RACING EXPOSURE :: Club level motorsport e-magazine

Race Report – Silverstone- Academy – 30^th September  2011

A special treat for the final round for the Academy, they raced at Silverstone on the new GP circuit, supporting the prestigious Britcar 24hr race and were also bathed in unprecedented heat and sunshine for the time of year.

Group 2

Pole position was awarded to Brad Smith, while David Robinson, despite his best efforts would have to start from second ahead of local man Alex Macindoe, who made the most of home circuit knowledge to line up third. As the lights extinguished it was Paul Thacker from seventh place that made the best start, catapulting his way up to the leaders. Thacker approached Maggotts side by side with Rob Smith, who also had made a great getaway, and the pair swept into the second part of the corner (Becketts) still inches apart which meant one of them was offline.  Thacker backed out, lifting off the power momentarily which unfortunately caused him to spin.  In the melee of mass avoidance Macindoe chose the marbled side of the circuit and also spun, re-joining last.  Amazingly, with two separate spins at the head of the field there was no contact, just a few people out of position after dodging the dancers.  The biggest winner out of this situation had to be Jake Bradshaw who firstly made an epic start but also manage to tip-toe around the action making up several places.  With the first lap still not complete Kevin Robson, who was dicing at the front end, turned in late at Abbey and disappeared in a spectacular cloud of dust deep into the gravel, ending his race.  Our usual four were back fighting for the lead, although in an atypical order, Rob Smith, Brad Smith, Robinson and Champion elect Andy Welch down in fourth.

Welch and Smith (Rob) were fighting amongst themselves allowing Smith (Brad) and Robinson to make a bit of a break. Two separate duels emerged each as heated and fiercely contended as each other. Robinson was determined not to let Smith (Brad) escape, wanting to take home his first winner’s trophy.  Smith had other ideas, consistently setting quick lap times and always managing to regain the lead after Robinson slipped through, usually at the Loop.  As the leading pair crossed the line it was Smith (Brad) who took the flag, 0.096 ahead of Robinson, demonstrating how close their entire race had been. Smith (Rob) beat the newly crowned Champion Welch to third, the first time all season Welch had not ended on the podium. Fastest Lap and the new lap Record went to the victorious Brad Smith 2:38.129

Group 1

Writing about motorsport and watching it for a living must have helped Autosport journalist, Glenn Freeman snatch his first pole.  Elliott Norris lined up alongside him in second, closely followed by Matthew Lowe in third. Norris got the better start, jumping into the lead, while everyone made it through the first corner; perhaps a little sideways but well held by all. The group split up slightly but big packs emerged rather than lots of little ones, nine cars making up the leading group. They were so close that it appeared a new leader emerged after each corner, Freeman nicked the lead from Norris after he overshot at Vale, Achille Corbellati poked his nose ahead occasionally, trying to take the lead, Charlie King, the start-line rocket flew from tenth into fourth, to dice with Norris. Rob Chappell, who qualified in 11^th, had also joined in the battle after an ambitious, possibly overzealous start which almost ended in disaster as he drove into the back of Adrian Fleming.  Luckily only a wing was lost and both were able to continue racing.

The close proximity of the leaders looked certain to end in tears if any of them made an error and so it was on lap two when Corbellati’s car drifted sideways mid-apex at Luffield forcing those following to brake unexpectedly in avoidance. Norris slowed into the path of Freeman who was left with nowhere to go. Freeman tapped the rear of Norris, spinning him round and once again making contact as both cars locked together. Once they re-started and re-joined they were both well down the order. Corbellati took the lead, followed by King and Chappell, but Chappell perfectly executed an overtake at Vale to take command. Over the next few laps Chappell pulled away drawing the attention to the pursuit for second place. Corbellati fronted the contenders as King disappeared after spinning out at Vale, moving Paul Hawthorne up to third, with Paul Lewis hot on his heels and Simon Johnson keeping a watchful eye. All the time Norris was clambering his way back up, sweeping past those who least expected it by continually setting fastest lap times. In a last lap, last corner moment of glory/bravery Norris passed Corbellati round the outside of Luffield and taking the correct line for the race to the finish leaving Corbellati to defend from Lewis who chased him to the flag. Chappell finally shook off his reputation of always being the bridesmaid and never the bride by proving he was a worthy winner with a five second advantage over Norris. Norris sealed the fastest lap of the race and the Championship to boot.

Final Championship Order:

Group 1 Group 2

1^st Elliott Norris 1^st Andy Welch

2^nd Rob Chappell 2^nd Brad Smith

3^rd Achille Corbellati 3^rd David Robinson

Race Report – Mallory- Academy – 28^th September  2011

Pic: Rick Wilson Photography

Group 1

The sun shone over Mallory Park for the third Academy race of 2011.  King stole pole with a last chance saloon flying final lap, Corbellati started second, both shunting Norris to third. Corbellati launched off the line first then raced his socks off defending the lead with an immense lights to flag victory, fighting off advances from King and Norris who were taking it in turns to apply pressure to the young Italian, while also battling each other and trying to fend off the onslaught from Freeman. The chasing pack were not letting them get away easily, Rob Chappell set about hunting down the leaders and began moving up the order, quickly joining the five way scrap of inseparable cars for the lead.

Pic: Rachel Horgan Photography

Midfield action closed up the field even more as the spinning car of Freddie Galliers-Pratt, at the exit of the Esses was unfortunately collected by Simon Johnson who was left with no where to go. This brought out waved yellow flags slowing everyone down and prohibiting overtaking at a fundamental part of the track for a few laps. Once all clear the leading battle intensified but the pressure seemed a little too much for King forcing an error resulting in a spin at Shaws hairpin dropping him down to eighth. Luckily all four on his tail were able to avoid him, remain unscathed and continue fighting. Chappell and Norris fought tooth and nail to the end with bravery and guts in plentiful supply. Chappell made a move on Norris climbing the hill up to Shaws then set about trying to steal the win from Corbellati as they crossed the line, he was unsuccessful although with a mere 0.059 seconds separating first and second it was a great effort. Norris finished third, entitling him to claim the Championship win with Freeman inches behind in fourth.

