MIGHTY MINIS FIGHT TO THE FINISH

Chris Slade will do whatever he can to stay ahead of the Mighty Mini pack this weekend.

Both the Mighty Minis and Super Mighty Minis will arrive at Rockingham on Saturday for a double header that will decide the destiny of the respective championships for the 2011 season.

The four Mini races are part of the two day, fifteen race ‘BRSCC Championship Finals’ weekend that the Midland Centre is running at the Corby Speedway. Of course this meeting was originally scheduled for Donington Park and the Club is grateful to Rockingham for stepping in to host the meeting when Donington became unavailable.

Chris Slade is the man leading the Mighty Mini pack and although he has a 13 point advantage over Peter Tervet in second, he also has to keep an eye on Mark Burnett and 2010 champion Louise Inch who are also still in contention if results go their way.

It is not unusual for Super Mighty Minis title to be decided on the very last corner and that will more than likely be the case this weekend. Elliot Stafford is nursing a 1 point advantage over Pat Ford, and with no other drivers in with even a mathematical chance, it really will be a dual between the pair. Both are very experienced so it will be a ‘battle royal’.

Although the ‘official’ Caterham Academy season concluded at Silverstone last month, Rockingham hosts the ‘Autumn Trophy’ which gives competitors in Groups 1 and 2 the opportunity to race against each other again. Brad Smith was the victor the last time this happened and he will be favourite again. Young Italian Achille Corbellati has matured as the season has gone on so he will fancy his chances over the two Saturday races.

In the Design911 Porsche Championship Dave Clark was crowned overall & Boxster champion at the last round so at Rockingham the focus will be on the 924s. Steven Brown has been in excellent form of late winning both races at last month’s Snetterton meeting, and he has a 24 point lead over Alfred Piesinger. However the hard charging Adam Croft is just a further 3 points adrift so he cannot be dismissed yet.

The race for the Alfashop Alfa Romeo championship has been resolved in the favour of Emma Karwacki who misses the Rockingham race. The battle for the overall win could well be a tortoise and hare affair, depending on reliability that seems to have been missing from some of the modified cars of late. Robin Eyre-Maunsell (75 3 litre) and Louise West (33 16v) will undoubtedly head Class B while Sarah Heels will be hoping for a repeat of her Class C win and 4th overall last time out in her faithful 147 GTA. Rockingham is a circuit where she has excelled in the past.

For its last meeting of 2011 the Production GTi Series returns to Rockingham for the second time this season for two twenty minute races. The Golf competitors will however be running on a different circuit layout to their July races. The Production GTi Series has seen some of the country’s closest single make racing throughout 2011 with five different winners from eight races. This weekend is certain to be the same, with the likes of Nick Porter, Simon Hill and Andy Knowlton up at the sharp end.

In the BRSCC OSS Championship the 2011 Overall and Class A Champion Tony Sinclair was confirmed last month at Snetterton, as was the Class D Champion Ake Bornebusch. 2nd and 3rd in the Championship and the battle for Class B title go down to the wire this weekend.Ginger Marshal only needs to finish in the points to claim Class B and second in the Championship.

Joining the OSS boys in both their races are the Irish Global Lights, who also have a race on their own. Most of the drivers are racing at Rockingham for the first time so anyone could win; Alan Byrne and Mark Braden are the most likely to shine.

Finally, an impressive 21 car grid will line-up in the 500 Owners Association race bringing retro single seater racing to the UK’s newest circuit.