It’s usually close racing in 2CV’s and last weekend’s opening rounds at Silverstone proved to be no exception. Brian Heerey and Andrew Bull came away as the race victors, but it was action all the way.
Martin Riman headed for the pitlane on the green flag lap in race one, with carburettor issues on the Classic 41 Factory Racing car. So it was 16 cars that took the start, with Nick Crispin leading into Abbey, before poleman Kris Tovey’s
snatched the advantage into Stowe. While Tovey led through the opening lap, Crispin dropped to fourth, as Brian Heerey and Seb Jones-White came out of Club side by side for second.
By the end of lap two it was an eight-car train for the lead, with Tovey heading Jones-White, Heerey, Crispin, Andrew Bull, Ethan Sparrow, Julie Walford, and Chris Yates. A lap later it was down to five, with Crispin nosing ahead out of the Vale, with just inches to spare over Jones-White and Heerey, as Tovey slipped back to fifth behind Bull.
As the lead quintet continued to ease clear, Crispin and Heerey vied for the lead again, with constant swaps and
changes. Behind them Walford, Sparrow and Yates were running solo, before Simon Turner led the next group for ninth. It was Crispin ahead down the Hangar Straight on lap five, but he ran wide on the outside at Stowe, with Heerey, Tovey, and Bull all through before he recovered in fourth, with Jones-White losing ground too.
“Kris and Brian went down the inside, so I went outside and it didn’t work well, but I kept my foot in and gained some ground back,” Crispin explained.
Tovey got the drag again to lead into Stowe a lap later, as it was Bull’s turn to lose out as he was forced wide. Over the line it was Tovey, from Heerey, Crispin, Jones-White and Bull and Sparrow had retaken Walford for sixth too, after earlier contact with Yates. Although the lead pair continued to swap, it was Heerey that finally got the break, with enough of a lead into
Stowe for the seventh lap to avoid losing out in the slipstream.
Over the final two laps Heerey managed to hold on to take the win by 0.204 secs over Tovey.
“That was hard work and you had to lead onto the Vale to try and keep the lead. They kept getting me back in the tow, then I
broke it and it made all the difference,” said Heerey.
Tovey retained second, despite Crispin closing, “good fun, I felt strong into Stowe, more grip and carried more speed in, so even the tow was no real advantage,” Tovey added.
Both Jones-White and Bull lost ground late on. “I had a bump with Bully under braking, my miscalculation, as I was lining up for a move on third place,” said Jones-White.
“Quite a bit of contact, I was briefly third and almost second, but lost ground when Seb put me off at the Vale,” Bull replied.
Sparrow completed the top six, from Walford, while Robert Dawson clinched eighth on the last lap, after losing out at the start. “That was a great last lap,” said Dawson, despite being challenged by Simon Turner as he took the flag.
Sam Archer almost caught Turner on the line too, while behind them Matthew Hollis ousted Martin Sunderland for 11 th on the last lap, as Matthew Arrowsmith-Brown, Colin Etchells and John Widdowson completed the finishers, after Yates pitted a lap from home.
RACE 2
With poleman Jones-White bogged down at the start, Crispin darted through from row two to lead into Abbey, from Heerey, Dawson and Bull. Jones-White soon recovered and was into fourth at Chapel, while at the back Steve Walford was making
ground after an early excursion.
There was little to split Crispin and Heerey as they completed the first lap, while third placed Bull had some daylight as Jones-White and Sparrow led the chase with Dawson losing ground.
Behind the top six Glen Oswin was on his own, until Turner began to close after taking Yates into Village on lap two, followed by Richard Hollis. But the top four had made a break, with Sparrow doing his best to hold on. Heerey made his move for the lead down the inside into Abbey on lap three, but Bull joined them to make it three abreast into Village, before Bull led onto the link, which allowed Sparrow to join in again too, as he latched onto fourth placed Jones-White.
The battle at the front then allowed Dawson to close and make it six, but it was Heerey that crossed the line back ahead after four laps, from Sparrow, Bull and Jones-White, with Crispin down to fifth. Bull was ahead again into Abbey, as it was all change once more. Sparrow was back to sixth in a dual with Dawson and Crispin was third again, poised to challenge Bull and Heerey.
Bull and Heerey continued to swap and there was no sign of a break in the top six. Crispin led out of Club on lap six after Bull had succumbed to the pressure, but it was Heerey the closest challenger again.
Onto the penultimate lap Crispin finally appeared to have broken the tow, but it was any one from five for second place, with Bull and Jones-White running excessively wide out of Chapel. With the chequered flag approaching Crispin’s lead was erased and through Abbey for the final time it Heerey, Crispin and Jones-White side by side as they arrived at Village. But Heerey tagged Crispin, Bull snatched the lead as Crispin recovered, but both Heerey and Jones-White were off.
Bull and Sparrow escaped with a clear lead, with Bull taking the victory by 0.402 secs. “A good fight, so close and I was just in the right place at the right time. It could have been any one of us on that last lap, but I had been suffering a bit in the slipstream, so I was quite pleased when it kicked off a bit,” said Bull.
“That was amazing, my first ever podium and really hard fought,” Sparrow added. Crispin managed to retain a well-deserved third, despite a late challenge from Dawson, but had lost 1.5 secs off the leaders.
Jones-White and Heerey managed to regain the track after their excursions to complete the top six, with Turner retaking Oswin on the last lap for seventh, after an entertaining dual.
Hollis and Yates completed the top 10, and Archer just managed to hold off Riman for 11 th . Laurence Broadhurst, Sunderland, Walford, Etchells and Widdowson rounded off the finishers.