Pembrey - 2010

14th & 15th August 2010 - National Championship
Rounds ten and eleven
Pembrey

It is a long drive from Mollinsburn to Pembrey and we were disappointed with the entry as there were less than 20 cars on the grid. Maybe this is down to the unfair and constant changing going on in the championship with the major cost of control fuel.

As John jon says he is there to try and win the championship and it is hard to test at the same time. I have put some time into a 1200 engine and there is a good chance I should not have done that. After the practice session John Jon was not happy with the 1200 so we had to go with the 1250 although that did not seem to be on the pace but we still finished on the podium although the engine did let go at the end of the day giving us no choice but to fit the spare back in. That seemed to be on the pace on Sunday morning although Lee Fitzpatrick seemed to be stuck in traffic and he would rather bring the car home in one piece than take chances and get landed with damage.

Jess Gwynne drew pole position for the first race and she was understandably nervous with fast drivers like Lee, Lawrence Davey, Peter Morton and John Mickel breathing down her neck. Ben Power is getting quicker too - his dad is looking after the car and sorted out his misfire. Anyway, the race was red-flagged and at the restart Lee was fighting hard with Lawrence, Peter, John, Dean Brace and JJ. Lawrence took the win with Peter second and our guys Lee and JJ third and fourth. JJ took fastest lap but it was good to see John Mickel getting back on the pace.

Back to awning to check the cars over - JJ had to stuck with the engine for race two with Paul O'Brien at the front with Stephen Treherne, Matthew Pape and our former driver Nick Brance. JJ and Lee were at the back for this one and it was a fast and steady race. Well done Dean Brace on getting second place with his dad right behind him. Both were trying to find a way past Stephen but he was just too quick and took a well deserved witn. Lee was 4th (and got the fastest lap) with JJ still unhappy with his engine down in 9th but scoring those important championship points.

After the final (won by JJ) Peter Morton had won the round with John Mickel second overall and JJ third. Ben Power was third in the final which was another great result on 'home tarmac' for the Welsh youngster. Lee fought hard with a misfire but drove well to get the car home in 8th place.

It was a late night for the team with an engine change for JJ and we were also trying to find the misfire in Lee's machine. We finally got to bed just before the lights went out at half past midnight/

It was an early start on Sunday morning with breakfast for the team at 6:30 and getting ready for the familiarisation. We told Lee to stay out on circuit to check that the misfire was not there - JJ just did the mandatory three laps. Lee took 4th fastest time with JJ 5th and Ben Power again on the pace in second.

JJ drew a grid position near the front for this one and took another win this time from Lawrence and Stephen Treherne - the three of them still fighting for the championship. Lee took 6th. JJ was happy with his car but had a brake problem and Lee's misfire seemed to have been sorted so it was sort out the bumpers and get ready for race two of the day.

This time Lee was at the front with second on the grid and of course it was JJ's turn to start at the back. Lee took a great win from John Mickel with JJ coming through for third. It was a fast race with JJ fighting to the front with Peter Morton after his engine change - On lap nine Stephen and Jj were fighting hard to get that win and it produced one of the closest and scariest moments I have seen - I thought they would come over the pit wall - flat out with JJ close to the grass and the two of them locked together but what great car control from both of them. I have to admit I felt sick for a while after that race as did my team member Craig - we were both standing together and I was sure it was all over - then Steve Hill (Legends Clerk of the Course) called a red flag just as Lee's gearbox let go. Luckily the result went back a lap with Lee taking the win.

Back to camp with a very broken gearbox in Lee's car - it was time to get his spare engine in so the team was all hands on deck to get sorted with that and the continuing brake problem on JJ's car.

The cars were ready on time with Matthew Pape at the front - he'd not had a good couple of heats and same as Nick Brace. It was a hard race again with JJ embedding his car in the barrier as the brakes went solid. Peter Morton took the win from Stephen Treherne with John Mickel third. Lee came home in 7th place and he said in parc ferme that he thought there could have been a lot more damage so chose to bring the car home in one piece.

Overall John Mickel took his first ovarall since coming back to the sport as you can see from the table below. JJ was 3rd on Saturday with Lee in 4th. Sunday saw Lee 4th again with JJ 7th. Driver of the day Saturday went to Jess Gwynne with Ben Power taking Sunday- it looks like all the young drivers are getting it together very quickly.

So it's home now and geting ready for Saturday at Knockhill with 5 cars!

Pos	Driver	R1	R2	R3	Score
	Saturday
1	32 - Peter Morton	2	5	4	495
2	4 - John Mickel	5	6	2	475
3	5 - John 'Jon' Higgins	4	9	1	470
4	1 - Lee Fitzpatrick	3	4	8	450
5	7 - Dean Brace	6	2	9	435
6	12 - Stephen Treherne	7	1	10	430
7	8 - Nick Brace	9	3	6	420
8	55 - Ben Power	8	7	3	420
9	19 - Lawrence Davey	1	12	7	410
10	29 - Matthew Pape	11	8	15	260
11	11 - Simon Belcher		10	5	250
12	66 - Steve Whitelegg	14	11	12	230
13	14 - Paul Musselle	10	13	14	230
14	52 - Gareth Martin	12	14	11	230
15	43 - Mick Mercer	15	17	13	150
16	96 - Paul O'Brien	16	15	17	120
17	39 - Jess Gwynne	13	16	0	115
18	47 - David Jones	17	18	16	90
	Sunday
1	4 - John Mickel	4	2	3	515
=	12 - Stephen Treherne	3	4	2	515
3	19 - Lawrence Davey	2	5	5	485
4	1 - Lee Fitzpatrick	6	1	7	470
5	7 - Dean Brace	5	6	9	400
6	55 - Ben Power	8	8	6	380
7	5 - John 'Jon' Higgins	1	3		370
8	11 - Simon Belcher	7	9	10	340
9	32 - Peter Morton	0	7	1	335
10	8 - Nick Brace	9	17	4	300
11	14 - Paul Musselle	10	10	11	290
12	96 - Paul O'Brien	14	12	12	220
13	39 - Jess Gwynne	12	13	13	220
14	43 - Matthew Pape		11	8	210
15	29 - Nick Grout	17	14	14	150
16	53 - Dominic Spurr	16	16	15	130
17	47 - David Jones	15	15		100
18	66 - Steve Whitelegg	11	0		95
19	52 - Gareth Martin	13	0		75