Weekly Motorsport Round-Up #21
Magnificent Adam Morgan shook off the disappointment of recent BTCC rounds by returning to the podium at Rockingham.
Having secured just 11 points in the previous four rounds due to an array of technical problems, the Lancashire ace was back in top form at the 1.94 mile American-style banked oval circuit.
Ciceley Motorsport’s Adam took second place in the third race, having secured a P8 and a P6 earlier on in the day.
“That feels a lot better,” said Adam. “It’s been a frustrating period so I was delighted to be back on the podium.”
Adam lies 11th in the championship standings and fourth in the Independents’ championship, with the next four rounds being at Silverstone on September 16-17.
There was success too for the Ciceley Motorsport Renault UK Clio Cup team, run by Adam Morgan and Norman Burgess and also sponsored by FUCHS Lubricants.
Max Coates won the opener and followed that up with a P3 in race two, putting him fourth in the overall standings.
Meanwhile, 165 miles away The Sisters of Speed, Paige and Drew Bellerby, struck again in the sixth round of the British Rallycross Championship at Lydden Hill Race Circuit.
Drew had been having what was, by her high standards, a fairly dispiriting weekend with heat results of third, fourth and lastly eighth.
Unfortunately, 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 30 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 Tony Lynch and Tristan Ovenden.
She made the semi-final with heat times that put her third, fifth and third in her class and successfully negotiated the semi, but in the A final she lost out on power in the dry, hot conditions to Ovenden in his space-frame Renault, and Lynch in his highly-modified Ford KA to finish third and retain her Championship lead.
Paige said: “It's been a hell of a day, even though I didn't get the result I'd hoped for my little superstar of a sister brought home first place whilst I settled for third!
“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!”
The next round of the championship is a double-header at Pembery Circuit in South Wales on September 23rd and 24th, when Paige is hoping for less clement weather.
Karting king Freddie Housley started his busy Bank Holiday weekend by heading to Shenington in Oxfordshire for the fifth round of the British Championships.
The weekend started very well with Freddie recording one of the fastest practice times.
On Saturday morning Freddie was joined by the CBeebies radio production team, who are putting together a feature on the youngster as part of their show, Britain’s Super Stars. The team were impressed with Freddie’s personality in front of a mic and are now even considering a TV feature on Silkolene’s youngest ambassador.
Freddie managed a pole in qualifying and finished third in both heats, but unfortunately he lost power for the final and could only manage a P6. Still, some valuable championship points were earned and Freddie is now second in the British Championship standings.
Freddie and the team left Shenington for a 260 mile late night drive to Rowrah in Cumbria for a Bank Holiday Monday race.
Again he qualified in pole and finished second in both heats. This time, however, there was no power loss and Freddie won the main final to make all the travelling worthwhile.
Elsewhere, National Hot Rods racer Gavin Murray returned to Foxhall Stadium in Ipswich for round two of the 2017/18 World Qualifying Series.
Gavin crossed the line in second in race one but was then docked two places to fourth.
A P7 from the back of the grid followed in heat two – and Gavin roared home to victory in the final.
There was not such great news for Scott Beaumont in the MTB Four-Cross World Championships in Italy.
The USN Racing team rider qualified fourth but sadly suffered a costly crash and crossed the line in 25th.
“I’m absolutely gutted,” said Scott. “It’s time to reflect now, plan and come back stronger in 2018.”
FUCHS-backed rally team CA1 Sport , led by Martin Wilkinson, are busy preparing for the final round of the BRC, the double-header Manx rally on September 14-16, with Fredrik Ahlin and Torstein Erikson heading both the driver’s and co-driver’s championships.
Also on Martin’s agenda is assisting David Bogie with preparing his Mk2 Ford Escort for two rallies in Scotland – the first is the Galloway Hills rally on September 9, then the Coltness Car Club’s McRae Gravel Challenge, a one-off event in Craigvinean Forest, on September 23.
