MURRAY STORMS TO ANOTHER DOUBLE

Championship leader Niall Murray returned to the top spot of the Formula Ford 1600 podium after taking both victories at Brands Hatch, making it six wins in 2016.

The Murray Motorsport driver, who claimed pole ahead of Stephen Daly for race one, held his line through Paddock Hill Bend and continued to a comfortable victory. Though Daly and James Raven finished second and third on track, both received five-second time penalties for exceeding track limits relegating them to down to ninth and 10th giving the final podium places to Jake Byrne and Luke Williams, respectively.

It was equally as comfortable for Murray in race two as a nine-car train squabbled for the final two podium places allowing the Irishman to create a 10-second gap to the rest of the pack. It was a battle eventually won by the Ray of Raven, who carved his way through from ninth, passing third-placed Williams with a bold move through the inside of Druids.

Forming their own grid this weekend, there was only one winner in Pre ’90 Formula Ford as Ben Tinkler extended his lead at the top of the championship.

It was a different story in the Formula Jedi Championship as there were four different winners across the weekend in the series that combines screaming bike engines with slick tyres and wings. Rookie Bradley Hobday earned his first victory in race one, ahead of Robert Sayell after getting, what he called “my best ever start” from second on the grid. The top eight reverse grid for race two put Lee Morgan on pole, a position the 2013 champion relished, as he bagged his first win of 2016.

Sayell, who lies second in the standings, then held off a confident Morgan in race three, while in the final race Paul Butcher claimed “it was about time” after he earned the victory he has narrowly missed on multiple occasions this year.

The Mazda maestro Tom Roche continued to dominate in the MX-5 Championship with both wins in Group A. The Welshman, who has only lost one race all season, seemed in a class of his own, beating Simon Goddard in the first and James Harris later in the weekend, while through a lap or so later and by the chequered flag had charged up to shadow Moffett across the line.

Michael Cullen took the opening Fiesta ST win, with Sean Lillis challenging him all the way. In race two, Dave Maguire was victorious, despite the best efforts of Cullen in the closing stages, the gap less than a tenth as they passed the flag side-by-side.

Grzegorz Kalinecki took yet another ITCC win in race one. In race two, Shane Rabbitt and Kalinecki battled at the head of the field but in their wake, Eddie Kinirons and Robert Savage tangled heavily at turn two, the resulting shunt bringing out the red flags and ultimately leading to the race being abandoned. In the concurrently run ISCC race, multiple champion Alan Watkins was victorious on both occasions.

Jackie Cochrane added to his unbeaten 2016 record in HRCA in race one. Early challenger Bernard Foley retired, handing Steve Griffin the runner-up spot. Billy Crosbie completed the podium having spun under pressure from Griffin late on. In race two, Cochrane was adjudged to have jumped the start, the resultant penalty elevating the jubilant Griffin to the top step of the podium.

Phil Lawless took the first Fiesta Zetec race ahead of Michael Tumulty and Darren Lawler. Qualifying race victor Roy Tobin was fourth. Lawless won the second qualifier while Tumulty took a dominant debut win in wet conditions in the final.

Niall Quinn drove superbly to take SEAT Supercup race one, vaulting himself back into the title battle in the process. In race two though, series leader Erik Holstein took the win after a cracking start, having grabbed the lead from row two after an early race stoppage.

1 Kevin O’hara (Leastone); 2 Ray Moore (Leastone) +0.554s; 3 Colm Blackburn (Leastone); 4 Anthony Cross (Sheane); 5 Paula Moore (Leastone); 6 Justin Costello (Leastone). FL O’hara 1m02.353s (66.37mph). P O’hara. S 26.

1 O’hara; 2 Dan Polley (Sheane) +0.568s; 3 Moore; 4 Blackburn; 5 Jimmy Furlong (Sheane); 6 Costello. FL O’hara 1m01.792s (66.97mph). P O’hara. S 25.

