National reports: Knockhill; Snetterton; Silverstone; Brands Hatch; Croft
KNOCKHILL SMRC 8 AUGUST
Jordan Gronkowski extended his Scottish Formula Ford 1600 points lead at Knockhill last weekend, despite seeing his unbeaten run halted by the returning Neil Maclennan.
Gronkowski did keep his 100% pole record intact, after topping the 12-minute qualifying session, which was delayed due to a major oil spill by a Fiesta ST Cup competitor. He duly led National FF1600 champion Maclennan at the start of the opener amid torrential rain. Maclennan, driving an ex-jamie Thorburn Ray GR18, stuck with Gronkowski’s Van Diemen throughout but couldn’t quite get close enough to make a pass, with Gronkowski taking his fifth victory of the season by just over a second.
It was a similar story in race two, except the roles were reversed as Maclennan seized the advantage when Gronkowski missed a gear when the field was released from the safety car start. Gronkowski closed the gap to 1.3s at the finish, but Maclennan claimed victory. Michael Gray (Graham Brunton Racing Ray) took a pair of thirds, despite battling a misted visor during his epic scrap with Neil Broome at the end of race one.
Despite sliding out of the lead amid a torrential downpour in the opening Mini Cooper Cup race, Michael Weddell increased his points lead over Chad Little with a pair of podiums. Both Weddell and team-mate Craig Blake suffered a gearbox failure in morning testing, but Weddell looked good for an overall race-one win – the faster turbocharged R53s started on slicks – before he understeered off at Clark’s on the second lap, dropping him to 10th.
That elevated Neil Hose to the unenviable position of leader and, therefore, the first to encounter the treacherous standing water at the Hairpin. A fogged-up rear windscreen limited Hose’s visibility, but he did just enough to beat Little for his maiden Cooper victory. Little made amends in race two when he passed Hose at Duffus to take his first win of the year, while Weddell fought through from 10th to secure third.
The reversed-grid finale was, by Scottish Mini standards, relatively tame as polesitter Dylan O’donnell made an early break in what became a seven-lap race, reduced from nine due to diminishing light. Weddell buried his race-one woes with a fine second following a mistake by Blake at the Hairpin.
Steven Gray and Dave Colville arrived at Knockhill tied on points in the Fiesta ST Cup, but Gray left with a large margin after a disastrous weekend for Colville. The reigning champion slid into retirement at Clark’s in race one before ending the second in almost identical circumstances.
In the Classics, John Kinmond took his Rover 3500 to two victories and, with it, the points lead after Bruce Mitchell (Lotus Europa) uncharacteristically spun out of an ultimately red-flagged race two at the Hairpin. Former Mini racer Oly Mortimer starred in his Class A Ford Fiesta, finishing an overall second and third.
Paul Luti and Dan Martin shared the Scottish C1 Cup victories in a pair of typically competitive races, with Scottish Motor Racing Club Esports champion
Sam Corson taking third each time.