RACING EXPOSURE :: Club level motorsport e-magazine

Paul Streather headed to Donington Park on Easter Sunday to embark on his 2012 season campaign in the MG Car Club’s Trophy Championship. The aim was to get a flying start to the 2012 season and break his curse at Donington Park.  In the 2011 season Paul did not finish either race at Donington this removed all hopes of the title in 2011.

Due to the timetable restrictions of the weekend the MG Trophy Championship was joined with the Peter Best Insurance Championship with various speed cars dating back to a 1949 MG TC and through to a MGB GT V8.

The qualifying session was the first one of the day. The track was still wet therefore almost every driver went out on full wet tyres. With such varied speed cars it was hard for any driver, including Paul, to put continuous fast laps together. Paul managed to put in two “flying” laps with limited disruption from the other traffic. Paul’s fastest lap was over 1 second quicker than the rest of the grid and over 30 seconds faster than the slowest. This meant that during the race, Paul would be lapping the slowest competitors within 3 laps. Paul’s second fastest lap time determined the starting position for race 2 which put him in second place on the grid alongside Doug Cole on the front row.

The cars lined up on the grid, all 32 of them, awaiting the lights to go out. The lights came on and went out, Paul got a flying start, for about 10 metres before the driveshaft sheared and meaning he had to pull off with no drive and watch the race from the side lines. The race continued when an accident later bought the safety car out. Doug Cole was still leading the field and sat behind the safety car for 2 laps. The lights went off on the safety car and Doug made his charge for the line and caught the rest of the pack off guard. Doug instantly had an enormous lead and held this to the end of the race. The finishing result was Doug Cole in first with Graham Ross in second and Mark Humphrey in third place. Fastest lap was set by MG Trophy newcomer Dan Neaves.

Paul set out to fix his car straight away with the help of his team and it was fixed and race ready within an hour.

“Things looked great after this morning’s qualifying session but due to a mechanical failure beyond my control it meant that I could not finish the race.”

Leading up to race two in the afternoon the weather was constantly changing and it was looking like the car setup and tyres would need to be changed before the race. The rain came and went prior to the start and therefore full slick tyres were put onto the car. Paul lined up along side Doug Cole, the race one winner, on the front row of the grid to start the second race. The lights went out and Paul Luti from row 2 of the grid flew into the lead with Paul Streather in second and Doug in third. As Paul Streather was on the outside line into the first corned it allowed Doug Cole, Graham Ross and Chris Bray to pass him by the exit of Redgate corner putting Paul into fifth position. This happened again further through the opening lap and meant that Paul was down to sixth.  Graham Ross spun off promoting Paul into fifth position again but was stuck behind Mark Humphrey and could not find a route past. The leaders started to pull away and increase their lead significantly while Paul was stuck behind Mark. Paul managed to overtake Mark on Lap 12 and was immediately on the bumper of Bray in third place a quarter of the way into lap 13 and had opened up over a one second gap from Mark. The race was stopped due to a major accident which then lead to the results being declared from the previous lap with meaning Paul was awarded fifth position.  Luti won the race with Cole in second and Bray in third.

Paul picked up third in class award.

After the weekend Paul said; “I would like to thank all of my family and friends who give up a lot of their time to help me. I couldn’t do it without them. I would also like the thank all of my sponsors; Michael Smith Switchgear, Round Towers Spares, DS Motor Services, TLA Distribution, Anglian Fasteners, Holme Dodsworth Metals, Sygnature Workwear, Decon Design and SMS Images, without them it would not be possible.”

Paul went on to jest; “At least I have finished a race here now and broken The Curse of Donington Park. I am really looking forward to Brands Hatch in May.”

Report and pictures by Sean Smith – SMS Images

Paul Streather, the 22 year old, from Hinckley has set the bar high for his 2012 season campaign in the MG Car Club’s Trophy Championship.  Streather was the 2010 MG Trophy Champion in a MG ZR 160, breaking the lap record at all six of the circuits that he raced at. In 2011 Paul took the leap up into the fully race prepared MG ZR 190 and had yet another successful season. He battled the elements at Oulton Park and disaster struck at Donington Park for Paul, yet he still managed to finish third in his class.

