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Qualifying- 12th, 11th, 10th Race 1- 11th Race 2- 10th Race 3- DNF Race 4- 9th Tom Ashton made his guest appearance in the Formula Palmer Audi championship at Snetterton last weekend. Having not driven the car for two years and up against some of Europes finest up and coming single seater drivers, it was a tall order for Tom to obtain a top result. Qualifying went well with tom setting a time only 0.7 and 0.8 seconds away from pole. That left him just shy of the top 10 for the start of the races. Race 1 was a difficult race with Tom losing 3 places from the start. He managed to make the places back but could not catch the 10th place car come the end of the race. With Tom getting quicker every time he was in the car, race 2 finished with a 10th place and 5th quickest time of the race only 0.4s from the fastest. In Race 3 there was disappointment for Ashton with a brake failure at 155 mph leaving Ashton with nothing to do but wait to hit the tyre wall. The car was heavily damaged and Tom had pulled the ligaments in his right hand. However the car was quickly repaired by the mechanics and with a strapped up hand Ashton managed to finish 9th from the back section of the grid, having made some good overtakes and setting a very good race pace. Ashton and his team were elated to be so close the front running place after just 30 minutes practice on Friday. Radical UK Cup Oulton Park 28th & 29th May 2010 Qualifying 4th & 2nd Race 1 1st Race 2 2nd It was a very successful weekend at Oulton for Tom, who was driving the full race distance solo, with Gary Kane unable to race. Qualifying was wet and resulted in a 4th place just behind the three pro drivers Wheldon, Kapadia and Moseley and 2nd for race 2. Tom had to take avoiding action from a first corner crash (see footage section) and challenged Kapadia down to island hairpin. The safety car came out for 5 laps while the wreckage was removed. After the safety car period ended Tom was in a four way battle until the pit stops. After the pit stops Tom emerged in 1st place in class and 2nd overall, ahead of BTCC driver Paul O'niell. It was a very successful race which ended with Tom finishing 3rd overall and 1st in the Supersport class. For race 2 Tom started 2nd and made a first lap move on Ross Allen to take the class lead. He held the lead and defended hard from Ross till the pit stops where he conceded 2nd to Allen. After the stops the race settled down and the two exchanged fastest laps but the end result was 2nd to round off a rewarding weekend in the new Kane racing Radical SR3 RS. Speed Series UK Silverstone GP 3rd & 4th April 2010 Qualifying DNQ Race 1 1st in class 4th overall Race 2 1st in class 4th overall It was a very strong start to the season for Tom driving in the Speed UK prototype series up against a big number of UK professional drivers. Driving still with Gary Kane in last years race winning Radical PR6, the two competed in two 90 minute races. Up against the 2 litre Ligier and Norma Le mans style prototype cars, and on old tyres the team were not favoured to impress. Problems in qualifying further created issues but despite the issues Tom and Gary would put on a very strong display from the back row. When the car was handed over to Tom on lap 21 of race 1 the car was in 8th. Tom put on a real impressive performance and posted some superb lap times in the rain, securing second fastest lap of the race only 0.5s slower than race winner Warren Hughes, current Le mans, FIA GT racer and former BTCC race winner. By the end of the race the result was a fourth place only just behind Chris Ward in the works Norma. Starting 4th for race 2 Tom quickly got up to 2nd at the expense of Gary Woodcock and Leyton Clarke, but could not close down Warren Hughes. Eventually Tom lost 2nd, due to a backmarker, to American Le mans series driver Rob Garofall and they battled until the pitstop. At the pitstop the team dropped to 5th due to having to refuel, unlike the others. Gary continued in the greasy conditions and finished in 4th at the chequered flag. Radical Clubmans Cup - Snetterton - 28th September 2009 Qualifying - 1st Race 1 - 1st - Fastest lap - Lap record Race 2 - DNS A very mixed weekend for Tom and Gary at the local circuit of Snetterton. The plan of action was for Tom to compete in one Radical club cup race and Gary the other, and both share the car for the two 50 minute Radical UK Cup races. Things started well with Tom placed 1st for the Radical club cup race by 0.5s, despite only three flying laps. Gary then placed the car in a very strong 6th place for the Radical UK cup. Tom led from start to finish in the first clubmans cup race winning by a comfortable margin of 6 seconds and getting fastest