Despite a bitterly cold wind, the sun was shining over Blyton Park for the first round of the 2019 BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship. The Lincolnshire circuit traditionally features at the start of the season and has seen success for the team before, so we were cautiously optimistic as we rolled the new car out of the trailer for it’s first run in anger.
After morning practice, a misfire that did not appear on our test day reared it’s head. Extensive investigation work was undertaken before the first heat, where we started on pole, however by the time we made it to the grid the misfire was back. Despite this, Todd made it to the first corner ahead of all of his rivals and held his lead until half distance, where a loose component in the cockpit resulted in a driver error and the lead was lost. This resulted in a 2nd in the race and 5th overall for heat 1.
Heats 2 and 3 both started with mid to rear of the grid starting positions, meaning Todd had to thread the Mini past 3 cars in each 4 lap heat resulting in 2nd and 3rd place overall finishes in the heats respectively. The team in the paddock were still investigating the misfire, replacing as many components as possible in order to eradicate it without success, including borrowing spares from competitors (thanks to Sedgewick Racing for their help) and travelling off circuit to get a new batch of fuel.
The consistent results left the team with a second row starting position for the A final. Todd started well against Rear Wheel Drive opposition and held 3rd position into the first corner. During the middle section of the first lap, going over the circuit’s ‘hump’, the mini’s traction allowed Todd to pull alongside the RWD Corsa of Allan Tapscott and pass him into the chicane. With the FWD Corsa of Alan Crockett in his sights, Todd started to close down the gap until a small mistake from the N.I. man with a lap to go resulted in a pass for the lead in the tight infield section. From there Todd maintained a comfortable lead to take the win.
“It’s hard to put into words what this means to me and the team” commented Todd following the final. “This is the culmination of 18 months of work from the team, our partners and our sponsors. To kick off the debut of the new car with a win is incredible, I can’t wait to see how we compare when we have cured our misfire.”
The team would like to extend our thanks to the organisers at the MDA and the BTRDA and all our sponsors; Link ECU, ITG Air Filters, Woodford Trailers, Motul, Witham Motorsport, MJ Windscreens, Sunrise Signs, Equip Rasen and Muk Junkie Cleaner.
Television coverage can now be found on the motorsport.tv website: https://uk.motorsport.tv/motorsporttv/video/clubmans-rallycross-round-1-blyton-park/20720?autoplay&t=39m25s
Our next race event is at Pembrey Circuit, South Wales, for rounds 2 and 3 of the BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship on the 18th and 19th of May.
The team would like to extend our thanks to the organisers at the MDA and the BTRDA and all our sponsors; Link ECU, ITG Air Filters, Woodford Trailers, Motul, Witham Motorsport, MJ Windscreens, Sunrise Signs, Equip Rasen and Muk Junkie Cleaner.
Television coverage can now be found on the motorsport.tv website: https://uk.motorsport.tv/motorsporttv/video/clubmans-rallycross-round-1-blyton-park/20720?autoplay&t=39m25s
Our next race event is at Pembrey Circuit, South Wales, for rounds 2 and 3 of the BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship on the 18th and 19th of May.
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