SILVERSTONE HOSTS BRSCC IN SUPERB OCTOBER SEASON SIGN-OFF
With at least one championship to be settled and others heading towards their climax, the final visit of the season to Silverstone by the BRSCC Midlands Centre was always going to be a tense affair, and it didn’t disappoint. The International circuit provided the backdrop under relatively decent weather with a variety of categories competing on track.
The main order of business was to settle the fate of the BRSCC Mazda MX-5 Championship, with points leader John Langridge and Will Blackwell-Chambers the only two drivers still mathematically in with a chance of clinching the crown. Langridge started the weekend well by taking pole position, but it would in fact be his old team AB Motorsport that would go on to dominate almost the entire weekend in Group A. Frazer Fenwick put in a cracking drive from 3rd on the grid to take a surprise first win in the championship, while Matt Luff put in an equally impressive performance to take 2nd with team boss Ali Bray completing the podium. Title contenders Langridge and Blackwell-Chambers came 5th and 6th respectively with Langridge claiming the extra two points for fastest lap. Amazingly, the same three drivers would then lock out the podium in Race 2, with Luff taking his turn on the top step this time just ahead of Fenwick in 2nd place, with Bray once again rounding off the rostrum in 3rd place as Langridge took 4th place and WB-C in 6th. This left an advantage of over 20 points on dropped scores for Langridge to maintain going into the final race of the season, and he completed the job in the best possible way. Victory in Race 3 sealed the MX-5 Championship title for Langridge, with fellow winners Luff and Fenwick joining him on the steps of the final Group A race. Blackwell-Chambers had to settle for a lowly 12th place to finish runner-up in the standings. No doubt both will be back next season to do it all over again.
In the Group B races, Adam Craig was able to claim the first race with victory over Richard Wootten in 2nd place and a long awaited podium finish for Alan Hawkins in 3rd. The second Group B race fell the way of Jack Lemmer, son of Barwell Motorsport boss and former BTCC racer Mark Lemmer, ahead of newcomer Brandon Abraham and Charlie Rawles rounding off the rostrum. In the final MX-5 race of the year, honours went to Charles Mugglestone as he was able to hold off Mike Comber Racing teammate and 2018 vice champion Samuel Smith and Owen Mills at the flag. A record year for the MX-5 Championship saw an unbelieveable 116 drivers register to compete over the season, making it undoubtedly the best supported individual championship in British club motorsport!
Brian Chandler made sure his weekend in the Mazda MX-5 Super Series finale was fruitful enough, as he was able to collect two wins to add to his tally for 2019, bringing it up to 7 for the season. Chandler was able to lead from start to finish to win Race just a couple of seconds ahead of fellow team driver Matt Pickford in 2nd with James Cossins christening the first race of Supercup competitor Aidan Hills’ new rental car with an excellent 3rd place. Chandler then repeated the feat in Race 2, with Cossins this time in 2nd place just over 4 second away while Jo Marshall collected the final podium spot on this occasion. However, Race 3 played out a little differently as Pickford kept up with Chandler for most of the race before passing him with a handful of laps to go, therefore going on to collect the final race win of the season.
An enhanced grid lined up for the BRSCC Fiesta Championship racing with MRF Tyres, as James Waite looked to maintain his championship lead over David Nye and Jamie Going. The first race saw Isaac Smith keep up his run of form from Anglesey, as the Fiesta Junior graduate picked up the win from Zachary Lucas and Nye, while Waite took 5th pace and Going P6. Smith was then able to rack up his 5th win in a row by claiming another clean sweep of the race weekend in Race 2, with Waite running a much improved race this time with 2nd and Nye claiming 3rd place. The championship will now go down to the finale at the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch.
However, the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship racing with MRF Tyres was in fact settled on Sunday, as points leader Olly Turner was able to score the points he needed to put it out of reach of his rivals. Joseph Loake was able to win the first race from pole position with Turner finishing in 2nd place, followed by Turner picking up the win in Race 2 to seal the deal.
A bumper grid saw the entries of both the Alfa Romeo Championship and Toyo Tires Porsche Championship combine once again as they simultaneously headed to the conclusion of their 2019 seasons. The Alfas saw former champion Graham Seager reconfirm why he’s still a front runner by taking his trusty Modified class GTV to victory ahead of Bryan Shrubb’s 33 and George Osborne’s Alfa Romeo 75. Dave Messenger and Tom Hill continued their struggle for the overall title by winning Power Trophy and Twin Spark Cup respectively. Osborne then took his turn at the front of the field in Race 2 to claim overall and Modified victory with Mervyn Miller’s 156 and the GTV of Seager coming next on the podium. Once again, Messenger and Hill won their respective classes, meaning that it will once again be a showdown for the title at the final rounds.
Over in the Porsches, Andrew Porter kept up his pursuit of Garry Lawrence and was able to shrink his points lead further with victory in the first race, followed by Lawrence in 2nd place and Anthony Hutchins picking up 3rd. The 924 class saw Peter Smith claim victory ahead of Chris Valentine in 2nd place and Hugh Peart looking to maintain his lead in the class standings with a 3rd place finish. Lawrence was able to get his own back in the second race by winning from Porter with Leigh Bowden picking up the final podium place this time, as Smith doubled up in 924 Class wins for the weekend once again head of Valentine and Peart. The third race was run solo, with the same top three finishers in both classes once again as Lawrence and Smith took more silverware home, with the only change being Peart finishing ahead of Valentine this time to take 2nd place.
Two guest championships brought sports prototype action across both days in addition to the BRSCC content on the timetable. Saturday saw the final rounds of this year’s Clubmans Sports Prototype Championship with Clive Wood dominating all three races to complete a clean sweep of the weekend both overall and in CSP1 class. The next day would see Sports 2000 take their turn on the International circuit, as Michael Gibbins snatched a pair of wins followed home by Tom Stoten on both occasions.
Scott Woodwiss