1 O’hara; 2 Polley +0.631s; 3 Blackburn; 4 Moore; 5 Joe Power (Leastone); 6 Stephen Morrin (Leastone). FL Polley 1m09.798s (59.29mph). P O’hara. S 25.

1 Polley; 2 Blackburn +4.078s; 3 Costello; 4 Grogan; 5 Furlong; 6 Buckley. FL Polley 1m01.910s (66.84mph). P Polley. S 14.

1 Cian Carey (Tatuus F Renault); 2 Barry Rabbitt (Tatuus F Renault) +2.786s; 3 Noel Robinson (Tatuus F Renault); 4 Eamonn Matheson (Matheson Turbo); 5 Martin Daly (Tatuus F Renault); 6 John Daly (Lola F3000). FL Carey 54.685s (75.68mph). P Carey. S 7.

1 Rabbitt; 2 Carey +0.042s; 3 M Daly; 4 Robinson; 5 J Daly; 6 Colm Hynes (Reynard 88D). FL Carey 54.665s (75.70mph). P Carey. S 8.

1 Sam Moffett; 2 Peter Barrable +0.559s; 3 Andy O’brien; 4 Barry Hallion; 5 Graeme Colfer; 6 Bob Cameron. FL O’brien 1m00.446s (68.46mph). P O’brien. S 10.

1 Moffett; 2 Barrable +0.148s; 3 O’brien; 4 Colfer; 5 Cameron; 6 Alan Dawson. FL Barrable 1m00.548s (68.35mph). P O’brien. S 10.

1 Michael Cullen; 2 Sean Lillis +0.210s; 3 Kevin Doran; 4 Dave Maguire; 5 John Denning; 6 Ulick Burke. FL Lillis 1m07.102s (61.67mph). P Lillis. S 18.

1 Maguire; 2 Cullen +0.010s; 3 Lillis; 4 Burke; 5 Denning; 6 John Ward. FL Maguire 1m07.254s (61.53mph). P Maguire. S 18.

1 Grzegorz Kalinecki (VW Golf); 2 Robert Savage (Honda Integra) +3.114s; 3 Shane Rabbitt (Mazda RX7); 4 Kealan O’connor (Honda Integra); 5 Martin Duffy (BMW M3); 6 Eddie Kinirons (BMW M3). CW Jay O’reilly (Honda Civic). FL Kalinecki 1m00.919s (67.93mph). P Kalinecki. S 13.

1 Jackie Cochrane (Sunbeam Tiger); 2 Steve Griffin (MG Midget) +6.459s; 3 Billy Crosbie (Lotus 7); 4 Val Thompson (TMC Costin); 5 Wolfgang Schnittger (MG Midget); 6 Liam Ruth (MG Midget). CW Griffin; Schnittger; Noel Kavanagh (MGB Roadster). FL Cochrane 1m03.015s (65.67mph). P Bernard Foley (MGB GT V8). S 9.

1 Griffin; 2 Cochrane +6.920s; 3 Crosbie; 4 Schnittger; 5 Garth Maxwell (MGB GT V8); 6 Kavanagh. CW Cochrane; Schnittger; Kavanagh. FL Cochrane 1m03.472s (65.20mph). P Cochrane. S 8.

1 Philip Lawless; 2 Trevor Farrar +2.407s; 3 Tobin; 4 Gary Wheeler; 5 Johnston; 6 Thomas Mulready. FL Lawless 1m12.312s (57.23mph). P Farrar. S 16.

1 Lawless; 2 Michael Tumulty +1.323s; 3 Darren Lawler; 4 Tobin; 5 Farrar; 6 O’donoghue. FL Lawless 1m12.323s (57.22mph). P Shane Kenny. S 22.

1 Tumulty; 2 Darragh Mcmullen +3.697s; 3 Campbell; 4 John Boland; 5 Lawler; 6 Lawless. FL Farrar 1m19.337s (52.16mph). P Mcmullen. S 22.