ANGLESEY 1

Anglesey 2010

A step into the unknown for many, Anglesey’s peculiar tarmac was an ice rink for the T1R, and most have not raced here before with any actual grip.

Allegedly Chris Palmer’s favourite track, it is also one which is prone to punishing the unwary, the race lead has been lost at Rocket more times than we’ve been here.

What we are expecting to see is anyone with a T1R tyre being severely handicapped, and the winner to be a class E machine. With the long back straight and braking, rather than banzai cornering being such key factors, money is on Palmer.

TESTING

Three cars for testing, the Harrison duo splitting a day, and Roger Webster. Car problems for Kutuka see the class E machine out of commission, and the class D car breaking another rear hub. That’s 2 in 2 meetings, for those keeping count. Webster complains of heinous understeer that would indeed plague him for the entire weekend.

QUALIFYING

Joint quali with the saloons, and Derek Pearce, after a few minutes spent heckling the many flies copulating all over his Mark II, leads the field out. He should probably have let someone else do it. Unlike Chris Palmer, who historically gets lost and takes the first left out of assembly instead of the second, Derek ignores all left turns and powers down an access road, cutting a full half lap off the first circuit.

With only a few cars following him before the marshalls can direct the traffic, we have a bizarre spectacle as half a dozen cars fly down the corkscrew as the last cars leave assembly onto the pit straight. Fast deployment of the yellows saves the day.

The grid is so thoroughly mixed up by this that a traditional qualifying, with a few clearish laps as the field sorts itself out, is simply over before it can begin. The power advantage to the E and G cars gives them a fighting chance of finding a gap, but for most of the 25 cars out there, quali is a frustrating process.

Those taking to the track for the first time find its unique challenges to be, well, challenging. Craven-Jones is an early casualty as his gearbox selects several cogs all at once, his stranded car a helpful landmark for the blind left of Rocket 1.

Palmer takes easy pole – bow chicka bow wow – joined on the front row by The Bear, class E lead the way as expected. But Palmer is a long way clear. His car is well suited to this track, and his long experience of race rubber here sees him lead the way by 2 full seconds, a country mile in anyone’s book.

Row 2 is a shock though, Lyddall in 3^rd despite the T1R handicap, and joined by Roger Webster in his best-ever quali result.

Lawrence Coppock’s attempt to show Coppock Junior the way round does eventually have to make way for a serious qualifying lap, but the lost time and opportunity relegate him to row 3 alongside Harrison.

Ramm, Drage and Boon their customary melee from row 4, Seath and Coppock are headed by Merrett’s malfunctioning V12, another head gasket crisis sees the car take no further part in the weekend.

RACE 1

This was always going to be a one-horse race unless The Bear could steal the lead in the opening corners. As it turned out, the drama would come from further back.

The saloons launched first, a 20 second delay and the Union flag is whisked away to fire the XJS grid.

Palmer away well, the Bear in second and losing ground, but Coppock from p5 gets a very fast start and takes the inside of turn 1 past Webster and Lyddall, running out wide to carve across the front of Harrison, apparently out of control. The V12’s rear bumper hits the red E class’ front end and the pursuing pack are treated to a shower of debris. As both cars clatter down the kerb the rear of the wayward V12 slews back for a second bite before it is wrestled back under control.

Palmer leads Coppock into the hairpin then, Bear third, Lyddall now 4^th. Webster 5^th leading Harrison, whilst behind Drage has made it stick on Ramm to take up station for an assault on the class D lead.

However, if you’re looking for thrills and spills and excitement, don’t look here. This was not a classic race with excitement aplenty, after that first corner chaos, that was pretty much it. The leader ran off and hid, and we count only three overtakes all race, two of them between the same pair of cars, and the third may as well never have happened because the victor then retired.

From Drage backwards there is no overtake all race. The cars finish as they started. Some close pursuit, certainly the Ramm v Drage chase was a good one, but no passing. Drage leads Ramm, with Boon close behind, Seath hangs onto Boon, and Coppock Junior just has to hang on and try to learn the track, with no testing he has no real chance.

