DORLIN DOES THE DOUBLE TO CLOSE ON CLIO SERIES TITLE
James Dorlin continued his dominant start to the Michelin Clio Cup Series with a brace of victories to extend his championship lead, though he was kept honest by championship rivals Brett Lidsey, Samuel Randon and Luke Pinder throughout.
After a controlled performance in the first contest, Dorlin bogged down off the start in the second race and dropped to third behind Pinder and Randon. After a move for the lead into Deene left Randon stranded on the outside line into Yentwood, Dorlin reclaimed the runner-up spot before dispensing with Pinder on the penultimate lap as the front-runners navigated their way through backmarkers to complete a perfect weekend.
Lidsey also passed Pinder heading into the Brook chicane later that lap to ensure an identical podium to that of the first race. Tom Barley was rewarded on his return to the fray with a pair of fifth place finishes. Meanwhile, problems for Jack Fabby and Sarah Franklin in the first and second races respectively left Nic Harrison to claim the honours in the road class.
“That was a brilliant weekend – I couldn’t have asked for more to come away with two poles and two wins,” said Dorlin.
Phil Weaver continued the theme of domination in the Clubmans Cup, taking his Nemesis to two comfortable victories ahead of Jarred Lester’s Mallock and Jonathan Hair’s Beagle respectively. Weaver saw off early competition in each race, before gradually extending his advantage on each occasion to see the chequered flag first, before Hair claimed the final victory on Sunday afternoon.
Paul Poulter joined an increasingly large club of double winners at the Northamptonshire circuit as he claimed the first two wins in the Pickup Truck Racing Championship, but was forced to retire from the third round as Antony Hawkins timed his stint in front to perfection and secured his first win in the series. The Pickups produced arguably the closest racing of the weekend, with the majority of the field enjoying a short stint at the head of the field.
Despite taking a double win at Snetterton, Ed Moore surrendered his lead of the Junior Saloon Car Championship on a weekend in which Charlie Kennedy and Katie Milner continued their strong form to put themselves in the frame for the championship fight. Kennedy took victory in the opening contest after claiming the lead at the conclusion of the first lap, before a move into Deene Hairpin on the final tour of the circuit gifted Milner second, with Ethan Hammerton rounding out the podium. Milner defended from pole before sustaining her advantage in race two, with early season pacesetter Matteo Zanetti second ahead of Kennedy.
A quartet of Caterham classes on the bill provided a total of six different race winners. In the Sigma class, David Webber added another race victory to his tally for the season whilst Jamie Winrow, the only other man to win in the category, fended him off to take the honours in race two. The Classic and Super honours belonged exclusively to Edward Benson, with Andy Molsom and Toby Briant the only other men to grace the podium all weekend.
In Sigmax, Lee Bristow made two poor getaways from pole but, unlike in the first race when he was forced to settle for the runner-up spot behind Scott Lawrence, he was able to make a move on Dylan Stanley in the closing stages of race two to reclaim victory. In the Mega races, Glenn Burtenshaw twice beat Oliver Gibson.