THUNDER ENDURO ROUND 1 – SILVERSTONE 3rd JULY 2018
NIKEMIKE KEEPS HIS COOL
Nikemikerules scores lights to flag win ~ Bradderstig keeps him honest for second ~ Mega battle for 7th ~ Weebilly completes the podium ~ Good clean racing promises much for the season ahead.
Nikemikerules powered home to a near lights to flag victory in Round 1
Silverstone is known for his cold wet weather, but when the teams rolled up in the Northamptonshire paddock they were blessed with blue skies and very hot weather. 17 cars had made the trip, which was a fantastic turnout for the first round and with the England still in the World Cup. KRR, DMR and DART were down to one car, whilst Alert-It was still having issues and neither BMW’s were race ready. A surprise new entry came from CubsBeat and two raucous sounding Honda Civic’s for Badbeat and Cubs.
​
No Qualifying for the race, but a random grid for round 1, and that put Nikmikerules and CQR Rob on the front row in there Mazda RX7 and Volvo.
Row 2 was Hoppers and the first of the Cerberus Escorts, with RangersRick on row 3 with both Team Chettah Hondas parked up in a line behind him. Poor WeeBilly was back on row 7.
​
CQR Rob made the best start helped by the 4 wheel drive in the Volvo to grab the lead from a very fast starting Rangersrick and Mike, his lead was short lived as he went wide into the first corner and by the second corner Mike had dived inside the Lancia to take the lead. Behind them and all was reasonably calm bar Mad and the insane green Ford Focus that had shot off the line like a scolded cat, passing 8 cars before the first corner. Mikes biggest rivals though were stuck a little in the pack. Mike spent the first lap pulling away and crossed the line 3 seconds to the good, followed by Bradders who had relieved RangersRick of second at the bottom of the Hanger Straight. Rick was running well in the Gulf sponsored car, he didn’t have the pace of the fastest four cars but kept the car clean and was quick though the corners. It took FKart5 another couple of laps to pass him for third, and then WeeBilly followed through a lap later. Billy’s Mercedes looked well planted and he was now homing in on the second Team Cheetah Honda. For the next 3 laps he looked for a way past, before finally managing it at the bottom of the Wellington Straight.
​
Out front and Mike was holding a steady lead of 4 seconds to Bradders, the two equally very equally matched, Bradders determined to force his rival into a mistake. Behind them 10 seconds back was Billy who was slowly edging away from FKart, who in turn was doing the same to Rangersrick. Weebilly was the first to pit on lap 12 and Bradders followed suit straight away, the pair trying to use fresh rubber to close down Mike. Mike, followed suit two laps later and the status quo between the three remained. Although the battle out front wasn’t hugely entertaining for closeness, the controlled driving of the 3 was certainly to be admired. Bradders tried really to force a mistake, and a bar a slight tyre on the grass moment at Becketts on the last lap, Mike was perfect in his driving, NikeMikerules reeled off the remaining laps to win by nearly 5 seconds. Bradders was left to rue the random grid for not giving him the chance to pass, but his fastest lap of the race and a new lap record gives him peace of mind of a pole for next week at Hockenheim and a 5Pi advantage over the Honda.
WeebIlly remained a comfortable third, one slight off waking him from his boredom; he like Bradders was rueing the random grid for not giving him a chance to challenge for the top step. Another running on his own was FKart, who drove a very mature race. Not quite having the pace of the front three and having a few car niggles as well, he settled into fourth place and a solid points haul to start his championship campaign. Just over 10 seconds behind him came RangersRick in the sole Lancia. This was never going to be the best circuit for the car and his lonely run to 5th, never putting a wheel wrong showed how much potential the car has in the twisty circuits later on. 6th went to Devils Lord13, Devils spent the first few laps trying to get the first Cerberus Escort Cosworth through to 6th,
CQR Rob leads the field away, he was robbed of a top 10 finish late on.
and once he did he drove fantastically in a lonely race, and like the KRR Lancia he is looking forward to tracks more friendly to his car.
