Thruxton – 9/10th July 2022 Race Report, Images and Results

Posted on: July 15th 2022 • Posted in: Race Results

Rounds 10 & 11 – Thruxton

After a thrilling triple-header in the sunshine at Snetterton, the championship moved back across the country to a circuit we hadn’t visited for a season or two – Thruxton! This high-speed arena was certainly going to shake up the order, exposing the strengths and weaknesses of certain chassis over others – the Van Diemens in particular were tipped to do well around here. The weather had very much come with us too – it was due to be over 30 degrees celsius on each day of the event, so drivers and teams would have to do their best to keep their cool and stay hydrated.

Qualifying

The only Qualifying session of the weekend saw a familiar name back at the top – off the back of fixing the tiny electrical gremlins at Snetterton, Michael Gibbins was flying once again. He set a time of 1:15.292 after 6 laps to take provisional pole position. He had to wait for quite a while for it to be set in stone though, as a number of drivers inside the Top 10 set their best times more than 3 circulations later, completing up to 15 laps!

Josh Law would be joining him on the front row, albeit almost half a second back. The championship leader wouldn’t be too worried though, with his comfortable margin at the top of the table. Colin Peach set a great time right near the end of the session putting himself 3rd, with Richard Johnson up there near the front as ever. Tom Stoten would be 5th on row 3 with David Houghton joining him, while James Barwell, Paul Trayhurn, Nick Bates and Grant Gibson would complete the Top 10.

Trevor Welsh would set his best time right at the end to take pole position in the Pintos, but was only a few tenths clear of Nick Hyett, who made it an all-Lola front row. Peter Needham would start from 3rd – another Van Diemen doing well at Thruxton – ahead of Chris Snowdon and Mike Fry, who completed the Top 5. Charlie Hyett was next ahead of Nick Johnson, with Andreas Floth, Mike Dodd and Jon Harmer completing the field. The latter definitely being one to watch for when it came to the races.

Race 1

Unfortunately, due to a large spillage and resulting clean-up operation in races prior, the start would have to take place behind the safety car, eating into a shortened race time of 15 minutes. It was a frustrating scenario, but one that came about in the interests of safety for everyone involved.

Michael Gibbins left it right until the last moment to bolt away once the safety car came in, but it was a clean start, and he opened up a small gap to Josh Law. Behind them, Johnson moved ahead of Peach almost instantly, while more jostling went on further down. Peach would soon have a train of cars trying to get by – Stoten, Houghton and Barwell all line astern. It wouldn’t last long though, as the latter would spin the car at Church after seemingly catching the grass on the outside – a scary place to lose the car. He managed to carry on, but of course further down the order.

Peter Brouwer was on the infield all of a sudden, after an incident down at the final chicane. Tim Tudor had issues too, pulling into the pit lane, but both would continue on, unlike Josh Needham, who slowed to a halt after another problem with his Van Diemen. At this point there were only five minutes of the race left, so everyone needed to get a move on if they were to score good points.

The Pinto battles were raging in with Nick Hyett leading the lot. Trevor Welsh and Peter Needham were running 2nd and 3rd with some good daylight around them, while Chris Snowdon and Jon Harmer kept swapping positions as they made their way through some of the Duratec B field.

Colin Peach – who is usually an instructor at Thruxton – was going well at the circuit he knows like the back of his hand. Combine that with the proven pace of the Van Diemens around the circuit and the guys at the front had to keep their wits about them – Richard Johnson having to keep him at bay for the majority of the race.

Andrew Butler came to strife on the exit of Church, leaving bodywork in the middle of the road, but everyone was savvy enough to steer clear, even at one of the fastest points on the circuit. John Owen had also dropped down the order on the same lap. Jon Harmer had continued to move forwards in the Pintos as he so often does, overtaking Trevor Welsh for 3rd place as they began the final lap.

Almost an entire lap clear though, Michael Gibbins completed a textbook drive to take his second win of the season from Josh Law and Richard Johnson. Colin Peach and Tom Stoten round out the Top 5, followed by David Houghton, Grant Gibson, Nick Bates, Steve Ough and Andy Chittenden.

It wasn’t over until the very end though, as the lead battle in the Historics was only decided by 25 thousandths of a second! Jon Harmer sneaking down the inside of Nick Hyett to the line and securing a win from the back of the class grid – an excellent performance. Nick held on to 2nd place, just ahead of Trevor Welsh, with Peter Needham, Chris Snowdon, Charlie Hyett, Mike Fry, Mike Dodd, Nicholas Johnson, and Andreas Floth completing the 10-car field.

Race 2

After a red hot day on Saturday that really tested drivers and teams’ resolve, it was time for another one – Sunday was just as toasty with conditions proving tough on tyres, especially at a circuit that’s known for being more abrasive than most others on a normal day. The grid adopted Saturday’s Race 1 result, so Michael Gibbins and Josh Law would fill up the front row, ahead of Richard Johnson and Colin Peach.

