Mark Green retains BRCA 1/8th Circuit national title

With the season entering its final two races, the penultimate race of the BRCA 1/8th Circuit National Championship was at the Adur circuit in Brighton and this could decide the winner of the overall Championship in favour of Mark Green if he finished within the top 3. Current championship leader, Daniel Bancroft has had his best ever season with many consistent performances but Mark would overall him along with Tim Wood on best 6 of 9 scores to count.

Saturday was dry and allowed for a very productive setup day and a strong entry of 33 drivers was more than expected. Pace setter was Green with Capricorn driver Neil King the next best followed by Andy Hastings who in recent years has gone well at this track. It was also good to see Pete Hastings making a welcomed return and he was clearly on the pace to make the main final come Sunday. Tim Wood was a late arrival but was soon on the pace of the top drivers.

Sunday arrived with no hint of rain. Jumping to heat 4 and it was Chris O Donoghue who made the first impression with 20 Laps followed by Wayne Briggs and Ian Billet. Into Heat 5 and it was Green who recorded 22 laps and was in a league of his own with generally more steering, rear end grip and bottom end power than any other competitor. Tim wood was second and Andy Hastings third a full lap behind.

Round 2 and Serpent driver Steve Scott was quickest with Chris O Donoghue second all improving their previous times. Heat 5 and Green improved his previous TQ time with Andy Hastings just missing out on 22 laps to become his nearest challenger. Wood and North improved to guarantee main final spots at this early stage in proceedings.

Round 3 and Wayne Briggs improved dramatically to almost secure a main final position with Billett back in second. Heat 5 and again it was Green who recorded another 22 lap result but in a slightly slower time with King improving to move up the order.

The 4th and final round was soon up and in heat 4, it was Chris O Donoghue who recorded 21 laps to put him in the main final with Steve Scott also improving sufficiently to make the top 10. In heat 4, Green did the clean sweep of wins with another 22 lapper with King second but all had slower times.

Qualifying top10 result:
1. Mark Green – Serpent/Novarossi – 22 laps 308.00 secs
2. Andrew Hastings – Shepherd/Sonic – 21 laps 301 secs
3. Neil King – Capricorn/XRD – 21 Laps 304 secs
4. Tim Wood – Serpent/OS – 21 Laps 304 secs
5. Andy North – Mugen/Sirio – 21 Laps 308 secs
6. Chris O Donaghue – Capricorn/XRD – 21 laps 315 secs
7. Pete Hastings – Shepherd/Sonic – 20 laps 300 secs
8. Chris Simons – Serpent/Novarossi – 20 Laps 302 secs
9. Wayne Briggs – Serpent/RB – 20 Laps 302 secs
10.Steve Scott – Serpent/RB – 20 Laps 303 secs

The final started with no issues with Green asserting his dominance to pull out a lead over the hard chasing Hastings and Wood. King dropped down to fourth with North keeping a watching brief in fifth. Lap 15 and the first casualty was Hastings who had made a mistake and then had an incident with Woods who came off the better and continued in second. The race then settled down and the finishing order was as follows:

Final results:
1. Mark Green – Serpent/Novarossi  – 126 laps
2. Tim Wood – Serpent/OS – 123 Laps
3. Neil King – Capricorn/XRD – 122 Laps
4. Andy North – Mugen/Sirio – 120 Laps
5. Pete Hastings – Shepherd/Sonic – 116 laps
6. Chris O Donaghue – Capricorn/XRD – 115  laps
7. Andrew Hastings – Shepherd/Sonic –  114 laps
8. Steve Scott – Serpent/RB – 109 Laps
9. Wayne Briggs – Serpent/RB – 99 Laps
10.Chris Simons – Serpent/Novarossi – DNS

The win of round 8 allowed Mark Green to retain his national title. The final round will be at the Cotswold Track this coming weekend.

Thanks to Andy North for sending the report.