THE SEASON OPENS AT SILVERSTONE


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Mike Comber made a big impression winning the opening two rounds of the MX-5 SuperCup at Silverstone. Photo: Jon Elsey

The opening weekend of the 2014 BRSCC season kicked off in fine form at Silverstone, with race action on both the International and National circuits.

Double podium for Jonathan Greensmith in the Toyo Tires Porsche Championship

The Toyo Tires Porsche Championship had its first ever outing on the International with Jonathan Greensmith taking the win in both Saturday and Sunday’s races. In round one, Greensmith took an early lead from pole sitter Ed Hayes, leaving Nick Hull, Garry Lawrence and Richard Avery to battle it out for third place. Further back, a spin from Adam Croft on the International pit straight resulted in early retirement for the Leeds driver after he hit the pit wall, leaving his damaged Porsche Boxster stranded out on track.

A disappointing start for Greensmith in round two saw the Sheffield driver drop from first to fourth in the first corner, but it wasn’t long before he was back on form, retaking the lead in lap 7 ahead of Ed Hayes who finished second and Graham Heard who finished third in Class A. In Class B, Jayson Flegg came out on top ahead of Michael Goodacre and Bernie Printy. Simon Hawksley took the win in Class C ahead of David Jones and El-Chamaa.

Clean sweep for Paul Rhodes in the BRSCC Mighty Minis Championship

It was a clean sweep for Paul Rhodes in the BRSCC Mighty Minis Championship with two race wins to his name. In round one, the pole sitter kept his head to take the chequered flag despite increasing pressure from Ian Slark in second and Charlie Budd in third. A reverse grid for round two saw Gregory Jenkins on pole but it was Charlie Budd that pulled off an impressive start to take the lead from sixth position on the grid. As the weather started to change, a nail biting battle for the lead got underway with Budd, Paul Rhodes and Samuel Hathaway all in the running, before Rhodes took position to take his second win of the weekend ahead of Ian Slark and Charlie Budd.

Slow start for Jack Lang in the BRSCC Formula Jedi Championship

It was a disappointing start for Jack Lang in round one of the BRSCC Formula Jedi Championship as the Thetford driver struggled to get going, dropping down from first to ninth on the grid. As Dan Clowes took the lead, a great battle between Scott Stevens and Andrew Dunn got underway with a 0.211 gap separating the two drivers at one point, before a change in position saw James Maclachlan jump up into second ahead of Dunn. A decent recovery by Jack Lang saw him fight his way through the pack to third finish on the grid. Round one finished with Dan Clowes taking the top honours ahead of James Maclachlan and Jack Lang.

In round two, an impressive performance by Andrew Dunn saw the Evanton driver take the race win ahead of Matthew Ryder and Dan Clowes. Another poor start by Jack Lang saw him drop back to sixth position on first lap. A spin for Scott Stevens in first corner also forced him to the back of the grid, with the Jedi driver eventually finishing in eighth. Elsewhere, Adam Walker was handed a 10 second penalty for being out of position at the start of the race. A decent recovery by Jack Lang saw him finish fourth.

White and Stafford impress in the BRSCC Super Mighty Minis Championship

A nail biting fight on the last lap of round one of the BRSCC Super Mighty Minis Championship saw Jamie White take the chequered flag ahead of Elliot Stafford. The two drivers battled it out lap by lap, swapping positions right up until the finish line where White took victory. Neven Kirkpatrick came in third to claim the final position on the podium.

Mark Burnett was on pole position for the reserve grid of round two of the Super Mighty Minis Championship but it was Elliot Stafford who took an early lead to claim victory. As Stafford pulled away from the rest of the pack, Neven Kirkpatrick and Scott Kendall was nose to tail in the battle for second place, with Kirkpatrick eventually taking second on the podium, ahead of Kendall.

Double points for Johnathan ‘JJ’ Clements in the BRSCC Mazda MX5 Championship – 1A & 2A

There was plenty of action on track in the BRSCC Mazda MX5 Championship as the 2014 series got underway. In round one of group 1A, a fantastic opening lap saw Charlie Charman take the lead with 6 cars huddled together into Stowe as the rest of the pack fought for position. Andy Coombs and Sam Smith also put in two impressive performances with Coombs jumping from ninth on the grid to finish in fourth place, while Smith claimed ninth despite starting from the back of the grid. But it was JJ Clements who stole the show to take the chequered flag ahead of Martin Tolley in second and Charlie Charman in third.