​
Whilst the top 6 run a part, the battle for 7th was pure magic. CQR Rob was in and around this for the first 22 laps, early on he battled with Celtic Fox and the Dodge Viper. This all went wrong for Celtic on lap 7 who got on the grass on the run down to the first corner, but Rob wasn’t in for a lonely race. Next to challenge him was the second RML Mazda of Robraceruk, and then the second Escort Cosworth of Kinkycowboys. Robracer made his way to the front of the group but became the first to pit, followed by the second Rob and then Kinky. The extra couple of laps helped Kinky and hurt Robracer, Kinky was now challenging the Volvo hard and bringing the Mazda with him. Rob’s early lap pace on the Mazda was impressive and he passed first Kinky and then CQR Rob, but that pace once in front started to peter out and CQR Rob wanted to reclaim the position. Slight contact just before the Wellington Straight slowed them both and Kinkhy pounced on them to lead the group again. This battle of 3 had now become 4, as Major Raver joined the party. Raver had a messy opening few laps of his own making, which lost him time, but a long stint taking him to lap 16 worked well and he rejoined by slashing over half the 8 second gap he had to the group before the stops. With fresher tires he now closed the gap and pounced on further contact between the two Robs on the exit of Becketts to pass the Mazda and latch on to the Volvo. Robraceruk and Major Raver make a habit of battling in other series and were now at it again, Rob out braking the Ferrari through the Vale, Raver overtaking this back across the start line. Rob wasn’t finished, the tyres smoking he out braked Raver at the bottom of the Wellington straight and they went through Luffield side by side, but by Copse that had been reversed again. Becketts though was proving Robracers downfall and another wide moment let Raver through who went after the other Rob in the Volvo. Heartache was about to happen as coming out of Stowe Corner the electrics died on the Stobart sponsored car and CQR Rob was out the race. 22 laps of brilliant driving saw him robbed of top 8 place that he richly deserved. Kinkycowboys held on for 7th free from the squabbling behind, solid points for Cerberus. Raver beat off one last challenge from Robracer for 8th, whilst the top 10 was completed by CelticFox.
It was a difficult race Devilsbogeyman, whilst Mad showed plenty of torque in the Ford
Celtic proved how one bad moment had a big impact on Tuesday, as he had the pace to challenge for at least 6th, but such was the consistency ahead he couldn’t make the time back up. Lap after lap he took half a second out of the battle ahead for 7th place but never able to join in. He will be a force in other rounds. 11th place went to the Cubs1979 on his debut in the Honda Civic. The car was in bits on Monday night in the DART factory, a rebuild and no testing didn’t bode well for the team, but Cubs and whistling Honda made an impression, lap times coming down lap after lap and promising well for later in the season.
​
Driving the teams second new Honda was Badbeat, who found it a bit more of a
struggle, coming home 15th for the last point and in need of some testing time before Germany next week. In 12th place was Mad and his Ford Focus. Another needing testing, as there was no doubting the power of the car out of the slow stuff, although it seemed to be eating tyres. He was competitive time wise at the start of each pair of new boots, with the set up right this Ford will be a real pain to the fast guys at Laguna Seca and Long Beach. Next over the line was Penfold in the sole DMR Hyundai. Again this was another car to have a distinctive sound and Penfold found more confidence as the race went on, he trickled over the line out of fuel, with just enough in the tank to pass the stewards inspections after the race. Penfold pinched the spot off Hoppers on the last lap, when the Lotus got it all wrong and barrel rolled down the old Start line before Copse. It had been a promising debut for the Lotus that run in the top 10 early on, and Hoppers had driven well until his last lap error.
​
Last finisher was Devilsbogeyman in the Subaru. The Autisim Awareness sponsored car looked a real handful and Devils treated the race as a test session. The extra PI and time to work on it should see an improvement for Hockenheim next week.
So although the excitement lacked at the front of the grid, it didn’t further back, and to be fair the superb driving and consistency of those in the top 6 positions, was a credit to the skills of the drivers. A few rued the random grid system for the first round, but that is gone for next week, and the top guys will all be at the front of the grid in Germany.
So Hockenheim next, a few slower corners that will help some of the less powerful cars and the AWD ones, plus the Pi handicap starts to come into effect.
Result After 25 Laps
1. NIKEMIKERULES – Mazda RX7 – 54mins 18.638secs
2. Bradderstig86 – Honda NSX 05 - +4.9seconds
3. WeeBilly 1211 – Mercedes Benz 190E - +21seconds
4. FKart5 – Honda NSX 05 - +40seconds
5. RangersRick – Lancia 037 - +1minute 01seconds
6. Devil Lord 13 – Ford Escort 92 - +1minute 38seconds
7. Kinkycowboys – Ford Escort 92 - +1minute 55seconds
8. Major Raver – Ferrari 288 GTO - +1minute 59seconds
9. Robraceruk – Mazda RX7 - +2minutes
10. CelticFox31 – Dodge Viper - +1 Lap
11. Cubs1979 – Honda Civic 18 - +1 Lap
12. Mad2210 – Ford Focus 17 - +1 Lap
13. Penfold2903 – Veloster Turbo - +1 Lap
14. Hopperswwfc – Lotus Evora – +1 Lap
15. Badbeat75 – Honda Civic Type R - +2 Laps
16. Devilsbogeyman – Subaru WRX 11 - + 3 Laps
17. CQR Rob – Volvo S60 - +3 Laps (DNF)
Bradderstig passes RangersRick for second.
Fastest Lap: Bradderstig 86 2minutes 8.509seconds (NEW LAP RECORD)