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FENNYMORE BIDS FOR BACK TO BACK TITLES AT ROCKINGHAM
Ben Corley | September 21, 2007
FENNYMORE AT ROCKINGHAM
Reigning champion Graham Fennymore has a chance to secure his second successive Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge title next weekend (29/30 Sept) at Rockingham. Fennymore, who has already clinched both the Superlight Sprint and Endurance championship crowns in the 2007 evo Caterham Eurocup, arrives at Rockingham with seven UK race wins under his belt from eight starts.
The Oxfordshire racer leads his closest title rival, Glen Denny, by 19.5 points with only October’s season-closing Brands Hatch double-header remaining on the calendar after the Rockingham races.
“I’m not banking on wrapping it up at Rockingham,” said Fennymore. “Both Glen and Rachel Green are right behind me in the points and they are both very quick and likely to go well at Rockingham. It would be great to get the job done next weekend but I think it more likely that I’ll have to wait for Brands.
“Rockingham is going to provide some great racing, I think. I’ve never raced before on the track configuration we will be using, but testing suggests to me that the circuit will provide plenty of opportunities for overtaking and for slipstreaming. I’m looking forward to it.”
Twenty-seven-year-old Denny is the only driver this year to have beaten Fennymore in a straight fight to the chequered flag. The Suffolk racing novice did it at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium in the Eurocup and again at Silverstone in the UK series. After a relatively disappointing time at Croft earlier this month, Colards Motorsport driver Denny will be keen to get back on terms with his Ambitions Racing/Hyperion rival Fennymore and to try to force the title fight down to the wire at Brands.
Fauldsport racer Green was not on top form at Croft either; she’s just a point behind Denny and third in the championship, and is still looking for her first Superlight Challenge race win. The 2002 Caterham Graduates Champion has won in the Eurocup, however, and is unlikely to be denied for much longer.
The 2005 champion, Will Mitcham, bounced back on to top form at Croft, giving Fennymore a run for his money in both races, and he will be keen at Rockingham to add to the twin wins he scored for Taylor’s Foundry Motor Sport at Oulton Park at the start of the season.
Silverstone race school scholarship winner Craig Welsher improves with every outing; his best result for the Hyperion team so far was a fourth-place finish, appropriately enough at Silverstone. Others to watch out for include Welsher’s Hyperion team-mates Nick Payne and Andrew Beaumont, as well as Peter Ratcliff, who made it back on to the podium last time out, and the ever-improving Chris Bialan, who is creeping ever nearer the front thanks to tutelage from Fennymore.
Richard Reed is another driver on which to keep an eye: the reigning Scottish Sports and Saloon Car Champion is in his maiden season of Superlight Challenge racing and has established himself as a regular top-10 finisher.
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.
2007 Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge
Provisional placings after round 10 (of 14)
1, Graham Fennymore, Weston on the Green, 155.5
2, Glen Denny, Ipswich, 136
3, Rachel Green, Sawbridgeworth, 135
4, Will Mitcham, Bury St Edmunds, 122
5, Craig Welsher, Taunton, 120
6, Peter Ratcliff, Tyrrell’s Wood, 117
7, Chris Bialan, Broadstone, 109.5
8, Nick Payne, London, 103.5
=9, Pat Gormley, Barnet & Andrew Beaumont, Weybridge, 87
Topics: Racing, News & Updates |
