Martin Galpin | Racing Driver | number66.net

Consider this. Qualified 5th, started 9th, overtook five cars, race stopped (red flag), restarted 7th, passed three cars, finished (official result) 7th. If you’re as confused as me, keep reading.

The first race at Cadwell Park this weekend was little short of chaos. Sunday was a day which produced more than our share of controversy and mishaps. For a time at least it made you wonder if the Formula itself was spiralling out of control.

Qualification

Qualifying was split into two groups of which we were the second. In the morning the circuit was damp and Formula Vee were the first series to qualify. Session A resulted in Sam Olivera going quickest with a mid 1:43.

As I left for qualifying I made sure I was the first car on track. Overtaking at Cadwell Park is difficult and I was concious of being held up by slower cars. I soon found myself in a group with Donn and Conyers of whom I felt I was the quickest. On lap five, Jake Olivera hit the wall heavily at the Mountain and as a result took no further part in the weekend. I’m happy to say he was OK but was obviously disappointed. As I passed Conyers, from which I received a mega draft, I exited Park to find my throttle cable had snapped. I pulled off and my qualification was over.

The sharp readers will recall that just three weeks ago, whilst testing at Thruxton, we also suffered a snapped throttle cable. That problem is no more and can be attributed to a seized screw on the carburettor.

Overall I was 5th fastest for race one, and 4th fastest for race two. Jake’s departure meant, as he was 4th fastest for the first, that I should line up 4th for both races. Donn gained pole on his final lap which tells me that had my throttle cable not snapped I probably would have captured my first pole position. C’est la vie.

And now we come to controversial decision #1. After twice reissuing the results, the officials decided that the two qualifying sessions were in different conditions and therefore they would stagger the grid. My 5th would become 9th, with Donn still on pole. Understandably I was feeling hard-done-by as this was the second time in a row it had happened to me (recall Castle Combe). Yes, it is fair to the fastest in session A, Sam, who would gain almost 10 grid positions but I would also lose 5 and might even be forced to qualify in the heat, as before. None-the-less, I avoided the heat and would line up 9th for race one.

Sunday’s race

The rain stayed away on the Sunday just as the forecast predicted and as we lined up on the grid the sun was shining for the first time this year. Directly in front of was Jake’s empty grid space and starting 8th was Paul Curran. This was horribly reminiscent of last year where whilst struggling with brakes that did not work I was caught behind him for the majority of the race.

I made a good start and was alongside Curran into the first corner but had to yield as I had the outside line for Charlies. The first lap saw us all run in what was essentially formation, but I could see that the leaders would make a break. Feeling the need to press on, I made the pass on Curran into turn one and Conyers into the Hairpin. I then enjoyed a two lap skirmish with John Hughes which saw him passing me on the straight, me passing him into the Hairpin, him again passing me on the straight and then me repassing him at Barn. At this point the red flags came out for the first time.

Curran had become tangled with the GAC of Graham Card and was launched into a sequence of end-over-end rolls at the top of the mountain. Thankfully, he was OK, albeit shaken-up but the chassis had snapped in two.

On the restart I was put back to 7th meaning my overtaking was negated on countback. After making another good start I found myself in 4th when the red flags came out for a second time. The race leader, Sam Olivera had spun entering Chris, causing Hands (who was in second) to hit the wall in avoidance and a number of other cars spin in sympathy.I arrived in parc ferme 4th and awaited controversial decision #2.

When the results were officially declared they showed Sam as winner, Hands as runner-up and me in 7th. The restart was abandoned and the results declared based on the grid after the first red flag. Yes, that is by the book but perhaps under extenuating circumstances there is the need for some natural reasoning.

Anyway, frustrating as it was, please do not get me wrong ” this is motorsport, these are the rules and I accept that. Let me congratulate Sam on his first championship win and Daniel Hands for finally sorting out his reliability problems. We are afterall team mates for the Formula Vee Centre Challenge which we are comfortably leading.

May Day

Monday was wet and the qualifying heat was run in soaking conditions. After torturing us for most of the day with unpredictable showers the sun did finally appear for our race. It was not perfectly dry, however, and the track was very green.

I made a good start but held position for the first lap. Donn spun to the infield at Mansfield whilst leading and then finally parked at the Moutain and I concentrated on progressing up the order. The circuit was still damp off line which meant the limited opportunities that there were for overtaking were now even fewer. I out braked Conyers into Park and then Buxton on the next lap and concentrated on closing down Smith who was currently in third.

As seemed to be a theme of the weekend, I was still not as quick as other cars in a straight line. This was a factor in race one as well as in qualifying, and this time let Buxton, and his strong Daghorn engine, get a run on me past the pits. I stuck to my line and went to the outside in order to give myself the inside for Charlies. Buxton decided to use what little space there was left to try and get along side me and as a consequence touched my rear wheel and violently turned right into the wall. Race over for him, and for me as far as trying to close down Smith was concerned.

As a result of the contact something was either bent, or my set-up seriously out of line because I no longer had a car which handled particularly well. I was in survival mode and finding it difficult making right-handed corners. I made a mistake at the Mountain, which saw me within an inch from wrecking the car (the left side of my tyres are white with paint from the wall) and let Hughes past. This was the penultimate lap and I finished a battle-scared 5th.

Despite this being our best result, and our progress defiantly on an upwards trajectory, I am left feeling somewhat as if this entire weekend could have been a whole lot better had this or that not happened. I am frustrated because for whatever reason, every time we made it to the top four something happened to relegate me. We are, however, now 6th in the championship with one of my favourite circuits, Donington Park, next on the calendar. We were fastest GAC, although not highest placed GAC, over the weekend and I think this indicates what is to come.

The red-flag loop hole?

The circumstances of Sundays race got me thinking but before I explain let me make it absolutely clear that I am in no way implying that this is what happened – just that the rules allow for it.

Hypothetically consider that you are leading a race at half distance and the red flag comes out. It being half distance is significant because you know that if there is another stoppage, the race is likely to be declared. You are of a nervous disposition and not confident that you will be able to hold onto the lead should the race go the distance. So, instead of giving it your all, you spin on the first or second lap and land your car in a “dangerous position so that the race cannot continue (or, to equal effect, cause an incident). Now there is a second red flag and you are no longer leading but on countback you are declared the winner (last full lap, minus one ” a.k.a. the restart grid). There therefore never needed to be a second half to the race.

Maybe I’m wrong but I do think this demonstrates that in the case of force majeure and under a number of different circumstances seen this weekend, the rules could be alot more flexible.

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