SMRC Championship 2001

Here are the 2001 race reports. Click here for this year's results

SMRC Championship -Round 4

1st July 2001

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SMRC Championship - Round 3

17th June 2001

This was a big and busy weekend. With the BRSCC Legends Cars Championship drivers visiting Knockhill for their 6th and 7th rounds and the 4th round of the SMRC Championship there was a total of 17 races held over the 2 days!

In the SMRC Championship Heat 1: With 12 cars on the drawn grid and Ross Mickel on pole the Scottish Legends got off to a great start. Colin Noble, who has walked his way to victory numerous times since the start of the season, didn't take long to come through from the 4th row of the grid to challenge Ross Mickel for the lead and when Ross over-cooked the chicane, Colin was on his tail and took the lead at the next corner. Ross, being Ross, was not going to give in easily and stuck with Colin for the remainder of the race and at the chequer only 1/10th of a second split them at the flag! Legends racing couldn't be much closer!

Heat 2

The reversed grid meant that Mark Treherne was on pole for the Heat 2 with John Marshall beside him on the front row. John quickly took the lead with Ian McMurdo closely behind him, but once again Colin Noble was on their tails. By lap 2 Colin had taken the lead from John who fought back and regained his place by the hairpin. But Colin wasn't having that and had regained lead position again by Duffus! Colin Noble increased his lead by a few car lengths but lost out to John Marshall once again when he made a mistake at MacIntyres. But Colin wasn't having that and had regained lead position again by Clark (feeling travelsick yet?) Unfortunately the tussle for 1st stopped abruptly when John's engine went bang on the last lap and Colin Noble won by a comfortable 3 seconds over Ian McMurdo. Aly Hunter came in 3rd after a storming race and exciting nose to tail run with John Marshall, Ross Mickel and Ian McMurdo in the previous lap.

Final

The final started with Gary Crawford in pole position with John Marshall, in a Legends Race Hire car, alongside him. John took the lead from Gary half way round the 1st lap but one lap later Ross Mickel steamed into the lead having started on the back row along with Colin Noble. John Marshall managed to hold of Colin Noble for a while as a 5-car train ran through. By lap 4 Colin was up to 2nd, closed right up on Ross and took the lead on lap 5 only for it to slip from his grasp again when he went wide and dropped to 3rd at Butchers. Colin managed to climb to 2nd again from John Marshall but couldn't catch Ross Mickel, who took a well-deserved win.

For details and Race Reports of the BRSCC Legends Cars Championship visit www.legends-cars.com

Results

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SMRC Championship - Round 2

13th May 2001

The second meeting of the SMRC Championship saw a biggest ever grid of 16 cars. The grid was drawn with Robert Marshall (36) on Pole accompanied on the front row by Ian Griffiths (90), followed by Eric McFarlane(27), Ian McMurdo (37), Steve Reynolds (26), Brendan Dudley (70), Gerard McCosh (66), Ross Mickel (69), John Marshall (28), Aly Hunter (30), Colin Noble (45), Stuart Clumpas (80), Gary Crawford (75), Robert Anderson (23), Steve Hobday (17) and Robin Drysdale (10).

Stuart Clumpas was a late entry on the day when he was determined to race something after his Historic Midget failed. Gary Crawford, who has been helping out at Legends Race Hire all last season recently purchased one of our cars and made his long-awaited debut. Steve Hobday and Robin Drysdale were "visiting" from the National Championship.

Heat 1

On the way down Dufus in the first lap Brendan Dudley caught a wheel on Ian McMurdo and unfortunately broke his wrist however he continued on to finish the race! Colin Noble was on the move from the very start and came through from the back of the grid to win the race in a comfortable lead from Eric McFarlane then Steve Hobday.

Heat 2

The grid was reversed from Pole to 11th position followed by the 3 novices in the formula and Steve Hobday and Robin Drysdale remained on the back row. This time, starting in Pole, Colin Noble sailed on through to victory again followed by John Marshall then Eric McFarlane.

Final

As previously, the grid for the final was determined by the combination of points from both Heats with the highest points scorers starting at the rear of the grid. Ian McMurdo and Steve Reynolds were on front row for the start of this race. On the very first corner, Eric McFarlane who had started in 9th place, caught a wheel on Gerard McCosh's car and dramatically launched himself skyward. He was so high in the air that he cleared John Marshall and Colin Noble turned underneath the flying car! When he landed he went end over end several times and then side over side eventually coming to a halt upside down in the gravel trap. Aly Hunter had been astonished to find that he was driving alongside a tumbling car and could do nothing but drive into the gravel trap too! As ever the track marshals were on the scene immediately and attended to Eric, who very fortunately after such a horrific accident only has a broken arm/wrist. As strong as ever the Legends Car cage remained intact but the incident has sparked the question of the need for safety restraints for the arms. At the restart the race was cut to 4 laps and Colin Noble went on to have a hat-trick of wins for the day.

Results

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SMRC Championship - Round 1

1st April 2001

The very first meeting for the new SMRC Championship opened at Knockhill with 12 cars entered. Although the weather had been threatening all week the circuit was blessed with sunshine contrary to last year's opening meeting which was abandoned because of snow!

Testing in the morning gave the drivers - 4 who were complete novices in Legends Cars - a chance to try out the new and improved track and to make those final adjustments to their cars. After practice there was a definite buzz around the paddock and great anticipation to get racing.

Heat 1

The grid for the first race saw 2 of the novices - Brendan Dudley (70) in a Legends Race Hire car and Steve Reynolds (26) - on the front row. Steve Reynolds was slightly quick of the mark at the start and he was the first car down into Dufus Dip followed hard on his heels by Brendan Dudley. Aly Hunter (30) in his own Legends Race Hire car unfortunately had to concede the corner to Ian McMurdo (37) at MacIntyres and went wide over the grass. Colin Noble (45), in his new car, came storming through the field from the back row of the grid to take the lead before the start of the 4th lap. From here he stretched his lead to win comfortably with John Marshall (28) 2nd and Ian McMurdo (37) 3rd. Brendan Dudley and Steve Reynolds had both been going really well until they came into contact on lap 3 at Clarks.

Heat 2

The reversed grid for Heat 2 meant that Colin Noble (45) was starting out on front row and he took an immediate lead but was being followed closely by John Marshall (28). By the 2nd bend Colin Noble had fallen down to 4th after being over enthusiastic and going wide but he then fought back to take the lead once again with Brendan Dudley hard on his tail. There was a thrilling fight to the finish with Colin Noble winning his second race of the meeting, with Brendan Dudley 2nd and Eric McFarlane 3rd. Robert Marsahll (36) was struggling at the tail end and was fighting to control his car because of a problem with a rear wheel lifting off the tarmac on nearly every bend. As is often the case in Legends Car racing there was also a great race further down the field between mid-field drivers Aly Hunter and Gerard McCosh.

Final

The grid for the final is determined by the combination of points from both Heats with the highest points scorers starting at the rear of the grid providing an exciting racing over the 6 laps. It was clear that a number of the drivers were very determined and not prepared to concede corners to anyone, giving the spectators a spectacular race to watch. Quite a few of the drivers who had manage to put in very fast lap times and who we would expect to see nearer the back of the grid in the final, started mid-field because they had only finished in one of the two heats. No long into the race Brendan Dudley took the lead and although the cars from the rear of the grid managed to drive their way through to near the front Brendan took his first victory at his first ever meeting in Legends Cars! In yet another magnificent drive, Colin Noble came home in 2nd, and Eric McFarlane in 3rd.

Results

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