Corny 391 Posted May 25, 2022 Report Posted May 25, 2022 Skegness UK Open Championship - Thursday 12th May 2022 With the Richter scale finally having settled right down in those parts of the Lincolnshire east coast, time for a look back at just some of the highlights from Skeggy - the highest ranked event battled out thus far in the 2022 UK-Dirt F1 calendar... [PLEASE BE SURE TO CLICK ON IMAGES IF REQUIRED TO VIEW PROPER 1080p SIZE AND QUALITY - AS THEY ARE INITIALLY DISPLAYED IN HEAVILY DOWNSIZED AND COMPRESSED FASHION HERE!] A couple of laps into Heat One - Cammy (143) was soon back on all fours and with minimal loss of time after this suboptimal turn four exit! Fast forward fourteen laps to the end of the race and there was an even slimmer margin between himself and BenChambers (800) respectively as they sprinted to the finish line for second place, or so it seemed... Ellis_Rogers (889) finally managed to break clear of the competition at the end of lap six (above), having initially taken the lead with a hit on NobbyClarke (108) a couple of laps earlier and been kept more than busy by the combined attentions of he, along with JDOBBS (947) and Frans (454). It had been a lightning getaway for 889 and "too good to be true" on this occasion unfortunately for him, being adjudged post-event to have infringed the rules on the start presumably hence docked two positions in the result, this promoting 143 and 800 to those top two spots. A third 2022 season win for Cammy then as it turned out - his first since a Nutts Corner Heat back on 31st March. Three yellow grade drivers contested the lead during the first few laps of Heat Two, and having seen off the attentions of Dilly (966) and ASHNFFC (125) it was NielsR (184) - shown above starting lap five - who coolly pulled away thereafter to build and maintain a margin that would remain unthreatened to the end. ASHNFFC took second in this one and would go one better in Heat Three, which he started on pole and survived a visit to the armco on the first bend courtesy of Frans (454), then the lightest of grazes from Dilly (966) a lap later, going unbothered about his task from then on for 'flag to flag' success. Frans (454) went clear at the front of Heat Four after knocking Dilly (966) wide at the end of lap one, but from the ninth lap onward his race as leader was complicated somewhat by recovering back marker StockcarboyDanny (114). A few bites at the 114 back end upon catching him periodically were not enough for Frans to get past. With three laps to go and the last of his attempts to shift StockcarboyDanny having just failed and lost him yet more time, Frans' rear view mirror now showed the noticable and nearing presence of the blue roofed, second placed CB (167) car. 114 had edged clear ahead at this point but now the primary issue for Frans was definitely behind him - and by the start of the last lap his lead was no longer a comfortable one at all. CB was now surely within striking distance. Frans narrowly avoided the JDOBBS (947) car as it spun and ricocheted off the wall at the start of the back straight, then approaching the final bend and with CB ominously close behind, had not only the 114 car but also that of another back marker in Davros (210) ahead of him and narrowing his options for any avoidance tactics... With the race win at stake CB took the chance presented to push Frans into turn three (above) - a controlled hit rather than anything too wild - and perhaps for the first time all race that hitherto hindering 114 car might even have worked slightly in Frans' favour. It cushioned the blow for Frans as he bounced off its inside length so took some of the sting out of CB's attempt. By the time Frans tapped the fence he was most of the way round the bend and with CB very much following his trajectory, the order remained the same at the end of the lap as it had been at the start. A decent amount of fresh air to point his car at for the first time in a while as Frans exited turn four, and crossed the line for an inaugural (and anything but straightforward at that!) UK-Dirt F1 win of 2022. The rolling lap for Heat Five - moments away from the drop of the green and one remaining chance to amass those all important Final qualification points... Heat Five - NielsR (184) knocked me (391) wide in turn three to lead at the end of the first lap, and from there on managed to stay clear in fact increasing his lead quite convincingly as the race drew into its second half. Much like for Frans the race before however, the closing stages of this one proved to be much less than trouble-free for NielsR with heavy traffic ahead and embroiled in battles of their own. Most notably NielsR ran into the back of the recovering Davros' 210 car in turn four with just over three to go and this saw most of his lead gone. Once more around the track and with NielsR then lapping an again errant 210 down the home straight, as we started the penultimate lap and having endured four DNF's in the four Heats to this point, well upon recognising an opportunity to actually WIN one, the 391 pilot was up for having a go... NielsR seemed to quite enjoy the