A late October date on the shorter 200 version of the Norfolk venue was not too popular with our Open racers. Once withdrawals had been taken into account there were only six cars in the collection area, on a cold and damp Saturday morning for the first of the weekend's two races.

The form book clearly showed that the 458/Chs of Sam Smeeth and Paul Bailey were going to be at the top of the time sheets in qualifying. It was tight though with less than two tenths of a second separating the pair, Smeeth just gaining the advantage. Graham Reeder (430GT3) might just have been closer but a choice of slick tyres, when others were on wets, was not the right one on a still damp track and he qualified at the back of the field.

Just like Formula 1 at the moment our race 1 was all about tyres. On a drying track Sam Smeeth started on wets, Paul Bailey on slicks. Sam fairly streaked into an early lead and by lap six he was clear by over 30 seconds. As the track dried though Bailey's slicks started to work. By lap ten he was flying, and the gap was closing. On lap 12 it was 22 seconds, lap 15 it was 10 seconds. At the chequered flag on lap 19 it was just 0.3 seconds - what a thriller! Series returnee David Mason was next up in his 458/Ch, from Reeder (430 GT3), Simon Smeeth and Tim Ingram-Hill, both in 430/Chs.

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Fortunately there were no tyre choices to make on Sunday, qualifying was plain wet, and Sam Smeeth and Paul Bailey were within tenths of a second, Smeeth just coming out on top again. David Mason showed well in third, from Tim Ingram-Hill, Reeder and Simon Smeeth.

Sunday's race was dry - at last we could see the cars properly on slicks at full chat. The race however was not a particular highlight. Sam Smeeth drove exceptionally well and on this occasion Paul Bailey just didn't have an answer. Graham Reeder, finally in a car whose tyres agreed with the conditions, reclaimed some dignity in his GT3 430 with a third position. David Mason was next up from Ingram-Hill and Simon Smeeth. We should note Tim Ingram-Hill's progress through the year. He has found some 2 seconds at Snetterton since April, which is impressive.

As we have said many times before, our Open series is just so frustrating. At times the grids are OK and the racing just fabulous. At other times the entries are just not there. We have to get the 355's back, and goodness knows what the owners of 360 Challenge cars are up to. They don't seem to race anywhere, and we don't really see them at track days either. We as a Club can tweak the regulations, and I'm sure we will. We can put together the best calendar of races that we possibly can, but at the end of the day our owners have to support us if we are to continue. The series is worthy of support.

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For the full TSL results click here.

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