CSCC Co-ordSport Thruxton Report
The ultra fast Hampshire circuit of Thruxton was the setting for the penultimate round of the 2019 CSCC Co-ordSport Tin Tops Series season. With sunny weather and a near capacity grid, it looked like we would have the usual close racing that the Tin Tops Series provides, and those present were not disappointed.
A stunning pole position lap by Danny Cassar saw the Honda Integra sitting on pole for the start of the 40 minute race, however an excellent start by the first 2 rows of the grid lead to a 4 wide race heading into the first corner, and it was the now dated Proton father and son pairing Richard & Richard Jason Field that took the lead. However, a very gutsy move by Martin Addison through the super fast “Church Corner” saw the little Peugeot 106 take the lead heading onto the back straight towards the chicane, with the lime green Clio of on form drivers Ryan Colvey and James Banks not far behind, chasing hard.
Behind, Paul Boulton and Terry Upton were both making good progress up through the pack in their near identical Fiesta ST’s, on the 6th lap mechanical failure for the Renault Clio of Justin Holloway resulted in an unsighted Thomas Horton making heavy contact with the rapidly slowing Clio, putting both cats out on the spot and causing the safety car to be scrambled as the cars were deemed to be in an unsafe position.
As a result of the safety car period a number of cars headed for the pit lane for their compulsory pit stops, only to find the end of pit lane closed as they had to wait for the safety car to pass before being able to rejoin the track, unfortunately losing a considerable amount of time.
The early front running cars of Ainge/Cassar and Colvey/Banks retired from the race with mechanical issues and Addison in the Peugeot dropped down the order because of the success penalties he has incurred from his previous 2 race wins. One car that made steady progress and had benefitted from a well timed pit stop was the Honda Integra of Thruxton circuit marshal Jonathan Dee and the ever smiling Andy Wheatley in the class E Peugeot 106.
As we moved into the final stages of the thrilling race, Paul Boulton had moved into 5th position, a second behind Andy Wheatley, who was only a short distance behind Robert Jarman’s Clio.
Driving a clean and progressive race was the pairing of Ridgeon and Reynolds who were up to 2nd overall but it was Jonathon Dee in the class D Honda Integra DC2 who drove faultlessly throughout and took a very well deserved race win.
