Autosport – 22 August 2019

Personal loss and qualifying crash

led to a tough weekend for Dailly

Dailly was on the

podium every race

22 AUGUST 2019 AUTOSPORT.COM 79

NATIONAL REPORTS CLUB AUTOSPORT

FUN CUP

JPR Uvio (Fabio Randaccio/Scott Fitzgerald)

BMW COMPACT CUP

Race 1 Ian Jones

Race 2 Steven Dailly

Race 3 Matthew Parkes

FORD FIESTAS

Races 1, 2 & 3 Isaac Smith

NORTHERN FORMULA FORD 1600

Races 1 & 2 Davide Meloni (Van Diemen JL15)

BRSCC PORSCHE

Races 1 & 2 Andrew Porter (Supersport Boxster)

FIESTA JUNIOR

Races 1 & 2 Joseph Loake

COCKSHOOT CUP

Races 1 & 2 Ray Collier (MG ZR 190, below)

ANGLESEY

WEEKEND WINNERS

couldn’t add to the hat-trick. Leading in
the early parts of race two, Jones eventually
lost out to Steven Dailly, admitting: “It
[the car] was understeering like a pig and
he just crept through at the hairpin.”
In race three, Matthew Parkes was drawn
on pole and held the position until the
chequered flag for his first win of 2019.
The title fight for the Ford Fiesta
Championship was also blown wide open
after championship leader James Waite
suffered a huge setback. Waite was an
innocent bystander when he was hit by
Jake Dawson in race one. Dawson lost his
brakes heading through the School straight
and into Rocket and, in pulling off track,
continued into the front of Waite’s car.
While Dawson’s car was entirely written
off, Waite’s Fiesta required a complete front
end rebuild, finishing with a best of seventh.
With opportunity knocking, Isaac
Smith – fifth in the standings – took the
initiative, taking a hat-trick of wins and
getting his 2019 campaign back on track,
despite disqualification in earlier rounds.
When asked if he still thought he could
be in with a shout for the title, the now
four-time winner declared: “Yep – we
were unbeatable this weekend and it gives
us confidence to continue until the end.”
DOM D’ANGELILLO

There’s a throwaway line in the film

Rocky Balboa that perfectly encapsulates

BMW Compact Cup driver Steven Dailly’s

weekend: “It’s not about how hard you

hit, it’s about how hard you get hit and

keep moving forward.”

Hit both literally and figuratively during

the Anglesey weekend, through sheer

dedication, determination, teamwork and

drive, the Scotsman bounced back from a

torrid meeting at Croft, where he left with

a solitary point, to claim a win and two

podiums in the worst of circumstances.

On the drive down from Edinburgh,

Dailly received the sad news that his

grandmother had passed away but, not

wanting to give up, he opted to finish

the journey and race in her honour.

“It’s something we knew was going to

happen,” Dailly explained. “We’ve got

to take it on the chin and use it this

weekend. If it wasn’t for her we wouldn’t

be here, so I’m going to try and do it

in her memory.”

But before Dailly’s day even truly got

under way there was already another

setback. Mere moments into qualifying,

a collision involving Dailly and title rival

Mark Skeats ended both driver’s sessions

with only one flying lap set.

With cars in front running wide into

Target, dirt was kicked up on Skeats’ and

Dailly’s windscreens. Entirely unsighted,

HOW DAILLY’S SETBACKS SPURRED HIM TO SUCCESS

the two came together, the former

being rear-ended by Dailly, who suffered

significant front-end damage. The

session was instantly cut short.

“It was completely unavoidable,

there was nothing we could do, so we’ll

rebuild it and go from there,” said Dailly

soon after the crash. “Most of it is the

bodywork, but there are a few things

that need checking internally.”

Despite the setback, Dailly still qualified

seventh and was adamant he would be

fighting at the front in the first three laps.

He was wrong. Dailly was fighting for

the lead after only three corners and,

with an impressive drive, settled for

the final podium spot.

“The KC Motorsport guys have done

an incredible job – the car’s still not

100% but we’re going to win,” he

declared after race one.

This time Dailly’s prediction was bang

on. Fighting his way through from third

in race two, the two-time champion

looked untouchable, setting fastest lap

after fastest lap on his way to victory.

Even in the final race of the

weekend, Dailly fought from 13th, after

an off at the hairpin, to regain the

final podium position.

The weekend was a true Rocky Balboa

comeback for Dailly. Trying to recover

from on-track drama was one thing, but

twinned with Dailly’s emotional off-track

setback, it goes to show the passion and

drive racers have at every level.

When asked how he managed to

balance the emotions of everything, the

Scotsman replied with two simple words:

“Pure determination.” A simple response

that wouldn’t sound out of place in one

of Stallone’s sport comeback movies.

DOM D’ANGELILLO

For full results visit: tsl-timing.com