Dunlop Mk2 Golf GTI Championship Rnd 1 – Silverstone GP

The 2014 season is officially well underway as the Dunlop Mrk 2 VW Golf GTI Championship got underway…..

QUALIFYING After a hectic qualifying session, Jamie Martin must have been smiling heading into race 1 with a clear track in front of him from pole position, especially with a two second advantage over his closest rivals. Jason Tingle, Tom Witts and James Bark were in close company behind, no doubt scratching their heads as to how to eat into such a huge deficit. But qualifying is only half the story, and Jamie Martin knew that the rhythm of the race would be decided at the start. In the 8V class, Alex Nuttall would be leading away from Simon Tomlinson and Adrian Ward in a much tighter battle which was set to get interesting on the first run to Abbey.

RACE ONE

Tom Witts in his 16v led the opening lap starting from the second row, but he failed to make it any further in the race than that first lap, as mechanical problems ended an impressive opening gambit. So Jamie Martin assumed the lead ahead of James Bark, the trio having stretched away from Josh Johnson by over 6 seconds on the first lap. That gap doubled on the next tour but the 3 leaders never strayed more than two seconds apart. Jason Tingle found a way through into the podium places on lap three, claiming two spots in the space of one lap. He was able to peg the gap to the top two from there on, but unable to make much headway into the gap. Johnson dropped off his tail in third but managed to shake off Adam Hance, who had to focus on keeping Chris Skipp behind. Skipp got through and into fifth on the final lap and was able to stretch to a relative three-tenths in front at the flag. Andrew Aldridge was next on the road, despite having started at the very back in the 8v class. Aldridge made up 10 places on the opening lap and was embroiled in a fight with Alex Nuttall throughout the race. The latter had got the start wrong and dropped backwards off the grid, but his fightback was stunning to behold and he led on the penultimate lap, but Aldridge was able to take the class lead for his first win of the year. Nuttall also had the close attentions of 16v runner Chris Bagley at the flag, but he held on for eighth-on-the-road by just 0.064s.

16V Class:

1st Jamie Martin (#1)

2nd James Bark (#85)

3rd Jason Tingle (#65)

Fastest Lap: BARK (2:39.576 on lap 6)
8V Class:

1st 2nd 3rd Andrew Aldridge (#100)

2nd Alex Nuttall (#16)

3rd Simon Tomlinson (#40)

Fastest Lap: Adrian WARD (2:45.746 on lap 5)

RACE TWO

Jamie Martin had to deal with an even stronger assault from Bark than the earlier race. They lapped within 0.5s for half the race, until Martin was able to double his lead on lap four. Jason Tingle’s move into second was the decisive moment for Bark, as the ebb and flow of the pair lost the tail of Martin, and the leader was allowed to break free. Bark was unable to reply and finished in third behind Tingle a full 6 seconds off the lead, and to add insult to injury he received a five second penalty for exceeding track limits which dropped him further back on the timesheets. A contentious issue in motorsport in 2014, but neither his nor Aldridge’s penalty made any changes to the class positions. Adrian Ward came from fifth in the 8V class to take the win, 2 seconds clear of Alex Nuttall. He left it late, making the move for the lead on the very last lap and establishing a very close fight for the class championship ahead over the course of the season. Andrew Aldridge battled with Chris Bagley, despite being in different classes, but Aldridge was also handed a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits to move him behind Bagley in the overall results, but it made no difference to his class position and he was able to clinch third place in the 8V category regardless.

16V Class:

1st Jamie Martin (#1)

2nd Jason Tingle (#65)

3rd James Bark (#85)

Fastest Lap: TINGLE (2:38.445 on lap 3)

8V Class:

1st Adrian Ward (#88)

2nd Alex Nuttall (#16)

3rd Andrew Aldridge (#100)

Fastest Lap: NUTTAL (2:46.215 on lap 3)

So after two races, Jamie Martin has the psychological upper-hand in the 16V class, but he’d be the first to admit he can’t afford to ease up at any stage this season with the trio of speedy rivals chasing him so far. In the 8V class, you could throw a blanket over the battle for the championship as Aldridge, Ward, Tomlinson and Nuttall have all shown they could take the fight all the way to the season finale in October.

Next round of the championship – the paddock heads to Rockingham International on the 24th / 25th May.

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