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Cozy Digital Grand Prix – Race Report

22 Jun 2010 by Graham Lyons - Uncategorized , 1 Comment »


14 drivers – 10 laps – 3 Prizes – 1 Winner

It was a glorious sunny day on Sunday; skies were clear, wind was low and the ideal track temperatures meant there were perfect racing conditions ready for the latest date in the Cozy Digital race calendar, which took place at the world famous Raceland in glitzy East Lothian on Sunday.The media attention this event had received in the run up has been nothing short of momentous, piling the pressure on the jet setting, live-fast-die-young, Cozy Digital fly boys who take to the tarmac month-in-month-out to risk their lives in the pursuit of glory.

Newcomers

It had been a few months since the last race day, and since then several new faces have been added to each of the teams on the roster.

Team Sales

Team Sales greets the arrival of Mark Chaipand, the hot newcomer from the Southern Race League who has been steaming through the amateur leagues and who was tipped for big things on his debut in the Pros.

Team Tech & Team Design

Team Tech has bolstered its ranks with a number of new drivers: Including the mysterious Anton Dupliy who after several years at the top of his sport has made the surprise switch from the World Rally Championships. George Seaman whose background in Powerboat racing led some to believe his move to land based racing was purely a move to please his sponsors, but stolen telemetry from his testing complex in Switzerland had shown that he was one to look out for. Team Tech brought on board a new rookie in the shape of Jordan Rankin, while Team Design naturally showed great vision by grabbing Ashley Hazle. Ashley and Jordan had both been making waves in the College Racing Circuit so had been quickly snapped up by the men behind Team Tech and Team Design.

Team SEO

Team SEO made the shrewd investment in Adam Wilson this spring. Being from a long line of Champions, his racing pedigree is second to none. However, having only taken up racing recently and having relatively little experience, he may or may not be one to watch for the future, on paper.

Independents

This weekend’s race also saw representation by two independents. Both Marina Dupliy and Jen Lamont came into the event as complete unknowns. Controversially, they hold ties with a couple of members of the main constructor’s team members, which some members of the press had argued might have given them unfair allegiances.

Unfortunately, there was a notable absentee in the shape of Kevin Gallagher, who thanks to technical problems in pre race testing and the lack of a second car, was unable to make the starting grid.

Pre Race

The air in the paddock was thick with tension as the racers arrived. In the build up, the previous race results were in hot discussion as reigning champion Michael ‘Schumacher’ Hanna of Team SEO, who had taken victory in the last event at Raceland, had been reported in the media as saying that he would be odds on to take victory for a second time at this event. His nemesis, Team Tech’s Rob Sznajder, was quick to retort via an interview with the BBC saying that he would not let that happen.

Practice was full of thrills and spills as people got to grips with the track, which some people knew better than others. The course is a twisting turning nightmare of hairpins, tyre walls and rumble strip run offs amidst a telly tubby paradise of rolling green hills, with views of Arthurs seat to the West and Fife to the North. Truly stunning.

Three heats preceded the main event and were a sign of things to come. They were hard fought crash ridden, tyre squealing, dust showering battles to gain the points which decided who would start the race in which position. Heat 1 saw Ballantyne come first, followed by Lyons and Hanna. Heat 2 saw Sznajder come first, followed by Ballantyne and Lyons. And heat 3 saw Sznajder come first followed by Lyons and Jarrett. Based on the heats, form showed that Sznajder was the one with all the speed and that Lyons and Ballantyne would be right on his tail when the lights went out. But where was Hanna? The whispers in the pits were that he had lost the form he had shown at the previous event, while others claimed he was just keeping his cards close to his chest.

The Race

As the cars took to the final grid, the tension was palpable. The sun was scorching, which made for some sweat soaked speedsters; hot, tired and itching for the flag to fall. The grid positions were:

1 Rob Sznajder – Team Tech                        2 Graham Lyons – Team Sales

3 Craig Ballantyne- Team Tech                    4 Neil Jarrett- Team Tech

5 Michael Hanna – Team SEO                   6 Mark Chaipand – Team Sales

7 Adam Wilson – Team SEO                         8 George Seaman- Team Tech

9 Jordan Rankin – Team Tech                       10 Ashley Hazle – Team Design

11 Jen Lamont – Independent                     12 Jason Moroney – Team Sales

13 Anton Dupliy – Team Tech                     14 Marina Dupliy – Independent

Like I said…14 drivers – 10 laps – 3 Prizes – 1 Winner

It will go down in Cozy Digital history as one of the most hotly contested, hardest fought and (some might say) most controversial races of the season.

In last place, Jason ‘Spin King’ Moroney, who’s elaborate and fearless driving may well have been his downfall. Anton Dupliy came in 13th, behind Marina Dupliy. Jordan Rankin came 11th, with Jen Lamont in 10th and George Seaman placed 9th. Rookie Ashley Hazle came in a respectable 8th and Adam Wilson burned into 7th place just seconds behind 6th after being over taken on the second last corner. Hotly tipped Rob Sznajder finished 6th after the most controversial incident of the race which saw him spin out. The top 5 places were very tight. Graham Lyons after an impressive set of results in the heats came in 5th and Neil Jarrett who had a very consistent day overall came in 4th. The top three: Mark Chaipand came out of nowhere to take 3rd place after an impressive race and speed demon Craig Ballantyne who had the fastest lap of the day over all with a scintillating 1:04.042 came in a half lap behind the winner.  But the day belonged to Team SEO’s Michael ‘Schumacher’ Hanna who dominated the final race, getting ahead, staying ahead and not putting a foot wrong to take the chequered flag and 1st place.

Here are the final race standings with each drivers fastest lap of the day:

1 Michael Hanna – Team SEO   1:04.808

2 Craig Ballantyne- Team Tech    1:04.042

3 Mark Chiapand – Team Sales   1:04.668

4 Neil Jarrett- Team Tech               1:05.349

5 Graham Lyons – Team Sales    1:04.639

6 Rob Sznajder – Team Tech        1:04.783

7 Adam Wilson – Team SEO         1:06.773

8 Ashley Hazle – Team Design         1:06.430

9 George Seaman- Team Tech   1:07.233

10 Jen Lamont – Independent   1:07.317

11 Jordan Rankin – Team Tech    1:06.295

12 Marina Dupliy – Independent 1:09.369

13 Anton Dupliy – Team Tech      1:08.919

14 Jason Moroney – Team Sales 1:13.965

In the post race press conference, with champagne soaked hair and through a flutter of camera flashes Michael Hanna had these selfless words of wisdom for his fellow competitors:

“The main thing is to keep learning what to do and what not to do in each of the heats, and make sure to put everything you’ve learned into place in the final, because it’s really only the standings at the end of the final race that count”.

Thanks Michael and Graham for a great day out and I’m sure we will all be looking forward to the next Grand Prix!




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