Boulton and Mittell win RGB thrillers
The 750 Motor Club headed North to Croft for the first time and entertained locals with the largest entries the circuit has seen for quite some time including the largest field of cars ever. The racing was as hot as ever and one of the highlights came from the super-fast Disklok RGB cars.
John Cutmore (Spire GT3) converted his pole position into an early race lead with Alastair Boulton (Spire GT3) chasing. Boulton racked up the pressure and at mid-distance leapt into the lead. Cutmore tried to reverse the pressure and push Boulton but couldn’t find a way past before the flag and finished less than a second back. Meanwhile, Scott Mittell (Mittell MC-52B) aggressively worked his way ahead of Duncan Horlor (Spire GT3) for third and made the move stick on the ninth tour.
Cutmore and Mittell were well clear of the rest in race two with Horlor retiring with a snapped gear linkage and Boulton spun into the weeds. Mittell and Cutmore switched places on the last couple of tours through traffic and the pair exchanged paint on the run to the final hairpin as they struggled to lap a backmarker. Mittell came out on top with Cutmore second.
Boulton drove a stunning comeback race taking third on lap eight away from Mark Betts (Spire GT3). Oliver Hewitt (Spire GT3), who started from the back due to a qualifying crash, also passed Betts in the closing stages in an equally fantastic drive.
David Watson (MNR GM2) was the star of class F taking a 22 second victory in race one and then running third overall in the second encounter prior to his engine losing power and that allowed Austen Greenway (MNR GM3) to win after finishing second in the earlier race. Stephen Bell (AB Arion) and Colin Spicer (Wildmoor DM1) took a third place each.
Ian Allee claimed his maiden victory in a masterful drive during the opening Demon Tweeks / Yokohama Locost race. He sat behind pole man Lee McNamara before slipping passed on the sixth lap. On the following run to Tower, novice Roger Haylock passed them both with a double toe but Allee used his experience and race craft to know not to make his move until the final lap. He did that and took the lead at Tower. Slippy Ian went on to win and celebrated by fist-pumping with both of his arms out of the cockpit! Tim Neat came through to take second with Haylock and McNamara behind.
After taking his first win, Allee relived that winning feeling in race two after swapping places with McNamara multiple times. McNamara dropped back to fifth by the flag with Neat – who also had led – Coveney and Haylock behind.
Patrick Fletcher took a lights-to-flag victory in the opening K-Tec Racing Clio 182 race after making an early break from the pack. Andrew Tibbs snatched second on lap five and was able to hold off series newcomer and former Clio Cup and Ginetta Junior star Aaron Williamson.
Tibbs beat Fletcher off of the line to lead the second encounter but was never able to get away. Williamson moved ahead of Fletcher on lap seven with Matt Digby chasing the top three. Tibbs held a defensive line to win but the top four were covered by just over a second in a championship which continues to grow in size and competitiveness.
Ian Jordan (Sheane Jordan) was delighted to take his first victory since 2009 in the Formula Vee Championship. Despite starting fifth, he got to grips with the circuit which he hadn’t been on before the race weekend, to pass Paul Smith (AHS Dominator) in a slipstreaming move into Tower on lap five. James Harridge (Maverick) couldn’t quite hold the pace of the leading two but claimed third after Paul Taylor (GAC Bears) pulled out at half distance.
Jordan and Smith had to deal with a slippery circuit in their second encounter. Both drivers had offs but multiple former champion Smith came out on top with Jordan behind. An incident between Harridge and Tim Probert (Storm) saw Pete Belsey (Spyder Mk2) take third when Taylor retired for a second time. Harridge and William Stenning (Spyder) shared the class B honours.
Carl Swift starred in the Tegiwa Civic Cup. He won race one and was absent of pressure at the final corner as Bernard Galea and Endaf Owens clashed behind. Galea was able to hold on to second with Owens behind. Former Autograssers Owens and Swift stormed off the line in the reverse grid race and were both within the top four by halfway around the opening tour. Owens passed the troubled Adam Shepherd on lap six to win. Swift charged through to second and given another lap could have challenged his team-mate. Shepherd held on to third. Tim Evans and Mark Anderson won in the lower-powered class A cars.
Steve Roberts remains unbeaten in the Gaz Shocks Safety Devices Compact Cup as he claimed two more wins. David Drinkwater beat Mike Tovey to second in the opener after passing him on the run to the line. Owen Hunter was part of their battle but ran out of road at Tower on the final lap. James Gornall and Jonathan Davis finished on the podium in race two. Gornall chased Roberts but could never challenge the former Formula Ford star.
Pip Hammond (Vauxhall Nova) returned to the Demon Tweeks / Yokohama Classic Stock Hatch Championship and dominated both races. Lee Scott (Ford Fiesta XR2) came second twice with Martyn Cayzer (XR2) and Jon Peerless (Peugeot 205) sharing third places. The second race saw Cayzer’s engine fail on the final lap allowing Peerless to come through. Andrew Thorpe (Citroen AX) and Matthew Stubington (205) were in combat with Peerless prior to the trio coming together at the final hairpin on the penultimate lap.
Shaun Traynor continued his Millers Oils Toyota MR2 Championship dominance with a double victory. He beat Alex Knight and Cam Walton by 8 seconds in the opener. Traynor won by 8 seconds again in race two with White second and Knight behind. Paul Hutson and Stuart Nicholls shared the class C victories with Merill Readett taking the double in class A.
Ben Short is another 750MC driver than remains unbeaten this season. He took all three victories in the 5Club Racing MX5 Championship. He had to hold off James Rogers and Jack Sycamore in the opener. Sycamore took second when Rogers was handed a penalty – that also promoted Jason Greatrex onto the podium. Sycamore and Rogers finished on the podium in race two; neither were able to get close enough to Short to challenge him. Will Blackwell-Chambers stormed off the line to lead the final race but wasn’t able to hold Short off. Rogers came third.
Nick Whitehead and Martin James shared the Protech Sports Specials race victories in their Ariel Atoms. Paul Boyd (Eclipse SM1) took third on both occasions. Anton Landon (Cyana Duratec) and Nigel Brown (Sylva Phaser) took a win apiece in class A while Adrian Cooper (Procomp LA Gold) took both class B wins again as he continues to look good for the overall title.