Over the winter break Paul has been working non-stop on his race car to ensure that it is prepared to his extremely high standard going into the 2012 season. Paul’s meticulous preparation routine has also secured him a client’s car for preparation for the 2012 season.

Paul took his MG ZR 190 to Mallory Park last week to check all of the set-up and ensure that he is happy with the performance.  Paul started off steady and returned the garage to check that there were no immediate issues. All was clear so he returned to the track to put the car, and himself, through the paces.

Paul’s lap times were consistently fast and were within two tenths of a second of the lap record for his class of car.

This is the promising start that Paul is after heading into the 2012 season where he aims to challenge for the Championship Title once again.

Following the morning’s three testing sessions, Paul commented; “I am extremely happy with the test sessions this morning. I had a few minor issues with the car but I would rather find these during a test session than during a race.  I am really looking forward to the upcoming season, the car feels great!”

The MG Car Club’s Trophy Championship race season starts at Donington Park on Easter Sunday.

Picture & Report By: Sean Smith – SMS Images

Local motor racing hero, Paul Luti enjoyed immense success at his home round last weekend (26/27th June), as the MG Trophy Championship made the trip to the Knockhill circuit.

Returning to the venue after some time away, everyone in the championship was eager to try out the track, especially those who had not been before. Being local to Knockhill Paul was benefited by local knowledge; however that goes out of the window when racing against some of the best drivers in the series.

Being able to get the early advantage, qualifying saw Paul set the fastest times, securing pole position for both of the two races. However, with local rivals Colin Robertson and Graham Ross right on his tail it was set to be a thrilling duo of races.

The opening race got underway without a fuss for the Callander-based ace, however further back his main rivals were not so lucky. Paul immediately got the jump on the rest of the field as the lights diminished for race one. Out in front, the Dreadnought pilot was able to control the pace; when nearest rivals Robertson, Ross and Chris Bray collided at the infamous final hairpin bend, Paul was able to extend his lead even further.

Crossing the finish line ahead made it one out of one for Paul’s home round, with more excitement anticipated for the second outing.

Despite this strong start to the weekend, drama was teetering on the edge of their next race, as problems soon struck the Dreadnought Racing outfit. With the second race due to take place just after midday on Sunday (27th), the pressure was on as the team spent the better part of the day, and night, working to fix the beloved MG TF LE500.

As the Trophy contingent were called to the assembly area on Sunday for race two, the hard work of the Dreadnought team paid off as Paul pulled away from the team’s awning. However returning shortly afterwards with clutch issues caused more drama for the team. Regardless of the challenge the weekend was throwing at the team, they refused to be phased and yet again overcame the odds for Paul to take up his pole position spot for race two.

A nerve-racking start saw Paul once again take up the lead, until the race was red flagged due to a car stopped in a dangerous position. As Paul again lined up on pole to take the restart, nerves within the team were again sky high as the lights went out.

Determined not to be phased by the surfacing problems, Paul took up his familiar spot at the head of the field, from where he never looked back. Regardless of immense hassle from Robertson, Paul was able to hold his own, and overcame a smoking car to take the chequered flag once again first.

Commenting on another successful weekend, Paul said: “What a weekend! I was unbelievably pleased to come away with two pole positions and two wins. I can’t thank the team enough for what they did over the weekend; they again excelled with fixing the car, and I can’t say how much I appreciate their efforts for working all day and most of the night to get us out for race two. It was great to be able to repay them with a second win.”

Paul has got a bit of a break before his next round, with the team making another usual long trip south to Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire, on the 5/6th September. The round will feature three MG Trophy races, with a cancelled race from the opening round at Brands Hatch being added to the programme at Cadwell. “I’m looking forward to Cadwell, as I look forward to every round,” said Paul. “It is a very tight and challenging track, so it should be another interesting round,” he added.

Report: Leanne Fahy
Photography: Dickon Siddall