DEEGAN DIGS IN TO WIN
Shayne Deegan dominated the Mini Miglia Championship races at Castle Combe, with a winning margin of just over 19s on Sunday afternoon.
However, all attention trackside was focused on the enthralling battle for second place. Six drivers swapped positions throughout but eventually Kane Astin emerged on top (having started fourth) with Aaron Smith occupying the third step on the rostrum.
The second Miglia encounter was marred by an accident at Tower involving David Drew, which led to a red flag stoppage. Deegan had been in control and he handled the second start with aplomb, taking his fifth victory from six Miglia races in 2016.
There was heartbreak in the first Mini Se7en encounter for Charlie Budd. Mechanical maladies after qualifying on pole led to an engine change and further issues in the race. Max Hunter emerged victorious by a margin of 0.7s from Lewis Selby in race one. Hunter fought off Kieren Mcdonald and Selby in a race-long duel to win race two.
The 750 Motor Club Roadsports race was dominated by Jamie Sturgess in his SEAT Leon Supercopa. The first Castle Combe Trophy race, exclusively for sports racing machines, was an emphatic display by Josh Smith, with a 45-second winning margin.
Emphatic domination was also a feature of the Sports v Saloons race. Nigel Mustill finished well down the road in his new Lamborghini with over a minute in hand over nearest rival, Caterham driver Tim Woodman. The Lamborghini also went on to win Castle Combe GTS race, resistance was provided by the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo of Barry Squibb.
Craig Fleming controlled the first Sports Series race from Josh Smith, who was unable to challenge despite running faster than he had the day before. The single Combe Saloon Car Championship encounter brought Dave Scaramanga’s first win of 2016, although he was hounded for the duration by Simon Norris in his diminutive Mitsubishi Colt.
The Dave Allan Trophy race ended under red-flag conditions after race leader Henry Neal endured an unfortunate accident at Folly in the car he shared with Craig Smith. The drama also took out the Chaz Ryles/james Blake MG ZR. The Honda Jazz driven by Henry’s father and brother, Matt and Will Neal, was eventually declared the race winner.
The opening Formula Ford race started with a bang, namely for Chase Owen who was spat out of the pack at Folly.
A red flag period ensued and at the restart Michael Moyers jumped ahead of Nathan Ward’s Spectrum. Roger Orgee then snuck into second position and a fantastic duel began, with Orgee stalking Moyers, but he was unable to make an impact. Ward, meanwhile, was fighting Ben Norton for fourth until the pair clashed.
Norton fell down the order but Ward still took a podium after Luke Cooper was denied third place by a penalty for a yellow flag infringement. Formula Ford action then rounded out the day with more drama, with a red flag required for a multi-car crash at Folly involving Hugh Robertson, Sam Street and Richard Higgins. On the restart Ward was able to control the race from the front of the field, ahead of Norton and Orgee, who scrapped throughout the race with Moyers and Cooper.