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Fennymore & Cantillon win at Hockenheim
Half a gallon of petrol stood between Graham Fennymore's Superlight and a clean sweep of evo Caterham Eurocup race victories at Hockenheim on Friday and Saturday (13/14 Apr).
Fennymore, the reigning UK Superlight champ, was racing his Caterham overseas for the first time, but his lack of experience of the German Grand Prix track failed to blunt his performance even in the slightest.
Graham went quickest by a tenth in first qualifying in his Ambitions Racing/Hyperion machine, with David Knox his nearest rival, and in qualifying two Fennymore edged himself on to the pole once again, this time by seven-tenths, ahead of Team Parker's Mike Cantillon.
Fennymore made a conservative start to the first of the two sprint races, then claimed the lead from early pacesetter Knox on lap two. Cantillon and Knox sparred for second place until David's exit with a gearbox problem on lap five, by which time Fennymore was two seconds in front and extending his advantage with every lap.
But it all went wrong for Graham on the final lap, when his engine started to splutter. "We miscalculated the fuel required," admitted Fennymore. "Gutted isn't the word." Things could have been worse: he at least managed to get across the line without losing second to the fast-approaching Steve Frost.
Cantillon was a delighted and surprised winner by four seconds. "I had a great battle early on with David but when he went out I had nobody to tow from and couldn't stay with Graham. I am as surprised as he is that it was me who won!"
Frost's popular podium finish was his best-ever result in a Caterham sprint race and he was delighted with it after six seasons of toil. Series newcomer Clive Coote was an excellent fourth, ahead of Bill Addison, who had had to start from the back after breaking his gearbox in pre-race testing. John Barbour and Terry Clark placed sixth and seventh respectively.
There were no mistakes from Fennymore in sprint race two; he led every inch of it, from pole position to chequered flag. "That makes up for my earlier error!" said Graham.
With Knox still sidelined with gearbox problems, Cantillon had another lonely drive to second, just over 10 seconds behind Fennymore. Frost was once again third, ahead of Addison and Clark. Barbour spun on the opening lap and Coote became entangled with him; both were unclassified.
And so to the new-look finale of the weekend, the one-hour feature race. Again Fennymore dominated but it was not a straightforward win. A poor start saw Graham well down the order: "I was nigh-on last, but my plan was to take it gently and avoid any trouble." Stealthily he picked his way past Cantillon and Frost on lap two and then he seized the lead from Knox next time around.
Within three laps he had eased away from Cantillon and Knox, who were scrapping over second, by 4.5 seconds and the race was, pit-stops notwithstanding, effectively in his pocket. His stop was completed calmly and efficiently and Fennymore cruised on to a 30-second win.
The battle for second spot raged all the way to the chequered flag, Knox and Cantillon swapping the advantage several times a lap, Mike the last to take the baton by getting ahead of his rival at the hairpin on the final tour. Coote followed Knox home for fourth, with Frost placing fifth.
Provisional results: Eurocup Superlight
Round 1 Hockenheim 13 April
17 laps/48.31 miles
1, Mike Cantillon, GB/Superlight, 33m26.439s, 86.69mph
2, Graham Fennymore, GB/Superlight, +3.437s
3, Steve Frost, GB/Superlight, 16 laps
4, Clive Coote, GB/Superlight, 16 laps
5, Bill Addison, GB/Superlight, 16 laps
6, John Barbour, GB/Superlight, 16 laps
Fastest lap: Fennymore 1m55.464 / 88.61mph
Round 2 Hockenheim 13 April
16 laps/45.47 miles
1, Graham Fennymore, GB/Superlight, 32m41.922s, 83.44mph
2, Mike Cantillon, GB/Superlight, +10.638s
3, Steve Frost, GB/Superlight, +13.500s
4, Bill Addison, GB/Superlight, +34.125s
5, Terry Clark, GB/Superlight, +52.109s
Fastest lap: Fennymore 1m55.586s / 88.52mph
Round 3 Hockenheim 14 April
30 laps/85.27 miles
1, Graham Fennymore, GB/Superlight, 1h01m05.579s, 83.74mph
2, Mike Cantillon, GB/Superlight, +30.142s
3, David Knox, GB/Superlight, +31.108s
4, Clive Coote, GB/Superlight, 29 laps
5, Steve Frost, GB/Superlight, 29 laps
Fastest lap: Fennymore 1m55.856s / 88.32mph
Provisional points placings
Sprint =1 Cantillon & Fennymore 38 points; 3 Frost 34; 4 Addison 31; 5 Clark 28;
6 Coote 16; 7 Barbour 14.
Endurance 1 Fennymore 20; 2 Cantillon 18; 3 Knox 17; 4 Coote 16; 5 Frost 15.
Next rounds: Val de Vienne, France, 4/5 May
Backers for Caterham Motorsport's UK and European race series include Bilstein, Brian James Trailers, Cheesman Products, Circuit Driver, Cooper-Avon Tyres, Demon Tweeks, evo, HSBC Insurance Brokers, Mitchell Cotts, Motorsport News, Stack and Steel Fabrications.
16.04.2007
Graham Fennymore