John Cooper Trophy Snetterton 17th April 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Easter Monday brought us to a cool and windy Snetterton for the John Cooper Memorial Trophy. After the progress of last year, an entry of at least fourteen cars could have been expected. So it was very disappointing to see just ten entries for the traditional season starter. It was good to see James Holland back on the circuits in his ex-Bob Gerard Mk VIII. James has completed a major restoration of the car with John Furlong, and the result is quite superb. James has opted for an original, low roll hoop, which combined with the flat springs and a lovely, accurate colour scheme has produced a sleek, pretty car that is almost in ex-factory condition (the Styrofoam cup used as a choke should really be paper, James!). All ten cars got away for practice cleanly, but John Turner was in after one lap with a loss of compression, apparently a loose head. Simon Frost made running repairs so John could splutter around to complete the necessary laps. After two laps Paul Hewes (pushing hard, and in the yellow Mk VIII) disappeared with a melted piston. Then Mike Fowler lost his silencer and pulled up, exhaust problems becoming something of a Snetterton tradition for Mike. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
To complete the woe, Neil Hodges’ Cooper began spluttering. This was a continuation of his problems at Brands Hatch, which had been assumed to have been down to just not putting enough fuel into the tank. Post-practice inspection revealed that the fuel pump was not delivering adequate flow, and as the tank emptied the loss of pressure head would take the supply below critical. Of the remaining six, the returning Culvers also had problems. 2005 Champion James was motoring carefully to run in a rebuilt motor, but a badly unbalanced wheel made the car almost un-drivable. Father Bob had a similar problem, but was able to drive through it. Snetterton is Bob’s ‘trick’ circuit (having won the Memorial Trophy last year), and he would set a very impressive pole lap of 1’ 39”. Roy Hunt (Martin) would line up beside Bob with Nigel Ashman (Cooper Mk V) and Gordon Russell's Mackson forming the second row. Gordon was also competing in the classic bike races on the card, and bailed early to be ready for his first race. James Holland ran in the Mk VIII steadily and set a respectable 1’ 49”. Which left us with a very interesting grid, propped up by James C, John and Neil, who would all be looking to make major progress from the off. A long gap until race time enabled John and Paul to drop in new engines (with help from visitors Simon Frost, Jules Reichman and Susan Hatley), while Neil tinkered with his fuel pump, and picked up a couple of other issues. Team Culver went searching for an on-site tyre supplier who could balance their wheels, but had to resort to guesswork and prayer. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Neil was on a flier and immediately set about closing the gap to Mike. Then things got interesting. Nigel, passed by James on the run down Revett Straight, tried to follow his through the Esses and overcooked it. The car span through 180 degrees in the second part of the Esses and came to a very abrupt halt. Which came as something of a surprise to Mike, who was mere feet behind. Face-to-face, both drivers were convinced that this was ‘the big one’ and it took a mighty effort from Mike to throw the car to the inside and just avoid Nigel. So it was perhaps fortunate that Nigel didn’t notice Neil barrelling in from behind. He had, by his own admission, already over-committed to the first part of the Esses, and was already aiming to cut across the grass – right where Nigel was now headed! Neil had a grassy excursion and dropped back behind the Mackson. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile the remainder of the field, partly blinded by the bridge, took emergency measures to avoid Nigel’s parked Cooper and scramble back on track. But the excitement was still not over for the second lap. At the (appropriately named) Russell Bend, Gordon was covering another attack from Neil, with John just behind. A stab at the accelerator between apexes unfortunately jammed the throttle wide open, and the car rotated to a halt right on the exit kerb. Neil scraped through and John took a grassy detour. John, however was already experiencing a stuttering (traced to the magneto later), and got no response as he hit the accelerator. So three cars were out after just two laps. At the front, James had forced past his father, and by the end of the third lap was close on Roy. Bob ran about a second back from this pair, and the three had a healthy lead from the cars delayed in the incidents. Mike was fourth, and about five seconds ahead of Neil. |
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Then Paul and James Holland were in close company an further ten seconds back. James Culver found a way past Roy on the fourth lap, and would presumably motor away. Roy hadn’t read the script though, and hung on gamely. James was noticeably slow exiting Russell, perhaps choosing a higher gear, and Roy in fact pulled alongside across the finishing line fifth time around. James would just hang on into Riches, and from there would gradually eke out a lead that would reach seven seconds by the end of the ten laps. Bob in turn could not quite hang on to the pair ahead, and would finish five seconds off Roy. In fact Paul had his own fuel problems and was struggling to close the gap. On the ninth lap it was down to six seconds, but Neil’s car sounded mighty unhealthy, and did not look capable of completing the final lap (and he was not too encouraged by a faulty signal from his pit crew indicating two more laps before the time limit was reached). Paul duly motored past for fifth place, and Neil just brought the yellow Mk VIII to the flag in sixth. James Holland completed the finishers. His green Mk VIII had been running comfortably, and he was staying close to Paul, but on the fifth lap his JAP motor bent a valve and James did well to nurse the car home with almost no compression.
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Classified Finishers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gentleman Drivers Award | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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