Dunn
& Gates rollercoaster weekend at Thruxton
Barry
Gates & Anthony Dunn carried on their battle for the
Radical Enduro SR3 championship at Thruxton. The weekend
started well with Anthony qualifying on pole position for
both races by a clear half a second ahead of championship
rivals Phil Bailey & Bradley Ellis. Barry also excelled
around the super fast track and set a pace within a second
of his team mate in his first time at the circuit.
Flat out through Church corner
Disaster
struck at the start of the first race as Gates was hit by
a spinning SR8 in front, heavily damaging their car and
putting them out of the race. A frantic struggle was made
to rebuild the car for the second race and Team RPM did
a fantastic job to get the car back out in time. Barry drove
a consistent opening stint, keeping pace with the class
competitors and handing the car to Anthony in a close 3rd
position. A long pitstop ensued because a piece of the previously
damaged bodywork was rubbing on a back tyre, requiring it
to be changed.
Anthony
rejoined the race in a distant 4th place, but a safety car
closed the pack back up again. It was then a 10 minute sprint
to the finish, with Anthony driving out of his skin to try
& take the win. The last lap board was shown and he
was behind leading SR3 of James Harrison.
Anthony chases through the pack after the restart
Anthony
saw an opportunity coming out of the final corner to pass
Harrison and he crossed the line 0.016 seconds ahead and
eased off the throttle to claim the win...however the team
called across the radio that the pitwall marshal had made
a mistake and were still showing the final lap board meaning
the race was still on! Unfortunately, it was too late &
Anthony couldn't close the gap enough over the remaining
lap, so they finished 2nd in class.
"That
has to be the best and worst race of my life!" said
Anthony. "It was done & dusted as far as I was
aware...then I got the radio call...".
However,
the pair are still in the hunt for the championship as they
lie 2nd in the standings 11 points behind the lead. They
race at Donington again in a fortnight.
ALL
PHOTO'S COURTESY OF OLIVER READ
Watch
the full video from the second race below!
THE WIN THAT GOT AWAY
This is the FULL RACE onboard with Barry & Anthony Dunn
at Thruxton for round 8 of the Radical Enduro British Championship.
Barry
(blue gloves) starts the race and puts in a solid first
stint, having a good dice with Paul Thomas (light blue /
orange car 59) and James Harrison (red car 46). Barry knows
all he has to do is stay in touch with the pair to have
a chance of victory.
He
pits to hand the car to Anthony in 4th place in class. During
the pitstop the back right tyre has to be changed due to
rubbing bodywork (accident damage from race 1) delaying
the stop by approximately 15 seconds).
Anthony
resumes 4th and catches Phil Bailey (black car 1) shortly
before a safety car period. There is a mad dash in the last
10 minutes as Anthony tries to catch the leader James Harrison
(red car 46). He passes Phil Bailey (black car), Paul Thomas
(light blue / orange) and the backmarker Simon Tilling (white)
to be right behind James Harrison (red).
The
pitlane marshall shows the last lap board & at the end of
the lap, coming out of the chicane on Anthony sees an opportunity
as Harrison slides sideways and crosses the line 0.016 of
a second in front.... ....except the marshalls show the
'Last Lap' board for the second time and the team radio
through that the race is still on! By which time it is too
late and Anthony has already backed off, leaving him in
2nd place!