consequences anyway, as did I! A rather large hit, from a fair way back, unsettled the 184 around the first bend to say the least as the pair of us rattled the armco. NielsR then relinquished the lead to myself around turns three and four with Davros once again proving an unwelcome distraction for him (by mere presence rather than anything deliberately untoward one must stress!). Sparks flew between us as NielsR struggled to keep it in a straight line on the outside of the home straight and although I led around that first bend onto the last lap, it was obvious going up the back straight that NielsR would be getting ample chance to change this situation in his favour, and so it proved. A measured, no more than necessary push into turn three saw the 184 driver retake the lead to complete a classy Heats double, positively fishtailing out of the bend and across the line (above)! [2022 UK Open Championship Final - the grid is formed and awaiting starter's orders...] With Walton (158) having taken the Irish Championship at Nutts Corner on 31st March, Kane_M (238) the World Cup on Baarlo's Long Track 14th April, it was now time for the third 'title' of 2022 to be decided at Skegness. The twenty finalists were called row by row to their UK Open Final grid slots by in-attendance race manager LeeK (39), NielsR in 184 duly taking pole position as top yellow grade scorer from the Heats with ASHNFFC's 125 alongside. Nerves jangled on the rolling lap and as the field rounded turns three and four waiting for the 'GO' signal, some became prematurely restless... As the green flag went down it was NielsR who got away down the home straight with ASHNFFC tucking in behind in second. The 391 car having started outside row two got no further than turn two - snagging a post above the armco through the sheer weight and force from behind and inside, and ending up over the fence completely! The momentary delay presented on the outer bend by my flying machinery only served to increase the quite expected level of turbulence with so many already out wide in these frenzied opening seconds of the race, and knock on effects spilled around and out of that turn... Noticeably the SuperStars having started further back, Cammy, Tsjalle (229) and BenChambers in particular, appeared to keep their cool and stayed tight around that first bend hence managing to avoid the thickest of the carnage on the outside, and though still having some major obstacles to swerve around and push through onto the back straight, they were away to a good start compared to many whose chances of winning already looked severely dented, if not gone completely! Onto the second lap there was a train of six into turn one with NielsR still leading but under significant pressure from ASHNFFC, Frans, NobbyClarke, CB and Ellis_Rogers behind. A bend later ASHNFFC put the bumper in on NielsR and after duelling down the home straight with 125 on the inside, he took the lead with the shoving from 167 and 889 behind assisting him around the bend and past the 184 car (as shown above). ASHNFFC was not going to get away easily however and came under immediate attack from CB into turn three. He rode this, bouncing off the armco to still lead down the home straight then again riding out a cumulative push from that same duo of CB and Ellis_Rogers, this time hitting the armco more heavily but getting a spring out of the bend to pull clear. Having just deposed CB to start lap five in second place, Ellis_Rogers' chances of winning took a major dent out of turn two when, having bounced off the armco upon a hit from NielsR, he then collided once again with the 184 up his inside out of the turn, half spinning as a result and by the time he was into turn three he was down to eighth position. Cammy had also lost crucial time clipping the recovering 889 car onto the back straight, having up to that point been only a car length behind Tsjalle. The driver in 229 further capitalised on his closest SuperStar rival's loss of ground immediately here and moved up to third after knocking CB and NielsR wide around turns three and four, drawing alongside NobbyClarke onto the home straight before edging his way past and into second a lap later. Going into turn one to start lap seven then and with ASHNFFC in 125 half a straight's length ahead in the lead, NielsR gave CB a nudge down the inside of NobbyClarke and into Tsjalle's inside rear (above) - something harder might have had the silver roof wearer in trouble but as it was, the 229 was safe and heading out of turn two with 167, 184 and 108 all clumped together for a moment and losing vital ground whilst Tsjalle was away into a clear second position. As the race went into its second half, ten laps completed, ASHNFFC now had only three car lengths of clear space if he was lucky between himself and the pursuing Tsjalle. Third through eighth positions were all in a very close group but some way back from that lead pair - 143 in third being a quarter lap back from 125 - and indeed for the second successive bend Cammy felt the force from behind, CB having knocked Ellis_Rogers into him in turn three but now needing to involve no