lap on route. However during the race the car lost second gear and Tom was forced to not use it for the remainder of the race. On further inspection after the race it was clear the damage was to great to continue in the other races during the weekend and Gary did not get a chance to race at all. Big disappointment, but Kane racing proved they had the pace over all other PR6 Radicals and even some of the V8's. Radical UK Cup Castle Combe - 18th July 2009 Qualifying - 6th overall - 1st in class Race 1 - 2nd overall - 1st in class Lap record With Gary doing four laps to be eligible to race and bedding in new tyres, he handed the car over to Tom for the rest of qualifying. By the end of the session 6th place overall, ahead of some of the V8's in the little PR6, was a great result for Kane Racing. Gary started the race and settled into a four car battle for 6th and swapping positions for class lead on numerous occasions. By the time Gary pitted at the 30minute mark, two front running V8's had retired. Tom now took over and rejoined in 9th. Consistent laps allowed Tom to catch and pass up to 7th. By the time all cars had pitted Tom was up to 4th and a full lap in the lead of the class. Two more cars retired at the front promoting Ashton/Kane to 2nd overall. Four laps from the end the car began to surge with low fuel. However the car limped over the line to take an awesome podium finish. Radical UK Cup Donington Park GP - 4th July 2009 Qualifying - 8th Overall - 1st in class Race 1 DNF Race 2 DNF Donington ended up being a torrid weekend for Kane Racing. Qualifying was promising with a solid grid position for race 1. Tom started the race with Gary due to take over at the halfway stage. Tom made a good start progressing to 7th. Around 20 minutes into the race he was on the back of the overall lead battle, all V8's and Tom in a PR6. He had built a comfortable gap to the cars behind in his class. But very suddenly the engine let go and blew causing immediate retirement, a big disappointment for the team. For race 2, with a new engine fitted, Gary started last. More ill fortune occurred when on lap four the tyre blew out pushing Gary off track into a spin and out of the race. A meeting to forget for Kane Racing. Radical UK Cup Brands Hatch - 7th June 2009 Qualifying - 12th overall - 2nd in class Race 1 - 7th overall - 1st in class Race 2 - 8th overall - 1st in class Off the back of an enjoyable but difficult time at Spa, the decision to move from the V8 Radical SR8 to the less powerful, but cheaper and more reliable Radical PR6, went ahead. It was clear that the teams set budget would escalate if not. Qualifying was in changeable conditions. The session started wet with Tom in the car. When Tom pitted he was in second overall, ahead of many V8's. However with the track getting drier by the lap, and the PR6 out of action for the rest of qualifying that impressive lap by Tom ended up only being good enough for 12th. Gary started race 1 and made many places on the opening laps. When he pitted for Tom to take over he was just behind the class leader. So 8th overall and directly behind the class leader it was Toms mission to get passed. After a short safety car period Tom pulled out of the slipstream on the restart. At around 130 mph side by side the two front wheels of the cars touched. This put Toms car into the air and ripped the wheel from his hands. As the car landed Tom grabbed the wheel and steered away from the pit exit wall the car was facing, still doing well over 100 mph. The resultant collision caused a puncture and therefore an extra pit stop. The other car involved retired but Tom carried on after his stop to pick up a class win despite the troubles. Due to and eye problem for Gary, Tom did the 50 minute race 2 alone, a tiring job around Brands Hatch. Starting 7th Tom moved up to 5th overall. He sat there for a while in a battle with Ross Allen and Colin Noble. Unfortunately some contact on the rear from Allen cause the bodywork and under tray to dislodge and Tom was forced to Pit. After the pits a safety car allowed Tom to gain lost ground but not the positions he lost and he finished 8th. Two extra pit stops put paid to any good results but picking up two class wins is a just reward. Radical European Masters Spa Francorchamps- 9th May 2009 Qualifying - 8th overall - 3rd UK Cup Race 1 - 8th overall - 3rd UK Cup Race 2 DNF The opportunity to race at Spa circuit in a V8 radical, in a European event, supporting the Le Mans Endurance series was too much to take in on arrival. Tom and the Kane Racing team were very excited about the prospects for the weekend. All started well with Tom setting 3rd quickest time in free practice on his first visit to the awesome track. Qualifying consisted of traffic during quick laps but ending up 8th was very solid considering the 41 car grid. Gary started race 1 and passed Ben Jackson on the opening lap. The rest of his stint consisted of holding Jackson off and chasing down Phil Abbot's works V8. When he pitted Tom took over. A lap later Tom's old s sparing partner Roger Bromiley took over From Abbot. They battled closely till the end of the race with Bromiley passing Tom on the last lap due to some gear issues. 