Group 2

Due to Group 2’s race being stopped on lap 2 (on 2 separate occasions), the result is declared as a ‘no contest’ in accordance with article Q5.4.1 (MSA Blue Book)

Next Round: Silverstone GP – 30^th September

DPR driver Mark Shaw dominated free practice and followed through with pole and a race pace some 0.4 seconds better than the next fastest man on track. However Shaw suffered a drive through penalty for a breach of track limits. Shaw recovered to 2nd place but Orton was the man who was gifted the chequered flag. With the wet conditions in race two, Orton demonstrated his mastery of the track leading from the front and soon developing a lead that became unassailable. It was left to Brannan, Superlight newcomer Maclachlan and McMillan to entertain with a struggle for second place that lasted almost the entire 30 minutes although it was Brannan (2nd) followed by Maclachlan (3rd) that gained the edge in the final stages to claim the remaining podium positions.

Caterham Superlight R300 – Rockingham

Mark Shaw dominated free practice being the fastest man in three out of the four practice sessions. This was followed through in qualifier with a pole time of 1:28.724 which was 0.237 better than second placed Jamie Orton.

After a race one start which saw Shaw drop briefly back to 4th, he soon moved into the lead with lap times consistently in the 1:29 zone to open up a lead over the championship leader Jamie Orton. Shaw’s time of 1.29.035 claimed the fastest lap with a comfortable margin of 0.4 seconds over the best lap put in by Orton. However Shaw’s progress from race leader to race winner was terminated by a drive through penalty imposed for breach of track limits. Notwithstanding the harshness of the drive-through penalty, Shaw’s pace allowed him to climb back to second place to finish the race just 3.6 seconds behind race winner Jamie Orton.

The wet conditions in race two provided Orton with the opportunity to demonstrate his mastery of the track and Orton soon became the inevitable race winner with a commanding lead over the rest of the field. It was left to Brannan, Maclachlan and McMillan to provide the entertainment of a closely fought race. In the closing stages of the race it was the Maclachlan battle with Brannan for second place that deservedly gained attention.

Mark Shaw said “It was a pity that the drive-through penalty determined the outcome of race one. However it was rewarding to be so demonstrably on the pace given the depth of quality competition on this grid. I now need to replicate my dry weather pace in wet conditions.”

James Maclachlan said “I came to Rockingham with low expectations given my limited testing. However I had made use of driver coaching together with video and data to extract the most from pre-race testing. This undeniably paid back particularly in the challenging conditions for race two. I was trying hard to move up to second but was resisted to the end by Paul Brannan.”

Race Report – Oulton Park – 3^rd SEPTEMBER 2011

Cheshire’s infamous Oulton Park circuit, with its rapidly changing gradients and blind crests leading into unforgiving corners (which a few found out the hard way), played host to the Roadsport and Supersport Championships this weekend.

Supersport – Race 1

A double victory for Reece Somerfield after dominating with outstanding driving.

Qualifying produced a few anomalies; championship leaders Jeremy Webb and Lee Wiggins started down in seventh and eighth. While Somerfield snatched pole, Carlton Brown lined up second and Ben Whibley third. Somerfield got a fantastic start and began to pull away. Ian Payne leaped into second in front of Whibley then missed a gear as they headed towards Shell Oils Hairpin which resulted in Whibley running into the pack of Payne, unfortunately ending the race for Whibley. Meanwhile Webb and Wiggins were on a mission to join the leaders; Webb made the initial progress marching through the field, eventually challenging Brown for second place by lap three.

Chaos occurred behind as the spinning car of Sean Bryne was left facing the oncoming pack, leaving Ray Gilliland and Richard Solomons nowhere to go, both collecting Bryne’s stranded car at the entrance to Knickerbrook. This called for the safety car to be released, bunching up the entire field, destroying Somerfield’s time advantage. Once the race got back underway Somerfield took command and began to rebuild his lead, leaving the hunting group of Webb, Wiggins, Brown and now Steve Day to fight it out for second place. They entered Old Hall almost four abreast and unsurprisingly they didn’t all make it through the corner in one piece. Brown spun on the exit and sadly ended his race in the barrier. Later that lap Webb also suffered bad luck after an out-of-character misjudgement of the braking point for Shell Oils ended his race in the gravel trap. With a few of the key players out of the race, Somerfield led Wiggins, who fought off constant advances from his team mate Day. Payne began setting fastest laps while fighting with Ben Gower for forth.  The pair produced an epic battle but were unable to catch the leaders. Somerfield rightfully took the win for McMillan Motorsport after a dominant race followed by Stancombe Vehicle Engineering teammates Wiggins second and Day third. Payne claimed the fastest lap, 1:58.111 but missed out on a podium finishing forth, Gower had to settle for fifth with Albert Vella surely delighted with sixth after starting from fifteenth.

Race 2

The front runners produced a nail biting race, with the first six cars ‘as one’ lap after lap. Although they were a tight bunch of cars, continually swapping position during the lap each time they crossed the line, it was in the same order; Somerfield, Payne, Wiggins, Day, Gower. They stuck together like glue, chancing late brakes and dives down the inside of each other at Old Hall, desperate to finish on the podium. Race two also suffered a safety car period, this time due to Andrew Salmon’s car rolling end over end following heavy contact with the barrier after getting the entry a little wrong at Island bend, an extremely fast part of the circuit. Luckily Salmon was able to walk away unharmed from the incident but the safety car was necessary to clear the debris and fuel which had spilt onto the circuit. The majority of the pack strung out a little after the re-start but the leaders remained tight. Somerfield did not have an easy drive but managed to hold off Payne and Wiggins for his second win of the day. Payne eventually secured second and Wiggins claimed fastest lap of the race, the new lap record 1:57.820 and third place!  Meanwhile, two championship contenders Webb and Whibley started from the back of the grid and did everything they could throughout the race to minimise damage to their championship positions and maximise point scoring. Webb made up nineteen places to finish sixth while BWR front man, Whibley overtook twenty two cars to finish seventh, an epic drive from the pair of them.

