Race One

Jonathan Wright made it seven wins from ten races, with another fairly dominant double victory. The Club Cup continued to provide a healthy 25 car grid for its visit to Brands Hatch’s Indy circuit, but the Bank Holiday weekend weather did its best to put a dampener on the scene.

Wright’s PR6 had taken pole for the first race by over three seconds from Tom Ashton’s SR3, but it was Ashton that won the dash to Paddock Hill Bend as the lights went out. But Wright quickly recovered from his tardy start and led as they charged up to Druids. “Not a very good start yet again, it’s just me getting my head together. But Tom left the door open at Paddock, I kept my head down and did my best,” said Wright.

Roger Bromiley’s SR3 and Nigel Place’s PR6 attempted to go either side of Ashton as they plunged down to Graham Hill Bend, but by the end of the lap Ashton still had the place, while his rivals had both lost out to Chris Grieve’s SR3.

Wright wasted no time in adding to his lead, but Grieve and Bromiley crawled all over Ashton  in a terrific scrap for second, closely watched by Simon Dolan’s SR3, after he had darted past Place.

Robert Baldock’s SR3 had become established in seventh, but Simon Tilling’s SR3 started to lose ground after a promising start. Having lost eighth to Nigel Morrison’s PR6 at Paddock on lap six, Simon Fish’s SR3 followed at Druids. Morrison’s continued his charge and soon reeled in Baldock, taking Fish along too.

Although Wright was long gone, Grieve was able to concentrate on his fight for second, after Bromiley fell back to defend third from Dolan. But on lap eight it was all change. Grieve forced Ashton wide at Paddock to snatch second, Bromiley followed into Graham Hill Bend and Dolan made it past too, leaving the early leader down in fourth. “We fitted a new engine so hadn’t really concentrated on setting up the car. It had been OK in the wet qualifying though,” said Ashton.

A lap later Dolan slid off at Clearways, and with no sign of a safety car the race was red flagged. “I was just too fast into the corner and lost the back end,” admitted Simon.

The restart was red flagged after a matter of yards, when Grieve stalled on the front row, was collected by Baldock, but also took out David Enderby, Andy Harwood and caused slight damage for Richard Stables. “I saw it all in my mirrors it looked really scary,” said Bromiley.

Results were declared after the original nine laps, with Wright, Grieve and Bromiley sharing the podium.  Ashton was fourth, with Fish, Place and Morrison in close contention for fifth. “I had sat back at the start, not set the car up for dry. Then I started to pick a few off,” Morrison explained. “I got in the groove after a bad qualifying session, and was catching Tom when the race was stopped,” Fish added.

Grieve still topped the Supersports class, with Jacob Greaves’ SR4 a dominant Biduro victor over Gary Kane and Pickup racer Chris Dawkins. Stables kept his title challenge up with another Prosport win, while Harwood came within a whisker of the Clubsport title, despite his car being extensively damaged in the attempted restart. “I had avoided the initial impact and then got hit. It was my first ever crash. The car stood up remarkably well too,” he said. “All I needed to do was finish the second race and the class was mine I think,” he added.

1 Jonathan Wright (PR6( 9 laps in 7m07.838s (90.77mph); 2 Chris Grieve (SR3) 7m12.076s; 3 Roger Bromiley (SR3); 4 Tom Ashton (SR3); 5 Simon Fish (SR3); 6 Nigel Place (PR6); 7 Nigel Morrison (PR6); 8 Paul Steele (SR3); 9 Simon Tilling (SR3); 10 Robert Baldock (SR3); Class winners: Grieve; Richard Stables (PR6); Jacob Greaves (SR4);  Andy Harwood (Clubsport). Fastest lap: Wright 46.167s (93.46mph).

Race Two

It was desperately close at Paddock at the start of race two. Wright had made a better start than earlier, but still not perfect, which gave Ashton the encouragement to go for the lead again. But Wright held the tight inside line before heading the charge to Druids, with Ashton, Bromiley, Morrison and Place in line astern. “I was better this time and it was a determined move at Paddock as I knew he was trying to squeeze me, but I wouldn’t give in,” said Wright. “Jonathan was still there when I turned in, so I had to let him go,” Ashton replied.

Wright pulled out a good lead by the end of the opening lap, while Bromiley was barely inches from the rear of Ashton’s SR3 in his quest for second. Dolan was also on the move again, picking off Tilling and the Place for fifth at Druids, before closing on Morrison.  Paul Steele and Fish both started to close on Tilling for seventh, but it was all eyes on second place for the next few laps.

Bromiley made it past Ashton into Clearways on the fifth lap, but lost out again as they flashed past the pits. They were side by side through Paddock up to Druids, with Bromiley exiting on the grass having been forced to give best. “There was some grip on the grass and I thought if I did it again I could get used to it,” reckoned Bromiley.

The battle consolidated Wright’s lead, but also enabled Morrison and Dolan to join in the fight. For a while Ashton managed to pull away, while in sixth Fish had managed to break clear too, from Place, Steele and Tilling.

