Season opener, and with most of the usual protagonists out for business we’ve a fair idea what to expect.

In the XJS there’s a new V12 in the shape of Paul Merrett’s untested 6 litre. The car hasn’t run before, ever, and there’s a question mark over the brakes. One thing seems clear, it’s a Merrett car so it will have huge power figures, if possibly in need of some development work before it becomes reliable.

Coppock is favourite as both he and 08/09 champion Lyddall are fielding essentially the same cars as last season. Lyddall still using the old T1R tyre, most of the rest of the grid down to the rearmost D cars are using the new R1R, reckoned to give 2 seconds per lap advantage.

In class E it is 08/09 champion Palmer v Alex Harrison expected to be the fight to watch, though Palmer has a rebuilt engine, and Harrison no upgrades or experience on sticky rubber, so he may struggle to hang on as effectively yet, the nod is to Palmer for the class win. Webster sports a power upgrade, and Ramm is joined by Reynolds as the wild cards in the class.

Class D sees familiar faces return. 08/09 champion Harrison fields last year’s car with only minor attention, but rumour has both Seath and Drage with serious winter rebuilds, and all are on the new rubber, and all have tried it at various secret winter tests. Comer returns in the ex-MacVicar facelift car, with the return of Gregory, and Bob Beecham having finally painted that car the bright orange we know and love.

With the increased competition in each class it is by no means clear that the old guard will have it at all their way this season.

TESTING

A paddock full of Jaguars all desperate for track time, and only one of them takes to the track. Despite almost empty tarmac and wallets full of used fivers, only Gail is allowed into testing for the morning, the other places all stolen by the drivers of expensive Fiats who don’t seem to actually want to do any track miles, and by mid afternoon the paddock looks like a beer garden.

So dull was it that people were seen with polish and stickers.

QUALIFYING

Business at last, as the paddock fills with Jaguars and engines can finally be used in anger. A couple of new faces for the saloons, and the joy of a joint/mixed qualifying session. Notable are the two coupes of Dorlin and Bye, immaculate, very pretty, very fast, and taking to the new rubber where others are struggling.

As ever, traffic can be an issue in quail, and Webster makes his own luck by getting on track first of all, the Harrisons close astern vying for position at the first corner, ahead of a chaotic mix of saloon and XJS.

First casualty is Alex Harrison, frying his rotor arm in half a lap and retiring without setting a time at all. He starts dead last for the XJS. He is soon joined by Paul Merrett’s overheating V12.

Traffic and tyres are the story of qualifying. Some find the new tyre going off very quickly and only get grip early on, others find it coming to them as the session wears on. Those that manage to find a hole in the traffic with the tyre in the sweet spot are the ones that profit. It is, however, already apparent that the new rubber is causing some drivers more problems than the old tyre.

The notion that the R1R lasts longer is disproven by the heavy wear apparent on several cars after qualifying alone, and the sensitivity of it to temperature and pressures is more pronounced than anticipated.

It is worthy of note that only a few cars were able to make the tyre go any better than the T1R, but those that did were able to go significantly faster.

Palmer and Coppock demonstrated the extra grip, their experience on 888 showing, though Palmer’s pole time 1.24.388 is not a mile away from what Lyddall drags out of the T1R on 1.25.112. Notable that Lyddall on the old tyre out-qualifies Coppock on the new, at 1.25.361.

Next XJS is Andrew Harrison, another car able to use the extra grip, the 1.26.439 would have taken pole here last October, but at the cost of fearsome tyre wear.

Ramm also appears to have found some benefit to the rubber, he lies 5th on a 1.28.2, 2nd in class E.

Seath takes p2 for class D on a 1.28.991, unhappy not to be faster.

Webster dismayed with a 1.29.436, power upgrades alone even on the T1R would allow that improvement on his previous best, and Drage is similarly annoyed with his 1.30.236

The pattern emerging already is that the new tyre is not delivering for some, and that the class D cars are suffering very heavy tyre wear even at T1R pace.

Reynolds heads Merrett, whose 2-lap session allowed no real time to set a lap. Gregory pleased to make progress from his 2009 entry, he puts the D class cars of Comer and Beecham behind him, all three on the T1R, and Comer in particular struggling with the setup and balance of his new car.

Pole to backmarker gap – 14.2 seconds

Class G gap, 1st to 2nd 0.25 seconds. 1st to last – 7.6 seconds.

Class E gap, 1st to 2nd 3.8 seconds. 1st to last 8 seconds.

Class D gap 1st to 2nd 2.5 seconds. 1st to last 12.1 seconds.

RACE

This was a short, hard one. Bow chicka bow wow.

4 laps til the red flag, but by God did they put some action into it.

