GANT SURGES THROUGH FIELD TO CLAIM FORMULA VEE VICTORY
Graham Gant took victory in the opening Formula Vee race aboard his WEV FV01 having surged through the field from 10th on the grid.
Reigning champion Ben Miloudi, driving the Storm GKBM 2015, initially battled with Craig Pollard (Bears GAC) for the lead, but while they were scrapping both were passed by former Vee champion Daniel Hands (GAC Vee) at Druids. Gant would eventually slipstream past Hands on the Brabham Straight to take the lead and the win. Peter Belsey (Spyder Mk2) took the final podium spot away from Pollard, while Miloudi lost his nosecone after tangling with a backmarker.
Miloudi and Pollard did battle again in race two, jockeying lap after lap, with Miloudi the eventual victor and his triumph made it four different winners in four races. James Harridge took the Class B win in both races, despite having to start at the back after a loose valve head dropped him out of qualifying.
Reigning 750 Formula champion Bill Cowley took an unfancied win in an overheating and misfiring Cowley MKIV. He nabbed second when Peter Bove (Darvi 88 P) ran wide attacking leader Mark Glover’s Racekits Falcon. He took the lead by completing a tight manoeuvre on Glover at Paddock Hill Bend while avoiding traffic.
After retiring from race one with a blocked fuel filter on his PRS 1b, Ed Pither won race two, having diced with Cowley for the lead. Bove was denied a chance at a second podium as he ran his car into the Paddock Hill Bend gravel, avoiding a wheel that came off James Jeffery’s car as he was being lapped.
Billy Albone began his RGB title defence in perfect style with a pair of victories in his Spire GT3. His Mittell rivals hit trouble, as race leader Paul Smith suffered a stuck throttle causing him to spin at Mclaren. Smith’s teammate, and polesitter, Chippy Wesemael ran wide in avoidance, which sprung Albone into the lead. Rookie Wesemael later had a clutch issue, which put Daniel Larner, in the older MC-52B, as the top Mittell in second.
Wesemael led race two until he was wrong-footed in traffic, with the more experienced Albone taking full advantage to snatch the lead. A close call with the gravel at Paddock Hill Bend dropped him behind four-time Vee champion Smith, but he still came away with a second podium finish.
Ben Powney won both of his Locost races, with a huge entry causing the field to be split into three groups. He took the lead from Jack Coveney on the inside of Paddock Hill Bend in race one, and pulled a similar move to pass reigning champion Ian Allee – who scored his season-best result in second – for the race two win. Burton came away with the race three win by just 0.03 seconds from Martin West.
Chris Thomas fended off fierce competition in the first of three MR2 Cup similarly-split races. Ben Rowe took the wins in the second and third races as Mick Nicholls took Class C honours in both races, with two overall second places. Josh Brooks took his first podium in race two but spun defending a second rostrum from Cook in race three.
Current Sports Specials champion Paul Boyd missed both races after crashing his Eclipse SM1 at Paddock Hill Bend in qualifying. Fellow Eclipse driver Clive Hudson beat the similar car of Martin Gambling, who lost fuel pressure but benefited from a red flag for the beached Olly Samways’s Sylva Clubman, to maintain second. In race two, a stuck throttle led Hudson to spin at Clearways while chasing eventual race winner Matthew Booth (MK Indy RR).
Ben Rushworth’s Honda Integra DC2 was dominant in the first Hot Hatch race, until his car refused to start for the restart following a red flag period. That opened the door for Ali Camp to take his Ford Fiesta ST to the top step in both races, with Jon Peerless (Honda Civic) and Rodren Vella (Honda Civic) taking a Class B win apiece.
After switching from the MX-5 Championship, Paul Maguire took the points for three MX-5 wins. He finished behind Chris Lovett on the road in the reverse grid race three, but the invitational class driver wasn’t eligible for points.
Matt Rozier’s bid to retake the Classic Stock Hatch title in his Peugeot 205 GTI began with back-to-back victories against reigning champion Lee Scott.
And Jamie Sturges (SEAT Leon Eurocup) took the Roadsports victory when Lucky Khera retired his BMW 1 Series, which had a lap advantage having pitted under safety car conditions with a fuel leak.