Action All The Way as Tim Sims Races to Victory

The opening round of the 2006 Dunlop Mini Miglia Challenge on the 1.9-mile circuit at Snetterton in Norfolk was billed as one of the highlights of the Dunlop Great and British meeting and the Mini Miglia Challenge drivers delivered 12-laps of pure four-wheeled entertainment. 

Qualifying

The 15-minute qualifying session was the usual frantic affair, with Kelly Rogers snatching pole position from James Hall with just 0.043 seconds separating the front row pairing.  Bill Sollis and Colin Peacock lined up on row 2, with Andrew Hack and Stuart Thomas rounding out the top six of the 20 car grid.

Race

At the start all 20 Minis make a safe getaway, with Rogers leading Hall and Sollis through Riches and Andrew Hack and Stuart Thomas battling for fourth.

As the cars come round for their second lap, Tim Sims has made up some time, catapulting up the grid from 8th to finish the lap in 4th place. Andrew Hack and Tony le-May  are having a good battle for 5th.

Hall and Rogers are still battling at the front with the no 21 Mini of Hall passing the No 2 car of Rogers on lap 3. It’s very close at the front between the leading four cars and Rogers pulls up behind Hall through Russell Bend, but now Rogers comes under pressure from 3rd placed Bill Sollis.  A gap opens and Sollis dives through to take 2nd place, with Rogers now under pressure from the flying Tim Sims.

On lap 5 it’s all change again. Rogers, ignoring the challenge of Tim Sims, whose car is filling the rear view mirrors of the No 2 Miglia, passes Sollis and James Hall to claim back the lead, but not for long as Hall then passes Rogers again through the Esses.

Sims, who was battling hard to move further up the order was challenging Sollis for the final podium position.  Behind the top four Mark Sims and Colin Peacock were at it ‘hammer and tongs’. Sarah Munns was also having a good race, moving steadily through the field to lie in 11th place at the half way stage after starting at the back of the grid.

Rogers looks up the inside of Hall through the Esses on lap 8 and manages to make the move stick putting him back in the lead, but Hall is all over the back of the lead car and out brakes Rogers, passing him to retake the lead.

Sims finally passes Sollis on the outside at Riches on the penultimate lap to move into 3rd, while Peacock passes Le-May to move into 5th place.

Hall and Rogers, both determined to take the chequered flag in first place, collide on the last lap just before The Bombhole, allowing Sims to pass both of them to take the lead with less than a mile to go.  Hall recovers quickly to take 2nd place, but the luckless Rogers falls down the order to finish 6th. 

Tim Sims takes the chequered Flag with James Hall just 0.3 seconds behind. Bill Sollis took the final podium position 1.3 seconds adrift of the leader, with Colin Peacock in 4th, Tony Le-May in 5th, and Kelly Rogers coming in 6th.

A frantic opener to the Mini 7 Racing Club’s 40th year and the stage is now set for a classic season of Mini racing.