U2TC Pole Position
U2TC Pau
Like most of the grids at Pau, the U2TC grid for its first outing of the season was down on numbers. “I don’t know why’” said organiser Carol Spagg, “We have more-or-less full grids throughout the season, but for some reason the drivers didn’t want to come to Pau. Perhaps it is a combination of Brands, Monaco one week earlier and Monza two weeks later. Its all just too much.”
Quality, however was not an issue for the touring car drivers, with ex-European and Austrian champion Dieter-Karl Anton bringing out his ‘new’ car. Having done the Austrian championship, the ADAC endurance series and all the rounds of U2TC last year he said, “My car was kaput”. He has completely rebuilt his GTA Alfa and was feeling optimistic. “It is a fine car,” he said.
Another rebuilt car was the Alfa GTA of quick Swiss drivers Ivan and Mauro Scotti, keen to exercise their new engine. Expected BMW competition was the Richard Shaw/Jackie Oliver pairing in their BMW TiSA. However the wet weather gave thoughts of Mini opposition, with Graham Churchill and Peter Baldwin, and Charles-Edouard Rousseau looking strong in their 1300 cars.
Practice started on a dry track, but heavy rain began before the first lap was completed, and by the time the cars had done two tours, it was clear that times were not going to come down. The Scotti Alfa was out with a dropped valve.
What was not expected was that Charles-Edouard Rousseau would put in the fastest lap on lap one in the dry – beating second-placed Anton by nearly a minute. Anton did well to be second considering this was his first ever lap of the circuit.
Churchill and Baldwin were up next followed by the Shaw/Oliver TiSA and Roger Wills’ Cortina.
As the cars lined up for the one-hour race, the rain began again with no sign that it would let up. Rousseau, Baldwin and Anton all shot off the line, finding the first corner slippier than expected. Rousseau spun and recovered, but Anton and Baldwin were less lucky and both ended up against the barriers and out of the race.
The TiSA came through, with Oliver at the wheel, and it was a diminutive Mini, driven by another Swiss, Jonathan Hartop that began relentlessly to gain ground on the two leading cars. As he slowly closed the gap he took first Rousseau, then set about the BMW. After a couple of laps of cat and mouse, he finally was through in an outbraking manoeuvre and hit the lead, which he was to keep through the pit stops to the end.
At this point Kremer father and son were running strongly in their Alfa Giulia, fighting the Cortina of Roger Wills, a fight that was to end in the latter’s favour after the pit stops. Malcolm Paul and Rob Wells were also running strongly in their Cortina. Brendan Roberts, having waited 18 months for his GTA Alfa to be prepared, didn’t like the worsening conditions and the proximity of the armco, so came back to the paddock for a beer instead.
Rousseau hung on to third, ahead of Wills, who took class C and who was one lap down, making it a podium with two Minis and the big BMW.
U2TC Monza
The U2TC round at the Coppa Intereuropa, the second in the 2008 sereis) had a fine grid that ended up with a number of Alfas at the front end after qualifying. Dominik Roschmann’s GTA was fastest and he got away well immediately at the start of the one-hour race on Saturday, soon drawing away from Karl Dieter Anton’s example. The Sordi/Cairato GTA was into third with the Shaw/Oliver BMW, with Oliver at the wheel, fourth, and evergreen Arturo Merzario charging along in fifth. Soon the Sordi/Cairato Alfa had taken over second place and when the BMW struck problems and disappeared, it was Alfas one through six as David Fitzsimons and Neil Tolich annexed sixth after a 30-minute fight with a luckless Brendan Roberts, who retired with a broken rotor arm. Only non-Alfa in the front-runners was Patrick Quiniou’s Lotus Cortina, driven by Andre Bailly and Bernard Peruch, running seventh with Philip Walker and Danny Wright’s example suffering from misfire and preventing them from challenging. Roschmann temporarily lost time after his pit stop and later in the race, the Merzario car, now piloted by Marco Cajani had a brief but lively battle with the Adam Richardson/Leonard Turnbeaugh BMW. John Bennett meanwhile was exuberant at the first chicane discovering how far sideways an Alfa Giulia Super Ti will go.
Roschmann retook the lead but towards the end slowed enough for Sordi to show signs of catching him. Dieter Anton was third, the Merzario/Cajani combo were fourth, Fitzsimons fifth and the Bailly/Peruch sixth. These cars also enjoyed some fun on Sunday with the Bosch Pole Position run-offs. (See Bits and Pieces)
For full results, see our July issue
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