formula 4 driver Teddy Wilson’s rapid opening stint couldn’t be matched by his Track Focused team-mates, so only the Viking Self Storage Car of Nigel Greensall/mark Holme threatened the eventual winners, but lost a lap fixing a coil issue.
After clearing the four Mike Hawthorn Trophy Jaguar Mk1s that qualified ahead of him, Rob Fenn eased his Lotus Elan to victory in the Innes Ireland Cup. Leading Jack Fairman Cup runner Ian Dalglish
(Lotus 17), who also struggled in the greasy morning conditions as he qualified mid-grid, made rapid progress to second.