Archive

Radical Drivers are made of the Wright Stuff

30th September 2008

Coming into the penultimate race of the season the championship battle was between two men, the Invitation class dominator Jonathan Wright and the Prosport of Richard Stables. With only a single point separating the pair in the overall championship the racing was always going to carry a certain degree of tension.

With all eyes on the duelling frontrunners it was Wright who struck first, qualifying his PR6 fourth on the grid behind Tom Ashton's SR3, while Simon Fish edged Simon Dolan in the battle of the Supersports for pole. Stables suffered a less fruitful session, only managing 15th on the grid after being hampered by the thick fog and visor problems. "I couldn't see where I was going," he confirmed. "My visor kept misting up and I had to come in to wipe it. That combined with the conditions and traffic meant I only got one lap but Iim still hopeful for the race."

When it came to the racing however, qualifying form bore no resemblance as both title protagonists gave their all. Wright struck the first blow as he scraped between both Dolan and Fish off the line to secure the lead into Deene corner and quickly began to assert his authority on proceedings, establishing a one second lead after the first lap. Behind, the battle for second raged on as Dolan had an attempt on the inside at Tarzan cut short by the determined Fish. 

With all class points counting toward the overall championship it was up to Stables to ensure he secured the top step of the Prosport podium to keep his challenge alive, and the Seaton Ross-based driver soon caught the tail of class leader Darren Luke in seventh. The pair ran nose-to-tail down the pit straight on consecutive laps before Stables caught a draft into the banking at turn one to skip past into Deene and stake his claim to the title.

At the front, Ashton was the man on the move as he ghosted past Dolan and Fish in quick succession to slot into second. Dolan quickly began to heap pressure on Fish and his persistence was soon rewarded as he became the beneficiary of a technical failure which dropped his rival out of contention.

Wright was the class of the field throughout and took the flag 16 seconds clear of second placed Supersport victor Ashton. Dolan took third with only Paul Steele denying the rampant Stables a top four place. But the Prosport class win was enough to ensure the championship went down to the wire. "Darren didn't make it easy for me," smiled Stables after. "He definitely had me on the brakes into Deene but I managed to get a great tow and made it count. We will have to see what the last race brings as I'm not out of it yet."

Gary Kane took Biduro honours ahead of Dave Banham to cement his class crown, while Mark Boot dominated the Clubsport category to keep his challenge alive.

1 Jonathan Wright (PR6) 15 laps in 20m 13.044s (65.83mph); 2 Tom Ashton (SR3) 20m29.054s; 3 Simon Dolan (SR3); 4 Paul Steele (SR3); 5 Richard Stables (PR6); 6 Darren Luke (PR6); 7 Darren Anley (Prosport); 8 Steve Burgess (SR3); 9 Gary Kane (SR4); 10 Dave Banham (SR4). Class winners: Ashton, Stables, Kane, Boot. Fastest lap: Wright 1m19.445s (67.01mph). 

RACE TWO

The final race of the season produced more than a few surprises as the long-term championship leader Jonathan Wright looked to make the most of a one point deficit over closest rival Richard Stables.

For the duration of the season both drivers have been remarkably consistent and it was to be the ultimate irony that both failed to finish the encounter, leaving the championship in the hands of the mathematicians. Simon Dolan scored his first pole of the year but failed to hold on to the advantage as he bogged down off the start, relinquishing the lead to Wright, who once again got the jump on both Tom Ashton and Simon Fish into turn one. 

Stables again suffered for his qualifying woes, starting a lowly 20th as a result of his second fastest time being his out-lap in qualifying. But this was not to be the worst of the challenger's troubles as the combination of a spin and engine failure sent him into the gravel at Tarzan on the second lap, resulting in the end of his challenge and a safety car period while the stricken PR6 was cleared. 

This left Wright needing only to finish to claim the overall honours, but with barely quarter of the race remaining disaster struck the Cambridgeshire driver as he suddenly slowed on-track allowing his eight second lead over Simon Fish to be rapidly eroded. "I developed an electrical problem that kept cutting my engine out," he explained.

With the championship at stake Wright valiantly attempted to coast round but eventually pulled off the track and into retirement when his wheezing engine finally gave in, but the result was enough to hand Wright the title by a single point. "It would have been nice to have taken the flag," he grinned. "But it's still a great result after a long, hard season."

With both title protagonists reduced to watching, the stage was set for a new star to shine and a close knit pack of Ashton, Dolan and Fish soon fought over the lead. The order was shuffled when Dolan and Fish made contact into Brook resulting in the Jota Sport driver spinning down to 11th.

The leading pair were soon joined by the hard-charging Steve Burgess, who hastily dispatched Fish to run alongside Ashton through Brook for the lead, his moment was to be spoilt however, when an ill-timed spin on the exit of the corner gifted the lead back to Ashton. 

This left two cars to duel for the final honours of the season, and they duly produced the spectacle of the race as a determined Fish closed in behind Ashton. A three second lead quickly wilted to barely a cars length until the pair ran two-abreast down the pit lane with only two laps to go. A heroic late-braking manoeuvre from Fish into Deene meant the two ran parallel into Yentwood before Fish finally found some grip on the outside of the circuit and shot ahead to take his first win of the season as Burgess recovered to secure third. A spectacular recovery drive from Dolan saw him into fourth by the finish. Gary Kane secured the Biduro class crown with ninth, and likewise Boot put the Clubsport category beyond reach with 17th.

Results:

1 Fish 15 laps in 21m 06.388s (63.06mph); 2 Ashton 21m13.611s; 3 Burgess; 4 Dolan; 5 Steele; 6 Nigel Morrison (PR6); 7 Banham; 8 Luke; 9 Kane; 10 Anley. Class Winners: Banham, Luke, Harwood. Fastest lap: Wright 1m 19.417s (67.04mph). 

Issued by Peter Scherer for Radical Sports Cars, September 29th, 2008.