CATERHAMS ON PARADE FOR EASTER WEEKEND AT SNETTERTON


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Terry Langley is hoping to go one better in Caterham Superlights this season. Photo: www.ajbphotographic.co.uk

The East Anglian Centre will host their first meeting of the season on the Snetterton 300 circuit over Easter weekend, and it is certainly a busy one to start with as it features 19 races over the two days. The programme is dominated by Caterhams, with four of their championships in action, all with double headers.

The Avon Tyres backed Tracksports will get the ball rolling with the first race after lunch tomorrow. After an epic battle for supremacy during 2013, Pete Fortune and Stephen Nuttall continue their fight in Tracksports. Stockport’s Nuttall claimed the Roadsport crown last year, as he and the Welshman divvied up most of the season’s victories between them. Loyal Caterham racing fans will know that they provided some of the most exciting races of the Caterham circus last year and we are keen to see who will respond to the changes to the car best.

Thirty-five drivers will take to the grid for the opening round of the 2014 Roadsport season, including five of the top six drivers from last year’s Academy, led by champions William Smith and Henry Heaton. With a maximum of five races under their racing boots, Snetterton’s 300 circuit will be a new challenge for all of them.

The first non-Caterham series to hit the track will be the OSS Championship, which has new backing this year from Excool. Not only are the drivers competing for Championship points but they will also be racing for the prestigious Archie Scott Brown Trophy, awarded by the BRSCC East Anglian Centre in honour of Archie Scott Brown who raced big powerful sports cars in the 1950’s. Doug Hart returns to defend his title in his Chiron Hart. Other marques you can expect to see include the ex-Dyson MG Lola, Juno, Ligier, Jade, Nemesis, Radical, ADR, Prosport LM3000, Global Lights, Aquila and Bowlby.

With last year’s Caterham R300 champion Ollie Taylor and third place man Stuart Leonard moving on to bigger things, this season looks set to be an almighty battle between five leading drivers. Cadbury’s man Terry Langley ran Taylor closest last year and with a little more consistency could have really pushed the title battle to the wire. Meanwhile, former Supersport champion Aaron Head took a while to find his feet in the R300, but once he had, he flew and took three victories out of the four final races last year. Danny Winstanley, David Robinson and Lee Wiggins will also have strong claims.

The majority of Supersport drivers are now in their fourth year of Caterham racing making them amongst the most experienced and competitive there is and with a whopping thirty-eight car grid, whoever is at the front will have a circuit full of cars trying to relieve them of that pace. Mike Hart scored two wins at Snett last year and we would not bet against him doing that again. Jon Mortimer was a regular podium finisher last year so great things are expected of him this season and Steve Day has the pace to threaten at the sharp end, if he can find some consistency.

Making their second outing of the new season are the BRSCC Fiesta Juniors, a championship specifically for 14 – 17 year-olds. Hertfordshire teenager Rob Cox justified his pre-season favourite tag with two wins on the Silverstone National circuit two weeks ago to take an early points lead. However, Rob's rivals did enough to suggest that a very competitive season lies ahead with Michael Higgs and Geri Nicosia completing the podium in both races. The Fiesta ST is exactly the same car that competes in Class C of the senior BRSCC Fiesta championship and is probably one of the best saloons for junior racers.

The Fiesta Championship, which is now backed by Jam-Sport, is split into two different grids. Classes A, B & D run together while Class C, for the ST, runs as a separate race. At the Silverstone opener two weeks ago, David Ellesley and David Grady shared the Class C wins, while Edward Cockill dominated Class D with two wins. Jack Williams also took a brace of victories in Class A and the Class B honours went to John Bateman and Michael Hooper respectively. All of the six drivers mentioned above are back in action at Snett so it should be quite a battle.

Simon Hill returns to defend his Teekay Couplings Production GTI Championship title from a plethora of talent. Nick Porter (2011 Champion) and John Mawdsley (2012 Champion) are both looking to add another championship trophy to their cabinets. However, bookies favourites also include Martyn Walsh, Chris Webb and Matt Weller. In Class B, we welcome the experienced Luke Wales to his first Production GTi race, where he will be hoping to take the fight to Dean Clayton and Roy Fothergill.

For the timetable, entry lists and Final Instructions visit CATERHAM RACE WEEKEND


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