Weekly Motorsport Round-Up #16
Brands Hatch proved to be the motorsport theatre of dreams for FUCHS ambassadors after a sensational weekend of action.
Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne took centre stage with a brilliant double triumph in the main British Superbike Championship.
The two wins from as many races saw Byrne return to the top of the championship standings at his home track.
The five times champion was forced to do it the hard way in race one, dropping back to ninth at one stage before piercing his way through the field to take the lead by the time the rain-affected race was prematurely ended two laps early.
It was a more dominant performance from Byrne in the second race, leading from virtually start to finish to secure his fourth successive race triumph.
Shakey said: “The first race was a lot tougher than I was hoping for but the safety car coming out did me a favour and I got going straightaway again.
“Once I’d got the lead in race two, I just tried to stay as consistent as possible and watch my pit board.
“To get the double was brilliant and we are achieving just what we wanted to at our strong circuits.”
The FUCHS-backed Smiths Racing BMW were also on good form in the Superbike, with a brace of fourth place finishes strengthening Peter Hickman’s position in the top six Showdown while Lee Jackson also got in the points by finishing 15th and 13th.
Michael Rutter continued the FUCHS success story at Brands Hatch with two podium finishes in the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship.
Both Saturday races were shortened – one through a crash and one through rain – but Rutter was pleased to emerge with a second and fourth placed finish which consolidated his third place in the championship standings.
Sunday’s race went the full 16-lap distance and Rutter was again in the thick of the action, finishing second.
Drew and Paige Bellerby were in Ireland last weekend for the latest double-header in the British Rallycross Championship.
To add to the interest, the Saturday round took place in an anti-clockwise direction whilst, on Sunday, competitors were stirred in the opposite direction.
This little matter didn’t seem to faze the Fuchs-backed sisters in the slightest.
Paige progressed tidily through the three rounds of heats to take her place in the final on Saturday.
A good finish position was spoilt by a ‘tap’ from behind which spun her off the track and into the barriers, but Paige recovered well to finish third.
Her younger sister Drew was in dominant mood all day, winning her three heats and qualifying for the final on the front row of the grid.
She then went on to a storming finals win, scoring maximum championship points to move joint top of the championship standings.
On Sunday, Drew continued where she had left off with a controlled drive through the heats to again take front row position for the finals. However, her luck then ran out when she was thumped from behind by the eventual winner, a transgression sufficiently severe that the stewards investigated the incident.
The team had to work late into the night to get Paige’s Lotus straight after her Saturday shunt into the barriers, but then more woe was added during her first heat when the clutch started to slip. She battled on with the problem all day, and could take great heart from finishing in third place.
Her championship lead was cut to a mere 18 points at the end of a fraught weekend.
This weekend sees the return to action of the BTCC as FUCHS sponsored Ciceley Motorsport with Driver Adam Morgan look to regain some early form around the Snetterton circuit.