This means that Wiggins now has 196 points and leads Webb by one point in the championship. Somerfield moves up to third with 186 and Day is forth only a couple of points behind. Gower is now fifth with Whibley back in sixth.

Next Round: Anglesey International – 24/25^th September

Race Report – Oulton Park – 3^rd SEPTEMBER 2011

Wesley Fox claimed his sixth win of the season and edges ever closer to championship victory, while Mike Hart secured his first win this season proving Fox can be beaten.

Roadsport – Race 1

With one of the closest set of qualifying times yet, the first seven cars were separated by only a fraction over half a second. Fox who looked set to start sixth left it to the last lap to put in a flyer and snatch pole. Jon Mortimer started second and Aaron Head third.

The race started with a first corner incident creating pandemonium mid field, Sean Raftery spun after running wide at the exit of Old Hall, his car shot back across the track straight into the side of Matthew Whate, who was third in the championship going into this weekend but had qualified very low down. Duncan Harris tried to avoid the action but had nowhere to go and his car was airborne as he rode up the side of Whate. Raftery and Whate retired as a result.  Meanwhile the leaders where creating there own action, Fox had pulled away in the lead, but was unable to shake off Mortimer, Head, Mike Hart and Kurt Brady as all four tussled for position. Head got out of shape on the approach to Shell Oils hairpin; he ran out of track and kissed the barriers. He was able to keep going but had considerably dropped down the order. This left a four car scrap for the lead closely followed by an ultra determined 40^th birthday boy and local man, Chris Bingham who was hot on the heels of fifth place contender James Needham.

The quartet of leading cars swapped position many a time during the lap, sliding down the inside at Knickerbrook to get the advantage on the run uphill towards Druids. Brady rehearsed going around the outside of Old Hall a few times, it worked a couple of times but Fox shut the door when it was safe to do so. Brady decided to play out the move for a final time on the last lap but unfortunately running over the rough kerbs unsettled the car and caused a spin much to his frustration after remaining second for the majority of the race he was demoted back to sixth. An exceptionally close, thoroughly exciting race from start to finish was eventually won by Fox with Mortimer a very respectable second and Hart in third. Aaron Head got the fastest lap 2:00.403, but finished a very disappointing fourteenth meaning he would have his work cut out for him in race two.

Race 2

Just as the cars drove into the assembly area the dark heavy clouds that were overhead decided to open, rain lights came on and the first wet race of the day commenced. Fox led with Hart not far behind, Mortimer chasing but playing on the side of caution with Bingham on top form in forth. Hart snuck past Fox and was able not only to make it stick put also pull away putting air between them. The top four spaced out a little while they explored the change of grip levels but the gaggle of cars behind decided that sticking close together was a far more exciting option! Brady led the chasing bunch of five cars as they darted into the first corner two abreast and line a stern. Somehow they all exited unscathed. This bravery continued resulting in a wonderful scrap for fifth place.

Starting from fourteenth Head was one to watch as he is the Schumacher of Roadsports (he excels in the wet). His rain dance before the race must have paid off and he began to pass several cars per lap. He gracefully glided his way up towards the third place duel that was taking place. Bingham was on the tail of Mortimer, determined to try and find an opportunity to pass him, unfortunately Mortimer was playing the defensive game and blocked his rival very well. Head caught the pair napping on the final lap as they were concentrating on each other he passed the pair of them, setting the fastest lap in the process and secured a podium finish. Hart took a long awaited first win of the season, Fox settled for a comfortable second and Head was delighted with a recovery drive resulting in third.

Fox remains top of the championship table with a very commanding lead and 48 points clear of main rival Brady. Hart now moves ahead of Whate to steal third.

Next Round: Anglesey International – 24/25^th September

Organisers of the 2012 Caterham Academy series are urging potential competitors to act fast to book their place, as only 10 slots remain for next year’s competition.

The Academy, run exclusively to take novice racers through the process of gaining their race license as well as their first full season of competition, has created more than 850 brand new racing drivers since its inception in 1995.

Caterham Motorsport is holding an open evening at its showroom in Caterham, Surrey, on Wednesday August 31.

The event will allow aspiring racers to try out the road-legal Academy cars and chat to current competitors to find out why the series has been the launch pad for more racing drivers than any other grassroots motorsport initiative.

The Academy has received high-profile backing from Team Lotus Formula 1 driver, Heikki Kovalainen, who entertained crowds at the wheel of one of Caterham’s iconic Sevens at an event at Duxford earlier this year.

Team Lotus Formula One driver Heikki Kovalainen said: “I drove a Caterham Seven when our partnership with Caterham was launched in April this year and it was a fantastic car to drive. Because it’s lightweight it’s very fast but the engineering team at Caterham have got the handling characteristics finely balanced so the Seven is not a tricky car to drive hard. The best place to do that is on a track and, from what I’ve seen, the Caterham Academy is the perfect way to really learn how to push the cars, get into motorsport and start living the dream.”

To book a test drive at the Caterham Academy Open Evening, at 6pm on Wednesday August 31, call 01883 333 700. For more information about the Caterham Academy, visit www.caterham.co.uk or call Jenny Grace on 01322 625800.

British sportscar maker, Caterham Cars, will feature in its 100th race at Wiltshire circuit, Castle Combe, on August 13.

