Published April 08, 2011 10:33
Oxford Brookes emerge from the fog at Clay to sneak up on Loughborough
For the first time this season, heavy rain was on the cards as the BUKC made the trip to Dorset for two rounds at Clay Pigeon. It has become customary when discussing Clay Pigeon to point out that it is Jenson Button’s home track, and the day’s conditions would have challenged even him.
Round 7
The first sprint race in round 7 was fairly dry. There was plenty of moisture on the track, but no actual rain was falling, and it produced a comfortable victory for reigning champions Loughborough A as they looked to hold on to the Championship lead that they had coming into this meeting. Durham finished in second, with Oxford Brookes A in third.
Loughborough A then took victory in the second race of the morning too, putting them in the prime position to take the round. Oxford Brookes B and Exeter B took the final podium places.
For race three, the rain really started to fall hard, with lap times dropping off considerably to the point where they were lapping some twenty seconds slower than dry lap times! It seemed appropriate with all this water that Bath A took the victory, just three seconds ahead of Oxford Brookes A, with Exeter A just holding of Swansea Met to finish in third place.
Oxford Brookes A struggled in race 4, finishing down in 12th position, as three unlikely candidates took to the podium. Swansea A took the victory, with Herriot Watt A and Oxford A completing the top 3 positions.
Weather conditions slowly improved towards the end of the morning, and the penultimate race of round 7 saw Warwick A easily take victory ahead of Hertfordshire A and Imperial A. The crucial news as far as the championship was concerned was for Loughborough A. After winning their first two races, a 13th place finish did not help their challenge, and when followed up by another 13th in the final race of the morning it dropped them down to 5th at the end of the round.
That last race was won by Southampton A, followed by Leeds A and Coventry A. Loughborough A finished in 4th position, clinching them the round 7 victory, just edging out Coventry A and Bath A.
Round 8
The first feature race of the afternoon had to be halted after about 50 minutes, as the fog had descended over Clay Pigeon, meaning that visibility was so poor that you could not see the corner you were approaching. This was clearly a dangerous circumstance, so the decision was made to stop the race and declare a result. That meant Oxford Brookes A won, ahead of Loughborough A and Plymouth A.
It got foggy - very foggy. So the race was halted early.
After a half hour wait, the fog lifted and racing could get underway once more. Again, it was a battle between Loughborough A and Oxford Brookes A for the win, with Loughborough taking it and Bath A finishing in third. In the final race of the day the track had dried out considerably, and Coventry A continued their impressive performance in the BUKC this season by taking the win, albeit only just over a second ahead of Hertfordshire B. Cardiff A rounded out the podium.
After taking a win and a second place each in the afternoon, it meant Oxford Brookes and Loughborough were tied on points at the end of round 8, therefore it was decided that Oxford Brookes A had set the fastest lap and as a result won round 8. Coventry A’s victory in race three meant they finished third.
With regards to the overall championship; Loughborough A lead it ahead of Bath A and Oxford Brookes A. The three teams are only separated by 8 points on dropped scores, though, meaning that the championship is still up for grabs with only one round to go! April 12th at Whilton Mill will decide who wins the 2011 BUKC.
Report by Jack Nicholls
