Super-sisters strike again at Lydden
The sixth round of the British Rallycross Championship became yet another Bellerby Bonanza on August Bank Holiday Monday as the sisters reaped a win and a third in their respective A Finals.
After a really hard fight throughout the day and getting a 30 second penalty, Drew was put on the back of the grid for her Semi final! However hers was the first BMW Mini to cross the line, putting her on the back for the final!
Drew had pushed and pushed all day long and it all paid off as she came out on top!
Until that Final, Drew had been having what was, by her high standards, a fairly dispiriting weekend, with heat results of 3rd, 4th, and lastly 8th, as, in the heat of the class battle, she missed taking her joker lap when she miscounted the laps after the race was shortened to only three laps instead of the standard four, and was hit with a thirty second penalty.
She made it to the B class final by the skin of her teeth, starting from last place, but drove well enough to take a place in the A final, where she found herself on the third row, beside Martin Hawkes and son Andrew, also both in BMW Minis.
As the flag dropped, Drew bolted off into the distance and was able to take a controlled Class win, which moves her to the top of the standings in the BMW Mini class.
Meanwhile, sister Paige in her supercharged Lotus Exige was finding the melting hot temperature a definite disadvantage, unlike the hordes of fans who were packing the Kent circuit.
The temperature sucked the power out of the supercharger, and the dry track didn’t give her any traction assistance against the superior power of both Lynch and Ovenden.
She made the semi-final with heat times that put her 3rd, 5th, and 3rd in her class, and successfully negotiated the semi, but in the A Final she lost out on power in the dry, hot conditions to Tristan Ovenden in his space-frame Renault, and Tony Lynch in his highly modified Ford KA to finish 3rd and retain her Championship lead.
Paige Bellerby: “It's been a hell of a day, even though I didn't get the result I'd hoped for my little super star of a sister brought home 1st place whilst I settled for 3rd! We now BOTH lead our championships which we are absolutely buzzing about! So proud of her and our whole team for keeping us going and the cars reliable! We will next be heading to South Wales for the next two rounds at Pembrey Circuit! Huge thank you to everyone that's has helped us get this far, for your support, commitment and effort over the years!”
Image courtesy of Kevin Oakley - Drew (Left) and Paige (Right)
