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Verrolec European Championship
Peterborough, 10th September 1989
Report by Anne Sayell from Competition Car magazine
Sunday 10th September saw Alwalton Raceway,
Peterborough stage the 1989 Verrolec European Championship
of the Midget Grand Prix Club. A strong Continental representation
indicated an all out attempt to take back the trophy to Europe.
The British Club imposes a four meeting qualification rule
for entry into the time trials, but any non-qualifiers are
allowed to take part from the back of the grid. There were
two such entries this year, Harold Lowe who made only three
out of a possible 13 race days and Graham Sinclair who bought
his car in July and had made only two of a possible five race
days.
The Continental Contingent posed one or two
problems for the British drivers not just because they ran
1600cc engines (the British Club runs 1300cc engines) but
also because its teams included some very experienced drivers.
Henk Hanssen for the Dutch Club is probably still regarded
as the main rival, despite failing to finish in any race in
the World Championship. Henk has been racing 13 years and
has won the World Title three times and the European Title
twice. He denied rumours regarding the amount of sponsorship
he has received this year but did disclose that AEM Computers
has paid for a new VW Sirocco engine built by Mike Callahan
Engines. The sponsorship is expected to continue next year
and Henk is currently second in the International Points Championship
(run between the Dutch and German drivers who race together
in Europe).
Jan Schraets, is leading the Dutch Championship,
and he runs a MK 2 Dastle with a Lotus Twin Cam engine. lie
was second in this year's World event and held the title in
1987 and was European Championship in 1984.
Newcomer to the Dutch Club is Pedro Rietveld
who runs a Formula 2 IIawk chassis converted to Midget spec
with a 1600cc VW Sirroco engine. Those who went to Posterholt
from the British Club have a lot of respect for his driving
skills. Also from Holland was Chris Keltjens with a Fireball
MK3 with a 1600cc Push Rod engine.
In the German camp was Willie Thissen, who
has been racing 15 years and while he has won the German Points
Championship on several occasions he has yet to win the big
events. Willie has a reputation for dropping oil and overheating
but is very fast if he can keep his car together for the whole
race.
Klaus Killianski brought the German drivers
into disrepute in 1987 when he was caught running an 1800cc
engine after winning the World Championship. He was disqualified
and banned for a year, but amazingly was reinstated less than
a year later and won the 1988 World Championship at Alwalton
Raceway. It was chiefly due to his presence that the British
Club decided to reintroduce the checking of the top three
cars at the end of the meeting as done abroad.
Time trials saw Basil Craske, using his 1600cc
engine, into pole position with a time of 16.92 secs and was
joined by Schraets with a time of 17.06 secs. Hanssen was
third fastest with 17.09 and Thissen completed the second
row with 17.39. The third row was made up by Rietveld and
Janssen, and Dave Wesbroom was the highest 1300cc car in seventh,
with a time of 18.27. Eighth place went to Keltjens, ninth
to Harry Sayell.
The race itself was run over 40 laps with
four warm up laps before the clutch start. Craske led the
race away with Hanssen firmly on his exhaust pipe, followed
by Thissen and Schraets who'd actually missed the start. Killianski
dropped out almost immediately with mechanical problems. The
first four cars pulled rapidly away from the rest of the field,
whilst Lowe and Sinclair made excellent progress from the
back of the grid. Lap eight saw Schraets misjudge two crashed
cars and join them in the fence, leaving Thissen and Rietveld
to chase Craske and Hanssen. Lowe and Wesbroom were in fifth
and sixth places but two laps later their wheels tangled causing
Lowe to spin and leaving Wesbroom unable to restart forcing
him to retire fromthe race. This moved Sinclair into fifth
and Sayell sixth.
The 18th lap brought fresh drama when Hanssen
on the outside line lost grip and hit the safety fence forcing
his retirement. It took several more laps for Thissen to catch
Craske, who appeared to visibly slow after Hanssen's demise,.
Once there however Thissen proceeded to crawl all over the
back of Craske's car in every possible attempt to pass him,
while the rest of the places seemed decided with Rietveld
Sinclair and Sayell well spaced out in third, fourth and fifth.
Lap 27 however saw Sayell retire with transmission failure,
another one of twelve drivers who were to fail to finish the
race. Keltjens took up fifth place though well down the field
with Lowe up to sixth.
Fourteen laps of intense pressure from Thissen
was unable to dislodge Craske from the lead. Sinclair moved
in front of Rietveld in the closing stages and thus ended
the 1989 Verrolec European championship. Basil Craske delighted
to have achieved a lifetime ambition, winning the World and
European Titles in the same year. The 40 lap race took just
13 minutes 23.13 seconds to complete which means Craske was
lapping at an average speed in excess of 78 mph! Thissen once
again had to settle for second place, and was not a happy
man claiming that Craske had hit him on several occasions.
The second race of the day with a much reduced
field of just eleven cars saw Harold Lowe become the early
leader. Schraets soon demoted Sinclair from second to third
with Thissen in fourth. After seven laps on Lowes tail Schraets
took the lead and then pulled steadily away from Lowe who
then came under pressure from Thissen. The places seemed decided
when three laps from the end Schraets pulled off with suspension
failure and Thissen snatched victory from Lowe. Sinclair was
third Craske fourth and Wesbroom fifth.
Race three saw Hanssen rejoin the field but
he went to the fence again one lap. Lowe, again first away,
built up a cushion in the first two laps but Thissen passed
Sinclair on lap five to give chase. Unable to take the lead
however Thissen this time had to settle again for second.
Sayell who had hoped to take part in the race in Craske's
car was removed from the grid before its start due to an objection
from the Continental drivers.
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