VIENNESE GAZDA WALTZES TO SNETT TRACKSPORT DOUBLE

The BRSCC East Anglian Centre got their season off to a start in glorious spring weather at the weekend, with a packed two days featuring nineteen races on the Snetterton 300 circuit.

Exiled Austrian, Michael Gazda, started the Caterham Tracksport season in commanding fashion winning both races. However, the Viennese driver was made to work had for his victories by and Oliver Jarrett and Paul Lewis, who exchanged second and third places. The gap between Gazda and Lewis in the second outing was just .117 seconds!

The new BRSCC Formula Ford Duratec Championship had a double header and although the entry numbers weren’t great, the racing was certainly close. Dutchman Bart Van Os set the pace in qualifying and won two of the three races, with compatriot Max Van Splunteren taking the other win. Both drivers were piloting Mygale SJ10s. Another Dutchman, Wouter Boerenkamps, took a second and third and it was left to American Abdul Ahmed to break up the ‘orange’ monopoly by claiming third in the final race.

Lee Wiggins arrived at Snett as one of the favourites for the Caterham Supersport title, having come so close in recent years. He would, however, leave disappointed with just a third place in race one to show for his efforts as Leicester’s Mike Hart showed a clean pair of heels to the chasing pack in both races.2012 Tracksport champion David Robinson, proved to be Hart’s closest rival with a third and second. Balham’s Adam White was the man to separate Hart and Robinson in the final outing.

The driver line-up for this year’s Bookatrack.com Caterham R300 Superlight Championship oozes quality so it is a difficult one to predict. Flick Haigh was the quickest in qualifying but it was Ipswich’s Ollie Taylor who made home advantage count, winning both races by a very tight margin from Terry Langley. Adam Balon and Flick Haigh shared the third place spoils.

The Caterham Roadsports turned out in force and the much-anticipated battle between respective Academy champions, Alexander Gurr and Stephen Nuttall didn’t disappoint. The pair were first and second in qualifying and that was how the first race ended with Pete Fortune claiming third spot. Fortune’s fortunes improved in the second race and he managed to split the rivals, demoting Nuttall to third. It promises to be a fascinating battle between the trio for Roadsport supremacy.

Away from the Caterham’s, the Vortex and Motorsport News backed Fiesta Juniors were out for the second time this season. JJ Ross carried on from where he left off at Rockingham, winning the opener. Rory Collingbourne was second and that completed the podium as the other competitors either failed to finish, or were disqualified for failing the ride height check. That technical issue was sorted out for the second race and with JJ Ross suffering a braking malfunction, Alfonso Skriczka took advantage to claim his first ever race win. Robert Cox and Natasha Hussain were second and third.

In the BRSCC Mazda MX5 SuperCup, Matt Davies and Andy Clarkson, carried on their rivalry from Castle Combe, where both shared first and second places. This time however they had Paul Sheard and Justin Newnam to contend with. Davies and Clarkson still took a win apiece but Newnam was third each time and Sheard pushed Davies out to fourth in race two by coming home second. Further close fought battles are anticipated between the quartet as the season progresses.

In the Fiesta Seniors, the two races for the Class A, B & D cars were won by David Abbott in his Class D Zetec S. Ian Scruton was first home in Class A for the Si, and Class B Zetec honours were shared between Andrew Mollison and Ken Bateman. As at Rockingham, the Class C STs again fielded a very strong grid and it was David Ellesley who took his third win of the season ahead of Curtis Mitchell and Lee Napolitano. However, in race two, and the final race of the weekend, Ellesley’s winning streak came to an abrupt end with clutch failure and Nicholas Bowers powered through to win with Napolitano and Mitchell swapping places from race one.