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CASTLE COMBE DRAMAS RESULT IN FOUR ROADSPORT VICTORS
Ben Corley | June 25, 2007
The 2007 Motorsport News Caterham Roadsport Challenge welcomed three new race winners at Castle Combe yesterday (Saturday), with Dave Pearce and 18-year-old James Davis claiming the honours in the Roadsport class and Simon Turner breaking his duck in the Roadsport B division. Early points leader Andrew Thomas took the other Roadsport B race win to renew his title challenge.
There was bad luck, however, for Roadsport championship leader Jeremy Ellis, who qualified sixth on the grid and who added only 14 points to his tally after failing to finish one of the Combe races.
Paul Storton
Pearce’s win in the first of the day’s Roadsport encounters came after a race-long battle with Luke Embling, David securing his 0.2s victory only after a well executed last-lap overtaking manoeuvre. Pole-sitter Davis took third ahead of Simon Young and championship returnee Mike Blackadder. Ellis was sixth, losing time in a clash of wheels with the car of James Sharrock which cost the latter a puncture.
Eighteen-year-old Lewis Hopkins drove himself to the Driver of the Meeting award with his charge from 20th on the grid to eighth at the flag; he also netted a new lap record.
In what was only his sixth Caterham race, former kart star Davis made up for an early indiscretion which dropped him as low as ninth to win the second Roadsport race in some style. The Leicestershire youngster clawed his way back into the top four with two laps to go and then snatched victory from Simon Young’s grasp with a brave manoeuvre through the tricky Camp corner.
David Pearce
Davis’s cause was aided by the demise of Ellis and Pearce, both of whom took their turn in the lead before touching and crashing out at Tower.
There was another major shunt, involving the cars of Embling, Graham Johnson and Pete Wharton, in which the unfortunate Embling sustained a hand injury. Wharton was excluded from the results.
Blackadder crowned his triumphant return by smashing Hopkins‘ briefly held lap record and claiming third behind Davis and Young at the chequered flag. Toby Dicker was fourth to narrow his overall points disadvantage to Ellis to just 11 with a further six rounds remaining.
In Roadsport B, championship leader Gareth Thomas claimed the pole in qualifying but came away from Combe without a trophy. He led for much of the first race but spun his hopes away on the last lap as he tried to dislodge Turner from the lead he had held since two-thirds distance. Turner’s maiden win was all the more impressive given his fourth-row grid slot.
Andrew Thomas put in a great recovery drive after a poor start to take the driver of the meeting award and second place, ahead of Paul Storton and Stuart Patterson, with Gareth Thomas recovering to fifth.
Gareth Thomas and Turner were at the sharp end for most of race two also but both came unstuck at Camp on the final lap, handing victory on a plate to Andrew Thomas, who crossed the line 0.6s ahead of Chris Legg, with David Tansley third.
PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS
Roadsport race 1
1 Dave Pearce; 2 Luke Embling +0.245s; 3 James Davis; 4 Simon Young; 5 Mike Blackadder; 6 Jeremy Ellis. Fastest lap: Lewis Hopkins.
Roadsport race 2
1 Davis; 2 Young +0.136s; 3 Blackadder; 4 Toby Dicker; 5 Dax Humberstone; 6 Mike Richards. Fastest lap: Blackadder.
Roadsport B race 1
1 Simon Turner; 2 Andrew Thomas +1.978s; 3 Paul Storton; 4 Stuart Patterson; 5 Gareth Thomas; 6 Chris Legg. Fastest lap: Andrew Thomas.
Roadsport B race 2
1 Andrew Thomas; 2 Legg +0.649s; 3 David Tansley; 4 Gareth Thomas; 5 Duncan Winner; 6 Storton. Fastest lap: Andrew Thomas.
Full results available here
PROVISIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PLACINGS
Roadsport
1 Ellis 132 points; 2 Dicker 121; 3 Richards 116; 4 Young 109; 5 Pearce 107; 6 Mike Robinson 104 etc.
Roadsport B
1 Gareth Thomas 143; 2 Legg 121; 3 Andrew Thomas 119; 4 Storton 115; 5 Tansley 100; 6 Turner 95 etc.
Backers for Caterham Motorsport’s UK and European race series include Bilstein, Brian James Trailers, Cheesman Products, Circuit Driver, Cooper-Avon Tyres, Demon Tweeks, evo, HSBC Insurance Brokers, Mitchell Cotts, Motorsport News, Stack and Steel Fabrications.
Next rounds: 21/22 July, Rockingham
ロータス / ケイターハム スーパーセブン ビルダー
SOURCE: CATERHAM MOTORSPORTS
Topics: Racing, News & Updates |
