The BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship returned to the Knockhill circuit, near Dunfirmline, Fife, on the 20th of October for the first time in 8 years to close off the 2019 season. The circuit was fast and flowing on the tarmac, with the season’s longest straight leading into the feared Duffus Dip, while the loose was rough and slippery with thick mud across the track throughout the day.
Testing on the Saturday gave Todd the opportunity to push hard as soon as he hit the track on Sunday, refining the set up on the car and tyres in the short practice. With a full grid, Todd started on pole for Heat 1, yet struggled off the line compared to the RWD cars. Despite extensive traffic holding up the Mini racer once into the race, he scored 3rd behind the fast starting Lotus Exige of Guy Corner and the ever rapid Pat Ryan’s Nova.
Due to a few issues for other drivers, Heat 2 started as a grid of 3 for Todd’s race. He used that to his advantage to get a completely clear track for 4 laps - setting laps 1.5 seconds faster than his competitors and winning the overall heat by 3 seconds and 50 seconds ahead of the others in his heat race.
Heat 3 went much the same as Heat 2 - a one lap battle with the Cosworth powered Vauxhall Astra of Sam Bovill ended with Todd taking the lead with a clean overtake at Turn 1. The battle did not hold up either driver by much though as again Todd took the overall heat win by 3 seconds.
The 2 heat wins secured a Pole position start for the Supermodifed A final, alongise Corner and Ryan, with Bovill and other championship contender Alan Crockett on the second row. Out launched again by the fast starting rear wheel drive cars, Todd found himself 5th as he entered the loose section.
Passing Bovill in Turn 1 in a repeat of the Heat 3 battle, followed immediately by Alan Crockett in Turn 2, Todd worked his way up the field. A few laps later, having caught the leading pair of Ryan and Corner, a mistake by the Yorkshireman Corner led to contact between Todd’s Mini and the Lotus, damaging both, but resulting in Todd in second place overall in the final and 1st in class. It was unfortunately not enough to secure the championship - a 2 position over fellow Mini driver Leigh-Anne Sedgwick was required to take the class championship, but she drove well to finish 3rd overall, taking the class win.
To round out the season, the organisers of the race put on a Superfinal, inviting the fastest 10 drivers from every class to compete for the overall victory. The damage sustained in the final led to a busy 10 minutes for the team, having just one race between the Supermodified final and the Superfinal. With suspension components replaced and bodywork damage repaired, the team made it to the front row of the grid once more. A race long battle with Sam Bovill ensued, but down on power due to the damage sustained in the final, Todd couldn’t make any pass stick, and again finished second overall.
“I had so much fun this weekend,” said Todd with a smile on his face. “The team and the car were utterly fantastic this week - the guys in the pits turned a damaged car round in record time between Final and Superfinal, and the times we were setting proved that we really can be the fastest out there. To top it all off we were awarded driver of the day! It was a shame to not get the class championship - but we did absolutely everything we could, and the performance bodes well for 2020.”
The team would like to extend our thanks to the marshalls, organisers at DDMC 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.
This draws our 2019 season to a close - over the winter we plan to rebuild the car and prepare for an assault on the championship in 2020. Our latest vlog - Tracks With Todd from Knockhill will be out soon, and keep a lookout for our end of season review.
This draws our 2019 season to a close - over the winter we plan to rebuild the car and prepare for an assault on the championship in 2020. Our latest vlog - Tracks With Todd from Knockhill will be out soon, and keep a lookout for our end of season review.