Twenty-five years after Caterham’s iconic Seven first raced at Combe, drivers in the Caterham Graduates Championship will take part in a 20-minute race as part of the August Cup race weekend on the track described by Autosport Magazine as “the best club racing circuit in Britain”.

Caterham has a rich motorsport heritage in the UK – its innovative Caterham Academy has launched the careers of more than 850 brand new racing drivers since its inception in 1995, more than any other race series.

Among the drivers to have raced, and won, at Castle Combe in Caterham Sevens since the marquee first raced there on July 5, 1986, are ex-Formula One driver David Brabham, ITV4 British Touring Car Championship commentator Ben Edwards, and former motorcycle racer and MotoGP commentator, Steve Parrish.

Caterham Motorsport Manager, Simon Lambert, said: “Castle Combe has long been a firm favourite with club racers across the UK because of its fast, flowing nature. It has doubtless produced some of the finest Caterham racing of all time in the quarter century we’ve been going there.”

Tickets for the Castle Combe race weekend are available online at www.castlecombe.co.uk, costing £8 (£4 OAP and free for U16s) for the Saturday and £15 (£7 OAP and free for U16s) for Sunday. Paddock access is free when booked online or £2.50 on the day.

Please visit http://www.caterham.co.uk or call 01883 333 700 for more information about joining the Caterham Academy or any other of Caterham’s motor racing championships.

16^th July  2011 – Typical British weather, torrential rain for qualifying and blistering heat for the races was the order of the day at Rockingham.

Pic: Rachel Horgan

Group 2

22 year old, Student David Robinson pipped championship leader Andy Welch to the post to claim pole position on the last lap of Qualifying. Meanwhile Rob Oliver seemed well suited to the wet conditions and lined up third on the grid.

Oliver didn’t get away well, while Alex Macindoe executed a perfect start and jumped into the lead from fourth. Rob Smith, Welch, Robinson and Paul Thacker were all hot on his heels. As the pack filtered into the tight Deene hairpin on the second lap, Macindoe spun out elegantly without collecting any of the following cars. He re-joined back down in thirteenth, handing the lead to Welch. Welch remained in the lead for the complete duration of the race despite early advances from Robinson. The leading pair created air between themselves whilst they also pulled away from the chasing pack in a rather uncharacteristic way for Caterham racing. This meant the battle for third heated up considerably, Rob Smith was under pressure from the storming Brad Smith who had made his way through the field after a miserable twelfth place qualifying. It was a game of Chicken as the pair dived into Deene hairpin, who could brake later? Brad Smith won the game and set about trying to close the large gap between him and the leaders. Welch took the win, followed by Robinson who was over ten seconds ahead of Brad Smith. Welch remains top of the table, he has been on the podium at every round, has won both races and also set the fastest lap at both events. Can he be beaten?

Pic: Rachel Horgan

Group 1

Charles Bowmont (The victor at Brads Hatch) took pole, Mark Lewis lined up alongside him with Charlie King in third. Championship leader, Elliott Norris was in seventh place with main championship rival Rob Chappell behind him in ninth.

As they funnelled into Deene for the first time, Lewis pirouetted from second place, all made it past unscathed and the nail biting action was able to continue.

Bowmont held the early lead, with King eager to pass, constantly looking to the inside of Bowmont. Paul Hawthorne spun, dropping from second to seventh, this promoted Oliver Lymington into third. Lymington’s mirrors were filled by Chappell as the pair diced for position.

David Allott’s race ended in the Pif-Paf gravel trap, the safety car was called while they recovered it. This bunched all the cars back up into a tight Caterham crocodile working in Norris’ favour. He had been cruising back in sixth looking unlikely to confront the leaders, now he was only inches behind them.  Like a lightning bolt, he shot up to third once the race re-started. Lymington spun after contact with Achille Corbellati, dashing his chances of a podium. The fierce battle for the lead was now between the two Charlies and Poker expert, Norris. King lead the trio into Brook, with Norris stuck to his bumper and Bowmont just behind. Norris made a slight error and lost momentum having to concentrate on defending rather than attacking as they crossed the line. Charlie King was the King of Rockingham winning by 0.927 from Norris, who was delighted with his recovery drive, punching the air as he crossed the line. Bowmont settled for third and another trophy to add to his collection. Norris leads the championship and there are now only six points between Chappell and Bowmont.

Next Round: Snetterton 300 – 13^th/14^th August

Race Report – Brands Hatch GP /18/19^th June 2011

Jamie Orton and Paul Wilson had been favourite for pole (depending on whether it was wet or dry), but it was Mark Shaw who took the top spot, in what was to be the highlight of an otherwise torrid weekend for the Oulton winner, with Wilson second, Orton third and Simon Young fourth.

Young stalled on the grid as the lights turned, the stationary car causing chaos for everyone from fifth place backwards as they funnelled past for the first run to Paddock, with a few wings and exhausts paying the price.  This allowed the lead trio to make an instant break, Wilson already having a margin by Druids.  A lap later and the Shaw v Orton squabble for second place was resolved when Shaw ran out of track at Surtees dropping him to the very back.  O’Malley had broken free from the pack and now assumed a distant third behind Orton, who in turn was just able to keep Wilson within his sights; an order that would remain to the flag.  But if the lead group were static, fourth place was being contested as if life itself depended on it, with up to seven cars shuffling position every lap.  The white DPR Motorsport cars of James Maclachlan and Jon Walker spent much of the race side-by-side, occasionally joined by McMillan Motorsport’s Stuart Simpson for crowd-pleasing three-abreast plunges into Paddock, but it was Maclachlan who held his nerve and his line to the finish fourth, finally fending off Paul Brannan who had come alive at the five minute board, having started thirteenth.

