James Hart wins the GT12 F1 League with two rounds remaining.
Ashley King qualifies in second place but falters in the final after putting the brakes on.
Darren Ford takes the lead by just a single point in the F2 League from Dan Sheppard in second place.
Chris Metcalfe is assured of winning the F3 League after taking another maximum points.
Harvey Forster dashes Roy Matthews hopes of drawing level at the top of the V12 Mardave league.

A tricky section of the track caught several drivers out in the first round of qualifying until they got the hang of it.

After three rounds James Hart was top qualifier on 37 Laps followed by an “in-form” Ashley King with 36 and Steve Donald, Dan Sheppard and Gareth Harold all on 35 laps.

Chris Metcalfe was the top F3 driver with Alex Forster second and Courtney Orme third.

In the club mardave class league leader Harvey Forster was best, over a lap quicker than Roy Matthews in second place.

The mardave final was first and with rounds running out Roy Matthews was determined to win and level the league scores with leader Harvey Forster. With just over a minute of the race remaining things were looking good with Roy having a three quarters of a lap advantage over Harvey. However some aerial acrobatics at the far end of the track left his car on its roof allowing Harvey to catch up and go on to win, extending his lead to two points. No pressure Roy but you need to win next week!

The GT12 C final was won by Jordan Leavis with Chris Metcalfe taking second place to give him a 100% record in the six rounds of the F3 league that he has raced in, Alex Forster was third.

Gareth Harold set the fastest lap time in the B Final but some consistent driving by Chelle Snowden won her the race, Gareth was second and Bob Harley third. Bob Harris starting from the back of the grid got the better of Mike Simpson to take fourth place.

Just the A Final to go and with Ashley King in second position on the grid expectations were high that he could beat Steve Donald and draw level on points for second place in the league. At the start everyone made a clean start apart from Ashley who’s car remained static on the grid. Some frantic marshalling eventually got the car going but by then a last place finish was looming.
James Hart won the race in style with Steve Donald getting the crucial second place extending his advantage over Ashley in the league. Ashley was seen later at race control consoling himself with the fact that he had a quicker best lap time that Steve!
Darren Ford and Dan Sheppard had a very close race for third place with Darren finishing just over half a second ahead to take the lead in the F2 League.

A super evening, although a couple of the league winners are now decided there is still a lot to race for with trophies for the first three places in each division. Should be an exciting final two rounds which will be held on the 17th and 24th April.

Remember next week is the Easter Trophy Meeting.

Ashley King closes to within three points of Steve Donald who remains in second place in the GT12 F1 league.
Darren Ford wins again in F2 but Dan Sheppard still leads.
Jack Walsh takes maximum points in F3.
Nathan Marshall won the club mardave class final, Harvey Forster is still the leader but now only by a single point from Roy Matthews.

A good evenings racing, James Hart was top qualifier and won the A final. After qualifying in third place Ashley King put in a great drive to take second place, seven seconds ahead of Steve Donald.

Both Dan Sheppard and Darren Ford made the A final, the race was close between these two with Darren crossing the line two and a half seconds ahead of Dan to score his third maximum points in the league.

Jordan Leavis just got the better of Bob Harley in the B final, Bob finishing second and Chelle Snowden third.

The C final was won by Jack Walsh, a convincing two laps ahead of Alex Forster with Courtney Orme finishing third.

Nathan Marshall was the winner of the mardave final, Roy Matthews made a challenge for the lead early in the race but eventually had to settle for second place ahead of Harvey Forster.

With six of the nine rounds completed and only the best six round scores to count the remaining rounds give the opportunity for discounting lower scores. Looking forward to some very close results.

A different track design to normal this week with a tricky bit near the to the drivers rostrum.

After the first two rounds of qualifying F2 league leader Dan Sheppard was under pressure down in nineteenth place after the wheels came off – well the rear axle actually plus other mechanical problems. He recovered well in round three but could not quite match the performance of Darren Ford who was best in F2 being sixth overall, Dan was seventh and Jordan Leavis ninth.

