Radical Cup UK - Silverstone Race Report

Qualifying couldn’t have been closer, with just 0.005 seconds separating RSR’s Littlewood and Valour Racing’s Max Van Der Snel.

Valour’s Jack Yang lined up alongside Forrest on the second row, while Fangio Trophy contenders Paul Denning and Andy Lowe shared the third.

“I went off backwards at 135mph at Copse into the gravel, but I got a good lap early on, my best ever around here,” said RSR’s Denning.

“I had a spin at Becketts too on my first flying lap, but think there is more pace to come,” added 360 Competitions' Lowe.

Next up was former Gulf Cup Champion George King, making his UK Radical debut, with RSR’s John Macleod beside him.

“It was building nicely and then the session was red-flagged,” Macleod noted.

Racing Rebels’ Rachel Robertson led row five in a newly rebuilt chassis following a testing crash, followed by North Motorsport’s Amir Feyzulin, RJ Motorsport debutant Matt Yard, and Radical Club racer Ross Board, also making his UK Cup debut.

RACE ONE

The opening race got off to a dramatic start as Littlewood edged ahead of Van Der Snel, only for the safety car to be deployed after Denning and King came to grief at Vale.

“My target was fourth, as I can’t get near the top three,” Denning explained. “They had got away, and I ran wide at Stowe. George got alongside into the Vale and I tried to dive back inside but lost it on cold tyres, spun, and he had nowhere to go.”

After four laps under caution, racing resumed with the lead trio, Littlewood, Van Der Snel, and Forrest, immediately pulling away. Yang ran fourth ahead of Lowe, Macleod, Feyzulin, Robertson, Board, and Yard.

Denning quickly recovered, passing Robertson on lap five before reeling in Fangio Trophy rivals Macleod and Lowe.

Littlewood secured a controlled victory by 3.684 seconds.

“The plan was to win and get out front from Copse,” he said. “Max was alongside until I went for the inside at Maggotts and held the lead.”

Van Der Snel finished second without challenge, while Forrest continued to struggle.

“I was close through Copse but couldn’t stay with him. It was so hard to close as you got into the wake and couldn’t challenge,” Van Der Snel said.

“I had better pace than in qualifying, but it’s impossible to close on such a high-speed circuit,” added Forrest.

Yang and Lowe followed, with Lowe taking the Fangio Trophy win.

“I was pushed wide a bit at the start by Paul and got close to Jack when he made his mistake at the restart, but I kept out of trouble,” Lowe commented.

Denning took sixth from Macleod with a late move.

“It was onto the Vale where I spun earlier,” he confirmed.

Robertson, Feyzulin, and Yard completed the top ten, followed by Board.

RACE TWO

Despite starting from pole, Van Der Snel once again found himself trailing Littlewood before the first corner.

“I tried to dictate the pace, but Marcus was ahead before Copse, so I had to do my best to close in again,” he said.

Littlewood’s advantage was 1.244 seconds by the end of lap one.

“A really good start,” he said. “I was alongside into Copse, he gave me room, and I just made sure I stayed within track limits.”

Forrest sat third once more, with Denning, Lowe, and James Winslow close behind. Macleod began to pressure Winslow for sixth as the front five settled in.

Behind them, Robertson was reeled in by the recovering Yang, while Yard pulled off a strong move on Feyzulin into Village to grab tenth.

As Winslow defended hard, a four-car scrap developed for sixth with Macleod, Robertson, and Yang all involved.

“I tried to go under him at first and nearly did it, then got him exiting Aintree—it was very tight,” Macleod said after passing Winslow on lap eight. Yang had already overtaken Robertson at Stowe a lap earlier.

Up front, it was another dominant win for Littlewood, who crossed the line 5.855 seconds clear. Forrest again took third.

“I caught Max a bit, but I struggled for grip the whole race. The tyre window just wasn’t predictable,” he explained. Denning held onto fourth, narrowly from Lowe.

“I relaxed too much and then saw Andy closing, but fortunately I had seen the last lap board,” Denning admitted.

“I maintained my place, stayed out of trouble, and closed on Paul at the end, but stayed focused on the Championship,” added Lowe. Macleod finished sixth, with Winslow and Yang still in close pursuit.

“Not my best, I was in the wrong gear at the first corner and the pack got me,” said Yang.

Robertson and Yard completed the top ten.

“I was so proud of my earlier move, but then I got a track limits penalty,” Yard confessed.

Feyzulin and Board rounded out the finishers, the latter spinning twice—“both in the same place.”

RACE THREE – ENDURANCE

Littlewood started the final race from pole after dominating both sprints—but his hopes were dashed with first-corner contact.

“I think Hamish and Marcus had contact and one of them was pushed into me. I was trying to keep it tight and made sure I didn’t give Marcus too much room, but despite the contact my car seemed OK,” said Van Der Snel, who led out of Copse.

“I was alongside Max into the corner, then felt contact behind me on the exit. I hit Max and spun into the gravel,” Littlewood explained after rejoining almost last.

“I was trying to stay close to Marcus, but when I got too close I tried to back out. I didn’t think we made contact,” added Forrest.

Macleod emerged second from the chaos, followed by Forrest and Denning. But within a lap, Denning and Lowe were pressuring Macleod heavily.

By lap four, Van Der Snel was over five seconds clear of Forrest, with Littlewood already back in the top six after overtaking Yang and then Lowe at Aintree.

Denning began sizing up Macleod just as Littlewood joined the fight, locking up heavily into Village in an aborted overtake.

Littlewood passed Macleod before the pit window opened. Denning was among the first to stop after a spin, while the top three waited until the final moments.

Van Der Snel rejoined with a massive nine-second lead and stretched it further to take victory. In a surprise twist, ex-BTCC driver Bobby Thompson, who took over from Yang, emerged second.

“It was a good result for us and the team, and nice to be back in a car sharing with Jack,” said Thompson.

“I planned to listen to the race on my way back to Heathrow and then see the podium on Instagram,” joked Yang, heading home to New York.

Forrest had to settle for third after losing second to Thompson with four laps remaining.

The race ended prematurely following a collision between Macleod and Lowe on the Wellington Straight.

“I gave Andy room exiting Aintree, but he ran beyond the kerb and we were side-by-side. He came across and I was off-track trying to get back on when we collided,” said Macleod.

“I got onto the back of him earlier but missed a gear. I went wide exiting Aintree, we were alongside, and then we collided,” Lowe countered.

The incident promoted Pinkerton, King/Winslow, and Robertson into the top six, with Lowe excluded due to the red flag.

Denning had crossed the line seventh but was excluded after multiple infractions.

“I had a spin after getting frustrated behind John, missed a yellow flag LED display, left the pits too early, and got a stop-go penalty,” he explained.

Macleod was still classified seventh and took the Fangio Trophy win. Yard finished eighth despite a first-half spin at Village, and Board completed the top ten.

Littlewood, however, was forced to retire after the team called him in with rear suspension damage sustained in the first corner incident. Feyzulin also failed to finish after unavoidable contact with Yard following the latter’s spin.

The final round of the Fine Cut Radical Cup UK will be at Donington (GP) over the weekend of the 20th - 21st September.

For those interested in participating, a range of arrive and drive packages are still available. These packages are offered by experienced teams in the paddock, and details can be found on the Radical Cup UK website – radicalcup.uk .