In round two of group 2A, Johnathan ‘JJ’ Clements claimed his second win of the weekend while all eyes were on the battle for second place. One again, a five car battle got underway between Charlie Charman, Will Blackwell-Chambers, Martin Tolley, Alan Henderson and Gary Hufford resulting in plenty of track action right up until the chequered flag. Despite a great battle between Blackwell Chambers and Charman, it was Alan Henderson that finished second ahead of Martin Tolley in third.

45 second lead for Simon Goddard in the BRSCC Mazda MX-5 Championship – 1A & 1B

After his engine woes on Saturday, Simon Goddard showed the rest of the pack that he should have been in group 1A by pulling out a gap of almost 6 seconds after just the first lap to take the race lead. As Goddard pulled away, a nail biting battle between Lewis Field, Matthew Tasker and Jake Simpson for second and third went right up to the chequered flag with Field and Tasker side-by-side into Stowe on the last lap. A dominant drive by Goddard in the Blendini Motorsport MX5 saw the Guildford driver take the win by a massive 45 seconds, ahead of Simpson, Field and Tasker.

In round two, it was James Blake-Baldwin who stole the limelight with a race win in group 2B ahead of Simon Baldwin and Chris Hart in second and third respectively. With Blake-Baldwin 5 seconds ahead, the pressure was on Simon Baldwin as Chris Hart starts closed the gap to just 0.9 seconds. But the drive of the day had to go to Paul Tucker who finished in an impressive fourth place after starting from 22ndon the grid.

Two podiums for David Ellesley in the Jam-Sport Fiesta Championship – Class C

A red flag put an early end to the Class C race of the Jam-Sport Fiesta Championship with David Ellesley taking the eventual win ahead of David Grady and Joe Ferguson. In the race, Ellesley pulled out a decent gap to Grady, leaving all eyes on Daniel Holland and Joe Ferguson as they battled it out for the third and final place on the podium.

In round two, it was David Grady who took the win with an early lead ahead of Daniel Holland, while pole sitter David Ellesley dropped down to fourth on the first lap. Further back, Joe Ferguson and Bobby Thompson battled it out for position while Charlie Ladell and William Thoresen was nose-to-tail in the midfield. As the race progressed, David Ellesley regained back some pace to take the third and final position from Simon Horrobin. The podium finished with David Grady on the top spot, ahead of Daniel Holland and David Ellesley.

Edward Cockill dominates in the Jam-Sport Fiesta Championship – Class A, B & D

A dominant drive by Edward Cockill in Class D saw him take the chequered flag in both rounds of the Jam-Sport Fiesta Championship. It wasside by side on the finishing line for David Abbott and James Appleby with Abbott claiming second place by 0.156 of a second. In Class A, an early lead by Peter Dendy-Sadler was cut short by Jack Williams who managed to keep his cool in the final few laps to take the class win. Lee Dendy-Sadler finished in third. In Class B, John Bateman took the win ahead of Keith Chapman.

As Cockill pulled away in round two, the Class D cars of David Abbott and James Appleby were in battle again for second place honours, with the Class A Fiesta Si of Jack Williams also joining in the action. As the chequered flag fell, Edward Cockill finished top in Class D followed by David Abbott and James Appleby. Class A honours went to Jack Williams, with Lee Dendy-Sandler and Ian Scruton in second and third respectively. Michael Hooper finished top in Class B, with Keith Chapman in second and John Bateman in third.

Comber puts down early marker in the BRSCC Mazda MX5 Supercup

As expected, the BRSCC Mazda MX5 Supercup provided plenty of excitement out on track, with a special guest appearance by Tom Rochemixing up the grid in the final race of the weekend. A poor start by David Chapman in round one saw Mike Comber take the lead into the first corner but it wasn’t long however before Chapman recovered, winning the battle for second place despite increasing pressure from Matt Davies, Jon Davies and Clint Bardwell. As the chequered flag fell, Mike Comber took the win with an impressive 18 second lead ahead of David Chapman in second. Matt Davies came in third.

Tom Roche made a guest appearance in the #18 Paul Sheard Racing MX5 for the final race of the weekend, finishing in an impressive 4thplace despite starting from the pit lane. At the front, a battle between Mike Comber and Abbie Eaton saw the two drivers temporarily change positions before Comber pulled away, leaving Eaton to fall into the clutches of David Chapman for second place. Mike Comber crossed the line to take his second victory of the weekend with a 2.944 lead over Chapman in second and Eaton in third.

All the results from the meeting can be found at SILVERSTONE INTERNATIONAL

A report on the National meeting will be available here tomorrow.

Donna Kelly


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