3rd behind the two works UK cars was a pleasant result. It poured and poured with rain for race 2. Tom started and just consistently lapped without going off, unlike many others. When he pitted he was in 6th. Gary jumped in and exited the pits. On his first lap out the car coughed and cut out halfway around the track. Water had got into the electrics. A disappointing end to what was a promising weekend. However the results leave Tom in 4th place in the Radical UK Cup. Radical UK Cup Rockingham - 18th April 2009 Qualifying - 6th Race 1 - 3rd Round 1 of the UK Cup was Tom's first drive in the 360 bhp Radical SR8, paired with Le Mans driver and sports car ace Nigel Greensall. With Ashton getting more accustomed to the car as the weekend progressed, qualifying was relatively successful with a starting position for the race of 6th place. Greensall started the 75 minute race and had progressed to 2nd early on. At 30 minutes into the race with the safety car still out, Greensall came into the pits for the mandatory fuel stop and driver change. However after the fuel was in and Tom strapped in, the car would not start and had to be push started down the pit lane. As the car coughed coughed into life the safety car had passed the exit of the pits and Tom had dropped a lap down. It took 20 minutes for Tom to un-lap himself and as he did his luck was in. another safety car period allowed him to go round to the back of the pack and now race for position. Once the safety car was in Tom began to pick his way through the field. With 15 minutes to go Tom passed Andy Wallace, the Daytona and Le Mans 24 hour winner, for 5th. Ashton continued his progress and ended up, amazingly 3rd behind the two works SR8's. An excellent debut from a potentially disastrous race. Mclaren Autosport Young Driver Shootout Formula Palmer Audi Snetterton 1 November 2008 Qualifying - 13th Race 1 - 8th Race 2 - 7th Race 3 - 6th With a late call up for the drive, only the day before the event, Tom was always going to be in the deep end for this event. This was Tom's first drive in a single seater and the competition was very strong, all with seasons of experience in the FPA car or other single seater cars. Things did not look so good during qualifying as Tom took time to get to grips with the FPA car and he was unable to take a grid spot any higher than 13th, all be it only 0.8 off pole position. His improvement over the weekend was impressive as was his race craft and Tom managed to take three great results, an 8th, 7th and 6th respectively. Tom kept himself out of trouble, making a total of 20 places across the three races. Managing to keep Daniel Brown behind him to take 6th position in the final race was particularly impressive. It would be interesting to see how much closer Tom could get to the front of the field with more experience in Formula Palmer Audi. Radical Clubmans Cup Rockingham 27th September 2008 Qualifying 3rd and 2nd Race 1 2nd overall 1st in class Race 2 2nd overall 2nd in class Off the back of a good weekend at Brands Hatch, Rockingham followed a similar path. This was Toms first visit to the circuit so he was under pressure in qualifying to learn the track. Qualifying went well with a 3rd and 2nd place only 0.4 seconds off pole position. In race 1 Tom settled into a comfortable class lead to take the honours by seven seconds. Race 2 was a very different. A three way battle broke out with Simon Fish and Simon Dolan. Fish eventually getting passed leaving a 2nd place spot for Ashton Racing. Radical Clubmans Cup Brands Hatch 25th August 2008 Qualifying 2nd overall 1st in class Race 1 3rd overall 2nd in class Race 2 2nd overall 1st in class After a long delay and difficult start to the season Brands Hatch proved to be a great result for Tom. A great qualifying in the wet, 2nd behind the tuned car of John Wright, and 1st in the supersport class, set the weekend up nicely. Both races were full of action and extremely close racing with Roger Bromiley and Simon Dolan. After a tight race, to tight for comfort at times, Bromiley slipped past with a few laps remaining. The tables turned in race 2 with Tom leading a four car pack he was able to hold off the intentions of Bromily to take the class win and 2nd overall. So all in all a much needed successful weekend for Ashton Racing. |