It was an excellent turnout for Round 1 of the Clubman 3 series. We had 9 cars in the Mini-E class sporting some very impressive “Phat Bodies” Race Mini shells. The Clubman-E class had 14 contenders making it a very exciting night of racing. The track was a long and fast layout which promised to make the times very close.
QUALIFYING
Each round of the Mini-E class was TQ'd by a different racer. Dave Sedgewick was the early pace setter but James Herring looked to have a faster pace and would TQ round 2. However, when the grip hit maximum on round 3 it was Tom Berry who had both the pace and consistency to steal the top spot.
In the Clubman-E class, Ryan Keeton was in dominating form TQing all 3 rounds. The others weren't far away though, Robert Swallow, Phil Roberts, Lee Dyson and Keith Hardiman were all within a lap of TQ. The finals were going to be epic on this track layout.
FINALS
Mini-E B final was a lights-to-flag victory for Luke Wainwright, behind was a epic race long battle between the Father and Son Royston race team. George managed to pip his dad to the line by just a second. The Clubman-E C final was closer for the victory. James Gratton-Smith stole the lead in the first corner and never looked back. Calvin Hadley chased him the whole 5 minutes but could never get close enough to challenge the lead. Tony Matthews completed podium in third. The Clubman-E B final was a quiet one for a change, Richard Wheeler dominated the race, Chris Socks had great race pace but a few too many errors stopped his chances for the win. Denny Luke and Richard Varley had a great battle for third with Denny just managing to steal the final spot on the podium in the last few laps.
The Mini-E A final was a little messier than the A drivers would have liked. The front row pair of Berry and Sedgewick failed scrutineering checks meaning they had to start from the back of the grid. Off the line Herring held a short lead before a few little mistakes dropped him to third. Dave Underwood settled into the lead until a charging Berry slowly caught up to him. On lap 11 the pair tangled allowing Herring back into the lead. Berry then suffered a car failure and Underwood made a few mistakes allowing Sedgewick into second. For the second half of the race the positions never changed. In the dying laps the gaps tightened up for second with Sedgwick, Underwood and Steve Baggley all within a second of each other. But the time beat them all leaving Herring with a great win, Sedgwick in second and Underwood third.
The Clubman-E A Final had a disastrous start with a 4 car pile up on the first corner. The only car that escaped contact was pole sitter Keeton. He took full advantage of the chaos and had started to lap racers before the half way point. This left a great battle for second. Hardiman and Swallow were battling hard, so hard that they pushed away from Dyson in forth. The pair exchanged places throughout the race with some impressive overtakes. On the last few laps Hardiman executed a great pass on the top hairpin, Swallow tried to force his way back past but lost out with the wheel-to-wheel contact. He crossed the line in third with Hardiman second and an untouchable Keeton in first.
RACER OF THE DAY
Racer of the Day for us was Keith Hardiman. He did a solid job in qualifying to make the A and then really excelled in the final to a deserving 2nd with some of the best overtakes of the night.
THANK YOU
It was an excellent start to the series. The Mini-E class couldn't be any closer with all of the field showing A final potential. Although the Clubman-E was controlled by Keeton the handicap tyres should mix things up for round 2. We hope to see everyone back for the next meeting on 14 August. Also, please support our charity fundraiser by donating on this link https://www.justgiving.com/page/sheffield-rc-racing-ashgate. All £10+ donations have a chance of winning the Project Ashgate car which finished 4th in the Mini-E A Final.
