DOUBLES THE ORDER OF THE DAY AT DONINGTON
Jam-Sport Fiesta Class C driver Dan Holland was one of several drivers who won back-to-back victories at Donington. Photo: www.ajbphotographic.co.uk
Donington Park played host to a jam packed weekend of motorsport with eight different championships out on track, but all in all but two of them the same driver prevailed, as Donna Kelly reports.
Double victory for Joey Foster in Post 89 Formula Ford
Guest driver Patrick Dussault threw away victory in race one of theAvon Tyres Formula Ford 1600 Championship Post 89 Northern & National class by exceeding track limits. The Formula Renault driver was first to cross the line but received an additional 30 second penalty on top of his earlier 5 second penalty for exceeding track limits, leaving Joey Foster to take the class win. Stuart Gough took second place honours with Douglas Crosbie in third. It was a disappointing race for James Raven who was forced to retire following contact in a battle for second place with Stuart Gough on lap 6.
A nail-biting battle between David McArthur, Joey Foster, James Raven and Stuart Gough in race two saw Joey Foster take the win. An early lead by Stuart Gough was cut short when Foster retook position on the second lap but it wasn’t long before David McArthur was right on Foster’s tail. As the race progressed, James Raven pulled off a fantastic drive to move up from grid from 14th to finish in second place ahead of Stuart Gough in third. It was another disappointing race for Patrick Dussault who handed a 10-second penalty for a false start and had a DNF.
Jamie Jardine dominates in the Formula Ford 1600 Pre 90 Championship
It was a dominant win for pole sitter Jamie Jardine in Avon Tyres Formula Ford 1600 Championship Pre 90 class. A mighty battle on the first lap of race one resulted in the top three cars separated by just 0.2 sec before an incident between Chris Hodgen and Stuart Jones saw Jones drop back to 9th and Hodgen into the pits, leaving Jardine clear in the lead. The Frodsham driver took the chequered flag with a 27 second gap to Mario Sarchet and Matthew Cowley who finished in second and third respectively.
Jamie Jardine was back on the top step of the podium for race two. The drive of the day however, had to go to Stuart Jones who put in a fantastic performance to move from 13th on the grid to finish in second place. Third place honours went to Mario Sarchet. David Murphy took fourth place from Matthew Cowley with just 0.063 separating the two drivers as they crossed the line.
Victory for Craig Fleming, Duncan Williams & Graham Cole in the Excool OSS Championship
A dominant drive by Craig Fleming saw the Taunton driver take the chequered flag in race one of the Excool OSS Championship with a 14 second gap to Doug Hart in second place. It was a race to forget for pole sitter Duncan Williams however, who was forced to drop to the back of the pack after being involved in an incident on the second lap, only to be given a 5 second penalty followed by a drive through penalty for exceeding track limits. Josh Smith took the third and final step on the podium after Mike Jenvey pulled into the pits on lap 14.
Duncan Williams was back on form for race two; the Excool MD took victory with a 6 second lead. As Williams pulled away at the front, all eyes were on the battle for second place with Josh Smith taking the honours ahead of Craig Mitchell in third. Duncan Williams took the win in Class B, Josh Smith took the win in Class C and Graham Cole took Class A honours.
A determined drive by Graham Cole in the third Excool OSS race saw him take position over Duncan Williams on lap 2. The Class A leader pulled out an 8 second gap to comfortably lead the pack for the rest of the race. It was all action on lap 13 as Chris Lake spun off into the gravel at the exit of Coppice. Duncan Williams then spun at the Roberts chicane, dropping down from second to fifth position. The race finished with Graham Cole taking the chequered flag ahead of Mike Jenvey in second and Craig Mitchell in third.
Two out of two for Geri Nicosia in BRSCC FJC
It was two wins out of two for Geri Nicosia in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship. Damp track conditions made for an exciting first race with Nicosia pulling off a decent start to lead the pack around the iconic Donington track and take the eventual chequered flag. A superb start by Thomas Grundy saw the junior driver jump up into second place at the first corner, leaving Michael Higgs and Aaron Thompson to battle it out behind him for third place with Thompson taking the honours. Move of the day went to Jessica King who pulled off a fantastic overtake on Nathan Edwards around the outside of Redgate to take seventh place.
