TOM ROCHE ENJOYS HONEYMOON PERIOD AT SNETT

Tom Roche fully vindicated his decision to honeymoon at Snett by taking two SuperCup wins! Photo: Jon Elsey

A full-on nineteen race schedule at Snetterton well and truly proved to be a very challenging, but rewarding weekend for our East Anglian Centre, who ran a very entertaining selection of races, from Mazda MX-5 through to Formula Jedi.

James Janicki and his Nissan Skyline came out on top of the pack in both races in the Nippon Challenge & Happy Racer Tricolore Trophy with Reece Jones managing to secure two podiums and Kenny Coleman and Adam Lockwood not far behind with a P3 each. James Janicki also managed to attain the fastest lap in each race.

The Quaife Intermarque Championship saw reigning champion Matt Simpson take both wins, with Chris Brockhurst and Lewis Smith also securing two podium positions each. The Vauxhall Tigra proved to be the most popular choice of car, with nine out of the seventeen drivers competing in this particular model.

Anthony George, Vincent Dubois and Roger Evans showed their dominance during the Alfashop Alfa Romeo Championship races at Snett, of which all three secured a place on the podium, with Anthony George coming out on top. The Diss based driver also used his local knowledge to set the fastest lap of the race. In the battle of the Class E and title contenders, James Bishop came out on top, while rival James Ford suffered a DNF, crashing out on the first lap. Andy Hancock came away with the ‘Driver of the Day’ award.

Formula Jedi’s Andrew Dunn was able to maintain his incredible form with a comfortable win over current championship leader, Jack Lang who was second, with Paul Butcher in third. This win allowed Dunn to continue the pursuit of Lang in the points table, and further close the gap between the two. The second race of the weekend saw Dunn, who finished first one again, overtake Lang in the table. Lang had a disappointing DNF and he now has to focus on taking back what was once his. Dan Clowes moved up the points table with a second, as did Paul Butcher with his second P3 of the weekend.

The Dunlop TVR Challenge produced a very close race between first place Dean Cook and second place Tim Davis, finishing not even a second apart. Both drivers also managed to beat the Class A lap record for the Snetterton 200 circuit, which was held by Hugh Marshall. Cook now holds the faster ever lap for the championship at Snett. The second race of the weekend saw Cook take the win once more, with Tim Davis again second. Jason Clegg and the aforementioned Marshall shared the third place spoils.

The highly anticipated Mazda MX-5 SuperCup race was won by newly-wed Tom Roche, followed by Mike Comber in second and Abbie Eaton in third. Despite coming second, Mike Comber set the fastest lap of the race. In the second outing , the honeymooning Roche impressed his new wife Ceri by securing his second win of the weekend, with Abbie Eaton in P2 and Mike Comber demoted down to third.

The Quaife Motorsport News Saloon Car Championship race saw Dale Gent take first place, with Alex Sidwell second and Jamie Liptrott third. Fastest lap of the race went to second place Alex Sidwell in his Holden V2 Commodore with a time of one minute and twenty two seconds, only just ahead of race winner Gent. Round two of the weekend saw Gent retain his well earned first place position, with Alex Sidwell again shadowing him in second. Ian Butler in his Ford Focus RS was the third man home.

A disappointing turn out for the Arrowpak Saloon & Sportscar Championship double-header did not spoil the fun for race winner Peter Cook in his Mitsubishi Evo 9, who also set the lap record on the Snetterton 200 for a Class A2 car. Simon Deaton and Peter Challis in their respective 997s were second and third. The second race saw a complete re-arrangement in terms of positions with Wayne Schofield’s 1340cc Suzuki Cappuccino taking the chequered flag, ahead of Cook and Deaton’s more powerful cars.

The Cannons Motor Spares Tin Top Championship race saw Barnaby Davies secure first place, followed by Kenny Coleman in second and Cliff Pellin in third. Davies’ Toyota Starlet also set the fastest lap of the race but his luck changed in the second tour, suffering a DNF on lap six. Coleman, in his Honda Civic, took full advantage leading home Pellin and championship leader, Vic Hope.

The favourites Aaron Pullan and Paul Corbridge justified that tag by taking first and second place in the first YourIrishshop.com MR2 Racing race, in which Sam Maher-Loughnan was third. The Carbon8 Acitiva & Activa Consultants Coupe Cup also ran with the MR2s and Jon Winter was the first Hyundai home, ahead of Adam Lucas and Adam Shale. There was fun and games in the final race of the meeting; Corbridge won from Maher-Loughnan with Adam Lucas (Coupe Cup) third and Pullan fourth. However, post-race both Maher-Loughnan and Pullan were disqualified for ‘driving standards’ infringements, which duly promoted Lucas to second with Peter Higton completing the podium.

For all the race results and breakdown of the lap analysis go to SNETT RESULTS

Luke Roberts