On the hottest weekend of the year so far, TCM and the BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship returned to Blyton Park, near Gainsborough in Lincolnshire for Round 4 of the series. All of the championships regulars were in attendance - along with Irishman Padraig Leeson in his super quick 2.4 Vauxhall Corsa, and the big winged turbo Mk2 Escort Zakspeed of Scot Wullie Stewart. The team were confident coming into the weekend - having won round 1 at the tight and technical circuit back in March.
After getting practice out of the way early in the session, Todd lined up on pole in heat 1. Leading from the start, he settled into a rhythm, knowing that the faster drivers in the other races had clear runs and that the driver with the fastest outright pace over the 4 lap race was the most likely to take the overall victory in heat 1. The Mini won the race clearly, 28 seconds up on Wullie Stewart and 53 seconds ahead of the Porsche Boxster of Michelle Swallow, taking 2nd overall and the fastest lap of all Supermodified cars in the process.
In Heat 2, Crooks had a back row start, so opted to use his older, slower tyres, in order to preserve his best slicks for later in the day. Despite this, he made a good start, battling his way past the S2000 Corsa of Alan Tapscott, until a driveshaft failure brought his race to a premature end on Lap 2. The team frantically repaired the car ready for heat 3 where a front row start was gifted to him due to some early retirements.
Setting off from pole and with a clear circuit ahead of him, Todd encountered the same issue again on the other side of the car. The drive shaft sheared in the middle which was an issue the team had not encountered before, different to the CV joint issues uncovered at Pembrey, and he was forced to limp back to the bits.
It was a more complicated fix to get the car ready for the B-Final as the breakage had caused parts to get stuck together. Various parts were mis-matched together to ensure the car made the A final. Now sporting two standard parts, rather than the strengthened ones fitted earlier in the day, a less aggressive drive was needed to get the car to the end
It was a more complicated fix to get the car ready for the B-Final as the breakage had caused parts to get stuck together. Various parts were mis-matched together to ensure the car made the A final. Now sporting two standard parts, rather than the strengthened ones fitted earlier in the day, a less aggressive drive was needed to get the car to the end
Off the start, Crooks made his way straight to the second position, with a bit of a gap to the leading Clio of Kenny Hall. This was good enough to guarantee a place in the A final, however, a small mistake from the Scotsman allowed Todd to catch and pass him, after which a lead was maintained and the car nursed home, with the high temperatures starting to affect the engine and the power steering in the car.
Starting from the back row of the A final, Crooks made a gentle start, both to preserve his car and to allow him to pick the best line, picking up 3 places by the first corner, putting him on the tail of fellow MINI driver, Leigh-Anne Sedgewick. The two battled for 2 laps, until Todd made a move up the long start straight, allowing him to slot comfortably into the P4 position. At this stage, without incident, the gap to the leading trio of Fred Ling, Pat Ryan and Padraig Leeson was unassailable, however a puncture dropped the Corsa of Leeson back into and behind Todd, moving him up to 3rd overall, and 1st in the 2101cc+ class, struggling again with intermittent power steering.
“After heat 3 I was not confident we’d even get to the start of any final this weekend, having broken the uprated shafts twice.” said Todd after the podium. “To come from that low point to the high of 3rd overall and 1st in class in the A final is something I’ve not really experienced before. I’m so grateful to the team for getting the car sorted and ready to go for the B Final under huge time pressures.”
“After heat 3 I was not confident we’d even get to the start of any final this weekend, having broken the uprated shafts twice.” said Todd after the podium. “To come from that low point to the high of 3rd overall and 1st in class in the A final is something I’ve not really experienced before. I’m so grateful to the team for getting the car sorted and ready to go for the B Final under huge time pressures.”
The team would like to extend our thanks to the marshalls, organisers at the MDA and the BTRDA, Trev Coulson for the pictures and all our sponsors; Link ECU, ITG Air Filters, Woodford Trailers, Motul, Witham Motorsport, MJ Windscreens, Equip Rasen and Muk Junkie Cleaner.
Our next race event at the Belgian circuit of Duivelsberg, near Maasmechelen as part of the Minicross european tour on Saturday the 3rd and Sunday the 4th of August, followed a week later by the second event at Eurocircuit Valkenswaard, Holland. Until then, keep an eye on our social media for some exciting new video content, and expect some big news to come in the forthcoming weeks.
Our next race event at the Belgian circuit of Duivelsberg, near Maasmechelen as part of the Minicross european tour on Saturday the 3rd and Sunday the 4th of August, followed a week later by the second event at Eurocircuit Valkenswaard, Holland. Until then, keep an eye on our social media for some exciting new video content, and expect some big news to come in the forthcoming weeks.
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