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| HSCC Silverstone Finals Meeting - Duo Derek Bell Trophy Race 20th October 2007 | |||
Peter Williams takes lights to flag Victory in F1 March 761 DFV in season finale |
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The 2007 Historic Sports Car Club's competition year was brought to a close at the customary annual "Finals" meeting at Silverstone on the 1.639 miles "National Circuit" and as always the "Duo" Derek Bell Trophy Series was featured amongst the races, with the drivers taking part in qualifying on Saturday morning and a single race on Saturday afternoon of 20th October. As in previous years an excellent field entered for the event with no less than 24 drivers taking part in the Saturday morning qualifying session, with an F1 car in the entry for the first time in 2007. Despite the race being the last DBTS race of the season a number of new (to the series) cars appeared including: Peter Williams turning out in his ex. Brian Henton F1 March 761, this event was to be used as a "shakedown" of the rebuilt car after it was totalled at Pau two years ago, since which time Peter has "kept his hand in" racing in the HSCC Classic F3 Championship. Richard Eyre and his son Garrick were welcomed to the series for their first race in the DBTS with a pair of F2, BMW powered Ralt RT 1's, also Lee Dwyer (Mark's son) was having his first outing in Mark's ex David Purley March 742. Series returnee Michael Schryver turned out in Marcus Pye's F5000 Lola T332C after Marcus expected other commitments to preclude his involvement (although he did make it to the circuit to watch Michael race the car in the afternoon). Another regular DBTS driver out in a car new to him was John Monson who (having sold his F5000 Chevron B28 Chevrolet to Daryl Taylor) was out in Frank Lyons' ex. Brett Lunger F5000 Lola T330 / 332. Ian Gray returned to the series with his ex John Watson F2 Brabham BT30 however for Silverstone the car was resplendent on slicks and fitted with wings (as Ian has previously raced in the series with the car in "Classic Racing Cars spec."). Other welcome returnee's included Neil Bowman with his F Atlantic Merlyn Mk21 and Jeremy Wheatley with his F2 Surtees TS 15, both having previously suffered major engine dramas. So with these new combinations and numerous "regular" Derek Bell Trophy Series competitors the grid for the event would be made up from 1 x F1, 7 x F5000 cars, 9 x F2, 6 x F Atlantic and 1 x FF2000 cars. F1 Cars (Class A of the Derek Bell Trophy) A2- 1972 Onwards Peter Williams March 761 DFV (05) - ex. Brian Henton F5000 Cars (Class B of the Derek Bell Trophy) B1- Pre 1972 Bruce Fullerton Lola T300 Chevrolet (300 HU-12) - ex. Gus Hutchinson B2 - 1972 Onwards Mark Dwyer Lola T400 Chevrolet (HU-12) - ex. Ed. Jowsey / Ed. Swart / John Morton Neil Glover Lola T332 Chevrolet (HU-23) - ex. Johnnie Walker / Mike Wrigley Michael Schryver Lola T332 Chevrolet (HU-52) - ex. Glenn Brown / Richard Sherburg / Tom Shelton / Gary Wilson / Bill Simpson John Monson Lola T330 / 332 Chevrolet (330 HU-12) - ex. Brett Lunger Frank Lyons Lola T400 Chevrolet (HU 07) - ex. Al. Unser / Mario Andretti / John Delane Judy Lyons Eagle FA074 Chevrolet (AAR074/04) - ex. Elliot Forbes-Robinson F2 Cars (Class C of the Derek Bell Trophy) C1 - Pre 1972 (1600cc) Ian Gray Brabham BT30 BDA - ex. John Watson Lincoln Small Brabham BT 30 FVA (30-16) - ex. Derek Bell Simon Perkins March 71BM BDA C2 - 1972 Onwards (2000cc) Richard Eyre Ralt RT 1 BMW Lee Dwyer March 742 BMW - ex. David Purley Garrick Eyre Ralt RT 1 BMW Jeremy Wheatley Surtees TS15 BDG (03) - ex Jochen Mass / Mike Hailwood / Tim Schenken Jeremy Smith March 782 - 10 Mike Scott Martin BM 16 Chevrolet Vega F Atlantic Cars & F3 Cars (Class D of the Derek Bell Trophy) D1 - F Atlantic Pre-1972 David Wild March 712 BDA Nick Overall Lyncar 001BDA Neil Bowman Merlyn Mk21 BDA Gregory Thornton Titan Mk10 BDA D2 - F Atlantic 1972 Onwards John Rand Lola T460 BDA Daryl Taylor March 78B BDA (78B-008) FF 2000 Cars - Invitation Class (Class E of the Derek Bell Trophy) Peter Denham Reynard SF78 Ford Pinto Qualifying Qualifying took place on a dry track at 10:08 on Saturday morning under an overcast sky, but unlike at most events this year it remained dry. From the off, Peter Williams set out to stamp his authority on