Bold last-lap move doesn’t cost Dear
MALLORY PARK 750MC 16 OCTOBER
Diving around the outside of Devil’s
Elbow and sneaking into the lead through the narrowest of gaps is a bold move at any time. When it’s on the final lap of the penultimate race of the season, with the title on the line, and you’re already beating your main competitor, it’s even more of a gamble. But it paid off handsomely for Chris Dear in Classic
Stock Hatch at Mallory Park last weekend.
The Peugeot 205 driver got a brilliant run out of Shaw’s hairpin to make the dramatic pass on Lee Scott’s Ford Fiesta and win a thrilling first race by just 0.05 seconds – and take a massive step towards sealing the championship in a winnertakes-all final meeting against Pete Morgan.
“I had a plan,” admitted Dear. “We caught a backmarker down the back straight and I got a run on Lee and made him defend. He was then on the oil and he gave me a car’s width and a fag paper and that’s all I needed!”
Dear had qualified on pole but lost out to Scott on the first lap, Dear admitting
he was too cautious with the oil on track as Scott went around the outside of Shaw’s and then had the inside for Devil’s Elbow. Dear spent the next 14 laps trying to retaliate, getting close on several occasions, before that dramatic final-corner flourish. Morgan, meanwhile, was third after starting down in fifth, meaning his title chances were looking slim.
But Fiesta XR2 driver Morgan certainly put up a fight in race two, as he sought to emulate son Ryan’s championship success last year. When Scott passed Dear at Gerard’s on lap two, Morgan then dived up the inside of the Esses. And he was soon putting Scott under serious pressure for the lead, before suddenly slowing. He had been losing oil pressure in the engine before a broken lifter put him out and his bid was over.
Dear could now relax but instead wanted to seal the crown with a victory. He put Scott under intense pressure, while also mindful of the rapidly closing 205 of James Haslehurst behind, but could not quite squeeze ahead this time. “He wasn’t going to fall for it again!” said the new champion.
Elsewhere, it was doubles all round in the other categories, which had already crowned their overall champions ahead
of their visit to Mallory.
Paul Collingwood’s Eclipse briefly lost out to Lewis Ward’s Westfield in Sport Specials but blasted back ahead around the outside of the Esses to claim the opening win, before leading throughout race two.
Oliver Collett (Racekits Falcon) headed every 750 Formula lap but came under attack from Bill Cowley. Cowley’s efforts resulted in him running wide at the Esses and he later retired, promoting champion Peter Bove. Cowley had another go in race two but outbraked himself at the hairpin.
Things were set to be closer in Historic 750 Formula with Christian Pedersen and John Village separated by just 0.07s in qualifying. But Village comfortably won both races. Pedersen only completed a lap of the opener before electrical issues and then a misfire halted his Austin 7. His steed was repaired for race two only to falter again with three laps to go while leading.
Craig Pollard signed off the Formula Vee season in style, enjoying the lack of pressure after already sewing up the championship to take a brace and break the series’ lap record. The large entry meant the field was split into three groups, each competing twice, and Daniel Hands won the other race.