By Our Special Correspondent
Unfortunately the race was marred when Jodie Hemming slid off the road at Coram and broke a wrist on the warm-up lap. The knock-on effect of that was to deprive Tom Tremayne of a likely maiden win. He had gone to the grid as the only front-runner on slicks on a track that was rapidly drying, but the 15 minute delay caused by Hemming's accident meant that the race finally began just as a fresh rain shower arrived. He slithered down to seventh, behind Adam Saward, rookie Fulvio Mussi and David Scott.
Qualifying
Eleven cars turned out for the ninth round of the Formula Honda Championship. With Mark Fell sidelined temporarily by budgetary problems, Fulvio Mussi was able at last to make his debut in the ex-Alex Buncombe 2001 championship-winning Jedi after his team had finally solved the engine disasters that have kept him out of races since his appearance in testing at Cadwell back in the April season opener.
Having set the pace in testing the previous day (1m 13.3s), runaway series leader Nigel Reuben annexed yet another pole by clipping this to 1m 13.107s. But impressively close to him in their low-nose cars were Mallory winner Andy Roberts and Scot David Roper (1m 13.146s and 1m 13.437s respectively). Both recovered well from problems in testing the previous day. Roberts had a suspension breakage which required some welding; Roper broke a stub axle. Roberts also had a scare going out of the pits for qualifying, when a wire from his onboard timer flicked off the fuel pump switch. Fortunately he sussed out the problem in time.
Adam Saward was the final sub-1m 14s runner, taking his high-nose car to 1m 13.856s. Tom Tremayne should have been with them after recording 1m 13.60s (second only to Reuben) on Saturday but had to be satisfied with 1m 14.201s after new front tyres unaccountably promoted understeer and then his recent chapter of engine problems continued when the spare (down on power at Mallory) lost power again. It transpired that an off on Saturday had tweaked the front wing mounting so he was getting lift, while low fuel pressure was blamed for the latter problem.
Next up was Mussi, at last getting going without engine problems, who posted an encouraging 1m 14.768s even though he had only done a handful of laps the previous day before the weather cancelled out the final practice session. This aced series regular David Scott, who was still complaining about his FY engine on his way to 1m 15.100s. Jodie Hemming joined him on row four with a 1m 16.194s, followed by Mark Hosken on 1m 17.443s, Bev Comber on 1m 18.582s, and Louis Hamilton-Smith, who blew his engine after one lap, on 1m 25.813s.
Race
Sunday afternoon in Norfolk was not the stuff of an English summer, since the weather was highly changeable all day. Indeed, qualifying had only just escaped a downpour. After one during the preceding Caterham race, during which the safety car was deployed, that race was restarted and the track was really beginning to dry out as the Hondas prepared for their green flag lap. Everyone went to the line on wets, however, apart from the adventurous Tremayne, who in conjunction with his Jedi Racing Cars crew opted for slicks, and Comber. That would have been the smartest decision anyone took (even though Tremayne had a big moment on the back straight on the warm-up lap when wheelspin put him sideways) had Hemming not lost it on the greasy surface at Coram. Her car understeered off the road and accelerated as soon as it hit the wet grass. Still gripping the wheel, she speared into the tyres hard enough to damage both front corners, and unfortunately to break a wrist. The rest of the field kept going round to the grid, where they sat for the next 15 minutes as Hemming received medical treatment and her damaged car was cleared away. Everyone wishes her a speedy recovery.
This was where Tremayne's bold gameplan got snookered, for while he sat waiting helpless on the grid (the cars, of course, could not be worked on) the weather worsened and when the field took a new green flag lap it was already raining again.
Reuben grabbed the lead, from Roberts and Saward, but even on his slicks Tremayne got up to fourth by Riches ahead of slow-starting Roper, but the corner was soaking wet and Roper and Scott soon pushed Tremayne back to sixth. Meanwhile, Reuben, Roberts and Saward fought an exciting opening-lap duel for the lead. The series leader wasn't in a mood to capitulate to anyone, however, and eased steadily clear to head Roberts over the line by 2.8s, though his best lap was only two-tenths faster than Roberts'. Roper, after a strong run that saw him catch and pass Saward and set a lap only seven-thousandths off Reuben's, was a further three seconds adrift. He had actually got alongside Roberts in the Esses on the fourth lap, but Roberts hung tough on the outside line, kept the place, and then pulled away again. Saward was a lonely fourth, a long way back but also a long way ahead of Mussi, who was nevertheless delighted to have staged such a respectable debut in car racing after his season of frustration. He took Tremayne for sixth place late in the race when another wheelspin-induced sideways moment exiting Russell lost the orange and blue Restless Spirit Racing car momentum, and went on to catch and pass an unhappy Scott. Hamilton-Smith, who had effected a hasty post-qualifying engine change, grabbed seventh place when Tremayne got sideways, but the latter recovered to reclaim it on the back straight. Hosken, who had a quick spin, was the last unlapped runner. Comber, the only other runner to opt for slicks, was a lap down.
For Reuben, then, it was pretty much business as usual, though both Roberts, who once again confirmed his status as his most consistent challenger, and Roper, who once again demonstrated his speed, impressed. So did Tremayne, for whom plaudits for car control (he never spun despite the conditions) were scant consolation for the justifiable frustration he was feeling. In the race Riches and Sear were soaking wet, as was the back straight, while everywhere else was greasy and his best lap was nearly five seconds shy of Reuben's. But 10 minutes after the finish, there was a dry line all round the track� Some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you.
RACE RESULT
Pos Driver Gap Qual
1 Nigel Reuben 1
2 Andy Roberts 2.846s 2
3 David Roper 5.830s 3
4 Adam Saward 11.171s 4
6 Fulvio Mussi 35.426s 6
6 David Scott 40.162s 7
7 Tom Tremayne 66.660s 5
8 L Hamilton-Smith 73.672s 11
9 Mark Hosken 76.500s 9
10 Bev Comber 1 lap 10
RETIRED
Jodie Hemming, warm-up lap, accident 8
FASTEST LAP
Reuben, 1m 24.512s on lap 8, 83.15mph
POINTS STANDINGS
After round 9 Snetterton, July 21
POS DRIVER POINTS
1 Nigel Reuben 127
2 Andy Roberts 84
3 David Roper 80
4 David Scott 65
5 Mark Fell 57
6 Adam Saward 56
7 Tom Tremayne 52
8 Hamilton-Smith 44
9 Luke Kidsley 21
10 James Baker 15
10 Mark Hosken 15
12 Jodie Hemming 13
13 Scott Mansell 10
14 Fulvio Mussi 06
15 Philip Churchman 05
16 Rob Hedley 03
17 Robin Pritchett 02
17 Skid Carrera 02
17 Bev Comber 02
20 Dean Kidsley 01