4th, 5th, 6th October - Dijon
Hibberd crowned!
18 cars from 5 countries travelled to Dijon for the last race of the year. It also counted for both the UK and European Championships and the headline was that Andrew Hibberd justifiably won his first ever championship – looking after other people’s cars had prevented him from previously winning a championship despite his undoubted skills.
Pole position with his arch rival and “bon ami mate” Peter de la Roche alongside in Ian Phillips’ Alexis Mk17 promised a good Race 1. They didn’t disappoint. Their epic scrap made up for an otherwise fairly tame race down the field, this despite Dijon’s long uphill straight lending itself to epic slipstreaming contests.
The digital lap stats cannot properly convey the number of place changes which the two served up. Peter had a race plan that with the Start/Finish line so far up the straight, it was crucial not to lead out of the last corner on the last lap. Everything seemed to be going to plan on the final lap until Peter realised Andrew had caught up a back marker in the run to the line, the ensuing tow ensuring Peter didn’t have the legs to pass him.
Roland Fischer (Tecno 169) and Francois Derossi (Chevron B17) were their usual competitive selves in 3rd and 4th with Ross Drybrough (Merlin Mk14A) impressively coming back from a drive through penalty.
Much to the surprise of those around him on the grid, Ross decided to go when the last gantry start light came on rather than when they all went out! His undoubted speed brought him back up the field, pipping Jonathan Sharp (6th from 8th on the grid and with his season long misfire now cured). Mark Carter (Speedsport Chevron B15) was 7th ahead of welcome series attendee Max Blees in his immaculate Brabham BT28.
Series regular and YouTube star, Martin Whitlock (Brabham BT21), continued his improving performance to finish 9th whilst Clas Muller (Brabham BT28) rounded off the top ten – Clas admitting to being a bit race rusty.
Notable absences amongst the front runners were Christoph Widmer with his trusty Brabham BT18. The transmission lunched itself in qualifying when a selector broke allowing two gears to engage at once. In similar trouble with a broken CWP was former motorbike racer Ludovic Ingwiller in his restored, rare Pygmee.
Jason Timms finished but was disqualified for being underweight – that proving to be the least of his worries as his engine was breathing heavily and losing most of its oil. Jason managed to fix his car with some novel breathing arrangements whilst everyone rallied round where they could to ensure Christoph and Ludovic joined the field for Race 2 on Sunday.
On Saturday evening, promptly at 17.30 everyone gathered in the paddock, all drivers lining up their helmets in tribute to their recently departed friend and fellow competitor Werner Pircher whose wife, Haniah, bravely attended and chatted to the many people present. Austin Widmer spoke a moving and eloquent tribute followed by a one-minute silence broken, perhaps symbolically, by the sound of cars still racing.
The forecast was unchanged for Sunday but as the cars assembled, it started to rain. With everyone committed to dry settings there was little that could be done but rely on the skills of the drivers to keep their cars facing the right way on the black stuff.
As the lights went out, sadly that proved not to be the case. Ross Drybrough, having made a peachy start arrived at Turn 1 a bit quickly and promptly rotated. In the midst of the ensuing avoidances, Roland Fischer sadly locked up and took out Andrew Tart (Merlin Mk9) who was busy minding his own business tip toeing round the outside. Francois Derossi got into a big tank slapper which he saved with aplomb, only to then immediately spin.
Both Jonathan Sharp and Martin Whitlock made great starts and ended up 3rd and 4th as the Safety Car went out so that Andrew Tart’s car could be airlifted to safety. At the restart, there was the unusual sight of the two identically liveried ex Ken Sedgley cars (De la Roche and Sharp) sticking like glue to Andrew Hibberd’s BT21. Andrew pulled the pin at the last corner and took off with Peter hard on his tail.
Ross Drybrough was given another drive through penalty for having spun on the green flag lap and then taking up his prescribed grid slot rather than starting at the back.
Christoph Widmer found his hard work had paid off in terms of his transmission now working but was clearly not happy with the conditions. He pitted at the end of the green flag lap but then went out only to later spin (again at the infamous Turn 1) the car only being arrested by the barriers, knocking off a corner, Christoph visibly unhappy.
French compatriots Francois Derossi and Ludovic Ingwiller were both on the move making up places.
Jonathan Sharp continued in 3rd place but was conscious Mark Carter was closing in. Mark took a run at Jonathan exiting the final corner but couldn’t complete the move, his engine a bit breathless. He then fell away slightly. Ludovic then passed Mark and set after Jonathan.
Up front the usual battle royal between Andrew and Peter was not dampened by the conditions until Andrew, contrary to his usual standards, spun and whilst quickly recovering enabled Peter to gain a well deserved and hugely popular win. This being the first time the ex Ken Sedgley car had ever won a race – both in period and currently. Peter has been a front runner all year but bad luck and some very stiff competition has prevented from reaching the top step until now.
Meanwhile, Ludovic Ingwiller, who was much quicker than Jonathan Sharp through the final turn, got a clean run and passed him on the straight as they entered the final lap. Jonathan wasn’t prepared to give up without a fight and retook 3rd going round the outside of Ludovic at Turn 1. Ludovic desperate to hang on sadly spun demoting himself to 6th behind Mark Carter and Francois Derossi.
There was understandable delight in parc ferme; Ian Phillips, Peter De la Roche and his family enjoying the win, Andrew Hibberd his championship whilst Jonathan Sharp was elated at being in such august company.
As the British National Anthem played, all three Brits stood proudly on the podium signing off a fabulous 60th Anniversary of the One Litre F3 Screamers orchestrated by the sadly absent Simon Etherington. It was a healthy sign that everyone was already talking about “next year”.
Dijon-Motors-Cup---n11n-F3-1000cc---Qualifying-Practices---Final-ranking.pdf [PDF]
Dijon-Motors-Cup---n11n-F3-1000cc---Race-1---Final-Ranking---AMENDED.pdf [PDF]
Dijon-Motors-Cup---n11n-F3-1000cc---Race-2---Final-ranking.pdf [PDF]
