BRCA Touring Car Nationals – Report
This past weekend saw the popular south coast Adur circuit host round 2 of the BRCA 1/10 Touring car national series. Yet again this year the event was fully booked and the optional Saturday practice saw most drivers taking to the track to fine tune their setups. Raceday started overcast but the wind had died down overnight, releasing the car’s full potential. In the Modified class tyres again proved to dominate the driver’s strategy with defending champion Chris Grainger electing to sit out round 1 clearing the way for round 1 winner Olly Jefferies to take the first leg and then sit out round 2 himself. Chris took round 2 to even it up but Olly came back onto track to take the third leg and secure the pole. Alexander Hagberg took the final round to leave himself tied with Chris, but Chris took the second spot on the grid by virtue of a faster run time. 2016 Adur winner Elliott Harper lined up 4th on the grid with young Harley Eldridge 5th.
In the 2-leg finals Olly had the pace to hold the lead despite being pushed hard and take the overall win, ahead of Chris and Alexander who both held their qualifying positions with Chris making a vital last minute move on Alexander in the second final. With Olly Jefferies taking the first two rounds of the series with maximum points, another maximum points scoring finish at round 3 could see him wrap up the 2017 title.
In 13.5 Boosted tyre strategy again proved vital with four different drivers taking fastest times in round. Reigning champion Zak Finlay took the pole ahead of teammate Marcus Askell, both sitting out a round during qualifying. James Hart lined up 3rd on the grid ahead of young Daniel Blake and round 1 winner Darren Lee. The finals saw Zak take flag to flag wins with Daniel chasing him home in both legs. Adrian Bidewell returned to the series and stormed to the final podium position from 7th on the grid with two consistent drives.
In 13.5 Blinky, Eastbourne’s Tim Hancock posted the fastest times in the first two rounds and he decided to save tyre life by sitting out rounds 3 and 4. Shaun Batt made the most of this to set the fastest times in rounds 3 and 4, but Tim held onto the pole position for the finals by virtue of the fastest run time, set when the track was at its fastest early on in the day. Richard King secured 3rd place on the grid ahead of Glenn Westwood and round 1 winner Danny Booker. Tim’s decision to sit out the two rounds of qualifying proved to be an inspired one and took the win in both finals. Behind Tim the competition was fierce and the pace relentless. When the dust settled, Richard King’s consistency paid dividend taking second overall with Glenn Westwood taking the final step on the podium.
Source: BRCA [brca.org]
