PRO SR3
RACE ONE
Lay and Valour Motorsport’s Daryl de Leon had managed to make an early break in the first race of the weekend, with 360 Racing’s Jason Rishover and DW Racing’s Ben Caisley soon making the break too.
But the safety car was soon in action and after five laps the race was red flagged. “I ran over some debris exiting Redgate, but didn’t know until the Old Hairpin that it had cut an oil pipe,” said Tim Gray Motorsport’s Jack Tomalin.
The oil had also claimed RAW’s John Macleod, his challenge on Andy Lowe ended with him in the gravel after finding the oil, where he was joined by North Motorsport’s Abdelmajeed Khateeb.
The restart was over 15 minutes and from lights out it was Lay from De Leon, Rishover and Caisley again, before a gap to 360’s Jacek Zielonka and Doris Motorsport’s Mark Williams.
The lead pair started to edge away after three laps, as Caisley began to press Rishover for third. Zielonka was also under pressure, as Williams began to threaten.
Fifth place was soon a five-car train as Zielonka’s defence held, as RAW’s Ben Stone and Valour’s Chris Preen and Haydn Chance closed in.
Williams was in fifth on lap five, but a lap later Stone was in the gravel at Coppice and the safety car was out again, leaving a three-lap sprint to the finish. “Daryl had a go at Redgate at the start, but he kept me on my toes and I just had to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes,” said Lay after taking the win by just 0.382 secs.
Caisley had managed to take third at Redgate just before the safety car, “but I over defended at the restart and Jason got me back on the Craner Curves,” he explained. “I got him down the inside and just held the line,” Rishover replied.
They had been side by side down the Craner Curves, which allowed Williams to challenge too. Rishover held the place, but Williams managed to sneak through at the Old Hairpin to seal fourth.
“I had a great restart, managed to get Ben and was closing on Jason too at the end,” said Williams.
Zielonka had held sixth until Redgate a lap from home, when Preen went by. Then a a trip through the Coppice gravel, promoted another four cars. Chance was next home as he headed a four-car train for seventh, from Lowe, DW’s Peter Tyler and RJ Motorsport’s Chris Headlam.
RACE TWO
Lay once again led from pole into Redgate in the first of Saturday’s races, with De Leon and Caisley close behind. Rishover was into fourth too at Preen’s expense, with Williams fifth on the Craner Curves, and as Lowe followed Preen slipped to seventh.
Caisley had briefly lost touch with the lead pair as he consolidated third, but had closed in again before De Leon spun at Coppice on lap eight and rejoined down in 11th place.
Rishover had managed to consolidate third, but in the duel for fourth Williams and Lowe touched at McLeans, which allowed Preen to rechallenge and Stone to join in too.
Williams then headed pitwards to retire after 10 laps, leaving Preen, Lowe and Stone to fight on.
De Leon’s recovery had just netted ninth from Chance when the safety was out again on lap 14, but back at the front Lay was perfectly poised to maintain his advantage as the green flag was waved.
Khateeb had fought his way up to seventh but had to give best to De Leon’s recovery into Redgate, which soon brought the reigning SR1 Champion onto Stone’s tail.
With Lowe and Preen still duelling for fourth, De Leon had seen off Stone on lap 20 and by the end of the lap De Leon was ahead of them both into the chicane, with Lowe having run wide at Coppice and skirted the gravel.
Lay and Caisley were home and dry, but De Leon had just a couple of laps left to reel in Rishover to complete the podium. It was nose to tail exiting the chicane as they started the penultimate lap. Rishover defended strongly at Redgate, but De Leon switched back to the inside and was ahead on the exit.
Rishover retained fourth, but both Preen and Stone closing in as they took the flag.
Tyler was seventh after Khateeb went off at Coppice, leaving Tomalin, Zielonka and the recovering Lowe to complete the top 10.
RACE THREE
The final race of the weekend was red flagged at the start, after chaos at Redgate. As De Leon challenged Lay for the lead, Caisley was into third from Rishover, but Zielonka had tapped Stone sideways and caused the field to concertina.
Stone, Williams, Macleod and Greenwood’s SR1 were all out, while others went for the restart showing battle scars.
As the lights went out again Lay and De Leon went side by side down the Craner Curves, before De Leon took the outside line to lead out of the Old Hairpin.
Preen had briefly managed to jump Caisley at the start, but Khateeb had touched the grass on the right, which speared him across the track to take out Rishover too.
The safety car was out again, but from the green flag the top four of De Leon, Lay, Caisley and Preen were in the clear, as Tyler was on Tomalin’s tail for sixth.
De Leon made his mandatory stop very early, which handed Lay the lead until he pitted, three laps later.
Once the stops were completed Lay had an increased lead over De Leon, with Caisley, Preen, Tomalin and Zielonka the rest of the top six.
But the safety car was out once more with an SR1 in the gravel at the chicane. From the green Lay increased his lead again with De Leon boxed in, but when Joyce’s SR1 spun at McLeans, Lowe had nowhere to go but the gravel after contact.
The race was red flagged with just over four minutes on the clock, but it was win number three for Lay as the top six all held station.
Tyler was just a fraction behind Zielonka at the end, while Headlam was classified eighth after Lowe’s off and Chance ninth, the final SR3 finisher.
After the race, Chris Preen recieved a 30-second time penalty for a short pit-stop, dropping him down to 11th place. This promoted Jack Tomalin to fourth and Peter Tyler to take the fangio trophy.
TWO WINS FROM THREE FOR MICOURIS
Theo Micouris made a dream start to his Radical SR1 campaign, taking three podiums in his RAW Motorsports/Hart GT run car, including a double win.
PRO SR1
RACE ONE
With Tom Wood’s Derby University car vacating pole when he pulled off on the green flag lap, James Ockenden’s Valour car took the early lead, before Micouris was in charge from lap two.
As the lead grew DW’s Oscar Joyce and Track Focused’s George Knutton closed in, before Joyce and Ockenden took to the escape road on lap on lap four. “It was a great scrap until we put each other off,” said Joyce.
“I was still looking for them in my mirrors, but I had a good gap,” said the victorious Micouris, while Knutton just held off the recovering Joyce for second. “I could see him closing and he pushed me to the limit,” Knutton explained.
Ockenden finally came home fourth, with Doris’ Alex Spooner and Track Focused’s Darren Knutton completing the top six.
RACE TWO
Micouris had the lead for the first five laps in race two, but once Wood had taken Ockenden for second into the chicane on lap two, the gap soon came down.
Once ahead Wood eased clear to victory by over three seconds, but Micouris retained solid second, having eased clear of Ockenden and Joyce’s duel for third.
Having lost the place on lap 12 Ockenden had two wheels on the grass down the Craner Curves as he rechallenged, but after the safety car intervention he lost out to both Darren Knutton and Spooner on consecutive laps.
Joyce retained the final podium place with Knutton, Spooner and Ockenden completing the top six.
RACE THREE
Micouris led the first 10 laps in race three until Wood made his move at Redgate. Wood then led until making his stop a couple of laps after his rival, but Micouris emerged well in the clear.
Joyce had established himself in third, with Ockenden fourth until he was forced to park his smoky car at Hollywood.
Micouris dominated the second half to take his second win of the weekend, with George Knutton, Spooner and Darren Knutton following, while Wood dropped to fifth. Joyce would have been sixth, but his spin caused the final red flag to end an action packed weekend.
Published by Peter Scherer for Radical Motorsport, April 3rd 2023.