But by lap 11 Bromiley had re-closed the gap and was side by side again at Druids with his younger counterpart. It was another three laps though, before Bromiley finally got his break. Into Surtees they were closing on backmarker. Ashton read it wrong and lost out, as Bromiley charged around the outside and led through McLaren. “I could see Roger in my mirrors all the time, he even tried on the grass. It was no ones fault when he got me, I just read the backmarker the wrong way,” explained Ashton. “Tom did a fantastic job I tried to put him under pressure as much as I could, but he kept it clean and we had a terrific race,” Bromiley replied.

As Wright cruised through the closing laps, Bromiley was able to consolidate second, as Ashton had his hands full defending third from Dolan. Morrison and Fish completed the top six, despite Steele having closed again in seventh. “Great fun for the whole race. I had to hit the brakes hard though when Roger passed Tom, and that’s when Simon Dolan got me,” said Morrison.

In only his second weekend of car racing, Steve Burgess brought his SR3 home eighth ahead of Tilling, as the race ended under red rather than a chequered flag again, with Nigel Cox’s Prosport off.

While Bromiley took the Supersports class, Stables and Greaves made it class winning doubles in the Prosport and Biduro classes, while Mark Boot found himself unopposed in the Clubsports with Harwood’s absence.

1 Wright 23 laps in 18m10.275s (91.02mph); 2 Bromiley 18m20.440s; 3 Ashton; 4 Simon Dolan (SR3); 5 Morrison; 6 Fish; 7 Steele; 8 Steve Burgess (SR3); 9 Tilling; 10 Stables. Class winners: Bromiley; Stables; Greaves; Mark Boot (Clubsport). Fastest lap: Wright 46.160s (93.48mph).

Published by Peter Scherer for Radical Sportscars, August 4th, 2008.

Race One

For the third successive meeting it was honours even between season long rivals Terrence Woodward/Ross Kaiser and Derek Johnston/Stuart Moseley, with one win apiece at a Bank Holiday Brands Hatch.

There was only 0.246s separating the lead pairs after qualifying, but it was Johnston/Moseley that secured pole. Woodward had gone solo during the session though, with Kaiser away racing at the Lausitzring.

All 17 cars came through qualifying unscathed but there was drama in the assembly area when Jeremy Ferguson’s RPM SR3 had fuel leaking into the cockpit and was unable to take the start.

Being first race of the day there was an air of anticipation, as the pacecar led the field round in preparation for the rolling start. The lights went out and Johnston headed the charge to Paddock, but Ben Jackson’s SR8 still managed to find a way through. Woodward slotted into third, from Daniel Laddiman, Jamie Patterson, Andrew Ferguson and Roger Bromiley. Simon Dolan spun and Phil Hall followed suit after a tap from James Saggers. “I was trying to avoid Simon,” said Hall. “It left me with nowhere to go,” Saggers replied after pitting with steering damage.

The pace was unforgiving and it was Patterson first to make a move, taking Laddiman for fourth and the class lead on the third lap. Woodward was also sticking close to Johnston as Jackson continued to build on his lead. “I hadn’t planned to go for the lead so early, but when the gap appeared I had to take it,” said Jackson.

Bromiley moved up to third in class when Andrew Ferguson’s SR3 started to lose pace, with Paul Thomas and Adrian Medeiros soon following. Laddiman was next come under threat as the flamboyant Bromiley continued to make progress. He wasn’t the only one however as the recovering Hall was flying through the field. “That’s probably the best I have ever driven, “he said.

Woodward had bided his time, but sneaked inside Johnston on the 12th lap before consolidating second. With a little moisture in the air Paterson started to close on Johnston and on the 21st lap he not only took third but immediately pulled away. Woodward had also upped his pace and went for the lead at Druids. The resultant spin increased Jackson’s lead to nine seconds, but his recovery was completed before Paterson and Johnston arrived on the scene, but it was nose to tail between the trio for the next couple of laps.

A safety car period to recover Simon Dolan’s SR3 from Druids coincided with the pitstop window opening, and virtually every car pitted at the earliest opportunity.

As they peeled into the pitlane, Jackson led Woodward, from Patterson, Johnston and the closing Hall, with Medeiros, Laddiman, and Bromiley next up.

There was another six laps behind the safety car before the race went green again. Patterson had the lead, from Thomas and Kaiser, but it became a mass charge to Paddock as the green flag was waved. There was one notable absentee as the Jackson car had failed to re-emerge. “It had gone really well until they found a radiator leak when we stopped,” said Ben.

Patterson held his lead but Kaiser managed to snatch second, with Moseley taking to the grass as he tried to make progress, after they had briefly run four abreast. “I was behind Ross and he was behind another car onto the straight. I realised I might get held up, Ross went for the middle and got through, but the gap I went for closed,” said Moseley.

A lap later Moseley stormed into second at Paddock, but was still three seconds down on Patterson. The PR6 driver pressed on regardless but he was no match for the straightline speed of the SR8 duo.

Into Paddock for the 44th time Moseley had the lead, with Kaiser following a lap later. The gap held steady between the leaders, but it was Moseley/Johnston’s victory by 4.5secs. “I struggled a bit, but Terrence is getting so quick now,” said Kaiser.

