BRADBURY AND CHADWICK CLAIM EARLY WINTER ESPORTS SERIES WINS AT SILVERSTONE
In a night of racing that really kicked off the competition in fine style, the opening rounds of the 2023/24 BRSCC Winter eSports Series on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit produced three races that were certainly fitting of the kind of action you’d expect from the club’s high-action club racing in the real world.
On a grid of identical Mk4 generation Mazda MX-5 Global Cup cars with over 30 drivers from across the BRSCC’s wide spectrum of championships and series on its extensive formulae roster, the field proved to be ultra competitive from the outset in qualifying. Defending series winner Mikey Doble began where he’d left off from the inaugural season with pole position alongside Will Blackwell-Chambers, with fellow real world MX-5 racers Ted Bradbury and William Chadwick on the second row ahead of BMW Compact Cup’s Matt Kendall on row three next to five time champion Steven Dailly.
Doble initially led from pole but lost out to Bradbury by the end of the opening lap as a frantic lead group quickly formed at the head of the field. Soon enough, Chadwick through himself into the mix but a mistake from Bradbury at Becketts gave him a slowdown penalty, stacking the pack together and leaving them four wide heading to Stowe. Doble came out on top, but a late dive from Redford into Vale left him tangling with both Mikey and Kendall a corner later, pushing Chadwick to the front.
Bradbury and Richard Jepp were both on Chadwick’s tail as the final lap began, but William held firm to claim the first win of the Series while Jepp snatched second on the last corner after Bradbury was hit with another slow down just before the flag. Griffiths and Joe Doble completed the top five, while Mikey had to settle for eighth after the earlier incident behind Blackwell-Chambers and Leigh Britten.
The top three from race one picked up where they left off at the start of race two, Chadwick leading from Bradbury and Jepp as Joe Doble and Griffiths also made their presence known from the outset. The lead group ended up as a six pace for most of the race, reduced to five when Jepp spun out at The Loop, as Chadwick, Bradbury, Griffiths and both Mikey and Joe Doble were all in contention heading on to the final lap.
Bradbury left his move right until the final corners when Chadwick’s loose exit from Stowe allowed Ted to line up a pass on the outside of Vale. The move complete, Bradbury took the race two victory as the top five crossed the line together, with Chadwick settling for second this time ahead of Griffiths and the two Dobles, Mikey ahead of Joe.
Race three’s partially reversed grid placed Andrew Tibbs alongside Isaac Doble on the front row with Jepp and Kendall just behind on the second row and race winners Chadwick and Bradbury starting back in ninth and tenth. While Tibbs initially got the jump, it wasn’t long before Doble took over just a few corners in before the two cars diced some more, as a very busy and congested lead pack quickly formed. As Isaac led, it didn’t take long for Chadwick, Bradbury and Jepp to pick their way through the group and onto Doble’s bumper as Isaac’s older sibling Mikey also joined in too.
Doble held on as long as he could before spinning out exiting Club, leaving the usual suspects to fight it out for the top three spots. Chadwick made an initial escape, but Bradbury quickly reeled him back in while Jepp had to deal with both Doble and Dailly, the two former Compact Cup champions also enjoying a little battle of their own between each other. On the final lap into Stowe, a bold outside dive from Bradbury paid off and he stole the lead with just corners left. The final sprint to the line between the pair exiting Club saw Bradbury take victory by just 0.037 seconds in the end from Chadwick, with Jepp maintaining third ahead of another last corner scramble that left Doble and Noller in the top five.
After an intense opening three races, the next rounds will be on the Brands Hatch GP circuit, where Bradbury, Chadwick and co will be looking for more success and are set to be joined by a few more new faces too!
Scott Woodwiss
