Donington Park 9/10th September

Qualifying

Whilst records show Bright/Dry, conditions were actually wet & slippery!

As the Jaguars moved into the assembly area, it started raining. A liberal coating of bodily fluids from the three preceding qualifying sessions & AVGAS residue emitted the planes taking off from the neighbouring East Midlands Airport made the track extremely hazardous. James Ramm went for his fastest time early on & set pole position on lap 2, whereas Rodney Frost built up to his best time on lap 8, some 2.4 seconds behind. Power could have been a disadvantage but not to the next 4 quickest, Colin Philpott (XJS), Adam Powderham (XJR Supercharged), Guy Connew (XJ6) & Tom Robinson (XJR SC). These were covered by a single second. Alasdair McGregor was again quickest Class B car in his well sorted X300 saloon. Showing no rustiness & plenty of skill. Barclay similarly took Class A honours, despite unfamiliarity with the car, from Michael Holt who was suffering from back spasms. Kevin Dickens managed a 180 degree spin but still qualified class 3^rd. Simon Blunt was hampered by a lack of wipers & Barclay brought the session to an end by the expedient of going off!

Race 2 – Bright/Dry

The start of race 2 for the weekend was fraught as the Coppock V12 XJS lost a hub and wheel running down at high speed to the Old Hairpin. The frightening airborne assembly hit Connew’s Barclay piloted XJS, both cars finishing up in the gravel trap. Following cars scattered everywhere taking avoiding action, but unfortunately, Connew’s XJ6 clipped the rear of Coppock’s car before it departed the scene. This spelt the end of the race for all three, but ‘luckily’ neither of Guy’s cars (and no drivers!) were badly damaged. The resultant safety car was deployed for 5 laps, bunching the pack line astern. The unfortunate Morrant was to pull off yet again with a minor water leak spraying onto his distributor after 7 laps. Philpott passed Howard on lap 7 to try to close on Ramm but failed by 2.1 seconds. In the battle of the Supercharged XJRs, Robinson challenged Powderham, until a misjudgement at the chicane dropped him back. Holt & Blunt continued their race 1 battle, entertaining the spectators, whilst Doyle climbed from 10^th to 4^th in the flame-spitting V12 XJS. Pearce is getting to grips with the development of the XK8 & climbed to a strong 6^th, winning Drive of the Day award in the process.