The eventual red flag was for a terrible accident as Gail Hill’s saloon was launched skywards by a familiar grass hump – see Paul Merrett 2009 for details – and slewed broadside onto the infield, rolling inverted. Though the car was a mess the driver was unhurt, the odd knock and bruise, but both Jags and their drivers tend to be made of resilient stuff. Our sympathies to Gail for such a sad end to a very promising pole position.

The XJS start was always going to be interesting. With the fast E of Harrison at the back, the fast-starting Palmer on pole, a T1-R shod V12 second and the massive torque of Coppock third this was going to be a race based around 4 cars and what they could achieve.

Lights out and it all goes off. Palmer makes turn 1 in the lead, Lyddall trying a desperate turn 1 move that was really his only chance of winning this race. It doesn’t work, and the V12 of Coppock now on song takes his victim along Revett straight on pure power, Lyddall falls to 3rd.

Andrew Harrison has survived the drag race from both Ramm and Seath to retain p4, and clings to the tail of the lead trio as the pursuing field fight each other, and the new threat of Alex Harrison from the rear.

Harrison takes 9 places in one breathless lap, with a good start he swallows four cars before turn 1, steals two more as he drives between Ramm and Drage onto Revett, and then overtakes Webster on the brakes into the essess. A fast exit from the Bomb Hole and he noses past Seath into Coram to lie 5th as the cars pile into Russell, sitting only 100 yards behind the lead 4 as the lap ends.

Merrett completes just one lap before the overheating returns and his head gasket lets go, putting him into retirement.

Palmer and Coppock at the front are now locked in battle, side by side though several corners, Coppock with the power advantage, Palmer with greater corner speed, they wrestle for the lead for the first two laps before Coppock makes the move and holds it.

As the pair travel side by side down the pit straight there is a shower of debris thrown up, scarring the pursuing XJS of Lyddall and Harrison, glass and plastic from a startline shunt on the saloon grid a minute earlier.

Seath has held off the charge from Webster, who in turn has made his way past Ramm to secure 3rd in class already, the two bright green machines are now fused half a second apart for the next three laps, their squabble dropping them back from the lead 5, with Ramm sitting as an interested observer a further half second back waiting for his moment.

Drage has already fought off Reynolds’ superior class E machine and is in pursuit, closing slowly on Ramm to join the fight.

Comer gets the jump on Gregory to steal the place, both escaping from Beecham. All three are quickly in the middle of the lead saloons, 2 clear laps is all that 30 seconds of grid delay buys you when pursued by the fearsome Darth Pearce.

As lap 2 ends Harrison passes Harrison, E overtakes D as the red charge continues. Harrison is quickly on the tail of Lyddall, who is still gamely hanging on to the Palmer/Coppock squabble. The fight is costing such speed that the top 4 are still in the sights of the class D leader, usually impossible at this track, but only a madman would choose to get caught in that fight, there are cars all over the track as the front 4 look for an opportunity.

Finally Coppock breaks free long enough to exercise the huge torque of the 6 litre and gets clear, he pulls a second out on Palmer on lap 3.

Harrison makes a dive on Lyddall at Russell and the pair fight side by side through the chicane and along the pit straight until Lyddall, his T1Rs well and truly scorched, concedes position to the better-shod Harrison into turn 1.

The Seath/Webster/Ramm/Drage train is still punching it out ten seconds down the road, but Webster makes his move early on lap 4 to pass Seath for p6. Ramm closes on Seath, Drage still doggedly pursuing. All have dropped Reynolds by a solid ten seconds as this train drags itself ever faster.

Comer is still struggling with the handling of his new car, and an excursion off the black stuff drops his place to Gregory, whose clean run pays dividends, he finishes top of the T1R class D machines.

Beecham is swamped by saloons and merely trying not to drown in a sea of XJ40s, but a clear and sensible run sees him survive the chaos without incident.

Sadly as lap 4 is no more than two corners old there are yellow flags put out, which instantly turn red at Sear. The yellow XJR of Hill on its roof and the dejected blue fireproofs of a very pissed off woman tell the tale.

Red flags, race over.

On countback to lap 3 then the losers are both Harrison and Webster, both drop back one place as their overtake is denied. Red flag rules take the last full lap completed as the result, not track position at the time the race is stopped.

With only 3 full laps and under 50% distance, only half points count today.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

WINNERS

Coppock - This track is what that car was built for, and he used it to perfection.

Palmer - a healthy scrap for the lead and a class win that would have been a lot more difficult if this race had been only one lap longer.

Alex Harrison - kind of a loser and a winner all at once, but 14th to 3rd in 3 laps? Impressive.

Lyddall - same story, but for the heroics of a T1R vs R1R contest.

LOSERS

Webster - all that work for an overtake or two, and the red flag rules steal it back off him!

XJS numbers - come on people, it's the first race of the year, we know it's not exactly a thrilling track, but show willing will you?