SNETTERTON COMPLETES WEEKEND TRILOGY
Abbie Eaton is one of several SuperCup drivers looking to challenge leader Mike Comber. Photo: John Elsey
Our trilogy of weekend meetings is completed at Snetterton where our East Anglian Centre will run nineteen races on the 200 circuit.
All six BRSCC Centres are renowned as running excellent meetings so it’s no wonder we have so many other clubs wanting their championships to run at our events. This is certainly the case at Snett where we have several offerings from both BARC South East and the Track Attack Club.
Track Attack’s Nippon Challenge will get the programme of races underway this afternoon with the first of two 15-minute races. With the Tricolore Trophy for French marques joining the Toyotas, Hyundais and Subarus, there is an almost full grid of 37 cars. Nick Holden, Clive Haynsford, James Janicki and Adam Lockwood are the men to watch in the Nippon Challenge, while Simon James, Tony Hunter, and the Mitchell brothers – Curtis and Andrew, are all potential podium finishers in the Tricolore Trophy.
The first of three BARC South East championships is next up, in the shape of the Quaife Intermarque Championship. The 2-Litre Vauxhall Tigra is very much the car of choice in the Intermarque Series with front running drivers Matt Simpson, Malcolm Blackman and Chris Brockhurst all campaigning one. There is some variety however with examples of Mercedes, BMWs, VW and Peugeots also running in the field.
The first ‘BRSCC’ championship to hit the track today will be the Alfashop Alfa Romeo Championship which is on call for one 20-minute race. James Bishop stole a march on fellow title contender and Class E competitor James Ford, with two wins at Cadwell last month to give him a 30-point lead ahead of Steve Potts who now lies second. Ford will do doubt be hoping to redress the balance this afternoon.
The BRSCC’s Formula Jedi Championship provides the single-seater action this weekend and it is local driver Jack Lang who sits on top of the points table. A win and four other podium finishes show the consistency of Lang’s driving so far this season and gives him a 25-point lead. However, Lang’s biggest threat surely has to be come from former champion Andrew Dunn, who arrives at Snett carrying the momentum of a double win last time out at Brands Hatch.
Snetterton plays host to rounds 5 and 6 of this year’s Dunlop TVR Challenge. Tim Davis is the current points leader overall, ahead of Christian Douglas and Jim Walsh (Class B). The leading Class C driver, Mike Luck, is ninth overall. Davis shared the victory spoils at last month’s Brands Hatch double-header with Dean Cook and the pair are all set to do battle again.
In the BRSCC MX-5 Super Cup, championship leader Mike Comber has won six of the seven races held so far this year. Despite this dominant performance, Comber is only seven points clear of David Chapman, and has been challenged more closely than the results indicate. This weekend all those in the chasing pack will be looking to end his winning streak. Chapman has already won a race while Matt Davies, Abbie Eaton, Tom Roche (who is honeymooning at Snett!) and Liam Murphy are all looking for their first wins of the season.
BARC South East’s second offering is another Quaife backed championship, which also has backing from Motorsport News. The Saloon Car Championship has seen the ‘King of Brands Hatch’ Rod Birley, take all eight wins so far. However, it has not been easy for Birley, as Dale Gent and Andy Banham plus Alex Sidwell have provided stiff competition. Furthermore, Birley is not leading the championship overall, because Tony Paxman has beaten more cars in his class which gives him bonus points. Tony runs in Class D and faces a stern challenge from Bill Richards who has taken two class wins so far.
The last of our own championship in action at Snetterton is the Arrowpak Saloon & Sportscar Championship, which joins the fray tomorrow. Alex Sidwell will be a busy man as he is running in the Arrowpaks as well as the Quaife MN Saloons which means he has back to back races either side of Sunday’s lunch-break. Sidwell will be looking to take the challenge to Peter Challis and Simon Deaton in their Porsche 997s.
The third of the BARC SE championships is the Cannons Motor spares Tin-Tops which has seen a variety of winners this year. From class T1, Tom Bridger has found renewed pace with his Rover Tomcat. Likewise from T2, Barnaby Davies has been scoring outright wins in his Toyota Starlet turbo. In class T3 the Honda Civics have proven to be the quickest cars, but it is reliability which sees Vic Hope heading the class. Vic has been beaten by the similar car of Chris Whiteman on several occasions, but the man from Carshalton has finished every race so far. Class T4 provides the overall championship leader, in the shape of Neal Gardiner’s MG Metro. Neal, who lives near Ipswich, used to contest the Drayton Manor MG Cup, but switched back to the tin tops this year.
The Track Attack Club provides another almost full grid with the combination of the YourIrishshop.com MR2 Racing Series and the Carbon8 Activa Consultants Coupe Cup. Expect to see Paul Corbridge and Arron Pullan vying for the podium but the ever committed Nathan Harrison and David Hemingway will also be there or thereabouts. In the Coupe Cup, the fight for honours would seem to be between Jon Winter and Simon Miles, but Adam Shale will surely be in the mix too as his experience grows in his second season.
The Met Office is forecasting for it to be dry, warm but overcast today, but there is a risk of heavy showers tomorrow. You can check the forecast at SNETTERTON FORECAST
The timetable, Final Instructions and entry list for all races can be found at SNETTERTON RACE WEEKEND
Live timing from TSL can be found at TSL-SNETTERTON
