House Wins VW Cup Title, Taylor Wins Races
02 October 2005
The Volkswagen Racing Cup season sped to a superb end at Snetterton
yesterday (Sunday), with reigning champion Philip House claiming his
second title and series newcomer Paul Taylor making a dream debut to
win both Norfolk rounds.
For 24-year-old Beetle RSi driver House, second place in the first
of the day's races was sufficient to guarantee the crown with a race
in hand, and he gave Taylor - who has bought multiple race-winner
Shaun Hollamby's Golf R32 - more than a run for his money.
Hertfordshire-based Taylor's bid for victory in round 11 was straight
from the Hollamby racing manual. Paul's Big Boys Toys-prepared
R32 stormed to the front within yards of the startline after blasting
off from row two and past front-row men House and Dan Thackeray.
House had said before the race that there would be no heroics from
him as he endeavoured to secure the championship title, but Philip
decided he was not going to let Taylor have things his own way.
House's Beetle shadowed Taylor's Golf for three laps, trying
to pressurise his less experienced rival into making an error.
Philip
was rewarded
on lap four when Paul ran wide exiting the Esses. 'I made a
mistake and Phil got me,' said Taylor, 'and then it was a case
of biding
my time and waiting for an opportunity to repass.'
That chance came on lap 10 when House missed a gear as he swept
on to the long Revett Straight; Taylor was able to take advantage
and
streak past to regain the lead. He maintained the advantage
over the remaining five laps to claim a dream debut victory,
0.225s
ahead of
House at the chequered flag.
'We've started as we mean to go on,' said Taylor, who plans
a full Volkswagen Racing Cup season in 2006. 'All credit
to Big
Boys Toys
for the job they've done on the car and in helping me to
get the best from it.'
Third place was disputed by the Bora of Berkshire's Joe
Fulbrook and 17-year-old Thackeray's Exeter Diesels Golf
TDI - a little
too closely
fought over as it transpired, for the pair clashed at
Coram and again out of Russell on the seventh lap. The resulting
damage
forced Fulbrook
from the race and delayed Hertfordshire driver Thackeray
sufficiently to hand third on a plate to the TDI Golf
of
Cheltenham's Lloyd
Allard.
Allard was only just over a second behind House at the
line, with Thackeray recovering sufficiently to hang
on to fourth,
a further
eight seconds
behind.
Mark Smith's Bora and Martyn Culley's Vento VR6 battled
over fifth for the duration, a tussle joined by Alex
Dziurzynski's Corrado
for several laps until a brush with Smith's car cost
Alex a broken driveshaft.
Smith won the place ahead of Martyn Culley, with Car
magazine editor Jason Barlow enjoying a strong run in the new Golf
GTI to make
it to seventh after getting the better of Steve Wood's
VR6
Golf early
on.
Martin Rutherford stormed through the field to ninth
in the turbocharged Citygate Beetle after being forced
to
start
from the back of
the grid; he finished one place ahead of Barrie Culley's
Vento VR6.
Steve Dorrell's
Beetle collected 11th ahead of the misfiring Golf of
Tony Harberman, Stuart Bliss in his Golf GTI, Dan Taylor's
Polo
TDI, Claire
Tippet's Golf and Michael McInerney's Europcar Beetle.
Snetterton double winner from 2004 Ken Lark lasted less
than half a lap, his Corrado's suspension broken by
a swipe from
Didge Dziurzynski's
Golf. Didge made it only as far as the pits. Peter
Wyhinny enjoyed a good outing in the Caddy TDI up until the final
lap when a
broken engine mount forced him out.
It nearly all went wrong for Paul Taylor at the beginning
of race two. With the top six finishers lining up
in reverse order
on the
grid,
Paul found himself starting sixth and with an ever-decreasing
gap ahead of him as he tried to squeeze his Golf
between the cars of
Allard and
Thackeray. There was contact between Taylor's car
and Thackeray's and Dan was forced to the pits to have
some panel damage
sorted.
With pole-sitter Martyn Culley making a tardy getaway
it was Allard who seized the lead, ahead of House,
Smith and
Taylor,
his Golf
seemingly none the worse for its brush with Thackeray's
machine. Paul disposed
of Smith and House to move into second on lap two,
and then unseated Allard from top spot down the Revett Straight
a
lap later.
And that was the closest anyone came to depriving Taylor
of his second victory of the day, Paul romping off
to a three-second win.
Allard beat off a brief challenge from House when Philip
nipped in front entering Russell on lap three. Lloyd
repassed him
a few hundred
yards later up the Senna Straight and went on to take
an excellent second, just as he did at Knockhill in
May. 'It's
a great end
to the year,' said Allard, 'and a fantastic achievement
for Allard Turner Motor Racing.'
House claimed third and Smith fourth, with Martyn Culley
hanging on to fifth for the duration of the race
despite major harassment
from
Rutherford, who was battling to control a Beetle
with failed power steering.
Barlow survived a scary 360-degree spin at Coram
on the opening lap after contact with Wood's car,
Jason
bringing
the GTI
home seventh
once more. Lark was an excellent eighth in his
hurriedly repaired Corrado, just ahead of Fulbrook, with Barrie
Culley 10th, Dorrell
11th and Wood
12th despite his early brush with Barlow and a
late-race
thump from John Quartermaine's Vento.
Tippet and Stuart Bliss enjoyed a superb battle
in their Mk I Golfs, swapping places lap after
lap until
Stuart's
engine
gave
up the
ghost four laps from home. Claire was lucky to
make it to the end, her
car running dry of fuel as it crossed the line
in 16th spot, just ahead
of McInerney's Beetle and Wyhinny's Caddy.
The Volkswagen Racing Cup enjoys the support of
Augustus Martin, Castrol, ECM Vehicle Delivery,
Europcar,
Experian, Inchcape
Automotive, ISG
Occupancy, Milltek Sport, Mondial Assistance,
Pirelli, Proximity London, KW Automotive, Superchips, TNT
Logistics, Volkswagen
Commercial Vehicles
and Volkswagen Financial Services UK.
See 2005 series calendar
for VW
Racing Cup
Related Story 01.10.2005 - Claire
Tippet: Strong Finishes in VW Cup Season Finale
