LIDSEY SEIZES LEAD AS DORLIN RETIRES
Brett Lidsey emerged from the BARC meeting at Brands Hatch with the points lead of the Michelin Clio Cup Series after two tense races at the Kent circuit.
Lidsey was the winner in a delayed race one, which was twice stopped due to the arrival of torrential wet weather. When the opening round eventually took place in the dim light of Saturday evening, Lidsey seized the lead from Samuel Randon at Clearways on lap one and he did not lose it for the remainder of the shortened 10-lap race. Randon was dropped to fifth in that move and he eventually finished behind Luke Pinder and James Dorlin.
Randon got revenge in race two as he stole the lead from polesitter Dorlin. The pair edged away from the pack before Dorlin dramatically slowed with a car problem and was forced into the pits to retire. Lidsey had raced his way up to second from fourth on the grid and he caught Randon on the final lap, where he tried a late lunge at Graham Hill Bend and only just avoided contact. “[Traffic] allowed Brett to catch me more and more but luckily I managed to hold him off,” said a relieved Randon after the race.
Phil Weaver made it three different race winners from three Clubmans Cup races with a breath-taking drive from the back of the grid to take victory in the finale. In race one, which was disrupted by red flags due to rain after just three laps, Weaver could not stay with Alex Champkin’s pace after the restart, although he held on to finish second ahead of James Clarke.
Champkin failed to line up on the grid in race two, which allowed Clarke a clear run from pole. He was caught and passed by Weaver at Paddock Hill Bend on lap four, but the Nemesis driver outbraked himself at Graham Hill Bend and slid into the gravel, which he could not escape. Clarke then looked to be clear but was caught by Anthony Denham who passed by in his Phantom on lap 17.
Denham, who was “very pleased” with his race two win, led away from pole in the final round but he could only finish fourth after Weaver and Champkin stormed through the field to take the first two spots from the back row of the grid. Clarke filled the final podium place.
Katie Milner “couldn’t ask for more” after one win and a second place in the two Junior Saloons races. Milner beat polesitter Matteo Zanetti off the line in race one and dominated the event, but she had to come through the pack in race two after getting caught out in the wet qualifying session. Luke Browning claimed a popular win in the second race with Zanetti rounding off the podium in third.
Chris Whiteman enjoyed a dramatic day in the Tin Top races as he finished second to Chris Bassett in race one despite two spins, and then won the second race. A serious crash for David Packham disrupted the finale, which Whiteman stormed through to win despite starting from the pitlane after the restart.
Tom Perry and Peter Sparrow shared the spoils in two polar opposite 2CV races. First Perry triumphed in a crazy race one that at one point had 10 cars running nose-to-tail for the lead. Perry eventually triumphed with Nicholas Clarke, Martin Riman and Nick Crispin behind in a blanket finish for second.
Sparrow won a much more sedate race two from Kris Tovey with Lien Davis a distant third.
David Webber was easily the class of the Caterham Sigma field. First he won race one by over 21 seconds, and then followed that up with another dominant performance to seal the double in race two. Dylan Stanley scored two fastest laps as he shared the Sigmax spoils with Lee Bristow. Stanley did cause a red flag in race one as he spun out of second behind Bristow, but made up for that by winning a dramatic second race from Tristan Judge. Oliver Gibson finished second to Glenn Burtenshaw in the first Mega race before he claimed the win in a disrupted second round.
Dale Gent dominated the first Quaife Saloon Cars race, but dropped out while leading the second due to a mechanical problem. Rod Birley inherited the lead and he went on to beat Danny Cowan. Malcolm Wise completed the podium after a drive from last on the grid.
Alex Cursley and Joe Mclaughlin came away with a win apiece after two gripping Hyundai Coupe Cup races. Cursley resisted pressure from William Taylforth to win the opener from pole, while in race two Mclaughlin grabbed the lead from third on the grid and survived to win after negotiating a mid-race safety car interruption.
Six times Northern Ireland Autotest champion Peter Grimes took his first win of the year, beating triple winner and points leader Paul Mooney by 6.4s on a day of multiple penalties in Omagh.
Three pylons for Mooney ensured that he didn’t make it four victories in a row, against a single pylon each for Grimes and third placed Robin Lyons. Defending title holder Paul Blair won a close duel with regular sparring partner Ashley Lamont for the sportscar class and fourth overall, with large saloon winner David Thompson in sixth.