 |
|
|
-
-
-
-
-
-
RACE NEWS 2006
Two new Cupra winners at Brands Hatch
Rounds 15 and 16 of the 2006 Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship saw two new names added to the list of race winners this season, with Alan Blencowe (Triple R) taking his maiden win in the first of the day’s races. A clearly rejuvenated Carl Breeze (Blue Chip/CMS), having changed teams and now run by CMS Motorsport, returned to the form he felt he should have showed all season, by winning the second race. Championship leader Mat Jackson (Whale Tankers/Jackson Motorsport) also built an unassailable points lead in the title chase and should be crowned champion at the final round of the series at Silverstone in three weeks’ time.
As the lights went out at the start of the first race, it was pole-sitter Blencowe who lead the field into the first corner but it was Mussi who made the best start, edging past second-place starter Jonathan Adam (Total Control Racing) into the first corner. Jonathan Fildes (Asgard Taverns/Total Control Racing) and Carl Breeze both tried to get up the inside of Jackson but were unable to make the move stick, Jackson retaining the fourth place he took from Fildes at the start.
At the front, Blencowe was already beginning to build a gap, unhindered by either having to attack or defend. At the beginning of the second lap, Ben Winrow (CMS) went wide at Paddock Hill bend and briefly onto the grass, losing two places in the process and dropping to seventh. Jackson meanwhile had closed onto the back of Adam but was aware that with it all to play for, a mistake could harm his championship and appeared to be content to settle for fourth place.
Behind them, there was a fierce scrap for tenth place, between Tim Bevan (WAAP Racing), Andrew Jordan (Codemasters/GVR), Harry Vaulkhard (42nd Street Realty/Triple R) and Richard Dawson (Triple R). Bevan ran wide at Paddock Hill and lost speed, allowing both Jordan and Vaulkhard to squeeze past at Druids hairpin. Vaulkhard then managed to get alongside Jordan as the pair entered McLaren and joining the start/finish straight, they were neck and neck, with Vaulkhard retaining the inside line, and taking the place, around Paddock Hill.
Back at the front, Breeze was now all over the back of Mat Jackson but by his own admission, wasn’t prepared to make any risky moves on the championship leader at this point. However, he was clearly pleased to be back on the pace, dicing with the title leader. As it transpired, he would finish just fractions of a second behind Jackson on a last-lap drag race to the finish line.
The drag for the finish came as a result of Fulvio Mussi and a broken steering arm on his car. He felt it begin to go three laps from the end and it finally failed as he entered Paddock Hill bend, one of the country’s most fearsome corners, on the penultimate lap. He showed remarkable control to keep his car on the circuit but on the last lap, he ran slightly wide and lost speed, allowing Jonathan Adam to snatch second off him on the line, by 0.01 seconds. Jackson and Breeze also had a hard charge towards the Essex youngster but weren’t able to get past in time. This all left Blencowe to take the win, with a 5.2 second gap between him and Adam.
As the lights went out at the beginning of the second race, it was Breeze who got the slightly better start from second on the grid and he drove round the outside of Adam, starting from pole, at Paddock Hill bend, claiming the position by the following corner. And despite pressure from Adam throughout the race, he didn’t put a foot wrong and took his first win of the season, to the delight of the crowd and his followers.
Behind Breeze and Adam, all eyes were on Alan Blencowe and Mat Jackson. Jackson had to finish ahead of Blencowe to build an unassailable points cushion and at the start, the cars were three abreast as they headed for Paddock Hill with almost no daylight between them. As they exited the fast corner, it was Jackson who had the advantage and Blencowe who was on the attack. However, as on at least six occasions so far this year, Blencowe proved in a championship where competition is so close, staying on the tail of the car in front is one thing but getting past is another altogether. Despite constant pressure and forcing Jackson into several small mistakes, it wasn’t enough to allow him to get past and keep his championship hopes alive to the final round. Blencowe does maintain his points lead over third-placed Adam though.
Fulvio Mussi (Total Control Racing) and Neil Waterworth (Total Control Racing) slotted in behind the Jackson/Blencowe battle and at times, Mussi looked as though he might be able to take a place from Blencowe but in the end, neither was able to get any closer to the battle ahead.
Behind them, the first lap saw Ben Winrow slide wide onto the grass at McLaren and as he re-joined, he T-boned the car of Jonathan Fildes. The ensuing damage ended Winrow’s race there and then and Fildes several laps later, with damaged suspension.
At the end of the day’s action, Blencowe said; “I got the best race start I’ve had this year for the first race and managed to stay at the front and out of trouble. It was a great race and the car was working perfectly. I really needed this result and I’m so pleased to get the race win at last. The car was also great in the second race and I was pushing Mat really hard, forcing some mistakes from him and hoping to capitalise on them. But as he was a bit slower, Fulvio was closing in and I found myself both attacking and defending. But I’m delighted with the win and also to maintain my gap over Jonnie [Adam] for second in the championship.”
Carl Breeze was understandably delighted with his weekend’s performance; “Now I’ve changed teams to CMS, I feel my confidence has returned. Before, with Edenbridge, I was maybe 50% confident and I didn’t look forward to getting out of bed on race morning. Now, I’ve got the spring back in my step and I’m back where I feel I should have been all season, fighting with the championship leader in the first race and beating the top three drivers in the second. I think a lot of people probably thought I’d lost it but it feels very good to be back at the front again.”
Championship leader Mat Jackson was also pleased with the weekend’s work, although he admitted it didn’t go exactly to plan; “We knew what we had to do this weekend and although Alan winning the first race wasn’t part of that plan, we have scored enough points to mean that we can’t be caught in the championship. I was happy with fourth in the first race, especially as we seemed to be struggling with pace a little this weekend, and Alan clearly had a very well sorted car. But now the pressure is off and we can go to Silverstone and push for two more race wins to add to our tally for this year, then celebrate.”
The final rounds of the 2006 Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship take place at Silverstone in Northamptonshire on 15 October.
<< Back
|
|
|
|