BRSCC Mazda MX-5 SuperCup Anglesey

BRSCC Mazda MX-5 SuperCup headed for Anglesey and Round 5 of the 2014 Championship last weekend (August 9-10) and it was all change at Anglesey. Words by David Chapman….

As the MX-5 SuperCup enters the second half of the season, the championship has been turned on its head. The top two points scorers after Snetterton, Mike Comber and David Chapman, are now both effectively out of contention for the title – Chapman withdrew due to financial constraints last week, while a technical exclusion in the first race at Anglesey has severely hampered Comber. With three rounds to go, the championship is now led by Abbie Eaton, who took dominant victories in all three races, followed by Tom Roche who moves up to second in the points ranking.

Race 1 on Saturday afternoon began with confusion after Liam Murphy’s car broke its differential at the start and was unable to be removed from the circuit, prompting a late safety car deployment which was not indicated to the drivers who rounded the final corner at the end of lap 1 to find the safety car stationary in the middle of the track. Fortunately they all took avoiding action, but the race was then stopped to recover Murphy’s car and reform the grid. Abbie Eaton made a quick start to take the lead and then proceeded to extend her lead throughout the race and win by over 5 seconds. Paul Sheard, who had been leading after the first start, held second place in the early laps before getting involved in a battle with Tom Roche and Mike Comber. As the race wore on, the field spread out, and it was Roche who took second place followed by Comber, Sheard and guest driver Anthony Nield. However, after post-race scrutineering checks, Comber was excluded from the results for using a non-standard gear lever, promoting Sheard to 3rd place. In accordance with MSA regulations, Comber is not allowed to drop this zero-point score from his final total, demoting him to 6th place in the adjusted points standings.

By Sunday morning, the weather had closed in and race 2 started in changeable conditions. Abbie Eaton, gambling on dry tyres despite the light rain, made another good start ahead of Tom Roche and repeated her disappearing act from race 1 to win by 7 and a half seconds, her lap times getting steadily faster as the damp track dried out. Tom Roche and Paul Sheard briefly fought over 2nd place but Roche broke away on lap 4 and took a comfortable 2nd place. Sheard was kept busy though, as Mike Comber carved his way through from 17th on the grid (with his car now compliant with the regulations) to reach 4th by the fifth lap. A 4-car battle ensued between Sheard, Comber, Matt Davies and Anthony Nield – all of whom had a chance to grab the final podium place – but Sheard fought hard to hold off their advances and claim 3rd place with all 4 cars nose-to-tail across the finish line.

The final race of the weekend turned out to be more processional than the previous two – Abbie Eaton dominated for the third time, followed home again by Tom Roche nearly two seconds behind. Mike Comber held third place throughout the race to take his only top-3 finish of the weekend, with Anthony Nield behind and Paul Sheard struggling with grip problems in 5th. Matt Davies, third in the championship, suffered a mechanical failure late in the race – his first non-finish of the year.

After her unrivalled performance – which included being fastest in every session, winning all three races, and leading every lap – Abbie Eaton has leapt from 4th in the championship to take the lead, just 6 points ahead of Tom Roche. 25 points further back is Matt Davies followed by Liam Murphy, who celebrated his 18th birthday during the weekend. Mike Comber and David Chapman have dropped to 5th and 6th due to their respective problems and are both more than 70 points down on the leaders.

The next round of the championship takes place at Oulton Park on August 30th, and grid sizes are expected to increase significantly with the return of several drivers who decided to avoid the long journey to Anglesey.

BRSCC Mazda MX-5 SuperCup Results:

Race 1 (14 laps)

1. Abbie Eaton 18m47.612s (69.27 mph)

2. Tom Roche + 5.835s

3. Paul Sheard + 9.791s

4. Anthony Nield + 10.276s

5. Matt Davies + 11.020s

6. John Davies + 24.217s

7. Robert Way + 33.769s

8. Chris Lord + 34.213s

9. Steven Andrew + 46.915s

10. Geoff Gouriet + 1:00.972s

11. Adam Brindle + 1:04.926s

12. Garry Townsend + 1:07.335s

13. Julian Taylor + 1:09.293s

14. Simon Fleet + 1:10.400s

15. Jim Hart + 1 lap

DNF. Liam Murphy + 14 laps (differential)

DQ. Mike Comber Disqualified

Fastest Lap: Abbie Eaton, 1:19.924s (69.81 mph) on lap 4

Pole Position: Abbie Eaton, 1:19.660s (70.04 mph)

Weather: Sunny, dry

Race 2 (15 laps)

1. Abbie Eaton 20m26.542s (68.24 mph)

2. Tom Roche + 7.542s

3. Paul Sheard + 15.719s

4. Mike Comber + 16.002s

5. Matt Davies + 16.363s

6. Anthony Nield + 16.835s

7. John Davies + 21.824s

8. Liam Murphy + 31.136s

9. Robert Way + 31.526s

10. Chris Lord + 41.482s

11. Simon Fleet + 42.817s

12. Adam Brindle + 46.670s

13. Garry Townsend + 51.924s

14. Julian Taylor + 59.642s

15. Geoff Gouriet + 1:05.147s

16. Steven Andrew + 1:13.286s

DNS. Jim Hart Not started (engine)

Fastest Lap: Abbie Eaton, 1:20.456s (69.35 mph) on lap 8

Pole Position: Abbie Eaton (1st in race 1)

Weather: Showers, drying

Race 3 (15 laps)

1. Abbie Eaton 20m02.864s (69.58 mph)

2. Tom Roche + 1.713s

3. Mike Comber + 7.606s

4. Anthony Nield + 13.317s

5. Paul Sheard + 15.734s

6. John Davies + 27.096s

7. Liam Murphy + 34.036s

8. Chris Lord + 34.651s

9. Adam Brindle + 35.452s

10. Simon Fleet + 36.192s

11. Steven Andrew + 41.897s

12. Julian Taylor + 50.524s

13. Geoff Gouriet + 55.418s

14. Garry Townsend + 16.494s

DNF. Matt Davies + 6 laps

NC. Robert Way + 9 laps (not classified)

DNS. Jim Hart Not started (engine)

Fastest Lap: Abbie Eaton, 1:19.432s (70.24 mph) on lap 2

Pole Position: Abbie Eaton (1st in race 1)

Weather: Overcast, dry

Fastest lap is new lap record.

Championship Standings (minus 3 lowest scores)

1. Abbie Eaton 875pts

2. Tom Roche 869

3. Matt Davies 844

4. Liam Murphy 808

5. Mike Comber 800

6. David Chapman 776

7. Chris Lord 754

8. Simon Fleet 704

9. Robert Way 662

10. Paul Sheard 644

11. Garry Townsend 612

12. John Davies 600

13. Adam Brindle 554

14. Steven Andrew 530

15. Julian Taylor 528

16. Clint Bardwell 526

17. George Line 518

18. Darren Standing 502

19. Will Chappell 500

20. Jeremy Crook 408

21. Geoff Gouriet 390

22. Peter Gillatt 352

23. Nicola Gillatt 352

24. Justin Newnam 348

25. Jim Hart 324

26. Anthony Nield 278

27. Ray Worley 204

28. John Collins 128

Many thanks to P42 Racer David Chapman and images by Jonathan Elsey Motorsport Photography.

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