In the F1 league James Hart was quickest followed by Louis Parker and Steve Donald.

Chris Metcalfe was assured of retaining his 100% record in F3 with yet another good result, Jack Walsh was next followed by Ben Norris.

In the club mardave class Harvey Forster won round one, Roy Matthews won both rounds two and three to take pole for the final.

The mardave final was a close race between Roy and Harvey in the end it was a win for Harvey, extending his lead in the league and leaving Roy wondering how he can keep up with him next week.

The GT12 D final only had three drivers and it developed into a titanic battle between Jack Walsh and Benn Norris, the lead changed hands several times but it was Jack who was in front at the finish to take a well earned victory.

Guy Rogers was the quickest on the track in the C final but it was Mike Simpson who won, Guy being second and Bob Harris third. Chris Metcalfe finished fourth to be best in F3 yet again.

Darren Ford had a great win in the B final, Chelle Snowden took second place just over four seconds behind and Dan Sheppard was third.

James Hart was in excellent form in the A final, Louis Parker chased him for seven laps before retiring with mechanical problems and James went on to win. The usual battle between Steve Donald and Ashley King was exciting to watch with Steve getting the upper hand being just over a second ahead.

Just four rounds left to go in the league, Chris Metcalfe once again retained his unbeaten record in F3.
Dan Sheppard leads F2 but watch out for Darren Ford and Jordan Leavis who are not far behind.
Harvey Forster had a two point lead in the mardave league – can Roy Matthews squeeze a little more performance out of his car and overtake Harvey?

The drivers who braved the inclement weather were rewarded with an excellent evenings racing.

After the three rounds of qualifying James Hart was quickest followed by Steve Donald, Karl Norris, Ashley King and Louis Parker, these five drivers making the A Final along with Dan Sheppard.

In the Mardave class it was Harvey Forster who led the way, league leader Roy Matthews second and James Walker third.

In the Mardave A final Harvey was the runaway winner with some consistent driving, also setting the best laptime. Roy was giving chase until lap 17 when problems with his car forced his retirement which moved James Walker up into second place. The result means that Harvey is now the league leader, just a single point ahead of Roy.

Jack Walsh took the GT12 D Final just under two seconds ahead of Benn Norris after these two had a great race, Alex Forster was just a lap down in third place.

The C final saw Tom Sheppard build up an early lead starting from pole position, behind him the other drivers were evenly matched and as the race went on a great battle for second place developed between Bob Harris and Mike Simpson. Towards the end of the race these two were making up ground on the leader and Bob held on to take second place just 0.23 seconds in front of Mike. Kayleigh Knight with the second best laptime finished fourth, Chris Metcalfe being the top F3 driver retained his record of winning every round so far.

Chelle Snowden won the B Final, Jordan Leavis took second place and Bob Harley third.

Just the A Final to go with James Hart defending his unbeaten record and starting from pole. A fast and furious race this ran at a tremendous pace, the first four drivers all finishing on the same lap. Victory went to Louis Parker by the narrowest of margins 0.11 seconds also setting the fastest laptime, James finished in second place, Steve Donald third and Karl Norris fourth.

So Chris Metcalf is now the only driver to score maximum points in all four rounds of the league, lets see what happens in round 5 next week — No Pressure Chris!!!

A chance to have some fun this evening with no league points at stake but the possibility of winning a trophy.
Twenty drivers entered the event and they were grouped into five teams, the captains being James Hart, Louis Parker, Steve Donald, Mark Deacon and Gareth Harrold.
There were four thirty minute rounds using handout transponders which had to be transferred between the cars in each team during changeover windows in each round.

