DONINGTON DELIVERS DRAMA

Clive Richards rolled back the years to win both Supersport races at Donington. photo: www.snappyracers.com

Donington Park played host to its first BRSCC race meeting of the 2015 season at the weekend and Donna Kelly was there to report on all the action……

Henry Heaton took double victory in the Avon Tyres Caterham Tracksport Championship. An early battle for the lead betweenHeaton and Chris Hutchinson on Saturday was cut short when a Safety Car was called out onto track. Hutchinson eventually finished fifth with Tim Dickens and Max Robinson securing P2 & P3. The two drivers made up for it on Sunday however, fighting right up until the chequered flag with Heaton taking the honours with a 0.344 gap. Dickens maintained his consistency with another third place finish.

Driver contact, a Safety Car and penalties all added to the action out on track in the Avon Tyres Caterham Roadsport Championship. A move by David Webber in Saturday’s race forced Benjamin Wigg into the gravel, leaving Paul Aram to take victory after Webber was handed a 22.5 second penalty for dangerous driving. Anthony Barnes and Damian Milkins were second and third respectively. A Safety Car was called out onto track in Sunday’s race following contact at Fogarty Esses, cutting short an early lead for Paul Aram. Contact between Webber and Steve McCulley on lap 8 also put both drivers out of contention for the win, leaving Benjamin Wigg to take victory ahead of Paul Aram with Damian Milkins securing another P3.

All eyes were on David Robinson and Aaron Head in the BookaTrack.com Caterham Superlight R300-S Championship as a fantastic battle between the drivers in both races saw honours shared. Robinson won Saturday’s encounter after Head suffered a 1 second penalty for gaining an ‘unfair advantage’. Head just got the upper hand on Sunday beating Robinson by a miniscule 0.232 seconds. Lee Wiggins completed the podium for each race.

In the Avon Tyres Caterham Supersport Championship, it was side-by-side for Clive Richards and Philip Jenkins on the final lap of Saturday’s race with Richards taking victory. Tony Mingoia took third almost 10 seconds adrift of Jenkins. A red flag called an early end to Sunday’s race to recover a car stranded on track with suspension damage. Clive Richards was declared the winner ahead of Philip Jenkins and William Smith.

There was plenty of action out on track in the Avon Tyres National Formula Ford 1600 Championship. Jamie Jardine kicked off his Triple Crown campaign with a dominant win in both of the Pre 90 races. The pole sitter crossed the line with an impressive 28 second gap to Colin Williams on Saturday despite a poor start. Matthew Cowley came home in third. A Safety Car on lap 6 backed up the pack in Sunday’s race but Jardine still managed to pull away finishing with a 4 second gap to Japp Blijleven with Andrew Thomas another 3 seconds adrift.

Patrick Dussault took victory in Saturday’s Post 89 race ahead of Oliver White and Stephen Daly but was excluded on Sunday followingrepeated track limits infringements. Dussault wasn’t the only offender and after a plethora of track limits penalties the win went to Chris Middlehurst with Tom McArthur second and Abdul Ahmed third. It was a disappointing weekend for Luke Williams who after setting the fastest lap, was forced to retire during Saturday’s race due to engine problems leaving him unable to compete on Sunday.

Aaron Thompson dominated action in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship with a win in both of the weekend’s races. The FJC drivercrossed the finish line with an 11 second gap to Michael Higgs on Saturday with Nathan Edwards taking third. On Sunday, Thompson took the chequered flag with a 7 second lead to Michael Higgs. Richard Crisp took the third in only his second race but then suffered a time penalty that dropped him to fourth with Nathan Edwards the beneficiary.

In the senior Jam-Sport Fiesta Championship, all eyes were on Scott Robertson and James ‘JJ’ Ross as the two drivers battled it out at the front with Robertson crossing the line to take victory on Saturday. Specialized boss Simon Horrobin was third. David Abbott won Class D, James Styles Class A and Stuart Robbins Class B. JJ Ross claimed victory in Sunday’s race however, taking the chequered flag with a 9 second gap to Jamie Going in second and Kevin Stirling in third. Alastair Kellett was the first D class driver home while James Styles took another Class A victory and John Cooper claimed the B class honours.

Tom Witts continued his impressive start to the season with a win in the Teekay Couplings Mk2 Production GTi Championship. The driver managed to hold onto the lead in the first outing, despite increasing pressure from Tim Hartland and Jason Tingle who finished second and third respectively. Jason Tingle took victory in second outing however after a superb battle with Witts who crossed the line in second. Third place went to Christopher Saunders.

Tingle had a pretty successful weekend as he also took home the silverware in both races in theTeekay Couplings Production GTi Series for the Mk5 Golf. Martyn Walsh and Craig Fleming rounded out the podium on each occasion.

You can view all the results, qualifying times and lap analysis at DONINGTON RESULTS