2010 Legends Cars Championship - Rounds 8 & 9, Anglesey
31^st  July/1^st August 2010

 Another weekend of action packed Legends racing was hopefully what lay ahead at the most beautiful circuit in Britain, the only circuit that has it’s own beach.  

Anglesey circuit or Parc Mon if you are Welsh is not just a circuit it is 3 circuits, they will be using the Coastal circuit with it’s famous Corkscrew on Saturday & the longer International circuit on Sunday. 

With Stephen going into the weekend leading the championship points would be the name of the game, And for Simon the same having made up good ground over some of his rivals in the previous 2 rounds. I must also mention that it was at this round in last years championship that Simon had his spectacular accident when both He & Nick Brace collided. 

Round 8 Warm-Up
A dry track awaited the drivers for today’s warm up, Stephen was to set his stall out very early on, setting the fastest lap by 4/10ths of a second from his nearest rival. Simon was using the warm up session to bed in some new rubber, yet still managed to set 10^th fastest time. 

Excuse Me Sir We’re Going This Way … 

Round 8 Heat 1
A good clean start to the race in which Simon had got up to 3^rd place, only for the race to be red flagged following an incident involving #43 Mick Mercer. The race was then restarted with all the cars being placed back in their original grid positions, so it was back to the 5^th row for Simon & 7^th row for Stephen. It was a very frustrating race for both drivers, with cars spinning out in front of them and having to take evasive action, “every time you have to avoid a spinning car it cost’s you valuable seconds” said Stephen. Eventually it was 4^th for #12 & 9^th for #11. 

Round 8 Heat 2
This time it was Stephen’s turn to go off the 5^th row, with Simon going off the 7^th row, with 24 cars on the grid it can get quite congested and this race would prove to be no different. Once they had made their way through the pack, a race long battle between Stephen & his nearest rival in the championship #5 Higgins took place with the lead changing hands several times. Simon had also made good progress through and was also having his own battle with reigning UK Legends champion #1 Lee Fitzpatrick from which Simon would eventually finish 11^th just 0.100 seconds back. Stephen’s battle with #5 went all the way to the chequered flag and he had to settle for 2^nd by 0.173 of a second, which equates to half a car.  

Round 8 Final
A wet track awaited the drivers for the final, it wouldn’t be Legends without some rain at sometime during the meeting. The task in hand was not going to be easy and was made even more difficult when the #4 car of John Mickel spun in front of Simon & Stephen at the end of the 1^st lap. The conditions out on the track were far from ideal, both drivers had to contend with slower drivers & a very slippery circuit. Stephen made the best of a double 360° spin by #5 Higgins and finished just over ½ a second behind him in 7^th, Simon finished in 15^th following a very frustrating race. 

Round 9 Warm-Up
The drivers were today going to be using the longer 2.100 mile International circuit which removes The Corkscrew and adds in the Tom Pryce Straight & the Hairpin. The warm-up was good for The Karcher Handy Motorsport team, with both drivers in the top 5 & only separated by 6/10ths of a second, less than a cars length. 

Round 9 Heat 1
Occasionally in motor racing things happen that are very difficult to explain, today was one of those days. Stephen was locked in a battle with #19 Lawrence Davey when for no apparent reason the car slid of the track and onto the grass, at this point Stephen became a passenger, and eventually came to rest via the Armco minus his 2 front wheels. It was now down to Simon to hold up the teams honour, he did and brought the #11 car home in an excellent 5^th place . 

Here Come The Karcher Boys … 

Round 9 Heat 2
Thanks to no small effort by the teams mechanics, Stephen was able to take part in the race to try and regain some very important championship points. Simon was going from the 8^th row of the grid with Stephen 2 rows in front. It took Stephen 3 laps to get through to the front and what is becoming a familiar story then took place, a battle with #32 Morton,#1 Fitzpatrick & #3 Marshall. #3 was the first to leave the party taking to the grass on the entry into Rocket. Simon was also locked in a 3 way dice with #43 Pape & #33 Bell. It eventually finished with Stephen taking 2^nd just 0.181 seconds behind eventual winner #32. Simon was again on the pace but suffered from some very heavy traffic before finishing tenth.  

Round 9 Final
With every race & round that goes by in the championship this year the racing has become closer & more unpredictable, this race epitomised that. With both Stephen & Simon battling through the whole race for their places, Stephen had the lead with 2 laps to go & it changed 3 times before he crossed the line in 3^rd place. Simon finished in came home in 7^th to round off a solid points scoring weekend which saw him move up another place in the championship, or should  I say “in the very close championship”. Look at the top 3 places separated by just 25 points. 

 You can keep up to date with the teams progress in The 2010 Legends Cars Championship on Sky TV, Motors TV, British Eurosport and at http://www.legendsracinguk.com/ukhome.html