MINI CHALLENGE
DONINGTON PARK GP - 19-20TH SEPTEMBER 2015
All words and photos David Young & MINI Challenge
These two rounds were supposed
to be a Saturday one day event on the Silverstone National circuit.
Unfortunately MSVR got bumped by Silverstone so we ended up going to Donington for a two-day event. Luckily the GP circuit
would be in use, and this is so much better for photos than the National Circuit. Fogarty
Esses, Melbourne Hairpin and Goddards all come into play. Missing out the two-wheel Roberts Chicane.
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| Sibling Rivalry between Charlie and Vicky |
On with the race
programme. Saturday afternoon was when
the MINI Challenge started with the Coopers qualifying at 2.30 and the
Gen3s/R56 JCWs qualifying at 5.10. Followed by the Cooper Race at 6.40. Getting
closer to my bed time!
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| Coopers start Race 1 |
Cooper qualifying was up to
its usual standard with Simon Walton in the Rob Sims-run car, followed by Nathan
Harrison in the Coastal Racing car and Ricky Page in the Sussex Road and
Race car. Somebody forgot to tell
Ricky that as well as losing his result at Oulton Park he was also demoted to
the back of the grid for the next race!
A bit severe I think but rules are rules.
The JCWs, we can now call
them all that as MINI has launched the
JCW F56, qualifying had Charlie
Butler-Henderson giving a masterclass in how to drive a well setup (by
Oakfield Motorsport) F56, with William Phillips (Excelr8) and the out-of-luck
Rob Smith (Excelr8) in the next two slots.
The R56s had Neil Newstead on Pole, (quicker than Vicki Butler-Henderson
F56!), followed by Hamish Brandon (InMini) and Kevin O’Connor (Privateer). Kevin has just bought a new F56 JCW to race next
season, he now has a pre-66 Appendix K Mini Cooper S as well as an R56 and a F56 JCW. I
guess he likes Minis.
The light was dropping so up
went the ISO to 1600 on the camera. I wanted to catch the start of the first two
races so I had to stand at the Redgate Bend.
Great at mid-day but next to useless in the morning sun or the evening
shadow. By the time the cars started the sun had actually gone down so I did
struggle a bit, Louise had the good bits around Goddards and the Melbourne
Hairpin as she needed to get back for the podium photos.
Nathan Harrison was the star
of the race alongside Simon Walton who, on pole, decided to let Nathan go and
avoid the tussle at Redgate only to get involved in a tangle at the Craner
Curves, this saw the end of his race. Henry Neal was showing great pace and got
up to 3rd place and so was Mark Wakefield who was carving his way
from 9th to 4th. Ricky Page was on fire from the back row
too. Henry Neal outbarked himself at the Old Hairpin and that let Max Bladon,
Martin Poole and Mark Wakefield through and that was how they finished. Off to
the podium and where is my flashgun?
So we had sunset for the
Coopers and now sun-up and early morning mist for the JCWs to race at 10.30.
There was a low hanging mist over the starting line and the sun was very low. So the starting shots were going to be a bit
difficult. Thank you Lightroom and dehaze!
If you do not understand that, it is a new feature of Lightroom that
saves about four keystrokes to improve a picture. In-Camera settings can’t handle
shooting into light!
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| Ryan Rhode not avoiding Bence Balogh as he spins! |
The lights went out and off
shot Charlie Butler–Henderson, he was a class act all on his own. He actually
finished 2.5 seconds clear of 2nd place Jack Mitchell in the
PowerMaxed car (as a guest driver) - at one stage his lead over David Grady,
then in second place, was four seconds! Mitchell grabbed second place by a
very smart move on David Grady by darting inside at the Melbourne Hairpin. Jack
Mitchell is a former Ginetta Junior Champion so he had a few tricks up his
sleeve. In the R56 race Hamish was able
to hold off Neil Newstead who had another of his slow starts. A bit of a problem is in his mind (I
think). Too much throttle and you just
get wheel spin, too little and you bog down.
Hamish just plants the throttle and goes! Still it helps to keep the
championship alive (just). It was time to let Jason Jeffries get his first
podium with a solid 3rd place, Kevin O’Connor suffering yet another
engine issue.
The second and last Cooper
race was at the respectful time of 1.30.
Nathan Harrison with sight of the overall champion was a bundle of nerves,
the reverse grid draw had Henry Neal on pole alongside Mark Wakefield. Max Bladon and Martin Poole were next up.
Nathan Harrison drove a superb race staying in front for the whole race despite
pressure from others. Ricky Page found form at last and finished 3rd
behind Mark Wakefield. What a brilliant
race to watch. I have said it before: "Great" and I will say it again, the Coopers
are great on their own. The cars may be 10 years old but offer superb value for
money in club motorsport with the backing of the MINI Challenge and MINI.
Penultimate race of the day
at 4.30 was the JCWs turn. The reverse
grid had Lee Pattison on pole and Championship leader David Grady next to him,
Jack Mitchel and Charlie (Big Brother) Butler-Henderson on P4. Lee made a great
start, David Grady bogged down and Charlie shot straight into P2 behind Lee.
Lawrence Davey had an issue with only his rear brakes working and spun into
Jack Mitchell and Charlie B-H, Jack went off but Charlie took it as a boost!
David Grady and William Phillips were having a right old ding-dong that allowed
Lee and Charlie to go it alone. Charlie
doing a brave move on Lee at the Old Hairpin to get the lead. Charlie came home
with two wins out of two and pole. The R56s had Neil getting a good solid getaway and left Hamish
behind, Scott Adam coming home 3rd but Alan Taylor (Sussex Road
& Race) was awarded the place as Adam is not in the Championship.
On we go to the last three races
at Snetterton at the end of October start of November. Clocks will have gone back so I may get more
light!
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