R300 SHOWDOWN AT DONINGTON

Trevor Fowell very much as the R300 title in his sights. Photo: Caterham Motorsport

Described by some as ‘the most competitive series in the country’ the BookaTrack.com Caterham Superlight R300 championship draws to a close this weekend as part of the F3/GT package at Donington.

Between them, the contenders hold an incredible thirteen Caterham titles and more than half the grid are race winners, so no wonder the races have been close and sometimes too close, making the action fraught and from a spectators point of view, unmissable.

London based Trevor Fowell looks set to add another title to his collection with his lead in the championship extending following the last rounds at Castle Combe. Fowell took a victory but couldn’t hold off R300 newcomer Jamie Orton for the double. Fauldsport team-mate Orton leads the Caterham Roadsport-A championship, but is set for another outing in the R300 at Donington, letting his rivals know what they’ll be in for when he joins the series full time next year.

Two moderate finishes, or one (very likely) victory at Donington will nail the title for Fowell, denying second place man, hard charging McMillan, of his opportunity for glory. However, the McMillan Motorsport front-man has shown true class this year with blistering speed in his first full championship and the chances of him losing the runner-up spot are extremely remote.

Ambitions Racing’s Ollie Taylor and multiple Caterham champion Jamie Ellwood are left to battle it out for third place with their rival Paul Brannan desperately unlucky to be sidelined by a hand injury. Mark Shaw stands an outside chance of snatching the place from them and Taylor and Ellwood have come to blows on track more than once this year, while Shaw’s promise has yet to be fully revealed.

Donington also sees the welcome return of the 2009 R300 champion Jon Walker. Absent from the last two weekends, the DPR Motorsport driver was dominant in his last appearance and without championship pressure, could well give the rest of pack a lesson in how to win.

Talking of dominance, Caterham Supersport champion elect, James MacLachlan is also warming up for his 2011 campaign and showed good speed at Castle Combe. He’s been mighty in Supersports this year and could be on the podium pace already.

So who will win the championship? Well that’s a fairly safe bet. Who will win the races? No-one knows and with Walker, Orton and MacLachlan all back in the saddle you wouldn’t even want to chance an each-way. The only thing that’s guaranteed is that it will not be an anti-climax…