Team Associated At The Scottish Grand Prix
Last weekend CML/Associated team drivers Tom Jefferies and Cameron Macdonald made the trip north of the border to compete at the Much More Scottish Grand Prix.
The annual event is held at the excellent Stonehaven circuit near Aberdeen and with the format changed this year too, Pro-Stock on Saturday followed by Unlimited Modified on the Sunday and with track layouts changing between days, there was something for everyone and this year didn’t disappoint.
Saturday morning and the drivers were greeted with a damp track from the previous nights rain. Fortunately, as racing didn’t begin until 9:30, the track was dry by the time Tom and Cam started there first qualifying run. With the traction quite low due to the earlier rain the Associated pair concentrated on having a clean run as the best 2 of 3 round by round format left very little room for error.
Local driver John Simpson topped the time sheet in round one with Tom second overall and struggling to match the horsepower of the front runners with Cameron a solid fifth. The following two rounds would be taken by Tom giving him TQ with Cameron 3rd on the grid behind John Simpson.
The first final saw Tom leading from start to finish to take a comfortable win in front of Cam setting them up for a possible Associated 1-2. The second final wasn’t as straightforward as Tom struggled for traction on the first lap dropping him down to last overall with a lot of work to do. After battling his way back up to fifth he was surprised to find out he still took the overall win in front of local hero Dan Rowlands and the TC5 of Kieran Smart. Cam never recovered from his first lap incident dropping off the podium.
The club had managed to get there hands on a speed gun which of course resulted in a top speed competition on the Saturday night using the two hundred metre straight. Completing a Team Associated clean sweep for the day Cam took the top spot with 67mph with Tom in second place with 66mph
Sunday morning and the drivers were greeted with a truly water logged track. After delaying the race for half an hour the drivers took to the track for the first round of qualifying. Tom suffered from interference on the straight which resulted in a broken car while Cameron put in a fast run to claim a second in the round in front of Dan Rowlands. The second round was taken by Tom who concentrated on a clean run with no errors. With everything to play for in the third round and Tom needing to finish to stay in contention the last round was a tense affair! On a quickly drying track Tom took TQ in front of Dan Rowlands and the Kieran Smart with Cameron in fourth.
Tyre choice for the first final would be critical as the track was dry in places but still had a lot of damp patches on some very fast corners. The Associated team decided on wets and the choice paid off as even after being tagged from behind and demoted to second Tom was able to out-break Dan into a hairpin and regain first where he remained until the buzzer. The second final was more mundane as Tom led for the first four minutes while everyone behind battled for podium honours. With thirty seconds to go Tom backed off enough to allow Cameron to pass him and take top honours and guarantee and Associated/CML 1-2.
Thanks to Keith Anderton and also everyone at Stonehaven club especially Dan Rowlands, George Hanning, Chris Briggs and Pauline Hanning for keeping us well fed.
Source: CML Distribution