Wilson took the flag, Orton second, a delighted O’Malley third, Maclachlan fourth, Brannan fifth.

As race two got underway, Orton was determined not to see a repeat and got the leap on Wilson at the start, his determination matched by O’Malley and Maclachlan with the four pulling a slight gap over the pack.  Meanwhile, neither Young’s or Shaw’s weekend’s got any better as the two tangled going into Paddock for the first time, leaving Young stranded and Shaw at the back, again.  Orton’s initial lead was short-lived with the SPY Motorsport cat of Wilson back past as the first lap came to a close, the pair would repeating the process several times during the first half of the race until Wilson edged ahead.  Attention now focused on the second place battle with Orton, Maclachlan and O’Malley all taking turns to occupy it; locked brakes and ambitious moves enabling Walker and Brannan to draw up to them.  Having defied conventional Brands wisdom more than once with three-abreast cornering around Druids, it was to prove too much with just two laps to go as Orton and Maclachlan, still vying for supremacy of a move that started at the top of Paddock, made contact, spinning Maclachlan out of the lead pack.  This left Fauldsport team-mates Orton and O’Malley to establish the final podium positions, which appeared to by in Orton’s favour, but O’Malley had the tow on the exit of clearways and pulled alongside as the pair crossed the line for the final time, too close to call.  The timing screen initially gave second to Orton, but a rapid reappraisal of who had broken the beam first confirmed the commentator’s suspicions that O’Malley had just done enough and he was awarded second by just 1/1000^th of a second.

Wilson took another comfortable, O’Malley second, Orton third, Walker fourth and Brannan the lap record and fifth place. Wilson now leads Orton by a single point in the championship (138pts v 137pts) with Maclachlan (114pts) taking the third place spot, Shaw having dropped out of the top three after a dismal weekend.

Next Rounds: Zandvoort, NL – 9/10 July

Changeable weather over Norfolk on Saturday evening turned the Caterham race teams into amateur weather specialists.

The lack of consistent weather was met with frowns, but with only one lap mattering in qualifying (or race one, as it’s rapidly becoming known in R300 circles), it was dry set-ups for everyone.  Wet-weather specialist Jamie Orton was not to be disappointed with the dry track, the Fauldsport driver claiming pole from Paul Wilson by a sizeable quarter of a second, with championship leader Mark Shaw in third.

The early Sunday morning start was probably to blame for an uncharacteristically processional race.  Orton and SPY Motorsport’s Wilson broke free for the pack almost instantly, partly thanks to some missed gears from Shaw concertinaing the cars and causing chaos behind.  The resulting ten car train for third briefly jostled for position, until Stuart Simpson flicked JJ O’Malley into an airborne 360 degree spin; the drama spacing the following pack out.  Much to Wilson’s disappointment, Orton kept up his relentless pace for the race duration, the pair finishing first and second with a sizeable gap to a lonely third place for a recovering Shaw who had overhauled a strong drive from Flick Haigh, who in turn would finish in an R300 personal best of fourth place ahead of McMillan Motorsport’s Simpson.  Helicopter impersonator O’Malley hauled himself back from 23^rd to 13^th, with Simpson picking up the wrong sort of points for his part in the display.

Having waited an eternity for the start of the second race at the end of the day, the early morning lethargy had worn off and the drivers were itching to get going, making the second race an altogether different prospect.   It was Orton and Wilson making the break at the front again, but this time the pair would exchange the lead lap after lap, with Simon Young and DPR Motorsport’s Shaw doing the same thing a few seconds behind them.  Haigh had made it to third briefly, before being sidelined by Jamie Ellwood who also retired, whilst another mid-pack incident claimed several drivers, leaving two-by-two battles to be fought throughout the field.  Orton made the most of Snetterton’s new layout by pulling a cheeky last-corner move on Wilson to snatch the lead and victory in the conclusion of an epic dual.  Immediately behind them, Young had pumped in a new lap record to stay ahead of Shaw and claim third, while a delighted O’Malley had risen to 5^th.  A 7^th and R300 personal best place rewarded a jubilant Mark Blackburn, the only non team-supported car in the championship.

Orton takes the lead of the championship (92pts), with Shaw demoted to second (88pts) and Wilson third (87pts).

Next Rounds: Brands Hatch GP – 18/19 June

Glynn Geddie took pole position for the British GT championship race on the new Snetterton 300 configuration in the Ferrari 458 Italia during a day of mixed conditions. Geddie, sharing the car with his father Jim, staked his claim for pole position early on in the session, and it was good enough as none of his rivals could come close.

Joining Geddie on the front row is the United Autosport Audi R8 of Michael Guasch and Matt Bell with the Lester and Simonsen Ferrari 430 Scuderia and the Black and Hall Aston Martin DBRS 9.

Heading GT4 class was the KTM X-Bow of Athanasios Ladas and Michael Mallock, beating the two Lotus Evoras entered by Lotus Sport.

Cars to watch will be the Predator CCTV Ferrari 430 of Adam Wilcox and Phil Burton, which sat out much of the practise sessions with a misfire, and also the Mercedes SLS of the Jones Brothers who only managed to qualify in 14th position.

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Felipe Nasr took pole position for both F3 races, but it was Kevin Magnussen, son of the 1984 F3 Champion and later F1 driver Jan, who stole the win of the first race with a slipstreaming move against Nasr up the Senna Straight and taking the lead into Riches Corner.

Nasr established a new outright lap record with a best time of 1m 40.103s to take away Aaron Steele’s MSV F3 Cup record established in March.

All cars were varieties of Dallara chassis, with Volkswagen and Mercedes engines powering them.   Volkswagen engines took the first 6 positions, and the Carlin Racing team took a 1-2-3-4.