In race two, all eyes were on the battle for third place between Michael Higgs, Aaron Thompson and Samuel Watkins as Geri Nicosia pulled away at the front with Thomas Grundy close behind. Third place honours initially went to Aaron Thompson as Michael Higgs pulled off track with mechanical issues and was forced to retire from the race. Thompson was later given a 1 second penalty to his race time for gaining an unfair advantage, dropping him down to fourth place, pushing Samuel Watkins up into third.
Carl Hulme named British Superkart Racing Club National Division 1 Champion
An excellent performance by Gavin Bennett in Division 1 of the British Superkart Racing Club Championship saw the reigning champion take the chequered flag and a new lap record of 1:05:981. Despite a determined drive by Carl Hulme, the multiple European Superkart champion was not to be beaten, leaving Hulme to settle for second place with Charles Craven taking third. It was a disappointing race for pole sitter Liam Morley who had a DNF following an incident at Craner Curves on lap 3.
A frantic first lap in race two of the British Superkart Racing Club Championship resulted in contact at Redgate, forcing Gavin Bennett into the gravel and out of the race. As Charles Craven took the lead, Liam Morley joined the race from pits following an issue with his kart on the green flag lap but was later forced to retire. Charles Craven took the eventual race win ahead of Dave Harvey and Carl Kinsey in second and third respectively. Despite pulling into the pits on the final lap with extensive damage to his kart, Carl Hulme was named champion of the National Division 1 class.
Strong performance by Daniel Holland in Jam-Sport Fiesta Championship Class C
A strong performance by Daniel Holland in Class C of the Jam-Sport Fiesta Championship saw the Dagenham driver maintain the lead from lights to flag despite increasing pressure from David Grady in second place. As Holland and Grady battled it out up front, all eyes were on the fight for fifth place between Andrew Taylor and Scott Robertson with the two drivers going side-by-side on the straight/finish line. The race finished with Daniel Holland taking the win over David Grady in second and Nathan Lawley in third. Paul Knapp, William Thoresen and Saghir Hussain were all given a 5 second penalty for exceeding track limits.
It was all action in race two of the Jam-Sport Fiesta Championship Class C with a Safety Car called out on track on the first lap to recover the cars of Rory Green and Sarah Jane Budby. Daniel Holland pulled away at the restart, until another crash on lap 4 resulted in a red flag. At the second restart, Holland pulled ahead to gain an 11 second gap to take the chequered flag over David Grady in second and David Ellesley in third.
Comfortable victory for Edward Cockill in Jam-Sport Fiesta Championship Classes A, B & D
Edward Cockill took a comfortable win in race one of the Jam-Sport Fiesta Championship (Classes A, B & D) with a 10 second gap to David Abbott in second. Simon Roud took the third and final step on the podium. James Appleby also pulled off a fantastic drive after dropping down from third to ninth place on lap one following a battle at Craner Curves. The Harrogate driver fought his way back up the grid to cross the line in fifth place. Edward Cockill took the win in Class D, Jack Williams took the win in Class A and Keith Chapman took the win in Class B.
Edward Cockill was back on the top step of the podium for race two; the Heathfield driver took the chequered flag with a 20 second gap to David Abbott again in second. As Cockill pulled away at the front, all eyes were on the battle for third position, between Simon Roud, Jack Williams, Al Daly and James Appleby, with Jack Williams claiming the final place on the podium and another Class A win. Keith Chapman was again the Class B victor.
Patrick Sherrington continues to dominate in the BIGProfile SRCC Sports 2000 Championship
Patrick Sherrington continued his domination in the BIGProfile SRCC Sports 2000 Duratec Championship taking victory with a 2.2 second gap to Tom Stoten in second in race one. As Sherrington pulled away at the front, the main focus was on the midfield battle between Clive Steeper, Mike Fry and Paul Tickner for 11th place honours. It was a disappointing race for Andreas Krame however who was forced to pull off track at the start/finish line putting an end to his race.
An exciting final few laps in race two saw race leader Tom Stoten crash out on the penultimate lap, leaving Patrick Sherrington to take victory ahead of Peter Needham and Nick Bates in second and third respectively. The championship leader led the majority of the race until he was held up by a back-marker on lap 19, putting Tom Stoten temporarily in the lead. A scary moment for Mike Fry saw the Lymm driver slide sideways across the track at McLeans, dropping down the pack to eventually finish in 19th place.
All the results and analysis from Donington can be found at TSL DONINGTON RESULTS
