ST-XR CHALLENGE MAKES NORTHERN VENTURE TO CADWELL PARK TO CONTINUE 2020 SEASON
After an excellent opening day of racing at Oulton Park, the Hyperdrive ST-XR Challenge moves on to its second race weekend of the season as it heads to Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire for what are set to be three fantastic races. With an entry that boasts many of the same drivers that turned out just a couple of weeks ago, there’s sure to be plenty of battles to pick up where they left off.
Class D for the Ford Fiesta ST150 once again produces the bulk of this weekend’s entry, with the early championship battle brewing between defending overall and Class A champ William Heslop and Mark Robinson. Both ended up taking a race win each (the second race being handed back to Heslop after a ten-second penalty for an out of position start in Race 2 was rescinded) and they hold the early advantage with each looking to add to their win tallies this weekend. Heslop and Robinson were both adapting to their first weekends racing the ST150 in the championship and they impressed many with adapting to it quickly and setting the pace from the outset. However, given that many drivers in the class have now had one race meeting under their belt to either get used to their new car or at least get their hand in again on a race track, it could well be a different case this time. Nevertheless, both Mark and William will be pushing to take more victories to maintain their places at the head of the points table.
The Class D drivers that appeared to have the closest pace to the two top at Oulton Park were the pair of ST150s that were entered by newcomers Tensport Performance and their two-car squad of Sam Beckett and Chris Grimes. Both men made an instant impression by taking a 3rd in class each over the day and while Grimes did have some trouble in the second race, Sam’s fortunes were consistent all day. If both are as fast as they proved to be the first time out, they’ll be rather formidable this weekend too. Other names to watch out for in the class include defending champion Matthew Spencer and his father John, Chris Rowlands, Tony Mumford, Justin Roberts and the three-car entry from the Bowron siblings Lee, Lewis and Ryan, the latter of the three making his first appearance both of the season and in a Fiesta ST150.
With Greg Speight not listed to race this weekend, honours in Class A for the Fiesta XR2s will be up for grabs. It’s set to be a straight fight between Matthew Morton and Simon Robinson, with Simon making his first appearance of the season while Matthew gives himself another chance to build on the points scored at Oulton Park. Whichever driver is stronger, both will certainly have fun battling among each other and among the other classes.
The only other XR model on the grid will be that of Jason Hennefer’s Escort XR3i in Class B. With Chris Jones sadly unable to take part this weekend, it means that Jason will be able to claim an easy maximum score should he keep his nose clean and out of trouble. The Escort can be a quick car in the hands of the right person and Hennefer has been known to mix it up with drivers from other classes, so his target will surely be to finish as high as possible in the overall result.
Finally, as a closing note, there will be some extra Fiestas joining our grid, as those from the BRSCC Fiesta Championship racing with MRF Tyres will also be latching on this weekend. That means it’s going to be very busy out on track, especially with Cadwell Park being so twisty and narrow! Nevertheless, with two separate races effectively going on at the same time, it’s going to be pretty entertaining for sure!
Scott Woodwiss
