Axel Van Nederveen, in the Datum Motorsport Ginetta G56 GTA, made it a win double after being declared the victor in Race 2, following a disqualification for the on-the-road winner.
Dragon Sports’ #92 Clio took the class win
The track was now dry as Will Stacey briefly put the Lotus Elise ahead of pole-sitter Van Nederveen’s Ginetta at the start, but the Dutchman soon was in front, while behind there was first-lap mayhem that caused the immediate intervention of the Safety Car, with Mike West’s Ginetta stuck at Club. Dave May spun the Nissan 350Z, and was pitbound for tyres, not a quick job for a two-man team, and they posted a retirement eight laps in. After the short caution was lifted, Van Nederveen held a tenuous lead over Stacey, the Ginettas of Julian Wantling and Maurizio Sciglio, and, seeking redemption, Jas Sapra’s BMW, already up from the 11th row of the grid – the top five covered by just two seconds. It was a similar story for the Clio lead, too, with Rhys Lloyd, Travis Coyne and Andy Tucker nose-to-tail, but their battle about to be intercepted by Tee Mathurin’s BMW240i, which was being chased by Fynn Jones in the #77 TSR Golf. A spin at Brooklands for Neil Wallace coincided with the pit window opening, so he brought the Ginetta in for Ian Astley to take over. Mathurin’s fine run came to a soggy end on the grass, and the Safety Car was deployed once again to protect recovery of the Team BRIT BMW, so those leaving it late to take their mandatory stop might gain a slight advantage. Once the pit window closed, and the Safety Car came in, Brian Bransom, having relieved Sapra, led Jim Edwards, now in the Ginetta started by Wantling, and Van Nederveen, while Stacey, pitting late from an inherited lead, just as the field went green again, was in the midfield. Van Nederveen siezed second place from Jim Edwards, and an attempt by Edwards to redeem the situation saw the Asseto Ginetta bogged down in the sodden outfield, causing another Safety Car period. Sterling work by the marshals got Edwards pushed back onto the track, and the Safety Car let the field loose with less than three minutes of the race left to run.
Brenden Haffner again showing pace in the Raceway Ginetta G40
Bransom was nearly six seconds to the good when the flag dropped, but post-race scrutineering identified a technical non-compliance, and the BMW was disqualified, leaving Axel Van Nederveen to take the honours once again. William Stacey made another amazing performance to finish second in the Rob Boston Elise, earning the Driver of the Day award, though it wasn’t the best of races for the other Class 1 runners – the Ginettas of Maurizio Sciglio, Wallace/Astley and Marco Anastasi were 7th, 10th and 11th overall, with Callum Noble’s BMW 12th, and the recovered Wantling/Edwards Ginetta 20th. Class 2 winner Simon Clark was an impressive third overall in the Form Evo Clark Racing Porsche 997, with a better showing this time for the Golf of Fynn Jones and Rob Ellick, taking second place ahead of Arthur McMahon in the Mauger Motorsport Honda Civic. Anthony Rodgers and Mark Jones finished off the podium in their VW Golf, and there were solid performances from lone drivers William Puttergill and Paul Goodlad in Civic and Scirocco respectively, with the Alfa Giulia of Barry McMahon / Paul Plant and the Civic of Steve and Edward Cook atypically down the order once again, while Paul Fullick finished the race in the Team Brit BMW240i. The Clios were close again – a fine sixth overall were Dragon Sport’s Travis Coyne and Jake Hewlett, while the High Row team completed the class podium, Andy Tucker / Ollie Meadows ahead of James Harrison /Ben Jenkins. Rhys Lloyd/Jack Meakin finished off the podium this time, with Simon Mason/ Chris Bialan and Craig Guest next up, followed by Mike Bowman / Sarah Franklin, and Darren Geerearts / Jonathan Christie Rundle. The G40 class win was taken yet again by Brendan Haffner, with Alex Turnbull in second place.
Word: Steve Wood, Photos: Paul Cherry and Chris Valentine.