Race report - Cadwell Park
Double header at Cadwell and I’m feeling confident. Last time I was here earlier in the year I won both races with sizable margins over the others. Tony, the championship leader has been practising on the track all weekend so I knew we would be closer this time but how close I didn’t realise. I only got one clean lap in and one half good one but when the results came through I was on pole with a margin of just 1/100ths of a second. The race would be closer than I thought.
Red lights out and I hold Tony off going around the first bend. He stays with me for half a lap but then starts to slip away. For once I’m happy with the way the car is going. I had the tracking done after the Silverstone accident and the car feels good. I’m easily controlling the race and as the last lap board comes out I’ve opened up a 10 sec. gap to the next MR2. I expected Tony to be much closer giving qualifying times but by the seventh lap I can’t even see him in my mirrors. Around the gooseneck and heading up to the mountain I’ve only 300metres to the finish line when the engine suddenly died. I pull over to the side of the road by the clubhouse and watch my sixth win of the season disappear.
Towed back to the pits and we check the engine. The timing belt snapped at 7000rpm! We don’t know if there’s any internal damage and with less than 3 hours to the next race it isn’t worth trying to fix. The cars loaded onto the trailer and we leave Cadwell Park with nothing.
Tony won the first race and took runner up in the second. With only one race left at Snetterton it’s now not possible to win the championship. Well done to Tony Gilham ‘MR2 champion 2005′