Palmer simply engages warp drive and goes. No XJS can even see him after lap 4, he is just gone. He carved up through the saloons and passes everyone, and I do mean everyone, but the eventual saloon winner, Rich Dorlin. Just think about that for a moment. You set off twenty seconds after another race, and then overtake everybody in that race bar one, and only miss him by 2 seconds.

Coppock in p2 has the power to run from the Bear, who is wrestling all manner of mechanical maladies, and it is only lap 2 before he abandons the chase, defers to team-mate Lyddall, and drops off the pace.

Lyddall on the T1R cannot hope to catch Coppock, and resorts to a drifting competition, simply powersliding round every corner to entertain the marshalls. And entertained they were, but it’s not the fast way round.

Beard has a blue D car up his trumpet, which becomes increasingly uncomfortable until his recurring understeer sheds enough speed at Rocket that Harrison comes through to take 4^th place from him.

Drage still leads Ramm, the gap is under a second all race long, the E car with the power but struggling to lay it down, and both are chasing the Harrison/Webster battle. Boon hasn’t abandoned the chase either, but has to contend with Seath, who, never having been here before, gets faster throughout the race as he learns the new track. He initially loses then recatches Boon for a close-fought duel towards the finish.

Coppock junior might not be setting the track alight with his laptimes, but with no mistakes, spins, or collisions, and without collecting any of the lead saloons, his efforts are not unnoticed. And he beat Pete Dorlin, Steve Askham, and Andrew Harrison…

Harrison retires on lap 5 with coolant loss, parking the car at Rocket to hand the D lead to Drage.

Up front Bear has found his way round his woes and stabilised the gap to the still-sliding Lyddall, now 5 seconds behind Coppock and without hope of catching him. Palmer is simply gone.

As Lyddall’s powersliding antics continue, he is reeled in by the class E car, and as the closing laps tick down the pair are again in line astern.

Try as he might, Ramm cannot get past Drage, and despite holding the gap to him at well under a second lap after lap, he cannot overtake. The pair are losing Webster, who barrels home for a best-ever 4^th place.

Palmer blisters across the line for the win, Coppock a distant second. In third though, the Bear, who sells Lyddall a dummy at the hairpin at the last lap, and mugs him for the place on the exit. With rear tyres roughly the temperature of the hot bit of Mercury, perhaps not a shock for Lyddall to find himself shafted as thoroughly as a virgin on a guided tour of the Rohypnol factory.

Beard 4^th, from Drage and Ramm. Boon has held off the Seath assault to hold third in D, Coppock last of the XJS finishers.

Perhaps not our most thrilling excursion at this drivers’ favourite? We just need some more damned cars.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Winners

Chris Palmer – candy from a baby. Flawless.

Lawrence Coppock – rude at the start, but another class G win, that’s now his 5^th in succession.

Roger Webster – best ever race finish.

Ian Drage – closer to the class D lead than ever, and takes the win, who can argue?

Losers

The Bear – beaten up at the start, no confidence in his car, made a late-race rally to salvage some dignity.

Lyddall – in a reversal of his Brands form, this was a demonstration of how he can drive when he’s not bothered about winning.

Andrew Harrison – mechanical retirement is a sucky way to lose the class lead.

The spectators – not a lot going on, though much of the fun is in the sturm und drang of a big Jaguar field, and to be fair, having watched most of the race from the tyre wall, thirty Jags smoking round that track is still quite a sight.

Low grip circuit, but with grippy tyres. We'll race Chris some other day...

Lap 1. Palmer has already finished the race, done Sunday's, and gone home.

Lap 1. Drage looks at a much prettier rear end.

A lovely scenic shot of the Beard losing his hard-won position. Count the sheep in the background.

A drifting Lyddall is about to get caught napping.

A rare shot of Chris Palmer movng slowly enough to be photographed. We totally stole this shot from the JEC website, pic by Steve Jones.