In the Historics, Jon Harmer would start from the front this time – after starting last in the race prior – alongside Nick Hyett (quite literally as they finished Race 1). Trevor Welsh and Peter Needham would be on hand to pick up any pieces from the second row, after both enjoying strong results the day before.

A great start for Josh Law would see him take the lead almost instantly around the outside of Michael Gibbins, while Colin Peach and David Houghton engaged in battle heading into the complex. Tim Tudor was making great early progress, carving his way past at least six cars before the field arrived at Church corner.

Peter Needham had started well in the Pintos, taking 2nd place away from Nick Hyett, but was working hard to keep both the Lolas at bay – the second of which being driven by Trevor Welsh. Even he wasn’t in the clear though, as Chris Snowdon was right on his tail. All of the historics looking excellent as they flew around at top speed, almost flat for the entire lap! Unfortunately though, we’d be down one soon, as Nicholas Johnson pulled into the pits to retire.

Out of final chicane, Law would have a big moment, kicking the rear end out and being overtaken for the lead by Gibbins, who didn’t need a second invitation. Josh managed to hold 2nd place though ahead of Johnson, who had a bit of daylight between himself and the battle behind between Houghton and Peach.

At the end of the second lap though, Peach would find himself sideways across the circuit at the chicane after contact. He would now have a mountain to climb if he was to repeat the sort of result he scored on Saturday. Over the horizon, Gibbins continued to extend his lead over Josh Law after the mistake from the championship leader.

The battles had erupted further in the Historics with seven cars absolutely glued to each other into the complex in the battle for 2nd place. Nick Hyett was now ahead of Peter Needham, with Chris Snowdon and Charlie Hyett continuously swapping around, with a tiny bit of contact at one point, but nothing untoward. Trevor Welsh had a front row seat but couldn’t catch a minute’s rest as he also had Mike Dodd and Mike Fry behind him.

After starting a bit further down than he did on Saturday, Peter Brouwer was making impressive progress through the Duratec pack, moving ahead of Andy Chittenden for 8th place. There was big drama at this point though as Michael Gibbins suddenly pulled into the pit lane and retired from the race. After an incredible performance in Race 1, it had unfortunately become quite the opposite for the Sunday.

More drivers would soon fall by the wayside – James Barwell having damage to the front left corner of his MCR S2n after contact with someone or something, and Roger Donnan having a fire break out under the bodywork of his car. It seemed the heat was starting to get to the cars, but in some cases, the drivers as well. There were a host of spinners on the following lap, including Andrew Butler and John Owen – the latter trying to get his car to the end after the damage it sustained in the first race.

Josh Law’s lead had very suddenly come down too – Richard Johnson was looking potent and ready to pounce for the race lead as we were well into the second half of the race. It had been a long time since winning the very first race of the season at Donington Park, so he was more than eager, however, much to Josh Law’s relief, the Safety Car was called so that marshals could attend to Roger’s car.

It just so happened that the Safety Car picked up Jon Harmer, the Historics class leader, so he didn’t gain a lap on the rest of the field originally, but he was waved through so that Josh Law was at the front of the train. This all but decided the Historics race, but the battles behind were certainly not over. Nick Hyett would have to hold on for two more laps ahead of Peter Needham and his brother Charlie Hyett.

Jow Law and Richard Johnson began to disappear over the horizon, with the gap between the two growing corner-by-corner, with the former eventually taking his 8th win of the season. Tom Stoten grabbed a podium, crossing the line in 3rd position, while David Houghton was 4th, after carving his way past the Pinto traffic in the final laps. The remarkable Colin Peach was 5th after he’d put in one hell of a drive to recover from being turned around on Lap 2!

Nick Bates came home in 6th for some strong championship points ahead of Peter Brouwer, Steve Ough, Andy Chittenden and Clive Hayes, who also had a great drive after starting further back in the pack.

Jon Harmer took another impressive win in his Tiga with Nick Hyett and Peter Needham completing the Historics podium. Charlie Hyett was next up ahead of Trevor Welsh and Mike Dodd, but a number of retirements over the course of the race really depleted the Pinto field. Mike Fry, Andreas Floth, Chris Snowdon and Nicholas Johnson all failing to finish.

The championship would move on to a very unique challenge in the form of a single-day Endurance event at Oulton Park. Qualifying and a single 50-minute race in one day was going to be tough, especially as the weather forecast was looking to be even hotter than Thruxton!

Josh Law heads there with the potential of wrapping up the 2022 Championship, but be sure that a number of drivers would put in their very best to try and stop him. The Historics championship is still wide open and all it can take is one good or bad result to really shake things up.
Many thanks to Chaz Draycott for these reports.

Results are available via the Results Page. Here