SUN, SALOONS, SPORTSCARS AND SNETTERTON AWAITS
The Alfa Romeos will be out to impress on Snetterton's long straights – Photo: Paul Stone
Snetterton is becoming a popular place for us this year as already our 3rd visit of 2017 has come around in quick succession after our last meeting last month. There’s an excellent mix of sports car and saloon car racing set to storm the 300 circuit, with all championships in attendance now past the half way stage and beginning the journey towards crowning a champion. Getting a good result here could make a big difference come the finals weekend in October.
That definitely could be the case in our pair of Mazda MX-5 series. The Mk1 Championship still sees Will Blackwell-Chambers at the top of the pile even after dropped scores, but so far is in the middle of a dry spell in terms of race victories. Will hasn’t won a race since Cadwell Park and the top step must surely be calling his name here. Oliver Allwood doesn’t have a race win yet but could grab one here, while Sam Smith, Joshua Jackson and James Harris already have at least one under their belts so far this year. Martin Tolley is top Masters driver and on the verge of victory, while other drivers such as Patrick Lay, Charlie Burge and John Langridge will also be ones to watch.
The Mazda MX-5 SuperCup sees an even closer battle up front with Luke Herbert leaving Oulton Park with a hat-trick of victory. That puts him 4 points ahead of Tom Roche as the title contest continues to hot up. Rob Boston returns with ground to make up from 7th in the standings, with Jack Harding, Liam Murphy, Jonathan Greensmith and Brian Chandler all ahead of him and continuing to get stronger every race. Other key drivers throughout the field ready to make an impact will be Ben Short, Aidan Hills, Steve Roberts and reigning champion James Blake-Baldwin, on the hunt to rediscover his 2016 form.
It’s getting interesting up towards the sharp end of the BRSCC Fiesta Championship, as after nightmare weekends for Class C and D points leaders Lewis Kent and Jamie White respectively at Rockingham last time out, Jon Cooper takes over the lead from White in Class D and overall by a single point on dropped scores. As for Kent, he still reigns over Class C but Lee Dendy-Sadler, Simon Horrobin, David Nye and a resurgent Danny Harrison are all snapping at his heels and eager to overhaul him. This weekend sees the grids split once more with Class C running all sessions separately from Classes A, B & D who all run together.
Another pair of intriguing races are set to take place in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship with Jack Davidson also facing his own prospect of a fightback, after he was blighted by technical issues in both races. The wins at Rockingham were taken by two brand new top step visitors in James Waite and Scott Cansdale, while James Hillery and Gus Burton also picked up podium finishes. Cadwell Park winner Nicholas Reeve can also be a threat when the car’s on form as can Lochlan Bearman, and Josh Steed and Olly Turner also put in impressive drives last time showing improvement in their pace. There’s also a new face on the grid as Magnus Kriklywi joins the championship from this weekend.
Sports prototype action is set to thrill on both days as the Excool BRSCC OSS Championship heads to its 3rd meeting of the season. Mike Jenvey was utterly dominant at Rockingham with a clean sweep of 3 overall wins, leaving him heading the points table entirely. His perennial rival Duncan Williams is back, however, which means that a repeat of his hat-trick won’t be as simple this time. Reigning champion Josh Smith also returns to reassert his authority on Class C, while Paul Spencer and Patrick Sherrington look set to lock horns in Class A. Plus, could we finally see the long awaited first appearance of Matt Manderson’s self-built Whiteland Mk1 with a suggested 1000hp V8?
More tin-top action will also be present from the Alfa Romeo Championship, bringing a little more flair to proceedings. The main contest will be between the Twin Spark Cup runners as they dominate the overall points standings. Andrew Bourke tops the table from Simon Cresswell and 2016 champion Tom Hill, with Bourke already extending a lead of over 20 points. Naturally all 3 are in attendance along many others, including with a pair of Spyders driven by Nick Anderson and Louise West. Paul Webster, Ron Davidson and Ian Brookfield will fight it out in the Power Trophy class while former champion Graham Seager represents the Modified class, and the pair of Invitation class Fiat Puntos of Chris and Simon McFie make an appearance again too.
Weather conditions are set to be warm but cloudy at the time of writing this, meaning that the long straights of the 300 circuit will help the cars stretch their legs and make catching a tow relatively easy. We’re moving into the business end of the season where every single result and every single point scored counts, and one small slip up at any time could come back to haunt you later. Let’s see who can keep their momentum running as racing gets underway this weekend!
Scott Woodwiss