third party into turn one and sending the 143 car out wide for a brush with the armco. Cammy retained third with CB continuing to give very close chase, still well within range for the next couple of laps but seeming to opt against any further challenge. Just as Cammy was pulling himself a car length out on CB down the home straight to start lap fourteen, up ahead leader ASHNFFC had Tsjalle for company! Having slid wide and lost time a bend earlier out of turn four, the man in 125 now went wide into turn one. Were his tyres going off? Did he feel the odds were stacked against him? Well whatever the reasons or thought processes going on for the yellow grader who had led for so long here, Tsjalle made sure to give ASHNFFC a brush wide out of turn two with his offside rear quarter - maybe a cautionary shot as well as a means of just delaying the 125 slightly onto the back straight. ASHNFFC did manage to get a dink in on the 229 back bumper immediately at the mid point of turns three and four, though nothing like the type of hit one would have expected were it an all-out attempt for the win, hence very much in keeping with the fashion in which the lead was given up half a lap earlier. It was then only two laps after having taken the lead though that leader 229 was coming under full on, lap down assault! Tsjalle had pushed StockcarboyDanny in 114 aside a bend earlier to lap him, then into turn one StockcarboyDanny stuck one onto Tsjalle's inside nerf rail, sending him fencewards and followed him in there for good measure and just in case there had remained any possible doubt as to his intent! Fortunately for Tsjalle he was able to keep facing the right way and nail the throttle out of that bend and up the back straight, still well clear, with ASHNFFC having actually lost much more time having slid wide and almost ground to a halt - possibly with the shock of what he could see unfolding just in front of him?! Indeed Cammy was now right up behind ASHNFFC as they rounded turns three and four, with CB in turn still keeping him honest behind in fourth. Another couple of laps passed before the 143 car was up the inside of the 125 down the end of the home straight, taking that second place into turn one with CB following him through out of turn two then up the back straight and into third himself. This for CB was shortlived though, as onto the final lap of the race and into turn one ASHNFFC had a dig at the 167 rear end, sending him half spinning wide and backwards at 90 degrees into the armco, retaking that third spot. CB got some forward motion as quickly as he could but not before having seen CharlieS (284) go up the inside. NobbyClarke in 108 was also right on the case, clashing with the recovering 167 in turn two then the pair were neck and neck up the back straight with CB still gathering himself and bouncing off the armco... Up front and having had to lap Davros just prior to commencing the final lap of the race, there were no further unpleasant surprises for Tsjalle. Having previously won the UK Open in 2019 and been runner up to fast track (527) last year, as well as taking 3rd places in 2017 and 2020, he powered out of the last bend (above) and across the finish line in jubilant style to reclaim this title, adding it to those National Points and British ones he currently owns (also making it back to back Final wins having been promoted at Stoke upon ASHNFFC's subsequent docking). At the very same moment Tsjalle was taking the chequered flag here however, there were still top places being fought over... ...ASHNFFC's third came under threat with CharlieS opting for a last bend dive, but it went wrong for him and instead of gaining any positions the 284 car was half spun on the outside of turn four. He was in a way then rescued by the oncoming NobbyClarke knocking him the right way once again and in doing so passing for a fourth place finish - meanwhile CB, having shoved 108 into that bend after their coming together moments earlier, slid wide into CharlieS and those pair tussled onto the home straight with showers of sparks aplenty being thrown, CB just managing to get his nose ahead metres from the finish line to take that fifth place. Seventh place was also not assured until very close to the line, with NielsR finishing a job he had started half a lap earlier in pushing both JDOBBS and d_dickson (783) aside. Ellis_Rogers rounded out the top ten over the line 'as seen' although with the post-event docking of 783, who had beaten 947 into eighth, the Top 10 ended up as follows: 229, 143, 125, 108, 167, 284, 184, 947, 889, 783. Links to even larger 1600p 'original sizes' of the above images for download if anyone might find them of use, are as follows: Heat 1 [143, 800, 527 etc] Heat 1 [889 leads] Heat 2 [184 leads 125] Heat 4 [167 last bend on 454] Heat 5 [Rolling lap] Heat 5 [184 wins!] Final [GRID] Final [First bend chaos] Final [Lap 1 back straight melee] Final [125 takes lead] Final [229 gets a shove] Final [229 drifts to the finish line] Well done again to Tsjalle and thanks as ever to LeeK and FastTrack! Cheers, Corny
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