Schumacher BTCC Round 2 Report
Yateley played host to the second round of the Schumacher BTCC championship this weekend with a strong turnout of drivers across all classes. This was Yateley’s debut on the national scene and a very warm welcome was received by everyone attending.
With a warm day awaiting the drivers on Saturday it was clear that every one needed to do a fair few laps to find the best line and consistency around this tight and technical track. With some drivers recording over 300 laps on the timing equipment throughout the day there would be no excuses for not knowing the line on Sunday. Local knowledge seemed to play a part in 27t with Ashley Finch driving a Serpent looking quick in practice. In 19t/Brushless the pace setters seemed to be Andrew Twigger and Leon Morrell both running the Schumacher Mi3, with the pack hot on their heals only tenths of a second behind by the end of the day. In Modified James Hart set the pace with Chris Kerswell’s Corally doing a better impression of an aircraft than a car through the chicanes. A lot of work needed on his part before qualifying started.
Onto Sunday and the competitors were greeted with a dry track and a quick practice session then onto the drivers briefing by Ian Finch and Schumacher’s Tim Walden and Mark Musgrove. Lipo sacks are compulsory at Yateley so this was again reiterated at the drivers briefing so that everybody was aware.
27t Brushed
Into the first round and the 27t Brushed class was up first. In the first round, championship leader Sean Guy driving a Schumacher MI3 was languishing down in 5th position. At the top it was local star Graham Staples more than 3 seconds quicker than Mathew Tuplin. only these two where the only drivers achieving 18 laps in the first round. Third was Shaun Hewitt closely followed by Adrian Webb and Sean (championship leader) Guy. Further down the top 10 and Wayne Shaw slotted into 6th followed by Rob Long, Chris Graco and Jamie Guy. Rounding out the top ten was Kris Kennedy with a strong first run around this new track. Into the second round and 
FTD was taken by Mathew Tuplin improving his time by 5 seconds with his Schumacher MI3. The third and final round was another great session with Graham Staples once again taking over at the top of the time sheets and braking into the 19 lap along with Mathew Tuplin missing out on TQ by one second. Third was the ever improving Rob Long who was a second ahead of Shaun Hewitt. A tenth further back was Adrian Webb. Who said this class wasn’t close. Sean Guy was right on the pace in this run with minor mistakes masking his true pace so he lined up 6th on the grid for the finals. Wayne Shaw slotted into 7th with Jamie Guy in 8th. Chris Graco and James Matthews rounding out the top 10. Unluckiest man in this class being Kris Kennedy who achieved pole in the B Final
27T Brushless
The faster of the two 27t classes was dominated by local hero Ashley Finch. Taking FTD by 11 seconds from Simon Collier. Scott Carter just missed out on a 19 lapper by .7 of a second and lined up third for the A Final. Barry Staples and Tim Walden from Schumacher were fourth and fifth respectively. Matt Haskell and Keith Carter are next up closely followed by Stephen Debbage and Mark Goodman securing an A Final position and last on the grid for the A Final being Roy Crowson. Special mention for one of the youngest competitors at the meeting Chloe Anderson who improved in every round and seemed to be really enjoying herself throughout weekend watch out all the A Final drivers she’s hot on your heels .
19T Brushless
The most popular and competitive class in the series at the present time was fiercely contested throughout qualifying. The fastest car on the track was a surprised Dewi Jones with his Schumacher/Core RC package lapping at the same pace as the modified runners unfortunately he could not sustain this for 5 minutes and lined up fifth on the grid. Pole man and Mr consistent Dominic Carter also with a Schumacher MI3. Second place Rob West was ruing a costly mistake in the last qualifying session that cost him a pole position and the all important advantage into the first corner. Third was Liam Brookes with Andrew Twigger in fourth. Fifth and six was Dewi Jones and Mark Musgrove with Leon Morrell and Jason Butterfield next up. Gavin Clinch spoilt the Schumacher party lining up in 9th position with his Cyclone but with odds heavily stacked against him with the rest of the top ten being filled with Schumacher’s. So 9 Mi3's showing once again how competitive they are at different race tracks!! Lining up for his debut A Final in the BTCC Sam Clifton had nothing to lose from the back watch out for a surprise from him in the finals. BQ man in this class was Adam Mackman. Very unlucky for him as he was on Pole two weeks ago at Stafford. TQ to BQ better luck next time mate!
Modified
With only five entries for this class the quantity was lacking but definitely not the quality. British 19t Champion Chris Kerswell. BTCC champion Jonathan Dronfield and James Hart all contested TQ. Through the first two rounds Jonathan Dronfield dominated. Which was a surprise considering his pace on the Saturday which was mediocre. However the offer of help from James over dinner on Saturday seemed to have inspired Jonny who looked a new racer on Sunday. At the end of Qualifying it was the Corally of Chris Kerswell who took TQ from the Schumacher’s of James Hart and Jonny Dronfield. Fabien Knight and Steve Davis rounded out the top five.
Finals
27t Brushed
In the B Final Kris Kennedy won the race for the first place with a first and a second from George Little and Matthew Little in third.
A close pair of finals brought a good second final for Jamie Guy with him finishing in second place. His dad Sean however struggled with a loose pinion in the first final but a full run in the second race made up for his disappointment. At the top their was only one man to talk about and that was Schumacher’s Matthew Tuplin who took a dominant victory in both finals well done there Matt! After the two dominant final performances Matthew now leads the championship from Adrian and Sean.
27T Brushless
Only two people in the B final for this class. Which was won by Ken Bean from Chloe Anderson who won the first final and second in the second final.
In the A final there was only one person who dominated this class and that was Ashley Finch who seems to be a name to watch out for in the future. Second place was Scott Carter from Simon Collier. In the championship Scott Carter leads from Schumacher’s Tim Walden and third is Roy Crowson.
19T Brushless
Dominic Carter converted pole position into victory over the two legs that were marred by incidents down the field. However Dom stayed out of trouble and confidently controlled the pace of the races to just do enough to get the win. Second place went to Andrew Twigger with a first and a second but Dom won with his pole position on the count back. Third place went to Mark Musgrove with two consistent finishes.
Modified
A very close field here with three drivers ending up with the same scores. Chris took the win on count back with James second and Jonathan third.
What a great success Yateley’s first national event was. At the presentation ceremony it was obvious what this meant to club chairman Ian Finch who looked a very proud man and he should have every right to be. So then all the trophies were presented to the deserved winners, and after this came the regular Schumacher BTCC raffle, with once again over £300 worth of prizes up for grabs, with the top prize being a 4 channel helicopter followed by a Core RC charger and Lipo battery and various other prizes, for those of you that aren't already aware, a final is drawn at random then a car number, so whoever corresponds to that position wins a prize!! I would like to take this opportunity to thank the club and all its members that helped. Also congratulations to all the winners.
Round 3 takes place at West London on the 18th May. Book in at www.centralbooking.org and remember online booking in closes 7 days prior to the event, so please get your entry’s in soon.
Dewi Jones