Paterson retained third and comfortably won the Supersports class. “The car was just great today, leading overall was nice but concentrating on the class was more important. I did get a little concerned when a  car a lap down started to catch me,” Patterson explained.

Alex Kapadia/Laddiman survived contact with Rob Wheldon at Graham Hill Bend to take second in class and fourth overall, while Paul Thomas’ SR3 and Jacob Greaves/Jonathan White completed the top six in their SR4, after Wheldon pitted with damaged steering. “I had been put on the grass at Druids challenging Paul Thomas, checked my mirrors and it was Ok, turned in at Surtees and Rob was there,” explained Kapadia.

1 Derek Johnston/Stuart Moseley (SR8) 60 laps in 49m57.970s (86.35mph); 2 Terrence Woodward/Ross Kaiser (SR8) 50m02.566s; 3 Jamie Patterson (PR6); 4  Daniel Laddiman/Alex Kapadia (SR3); 5 Paul Thomas (SR3); 6 Jacob Greaves/Jonathan White (SR4); 7 Phil Hall/Nick Osborn (SR8); 8 Andrew Ferguson/Nigel Redwood (SR3); 9 Charles Laughran/Adrian Medeiros (SR3); 10 Richard Fearns (SR8).   Class winner: Patterson. Fastest lap: Moseley 44.433s (97.11mph).

Race Two

Being first race after the lunch break gave the spectators to take in the grid walk, which enabled them to not only inspect the Radical machinery on show, but chat with the drivers too. Although the SR3’s were nearer the SR8 times, it was the SR8’s of Johnston/Moseley and Woodward/Kaiser expected to fight for the overall honours again.

Johnston managed to grab the early advantage over Woodward, with Bromiley, Laddiman, Dolan, Michael Jackson, Hall and Saggers nose to tail as they snaked up to Druids.

Not surprisingly the lead pair soon powered their way clear, leaving Laddiman to chase down Bromiley for third. Hall took a place a lap and was in fourth by the end of lap three, after Laddiman exited Druids on the grass.  A lap later Bromiley succumbed to Hall’s challenge too at Surtees, before Jackson spun out of sixth at Druids, under pressure from Saggers and Patterson. 

Woodward made his now customary closure on the lead around lap eight, to which Johnston briefly responded. Hall had consolidated third and Bromiley comfortably headed his class from Laddiman. Saggers was under pressure though with both Patterson and Jeremy Ferguson closing in.

Patterson ousted Saggers on lap 12 and immediately closed on Laddiman, while back at the front Woodward had seized his chance and the lead into Surtees on lap 16. The Supersports class had become a three way fight between Bromiley, Laddiman and Patterson, but before they could challenge further the safety car was scrambled again.

Michael Jackson had gone off quite heavily on the exit of Paddock. Although he was briefly knocked unconscious in the impact, he was declared fit and well after a hospital check. Returning to the circuit before the end of the day proving testament to the strength of the SR8 and not for the first time this year.

After seven laps behind the safety car it was another mass pitstop for the driver changes. Another 14 laps followed before a six minute sprint to conclude the weekend. “I got delayed a bit behind Roger before the safety car. We made a perfect stop and then Alex got jumped rejoining,” said Laddiman. Hall/Osborn had problems when they stopped too. “It had flown at the start again,” said Hall. “Then it just wouldn’t restart and we lost loads of time,” Osborn added.

From the green Wheldon burst into a 1.5secs lead over Patterson, with Woodward third. Moseley had been delayed when he stalled at the pit exit, and rejoined in 11th.

It was a stirring fightback from Moseley though, fourth over the line by lap 42 and rapidly closing in on Patterson. Kaiser had second and time was still on his side in his quest for another victory.

Wheldon held out for another lap, but had to surrender his lead in the end. Moseley came through for four laps remaining, but Wheldon still held onto third and a comfortable class victory. “I did think an overall win was on for a while and pushed like crazy. It just wasn’t enough of a gap in the end, but Roger had done so well to get me into that position,” said Wheldon. “This was even better than Combe, as we did it on pace. This is as good as it gets,” Bromiley enthused.

“It was close when we rejoined. Stuart was being waved out before me. I stuck to the limit, he stalled at the light and I managed to pull away. I knew I had to push hard as he would be coming after me. It was important to maintain the gap, which we did,” said the victorious Kaiser.

Patterson held off a closing Kapadia for second in class and fourth overall, with Saggers completing the top six. “I could have done better, but sat behind James Saggers too long early on,” said Patterson.

 1 Woodward/Kaiser 48 laps in 50m33.154s (68.28mph); 2 Johnston/Moseley 50m35.849s; 3 Roger Bromiley/Rob Wheldon (SR3); 4 Patterson; 5 Laddiman/Kapadia; 6 James Saggers (SR3); 7 Ferguson/Redwood; 8 Fearns; 9 Hall/Osborn; 10 Jeremy Ferguson/Ross Allen (SR3). Class winners: Bromiley/Wheldon. Fastest lap: Moseley 44.507s (96.95mph).

Issued by Peter Scherer for Radical Sports Cars, August 26th, 2008.