TEAM 2CV LION GO OFF THE CLOCK
For the third successive year, Team 2CV Lion proved unbeatable in the Classic 2CV 24 hours.
The team’s Pete Sparrow had an early duel with Crisis@Tete Rouge’s Alec Graham. But, with Gary Adnitt and David O’Keefe sharing the 2CV Lion car, they took charge before half distance.
Nick Roads, Ian Gibbon and Andrew Bull had kept Tete Rouge in second place for the first 15 hours, but after Graham had a collision with the Frogettes car, Car Caryl’s Louis Tyson, Kris Tovey and Glen Oswin began to consolidate runners-up place, after recovering from a first-hour fuel starvation problem.
Crisis@Tete Rouge completed the podium with 13 laps in hand over Twin Snails’Martin
Riman, James Northfield and Paul Rowland.
Both DD Motorsport and Team Gadget had challenged for the podium early on but either crew had mechanical problems that forced them to be towed back to the pits, which incurred threelap penalties for both crews.
Nick Crispin, Patrick Mason and James Dartiailh had clawed the DD car back into fourth after 17 hours but a late gearbox change, further loss of brakes and a rear wheel loss, meant they only returned to the action on the final lap, only to be excluded from 10th for driving in a manner incompatible with general safety. With the exclusion, Crispin’s title hopes went up in smoke.
The Hansgrohe Lion team of Max Wyer, Giles Owen, Ronald Mears and Roy Eastwood clinched fifth with Hollis Motorsport’s Matthew, Richard and Nigel Hollis, with Glenn Burtenshaw completing the top six despite running most of the race with a misfire and only three functioning shock absorbers.
There was a repeat win in the Mini Grande division too as Team Toyshed’s Andy and
Chris Slade with Michael
Dryden endured a race-long duel with Slarky Malarky’s Ian and Neil Slark with Ryan Taylor and Tom Grindall.
After 24 hours and 741 laps, they were just 1.148 seconds apart at the flag. Third-placed Misfits were on the lead lap too.
Russell Dack had a double win in the Snetterton Saloons. He edged ahead of Bryan Bransom’s similar BMW M3 on the opening lap of race one and managed to keep his rival at bay throughout. Edward Leigh was third with David Marcussen escaping from a duel with James Mumbray to finish fourth.
Bransom got his revenge in the second race after shaking off Dack’s early challenge. Marcussen was third with Karl Cattliff fourth.
With Bransom loaning his car to Jas Sapra, who was a first-lap retirement, Dack was never troubled in race three. Marcussen had a race-long second with Cattliff closing in at the flag.