VW Racing Cup Victories for Lark and House

03 May 2004

A brace of brilliantly exciting Volkswagen Racing Cup events at Croft in North Yorkshire provided not only thrills but also resounding victories for championship regular Ken Lark and series newcomer - and local hero - Philip House.

Hertfordshire driver Lark and his Corrado VR6 held at bay determined Beetle pilot Ray MacDowall to claim the honours in round three of the championship, while Ripley-based racer House led from start to finish of round four in his Beetle to claim a popular maiden win.

Meanwhile, although reigning champion Rob Carvell failed to add to the twin wins he scored at Donington Park last month, he did leave Croft with an extended championship lead.

The event also marked the worldwide motorsport debut of the new Golf, journalist Nick Trott scoring well in both races in the 2-litre TDI Mk V.

The first race of the day provided a superb tussle for victory throughout, Lark getting the best of it after making a blistering getaway from pole position to lead MacDowall's ECM Beetle.

Carlisle driver MacDowall's pursuit of victory was relentless, the Beetle well able to match the Corrado's pace around the circuit's twistier sections. On the straights, though, Lark had the legs of MacDowall and was able to pull out enough of a breathing space to ensure victory.

MacDowall's biggest effort came on the fifth of the 13 laps, when he outbraked Lark into the sharp right-hander, Tower Bend. But Ken fought back in front on the run down to the Jim Clark Esses and was never headed thereafter. Lark crossed the line 3.7s ahead.

" It was a great race," said Ray. "Ken drove superbly and made his Corrado very wide in places. Towards the end I started to get gear selection problems and had to settle for second." Added Lark: "Ray was behind me all the way and never let up. My car was excellent and I had a lot of guidance from Pirelli about getting the best from the tyres. I'm very pleased."

The battle for third place was no less intense, featuring the cars of Craig Inskip (Northiam), Mark Smith (Hednesford), Shaun Hollamby (Chelsfield), House and Martin Rutherford (Harrow) for much of the distance.

Inskip's Becra-backed Golf held sway until the fifth lap, when Smith's Bora edged ahead; three laps later Hollamby's Beetle found a way past Inskip also, but then Hollamby and Smith were in collision in the Complex and Inskip was able to pick his way through the incident to regain third. Smith spun back to eighth and Hollamby's race came to an end with a holed radiator.

In the later stages Inskip came under severe pressure from House, but the local hero had no answer for Inskip's pace. Craig was 0.8s ahead at the flag to record his best-ever Racing Cup finish, on a circuit he had never raced before.

Paul Dukes (Newark) crossed the line fifth in his Beetle but was later deemed underweight and was excluded. Thus Smith inherited fifth, his late-race battle with Carvell a highlight of the closing laps. Carvell's Scirocco had been forced to start from the back of the grid with a 10-second penalty after post-qualifying scrutineering revealed an infringement of the technical rules.

Undeterred, Rob blasted through to the top 12 by mid-distance and was delighted with his sixth-place finish.
Brislington's Grant Woodhatch overcame a delay in his early-race progress to claim seventh in his Vento ahead of Martyn Culley's (Basingstoke) similar car and the BP Golf diesel of Mark Thomas.

Exeter's Alex Dziurzynski placed 10th after a brush with the barriers, ahead of Lloyd Allard (Cheltenham), Barrie Culley (Thatcham), Datchet driver Michael McInerney's Europcar R32 and the Mk I Golf of Claire Tippet (Cheltenham).

Car journalist Nick Trott enjoyed a highly competitive outing in the new Golf, finishing 15th on what was not only his maiden race but also the car's world racing debut. He said: "The new Golf has such good ingredients for a racing car; I know that someone with experience could really get a great result in it."
The other motoring writer in the field, Jason Barlow, failed to make the distance after a suspected wheel bearing failure on his Europcar Beetle; Barlow had enjoyed a good battle with Trott in the middle stages.

Carvell started the second race of the day not only from pole position but also firm favourite for victory. But it was not to be, his Scirocco swamped at the start by the slick-starting cars of House, Smith and Inskip. House in particular made a blistering getaway, his Ripley Caravan Park-backed Beetle enjoying a lead of 1.8 seconds by the end of the opening lap.

Croft race school instructor Philip, 23, made great use of his circuit knowledge to widen the gap to his pursuers over the course of the next two laps. By the time Carvell had disposed of Inskip and Smith, House was 4.5 seconds up the road.

" I made a perfect start," said House, "and then pushed on using my knowledge of the track to build a gap. It was a worry when I saw Rob in my mirrors, but I concentrated on keeping it tidy and it paid off."

Carvell closed down the gap with metronomic efficiency, but by the end of the 13 laps House still had an advantage of 1.7 seconds.

Rob had other problems to worry about, chiefly MacDowall, who fought through from fifth on the grid to third, right on Carvell's tail, by the end. Lark capped his weekend with fourth ahead of Inskip, Woodhatch, Smith, Martyn Culley and Dziurzynski. McInerney proved his Donington results were no fluke with a fine 10th, just ahead of Trott's new Golf, the Vento of Barrie Culley and the redoubtable Caddy of Peter Wyhinny.

Tippet placed 14th once again and Jonny Moore was 15th in his Polo G40, one place ahead of newcomer Andrew Boakes's G40.

The Volkswagen Racing Cup enjoys the support of Augustus Martin, Castrol, ECM Vehicle Delivery, Europcar, Experian, gedas UK, Inchcape Automotive, ISG Occupancy, K&N Filters, Sabelt, Mondial Assistance, Pirelli, Proximity London, KW Automotive, Sony UK, Superchips, TMD Friction, TNT Logistics and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

See 2004 series calendar for VW Racing Cup

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