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Jamie Orton took pole position for the Caterham R300 Championship, Ben Anderson and Stuart Pearson share poles for the Ginetta Challenge and Steve Chaplin converted 2nd on the grid for the Volkwagen Racing Cup to a race win in his No. 53 (naturally) VW Beetle, and Scott Malvern triumphed in the first Formula Ford race.

Sunday sees a full day of racing, with the 2hr British GT race taking place after lunch.  Two more rounds of the F3 championship, two more Formula Fords races, plus more racing from the VW Cup, the Ginetta Challenge and the Caterham Championship as well.

Photos: Norwich Photo

Supersport Race 1 Finish

Race Report – Snetterton 300 24^th / 25^th April 2011

Supersports

Easter Bank Holiday weekend, Snetterton 300 circuit layout flooded in sunshine set the scene for racing to commence.

Race 1

Jamie Orton claimed pole with a one second gap between himself and Lee Wiggins who was closely followed by Jez Webb in third.

A scintillating close race ensued for the third round of the championship, Orton did not manage to utilise his pole position as he was beaten to the first corner by Wiggins who then spent the race defending his lead from the rainbow of cars behind. Steve Day, blue car, Orton in his JPS coloured car, Webb in the all yellow machine and Reece up at the front for the first lap until a puncture scuppered his chances after he ran wide at Hamilton.

The individual battles were momentarily paused while the safety car was deployed to clear the circuit after an incident on the apex of Oggies. Unusually the safety car didn’t pick up the leaders which caused confusion to both spectators and drivers. After the safety car peeled off a tremendous finish played out, Wiggins took the win narrowly as Day propelled his car down the Senna Straight using Orton’s tow to launch himself forward to finish second, which meant Orton missed out by 0.099 seconds and finished a rather deflating third after an amazing race up at the sharp end.

Race 2

The second race was an absolute stunner; a true performance of what Caterham racing is all about. Nose to tail action from lights to flag, a different leader each time they crossed the line not to mention multiple position changes during each lap. Wiggins wished to repeat his fantastic performance from race one and Day was desperate to claim his illusive win and make Snetterton 300 a circuit to remember for Stancombe Racing, while Orton really didn’t want to finish third again. Webb and Whibley followed inches behind waiting for an opportune moment to pounce.

During the race, attention was given to Reece ‘the Rocket’ who flew through the field from the back row of the grid due to a DNF in race one. He progressed through the order like a man on a mission and gracefully picked his way up the order to join the leading pack. As they crossed the line for the final time it was Webb who was victorious, the waiting game had played off, Orton finished second and third place went to ‘The Rocket’. What an epic race, one of the closest Supersport races to date.

Orton proudly sets the new lap record, while Wiggins tops the championship table, ‘for now’.

Roadsport A

Both Roadsport A races were won by Richard Carter, Chris Legg in second and Rob Vissers in third. With only three entrants, all were guaranteed trophies if they finished.

Chris Legg now holds the lap record as he secured the fastest lap.

Roadsport B Race 1 finish

Roadsport B

To celebrate Easter, trophies filled with cream eggs awaited the podium finishes.

Mike Hart started his weekend on a high with securing pole and positioning his car ahead of the championship leaders, Kurt Brady and Wes Fox. A couple of names appeared higher up the standings than usual, Spencer Horgan in fifth and Ian Davis in seventh with newbie Adam White in thirteenth beating a few fast contenders that were expected to be higher up the grid including Matt Rigby (guest driver; third in Academy 2010).

Hart managed a perfect start and held the lead into Riches where he remained for the majority of the first few laps. A quintet of cars merged at the front forming a close train. Hart fought off Fox to keep his lead while Aaron Head made his way up into third. Brady and Jon Mortimer, who made fantastic starts were knocked out of contention when they collided together at the exit of Oggies and stranded their cars in the gravel, this made way for Jim Needham to nudge his way back up the ranks and allowed Hart and Fox to create some air between them and the chasing pack.

After an epic race with plenty of moments leaving the spectators on the edge of their seats there was no surprise as the leading pair came around Murrays for the last time neck and neck. The win genuinely could have gone to either of them. Hart tucked in behind Fox to get an almighty tow that he used to catapult himself across the line as they went side by side although he misjudged his exit slightly and ran wide, bouncing over the grass narrowly missing the armco after the flag had fallen. Hart missed out on the victory by 0.098 seconds. Needham finished third after beating off the competition from Horgan and Head. A truly spectacular end to the race that left the crowd wanting more of the same thrilling action.

Race 2

Race two was more of a battle for second and third as Fox was able to pull away from pole and break the all important tow that features so heavily in Roadsport B races. This resulted in lights to flag victory and a gap of nearly four seconds between him and the others.

Although Fox had pulled such a big lead the remaining cars did not disappoint to produce a thoroughly entertaining race. From the back of the field Kurt Brady and Jon Mortimer were trying to make amends for loss of points in race one and were both keen to make up as many places as possible. Brady managed to work his way up to ninth while Mortimer pulled out all the stops, bagged the fastest lap of the race and made his way all the way up to fourth. It was a race of much overtaking and Martin Pass carried out his fair share propelling himself from twentieth up to seventh, although unfortunately his great efforts were not able to be counted due to a technical infringement resulting in disqualification.   Meanwhile, Needham had recovered from a poor start, zoned himself back into the job in hand and managed to snatch second place leaving Hart the smaller trophy and third place.

It was Aaron Head who claimed the lap record and his name in the history books with a fantastic time of 2:15.916. Unsurprisingly it is Fox who tops the championship table with three out of four races won.

Next Rounds: Brands Hatch 11^th/12^th June

SPY Motorsport open the hotly contested Caterham R300 Championship at Oulton Park with pole and win courtesy of Paul Wilson.

