Rockingham deals cruel blow for Ross (13 Sep 04) 

The ups and downs of motorsport became a reality for Ross Cunow at Rockingham on 5th September. After a dazzling overall win at Knockhill, followed by a disappointing Brands Hatch meeting as a result of a testing accident which was not self-inflicted, Ross was to emerge from Rockingham with no extra points – but still with a substantial lead in the Rookie Championship. 

His first test session on Friday was fraught with problems including a leaking clutch slave cylinder and poor handling. The clutch cylinder was changed (not an easy job on these cars) but Ross missed the first half of the second session which was then curtailed for him by an engine trying to push out its oil. Panther decided to call it a day and set about an overnight engine change. 

The two qualifying sessions on Saturday produced mid-field qualifying positions for Ross who was slowed from the outset by a lack of full throttle. 

Race 1 saw Ross get a spectacular start, making up six places round the banking and through the first tight left hander. By the entry to the next corner, however, his race was over. Hit as a result of a collision taking place three cars behind him, Ross was launched into the air and barrel-rolled twice before coming to rest the right way up. Ross emerged unscathed but horrified by the task facing Panther before the next race in four hours’ time. 

With the car back under the awning, the Panther team swarmed all over it amidst generous offers of assistance from other teams. Nobody could have asked more from them and Ross drove to the grid with seconds to spare. On the warm up lap, however, his engine started to lose water due to a tiny pipe fracture which was not seen during the major rebuild. This brought his second race of the day to an end, halfway round the first lap. 


Photo: Stephen Rose

So with no points to show for the weekend, his Rookie Championship lead was cut by 12 points to 34 with just two races to go at Donington Park on 26th September. This position would have seemed unimaginable to the Salisbury schoolboy at the beginning of the season and in some respects is an unassailable lead. All Ross needs to do is to finish one of these races to clinch the Rookie Championship. But the last two meetings have shown how easy it is to get caught up in other people’s accidents and Ross will not be celebrating until he sees one more chequered flag.

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