The weather was hot, dry and sunny.

Control engines supplied to 98 Baron, 4 ALPHA, and 8 BRM Stretton.

Qualifying

1st 8 BRM Stretton 52.82 sec
2nd 23 POT Racing 52.824
3rd 1 MS Titan Motorsports 52.901
4th 33 Q Racing 52.967
5th 13 Red Racing 53.056

The top 3 of the Championship were “missing” from the action.

7th 43 MS SoCo Select 53.073
8th 4 ALPHA 53.175
20th 98 Baron 54.296

Race Start

The race started at 11 am promptly , as per program, and the dreaded first corner/chicane was safely negotiated by most except for 98 Baron who found themselves in the kitty litter.

8 BRM Stretton showed a clean pair of heels and had a small lead from 23 POT Racing and 1 Titan Motorsport. Three laps in and the order was 8 BRM Stretton, 23 POT Racing, 1 Titan Motorsport, 13 Red Racing, 4 ALPHA, 43 MS SoCo Select, 77 Offline 1, 44 MS JSR II, 111 MS JSR Racing, 58 DWS, 36 Smarty Pants, 777 Offline II, 25 Tockwith Junior 1.

15 min in and POT Racing had taken the lead from 8 BRM Stretton, 1Titan Motorsport, 13 Red Racing and 43 MS SoCo Select were working themselves down the leader board and eventually got down to 15th courtesy of staggered fuel stops.

At 1 hr

The frantic pace began to ease and the first 10 were spread over 25sec. POT Racing leading 8 BRM Stretton by 0.4sec , then 1.5 sec to Titan Motorsport, 4 ALPHA, 13 Red Racing ,111 MS JSR Racing, 443 MS Lucas, 43 MS SoCo Select, 36 Smartie Pants and 58 DWS. 33 Q Racing were 11th due to the staggered fuel stops.

At half distance

1 Titan Motorsport, 43 MS SoCo Select, 4 ALPHA, 8 BRM Stretton, 23 POT Racing, 111 MS JSR Racing, 777 Offline II, 44 MS JSR II, 443 MS Lucas, 115 Team Keane top 10 spread over 3 laps. Would Titan crack ? Could 43 MS SoCo Select's slick pitwork compensate for their lack of raw pace ? Would 4 ALPHA's management of fuel pay dividends ? 8 BRM Stretton had their no 2 driver absent, could the no 3 Ronnie Rowe keep them in contention ?

98 Baron had concerns about the exhausts on the control engines. A , for them, poor qualifying and then an off in the first lap, then stub axle problems , finally a snapped steering column forced their retirement.

23 POT Racing Pot Racing also had their problems. After an assured spell in the lead, they were sliding down the leaderboard until a sheared hub led to an early exit. 

The finish

33 Q Racing were leading and hopeful of their “maiden” win. 1 Titan Motorsport Titan Motorsport were closing at 0.5 sec a lap and the maths did not look good from a Q perspective. 4 ALPHA were throwing caution to the winds and also hunting the win down. 43 MS SoCo Select were hanging on trying to limit the damage that their unexplained lack of pace was causing.

And then it happened. 4 ALPHA was black flagged for contact and a drive – thru penalty taken, ending their challenge for the win. ! 1 Titan Motorsport and 33 Q Racing were together swapping the lead when 33 Q Racing found themselves in the grass and 1Titan Motorsport were home and clear.

The finishing order :- 1 Titan Motorsport, 8 BRM Stretton, 33 Q Racing, 43 MS SoCo Select, 4 ALPHA, 13 Red Racing, 111 MS JSR Racing, 443 MS Lucas, 44 MS JSR II, 77 Offline I, 58 DWS, 115 Team Keane.

Championship after 5 rounds

1st 43 MS SoCo Select 251
2nd 111 MS JSR Racing 217
3rd 4 ALPHA 206
4th 58 DWS 201
5th 33 Q Racing 197

SUMMARY

An excellent first win for Titan, an excellent podium for Q Racing and BRM Stretton another podium to add to their strong showing recently.

Thanks to Malcolm Fell for the use of the facilties and Bob Pope, Kat Pope, Tracy Pope, Paul Franklin, Bob Hutchinson, Kelvin Nicholls, Paul Beatty, Martin Howells and all the marshalls who made the event so successful and pleasant.