proceedings and in eight laps of the session set down a marker which remained unbeatable so it was he who would be on pole for the race on 55.696sec. whilst historic F1 and sports car expert Richard Eyre came closest to Peter with a time of 56.675sec. which was good enough for 2nd fastest with his recently acquired Ralt RT1 BMW. Row 2 would be occupied by Michael Schryver (Lola T332C) on 56.722sec. (a terrific time given Michael's lack of time in the car before race day) and Jeremy Smith (March 782) on 57.101sec. Row 3 would be occupied by F5000's, the Lola T400 of Mark Dwyer who set a best time of 57.323sec. and Neil Glover in his Lola T332 in which he set a best time of 57.542sec. Row 4 would be occupied by Frank Lyons in his Lola T400 on a time of 57.556sec and Lee Dwyer (March 742) on a time of 58.809sec. (a terrific effort by the young driver having his first race in a car new to him). No one suffered any major problems during qualifying which would render them none starters however Nick Overall withdrew from the race after qualifying due to not feeling well, (although his car was fine). So with the top 7 runners covered by 1.860 sec, the race as expected to be a close one! Grid Row 1 - Richard Eyre (Ralt RT 1) 56.675sec / Peter Williams (March 761) 55.696sec.* Pole Position Row 2 - Jeremy Smith (March 782) 57.101sec / Michael Schryver (Lola T332C) 56.722sec Row 3 - Neil Glover (Lola T332) 57.542sec / Mark Dwyer (Lola T400) 57.323sec Row 4 - Lee Dwyer (March 742) 58.809sec / Frank Lyons (Lola T400) 57.556sec Row 5 - John Monson (Lola T332) 1:00.203sec / David Wild (March 712) 59.892sec Row 6 - Simon Perkins (March 71BM) 1:01.967sec / Bruce Fullerton (Lola T300) 1:01.242sec Row 7 - Greg. Thornton (Titan Mk10) 1:02.609sec / Garrick Eyre (Ralt RT 1) 1:02.119sec Row 8 - Daryl Taylor (March 78B) 1:02.949sec / Ian Gray (Brabham BT30) 1:02.940sec Row 9 - Peter Denham (Reynard SF78) 1:04.209sec / Mike Scott (Martin BM16) 1:03.759sec Row 10 - Neil Bowman (Merlyn Mk21) 1:04.701sec / John Rand (Lola T460) 1:04.453sec Row 11 - Jeremy Wheatley (Surtees TS15) 1:06.496sec / Lincoln Small (Brabham BT30) 1:05.998sec Row 12 - Judy Lyons (Eagle FA74) 1:17.580sec / Nick Overall (Lyncar 001) 1:07.437sec N/S So it was that the scene was set for the final HSCC "DUO" Derek Bell Trophy Series race of 2007. Race (15 Minutes Duration) So with Nick's withdrawal we had a 23 car grid which was formed up in the pit-lane as the 15:00 start time neared. The cars made their way around to the starting grid for the short wait before setting off behind the pace car for the rolling start. At 15:02 the pace car pulled into the pit lane and Peter Williams led the field up to the line, the lights went off and the howling pack roared for Copse, Peter Williams kept his DFV powered F1 car ahead to lead through Copse ahead of Richard Eyre 2nd, Jeremy Smith 3rd and Mark Dwyer 4th. By the time the field arrived at Brooklands, Mark Dwyer was up to 3rd with Michael Schryver challenging for a top 4 spot but at Luffield Michael spun and dropped many places down the leader board as the pack streamed past. As the cars crossed the line to end lap 1 it was Peter Williams leading from Mark Dwyer 2nd who had taken Richard Eyre (now 3rd), Neil Glover was up to 4th place, Jeremy Smith 5th, Frank Lyons 6th, John Monson 7th, David Wild 8th, Garrick Eyre 9th and the rest. By the end of lap 2 Peter Williams was beginning to build a gap between himself and Mark Dwyer in 2nd with all places up to 7th unchanged but up into 8th was Lee Dwyer ahead of Bruce Fullerton in 9th place and David Wild in 10th whilst Michael Schryver who was setting about regaining places lost on lap 1 was back up to 12th place. By the end of lap 3 Lee Dwyer was up to 7th place and Michael Schryver was 10th whilst Peter Williams continued to stamp his authority on the lead. Lap 4 saw Frank Lyons depose Jeremy Smith's F2 March for 5th place whilst Michael Schryver moved up to 8th place. Lap 5 saw Peter Williams continue to lead with Mark Dwyer 2nd, Richard Eyre 3rd but then came a close group comprising Neil Glover 4th, Frank Lyons 5th and Jeremy Smith 6th! Lap 5 also saw the end of Mike Scott's race as he retired his Martin to the pits. Lap 6 saw Michael Schryver move up past Lee Dwyer for 7th place whilst further back Garrick Eyre moved up to 12th by over taking Simon Perkins. On