With more than 16 former Caterham race winners on the 27 car grid, the first round of the 2011 Caterham R300 Championships at a sunny Oulton Park was bound to be competitive. All eight SPY Motorsport run drivers showed well in testing, but it was Paul Wilson who was leading the way, and so it proved on Saturday morning qualifying as he gained pole position with his final lap. Flick Haigh, former Caterham Classic Graduate champion, was next up for SPY in 8th.

After dropping to third at the start of Race One Wilson quickly recovered the lead, from where he was rarely headed, in the end finishing a relatively comfortable 1.5 seconds clear of Andy McMillan.

Race Two seemed to be heading for a similar conclusion, with Wilson leading Gordon Sawyer into the final lap. However Sawyer’s optimistic move at Island Bend forced Paul onto the grass and down to 9th, and left Gordon in the barrier. Wilson and Sawyer’s demise was to the benefit of fellow SPY drivers Simon Young and Dave Pearce, who came home 4th and 5th respectively.

Paul Wilson: “The test day went perfectly and I was confident we were a couple of tenths faster than anybody else, it took me until the final lap of qualifying to prove that though! I didn’t start well in the first race, but once I got back to the front I definitely felt I had the legs on Andy. I’m disappointed about the second race, because I felt it was an unnecessary move and I was pretty certain of the win, but all in all I’ve had worse weekends! Credit to SPY, the car felt spot-on all weekend.’

Peter Young, Team Principal: “Of course it’s fantastic to start the season with such a good result, Paul and several of our other drivers look like they’ll be big contenders this year. I think everyone went away from the weekend happy, hopefully more of the same at Snetterton!”

Roadsport B

Sunny skies over Silverstone’s new Arena GP circuit set the scene for the opening rounds of the 2011 Roadsport B championship.

Roadsports B in action

Normal service continued as the two champions from their respective Academy groups lined up first and second on the grid after qualifying for the initial Roadsport B race. Wes Fox secured the first pole position of the year with Aussie Kurt Brady biting at his heels in second.

In an action packed close race, typical of Caterhams, a lead pack of six continually swapped places, each taking a turn in the lead. Fox had to fight off advancements of Brady, Jon Mortimer, James Needham, Joel Wymer and Mike Hart, frequently spreading five abreast down the Hanger straight into Stowe. Amazingly, despite locked brakes and puffs of tyre smoke, all would make it through the corner each time as the race raged on.

Further down the field  Academy frontrunners Martin Pass and Ross Macindoe were unusually off the pace, leaving them to mix it up with the mid field, rather than the lead pack.

Wymer spun from the lead pack dropping back to sixteenth place, allowing the top three of, Brady, Fox and Hart to pull away and decipher the order for the podium. Fox would eventually take the honors of a maiden Roadsport B victory closely followed by Brady in second and Hart completing the trophy winners.

In a near identical nail-biting encounter, a lead pack of cars quickly emerged in race two and broke away from the rabble. Hertfordshire driver Fox got a good start and held the lead for the first few laps, but this didn’t stick as Brady and Mortimer both proved they were worthy leaders. Meanwhile Aaron Head, who started on the back row of the grid due to a DNF in race one, sliced his way past his opponents and made his way up to a stunning fifth. The dice for the lead had pushed Fox down the order and allowed Brady to claim a win, with a dramatic photo finish between Hart and Mortimer for the runner up spot.  A delighted Mortimer learned of his 0.006 sec advantage when he arrived at the podium, leaving Jaguar development driver Hart to collect the third position trophy.

A new circuit layout guarantees that there will be a new lap record and Wes Fox has secured his name in the record books with a time of 2.36.358

With a pecking order far from established, Brady heads the Championship table closely followed by Fox, Mortimer, Hart and Needham; but for how long?

Supersports

A whopping thirty nine cars took to the grid for the initial rounds at Silverstone, all keen to discover what the Arena GP has to offer.

Caterham Supersport race is go!

Reece Somerfield seized the first pole position of the Supersports season with Jamie Orton and Jez Webb not far behind. Unusually, regular pole sitter Steve Day and fellow Essex fast man Lee Wiggins were much further down the field than expected.

Although frantic activity meant every lap produced multiple leaders, it was Somerfield who crossed the line each time in the lead lap until an electrical gremlin caused him to retire. Meanwhile Wiggins had carved his way from tenth into the lead pack to battle with Orton and Webb, each taking their turn in the lead. As the flag fell it was the JPS coloured car of Orton who was at the front followed by Webb and Wiggins.

Race two quickly produced two large groups of closely packed cars, thrilling the spectators and giving a fantastic example of what Caterham racing is all about,.

Orton, Webb and Wiggins were joined at the sharp end by Day early in the race, keen to prove that his qualifying performance was just a blip. As four cars funneled into a corner, Orton took evasive action resulting in a spin  pushing him well down the order. In the melee, an on-form Sean Byrne would produce a personal best performance, whilst Somerfield and Carlton brown were on a  rocket-like ascent through the field. But as the leaders crossed the line it was Wiggins who took the flag, with Day second and Byrne landing himself a trophy and podium position for the first time.

Brown can content himself with the new lap record whilst Wiggins tops the championship table ahead of Byrne and Day.

Roadsport A

Roadsport A shared the Supersports grid as the seminal series entered its farewell year.

Ian Payne secured pole position with a mighty two second advantage over Antony ‘Sid’ Sidney-Woollett and Adam Bettinson, lining up second and third.

Payne converted his pole into a lights-to-flag victory with a monumental twenty one second lead over second place. With Payne pulling out such a large gap the main race was for second and third as Peter Young, Sid and new-to-Roadsports, Bettinson duelling it out lap after lap. At the line it was Sid who would grab second and Young claiming third

As the lights went out for race two, Bettinson made a spectacular start.  Unfortunately, it was the start of the Supersports race and not the Roadsport A’s, which were to be started a minute behind the main pack.  Reversing back past the pole sitter into his grid spot was something new for the officials to consider, but thanks to the big time gap, no harm was done and no action was taken.

