HOME FROM HOME FOR MIDLAND CENTRE
The Rockingham Motor Speedway is fast becoming the second home of the BRSCC Midland Centre. This weekend the officials and marshals of the Centre will return to the Corby oval for the third time this year, with two further visits scheduled for F3/GT next month and the season finals in October.
The Super Mighty Mighty Minis will get the 18 race timetable underway tomorrow afternoon following morning qualifying. Elliot Stafford arrives at Rockingham with a slender 5 point lead over Leeds’ Pat Ford so the points won and lost in the weekend’s double header will be crucial as we move into the ‘business’ end of the season.
The Renault Clio of Andy Jordan currently tops the standings in the Arrowpak backed BRSCC Euro Saloons & Sports Car Championship but Richard Hawken is in close pursuit in his Nissan Primera Super Tourer. While the title battle will go on beyond this weekend’s double header both Andy and Richard will be confident of securing their respective Class D & Class B titles at Rockingham.
The Dunlop TVR Challenge arrives at Rockingham with the title battle looking set for a straight fight between Londoner Hugh Marshall and the aptly named Andy Race from Weston-Super-Mare. Only six points separate the pair who are both campaigning Tuscans.
The question in Formula Jedi section of the paddock is ‘Can anyone stop Richard Mitcham?’. The Boston student has accumulated 7 wins out of 8 so far. The answer is surely James Fletcher, who won at Cadwell, and has consistently scored second places finishes so only trails Mitcham by 35 points.
The Corby Oval is synonymous with Pickup Truck racing so the regular Rockingham fans will be delighted to see a 35 minute race scheduled for each day. Rookie Paul Tompkins won last time at Rockingham so he will be determined to put back to back wins together. He will have his work cut out however with plenty of Pickup veterans in the field such as Steve Dance, Dave Longhurst & Nic Grindrod.
Rounding off Saturday’s action is a 15 minute race for the Fuchs Titan Race MR2 Series. 21 cars are entered for the double header where Jon Winter, Dave Hemingway and Charlie Budd are the drivers to watch.
Entering the fray on Sunday are the Mighty Minis, who like their older brother have a double header. 2010 champion Louise Inch again leads the pack but Scot Peter Tervet and Salisbury’s Mark Burnett are in position to strike should the Devonian flyer lose her concentration.
The biggest grid of the weekend will take to the circuit on Sunday for a Nippon Challenge double header. 34 assorted cars representing various Japanese marques should prove to be quite a spectacle. Paul Hughes in a Honda Integra and the mighty minnows Yaser Almaghribi (Daihatsu GTti) and Andy McLennan (Suzuki Swift) are the men in form.
Another 30 plus grid is offered by the Quaife Intermarque League & Tiger Racing Series. Glastonbury’s Keith White takes a small points advantage into the second half of the season, but he is now under pressure from both Tommy Field and Daniel Smith who have excelled since joining the series this season.