lap 8 Simon Perkins retook Garrick Eyre for 12th place whilst 1 lap later Garrick became victim of Ian Gray as Ian moved up to 13th place. On lap 9 we lost Neil Bowman, Jeremy Wheatley and Greg Thornton all through various mechanical difficulties, but up front Peter Williams was reeling off the laps to victory from Mark Dwyer in 2nd whilst the F5000 and F2 drivers fighting over 3rd to 6th were gradually loosing touch with the leading two. On lap 13 Richard Eyre came through in 6th place with a misfire having lost out to Neil Glover (now 3rd), Frank Lyons (now 4th) and Jeremy Smith (now 5th), but sadly Richard did not complete lap 14 as his Ralt ran out of fuel out on the circuit before reaching the pits. On lap 15 Frank Lyons out ran Neil Glover through Woodcote to finally got ahead of Neil who he had stalked for some laps to take 3rd place, however when they reached Maggots, as Frank braked he spun on oil and Neil was back past him! Jeremy Smith and Michael Schryver also benefited from Frank's spin as they too got through before Frank set off again. So it was that after 16 laps of fast racing the flag came out for Peter Williams (March 761) to take victory ahead of Mark Dwyer (Lola T400) 2nd, Neil Glover (Lola T332) 3rd, Jeremy Smith (March 782) 4th, Michael Schryver (Lola T332C) 5th, Frank Lyons (Lola T400) 6th, Lee Dwyer (March 742) 7th, John Monson (Lola T332) 8th, Simon Perkins (March 71BM) 9th having taken the place in the closing stages of the race from Bruce Fullerton (Lola T300) who rounded out the top 10. Peter Williams took the Class A2 victory with his win in his March 761, Bruce Fullerton took the Class B1 victory with his 10th place in his Lola T300, Neil Glover took the Class B2 victory in his Lola T332 with his 3rd place, Simon Perkins took the Class C1 victory in his March 71BM with his 9th place, Jeremy Smith took the Class C2 victory in his March 782 with his 4th place, David Wild took the Class D1victory in his March 712 with his 11th place, Daryl Taylor took the Class D2 victory in his March 78B with his 14th place, Peter Denham took the Invitation Class (E) in his Reynard SF78 with 16th place. Peter Williams also posted the fastest race lap in his March 761F1 car with a time of 56.700sec (104.06mph) on lap 6 of the race. So ended the last Derek Bell Trophy Race of the 2007 season, a season which has produced fast exciting racing from an ever growing field of fast powerful single seater racing cars which evoke memories of the "Shellsport Group 8 Championship" of 1976 & 1977 when F1, F5000, F2 and F Atlantic cars raced together in the UK's pemier national single seater championship. Derek Bell Trophy Race Results - 16 Laps (15 Minutes Duration) 1 Peter Williams March 761 DFV(F1) 15:27.178sec 101.82mph 2 Mark Dwyer Lola T400 Chev.(F5000) 15:33.033sec 101.18mph 3 Neil Glover Lola T330 / 332 Chev.(F5000) 15:42.552sec 100.15mph 4 Jeremy Smith March 782.(F2) 15:43.403sec 100.06mph 5 Michael Schryver Lola T332C Chev.(F5000) 15:44.752sec 99.92mph 6 Frank Lyons Lola T400 Chev.(F5000) 15:53.756sec 98.98mph 7 Lee Dwyer March 742 BMW(F2) 16:03.816sec 97.95mph 8 John Monson Lola T332 Chev.(F5000) 16:29.786sec 95.38mph 9 Simon Perkins March 71BM BDA (F2) 15:34.098sec(15 laps) 94.74mph 10 Bruce Fullerton Lola T300 Chev.(F5000) 15:34.573sec(15 laps) 94.70mph 11 David Wild March 712 BDA(F Atlantic) 15:35.049sec(15 laps) 94.65mph 12 Ian Gray Brabham BT30 BDA(F2) 15:48.613sec(15 laps) 93.29mph 13 Garrick Eyre Ralt RT 1 BMW(F2) 15:54.865sec(15 laps) 92.68mph 14 Daryl Taylor March 78B BDA(F Atlantic) 16:04.084sec(15 laps) 91.80mph 15 Lincoln Small Brabham BT30FVA(F2) 15:29.828sec(14 laps) 88.83mph 16 Peter Denham Reynard SF78 Pinto(FF2000) 15:30.779sec(14 laps) 88.74mph 17 John Rand Lola T460 BDA(F Atlantic) 15:30.807sec(14 laps) 88.74mph 18 Judy Lyons Eagle FA074 Chev.(F5000) 15:58.174sec(12 laps) 73.89mph - Next stop: See you in 2008. Ian Woodhouse on behalf of The HSCC Derek Bell Trophy sponsored by "DUO" (incorporating the F5000 Drivers Association). Index of Pictures (Courtesy of PAJ Photography). 1. Peter Williams March 761 DFV (No. 10) on his way to victory in the last Derek Bell Trophy Series Race of 2007. Peter put in a dominant performance in the race, leading from lights to flag and taking the fastest race lap on his way. |
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