Reigning champion James Lay started the Silverstone weekend as favourite but was on the back foot from the start, failing to complete the lap in qualifying. “I got as far as Stowe and the drive unit failed,” he explained.
DW Racing’s Ben Caisley therefore secured pole, closely followed by ex F2 and F3 racer Hector Hurst on his debut with Scorpio, and Valour’s Chris Preen.
Preen’s challenge lasted until the first corner, where there was contact from behind with DW’s Andy Lowe. As Preen spun he also had contact with DW’s Peter Tyler, while RAW’s Alim Geshev took to the gravel to avoid contact.
With the safety car out Caisley led from Hurst, 360’s Jason Rishover, Doris’s Mark Williams and Valour’s Haydn Chance, with Lay already up to sixth.
The green flag was waved as they started lap three, but Rishover lost out. “I just lost grip at the restart and they came by,” he said.
Both Williams and Lay had gone by, “Jason hesitated through Maggotts and I got him onto Hanger Straight, then went side by side with Lay through Stowe,” Williams explained.
Caisley’s lead had grown, but Lay started to reel in second placed Hurst, while Williams and Rishover both consolidated, as Chance and Doris’s John MacLeod duelled for sixth.
Lay took Hurst into the Loop after four laps, but on lap eight Caisley suddenly slowed, “the actuator had gone and the gears wouldn’t engage,” he explained after heading pitwards.
Lay had the lead but after only one more lap the race was red flagged, with Austin Riley in the gravel at Maggotts.
From the back of the grid to victory by well over four seconds, Lay had dominated. “I had to take the inside at Woodcote to avoid the start incident, then followed Mark through. I thought maybe top five to be honest, so really pleased,” he said.
Hurst was delighted with second in only his second race in nine years. “I tried to get Ben before the safety car, but when James closed in I let him go,” he said.
Equally delighted with his third place was Williams, “I did think about trying to follow James after he got by, but I wanted to see the chequered flag, as it equalled my best result,” he explained.
Rishover retained fourth, but had MacLeod closing at the end, while Chance just held off TGR’s Jack Tomalin to complete the top six.
Lay and Caisley soon went clear in Sunday morning’s second race, while Hurst led a six-car train for third, from Tomalin, MacLeod, Rishover, Williams and Chance.
Into Brooklands on lap three, Tomalin was pressing for third, but his challenge, cost him a place a lap later as MacLeod got by.
After a brief safety car intervention, there were 13 minutes on the clock as the green flag came out, but for Tomalin it was race over. “It was a hectic restart and we were three abreast through Maggots. Chance spun and I had nowhere to go,” he explained as both cars were out.
It was comfortable win for Lay, as Caisley lost out at the restart, with an SR1 between them. “Quite straight forward,” said Lay. “Frustrating for me. Mark had a go at me from the restart, but I thought no way, but James got the break again,” Caisley added.
Williams was both surprised and delighted to be in third again, “the SR1 between us bunched it all up at the restart and I actually got a run on Ben. But we both went for the inside at Maggotts and avoided the contact and I was into third,” he said.
Hurst had also lost out at the restart but retained fourth, as both he and Tyler were threateningly close to Williams again at the flag, with Geshev completing the top six.
It was light rain for the final race of the weekend, but it soon got heavier after they went for a safety car start.
Lay led but Caisley was on the attack as soon as the race went live, sharing a couple of exchanges as Hurst looked on, from MacLeod, Preen and Rishover.
Lay was down to third, just before Caisley was first to make his stop, which left Hurst out in front. Preen was third, but 360’s Rishover and Jacek Zielonka both pitted from fourth and fifth after five laps, with Hurst, Lay and Preen following a lap later.
Once the stops were complete Preen was out in front, with Lay leading the chase, from Hurst, Zielonka, Caisley and MacLeod.
Conditions were making it difficult for any progress to be made. “I could see James in my mirrors, he was quick under braking but I didn’t really feel any pressure,” said Preen, after taking his first Radical win in the UK by 1.326 secs.
“The grip was on the edge, but I had a few sideways moments. Happy with that but it would have been nice to win,” Lay added.
Hurst held onto third, with Caisley taking Zielonka for fourth on the last lap. “It was really good in the wet, I could see Ben coming and then I made a mistake at Maggotts,” Zielonka explained.
“The success pitstop penalty did it for me,” said Caisley, who then received a pitlane speeding penalty too, dropping him to ninth, which left MacLeod and Chance to round off the top six.
Radical Cup UK - SR1
Championship leader Theo Micouris dominated the opening race of the weekend for RAW/Hart GT, with James Pinkerton and Derby University’s Tom Wood holding station in second and third throughout.
“I was caught up with an SR3 though for a while and had to let him by as it was getting stressful, “said Micouris.
Both Doris’s Shane Stoney and DW’s Oscar Joyce were delayed at the start, as their start caught the end of the SR3 incident.
Stoney soon had fourth sewn up, while Joyce retained fifth from Track Focused’s George Knutton. “I started well and then found an SR3 across the track. After a bad restart Theo was gone and I had oversteer and understeer in the same corner,” Stoney added.
Initially Micouris had the race two lead, but it didn’t last long. “I couldn’t change down into Club Corner and was stuck in fifth gear, so I just did what I could to get a finish.
Stoney had the lead from lap three, after an early duel with Wood, but was shadowed by Pinkerton in the works car, after his duel with Wood ended. “The front upright broke,” said Wood, after he went off at Luffield and brought out the safety car.
“That was lot’s better, I had to control the gap at the restart, as I didn’t want to be held up by any SR3’s,” Stoney explained.
Third place went down to the wire, George Knutton had managed to hold off Valour’s James Ockenden until the last lap.
“Onto the Vale I went up on George’s inside, I had tried at Brooklands but had to lean on it too much,” said Ockenden. North’s Ashley Gaunt and DW’s Sven Thompson had both gone through, before Knutton recovered to complete the top six.
Stoney finished third on the road after another duel with Wood, in a very wet finale, after Ockenden and George Knutton had taken their duel for the lead to the flag.
“I had the lead, but it was hard work, then George got me when I made a mistake,” admitted Ockenden. Knutton was first over the line, but he had missed his pitstop window, dropping him to last place.
But Ockenden had also picked up a penalty for a short stop, which handed Stoney the win. “I was challenging Tom and he went wide at the Vale, I got down the inside but there was a touch,” said Stoney, after it proved to be the decisive move on the last lap.
Micouris was classified third after a last lap exchange with Valour’s Kristian Brookes too. “That was fun starting at the back and with a 20 secs pitstop penalty. I had a touch with Kristian at Luffield and we were almost side by side over the line,” he explained.
Wood recovered in fourth with Ockenden dropping to fifth and Joyce rounding off the top six.