Payne put in a repeat performance and won the second race with another huge advantage. After his somewhat entertaining start Bettinson had a respectable race and finished second leaving Sid to take third position.

Payne now has a seven point lead in the Championship and the new lap record.

Photos: Rick Wilson

Six different drivers in six available podium places sets the scene for an all-action, nail-biting season ahead.

As the clouds cleared to leave a dry track, Paul Wilson put his ‘lucky green’ machine on pole in the dying seconds of qualifying, demonstrating the form that had been clear throughout Friday’s practice.

Alongside Wilson and occupying the same spot he had a year earlier was DPR Motorsport’s Mark Shaw, with Andy McMillan and, in his maiden R300 adventure, Roadsport-A superstar JJ O’Malley behind the pair.  The top five was rounded out by Gordon Sawyer, showing a return to his 2008/9 season pace after a torrid season last year.

As the red lights went out for Race One, it was the trio of McMillan, Wilson and Sawyer that made the break and tussled for position with each taking their turn at the front, with the main pack less than a second behind.  Front-row man Shaw’s part in proceedings was short lived following a trip across the grass at Island that dropped him to the back of the field.  Fauldsport driver O’Malley quickly closed the gap to the leaders and put pressure on Sawyer for third.  Armfuls of oversteer at Old Hall put the back of Sawyer’s wayward car directly in the path of O’Malley, leaving him nowhere to go other than into it.  Sawyer, less a wing and with bent rear suspension but still running, was dropped to tenth, while O’Malley retired with steering damage.  James MacLachlan, Jamie Ellwood and Flick Haigh’s race now had more significance as the three were promoted into a fight for third; but Sawyer was not done yet.  The lap record was his on his first flying recovery lap, then bettered again on the next two laps, passing five cars along the way to catch Haigh.  With yet another improvement to the lap record in his wounded car, Sawyer leapfrogged Haigh and co to salvage a podium place for his morning’s efforts.  His supreme performance was nearly matched by Shaw, also on a recovery drive from 25th position to a very creditable 7th place finish.  Haigh was cruelly taken out of the running by a suspension failure less than two laps from home.  Alongside Shaw and Sawyer, she was another driver running under the lap record set by 2010 R300 master, Trevor Fowell.  Meanwhile Wilson continued to put in a peerless performance to stretch his lead to more than a second over the McMillan Motorsport head honcho as the chequered flag dropped.

left to right – McMillan, Wilson, Sawyer

Race Two was no less exciting with the McMillan-Wilson duel getting underway immediately, though this time it was joined by Ellwood, Sawyer, MacLachlan, Jamie Orton, Simon Young and Shaw.  But with only one lap completed the safety car was called out for another Old Hall incident for O’Malley.  The Irishman had fumbled a gearchange, selecting 3rd instead of 5th, putting him into the spin, where he was collected by Superlight racing-returnee Marcus Hoggarth (in a car freshly repaired by his TF Motorsport team following a practice shunt).  This time, neither car would continue.  Sterling work by the Oulton marshals would see the track cleared very quickly and battle recommence.  After a brief run at the front for McMillan, Wilson would again assert his authority and take the lead.  McMillan and Sawyer matched him lap for lap until the 2/3 distance mark when an error sent McMillan across the grass at the Island kink, dropping him to 12th.   Just behind them, Shaw v Ellwood was settled in Shaw’s favour by a broken A-frame on Ellwood’s car, which slowed him significantly.  With McMillan well down the field and a gap to Shaw, a clear one-two was on the cards for Wilson and Sawyer until an overly ambitious move by Sawyer on the last lap punted the SPY Motorsport car off the track at the now-notorious Island kink, putting himself heavily into the tyre wall.  Wilson quickly got going again but was down to 9th, with Shaw inheriting the lead and a bemused Orton second, while MacLachlan would pick up the final podium place.  Young and David Pearce rounded out the top five, with McMillan recovering to 6th.  Ellwood’s independently run JE Racing car limped home in 17th place, while another strong drive from Haigh took her from 26th on the grid to 11th overall.

left to right – Orton, Shaw, MacLachlan

After the opening rounds, just three points separate the top five drivers, led by Shaw on 45pts, with McMillan, Orton and MacLachlan all on 42pts and the weekend’s victor, both on the track and morally, Paul Wilson on 41pts.  Despite the incidents, the drivers were quick to praise driving standards for such a competitive series.

Next Rounds: Snetterton 14/15 May.

Fourteen of the 25 Caterham-Lola SP/300.R racing cars that will be built this year have already been sold, just over one month after the car was unveiled to the world.

The SP/300.R made its global debut at January’s Autosport International Show at Birmingham’s NEC, where it was arguably the talk of the event.

Caterham committed to build only 25 of the lightweight, 300bhp sports prototype racers a year in order to focus on enhancing build quality and maintaining its acclaimed one-to-one customer service.

The SP/300.R, which has been aerodynamically styled and engineered by Caterham Cars, will form the basis of its own one-make race championship in 2012, running alongside the Cooper Tire British F3 International Series.

Caterham Cars managing director, Ansar Ali, said: “We are delighted with the way the car was received at the Autosport show. It’s the first new model Caterham has built for 15 years but, even so, we were bowled over by the reaction and the interest, which led to several deposits being placed almost immediately.

“There are many more people who have registered their interest in buying the remaining 11 cars so I’d anticipate that our order book will be filled quite soon.”

As well as individuals, several teams have placed deposits with Caterham to buy cars. The first team to order a SP/300.R was Staffordhsire-based Fauldsport, the reigning Caterham Superlight R300 Teams Champion, which placed deposits on three cars.

Please visit http://www.caterham-spr.com/ or call 01883 333 700 for more information.