James Hart’s “Jesters” got off to a good start winning round 1, it was close though with Louis Parkers “Lions” in second place just three laps down and Gareth Harrold’s “Giants” taking third place. Steve Donald’s “Wonders” made a not so wonderful start being at the back of the field in last position, twelve laps down.
Round 2 went down to the wire, the “Jesters” recording another win after being chased by the “Wonders”, who finished just a single lap adrift, the “Lions” being third.
Steve looked to have coached his team to peak performance and the “Wonders” went on to win both rounds 3 and 4, however it was not enough to catch up with the “Jesters” who retained the overall lead with third and second place finishes.
The “Lions” took third place, Mark Deacon’s “Marvels” were fourth on tie break, having equal points with Gareth’s “Giants”

A great evenings entertainment, the leading two teams achieved a total of 746 with second place only 2 laps adrift with 744 – a very close result for 2 hours racing.

Trophies were presented to the winning team after all the equipment was packed away.

The winning team “James’s Jesters”

Finally, many thanks to Alister Hart on race control who kept everyone in order all evening.

The first of six rounds of this years superleague, the remaining rounds to be held in April, June, August, October and December with trophies at the end of the year for the top three drivers in each of the formulas.

Steve Donald made a good start winning the A final, as usual it was very close between Steve and Ashley King who finished second, Karl Norris was third.

Two F2 drivers in the A final this week, Dan Sheppard finishing in fifth place and Jordan Leavis sixth, Matthew McAdam being the next F2 driver with third place in the B final, just 0.3 seconds quicker than Darren Ford.

The C final was won by Peter Lax to be best in F3, Chris Metcalfe was second and Benn Norris third.

It was good to see six club mardave class drivers this week, Mike Simpson finished first, Nathan Marshall second and Harvey Forster third – well done Harvey!

Early days yet with five more rounds to go with the best five from a possible six to count.

James Hart’s evening did not go to plan, failing to start round one due to a motor failure. Steve Donald took full advantage to be quickest with Ashley King just over a second adrift and Karl Norris third.

Steve retained the lead in round two, James moving up into second position, Ashley third with Mark Deacon moving into fourth spot.

In the final round of qualifying James was back in top form to take pole in the final, Steve being second and Ashley third. Jordan Leavis put in an outstanding performance to be assured of a place in the A final by finishing fourth overall to be the top F2 driver, pushing Mark Deacon down to fifth place.

In F3 Chris Metcalfe kept his quest to keep his 100% league record intact by being quickest.

In the club madrave class Roy Matthews led the way.

Finals
Roy finished just under twelve seconds ahead of Harvey Forster to take the win.

In the GT12 D final Jack Walsh won a close fought battle with Benn Norris to win, Benn was second and Alex Forster third.

Bob Harley had a convincing win in the C final, Guy Rogers was second and Mike Simpson third.

Karl Norris was the winner of the B final and Dan Sheppard took second place and Gareth Harold third.

The A final finished in the starting order with James Hart winning, Steve Donald second, Ashley King third and Jordan Leavis fourth with Mark Deacon taking the last place.

In the GT12 F1 James Hart retains his 100% league record to lead with Steve Donald in second place being just one point ahead of Ashley King.
In F2 Dan Sheppard is the leader but Darren Ford is only one point behind him and Jordan Leavis in third place is only four points adrift after his maximum points this week.
Chris Metcalfe is the only other driver with a 100% record and has a four point lead in F3 over Benn Norris, Courtney Orme being third.

Don’t forget the first round of this years superleague is next week.

After the first round held last week James Hart, Dan Sheppard, Chris Metcalfe and Harvey Forster were all on maximum points, the question was could any of them maintain their record after this evenings round 2.

Qualifying
After the three qualifying rounds James Hart was the leader in the GT12 F1 class, it was close for second place though, Steve Donald being just 0.36 seconds faster then Ashley King.
Things were even closer in F2 with Darren Ford being best having a mere 0.15 seconds lead over Dan Sheppard, Stephen Deacon took third.
Chris Metcalfe had a two lap advantage in F3 over both Benn Norris and Courtney Orme.
Nathan Marshall took pole in the Mardave final, Roy Matthews was second and Harvey Forster in third place.
Visiting driver Alan Leighton finished 12th overall in his first race at the club.

Finals
As normal the mardave final was very closely contested, Roy Matthews and Nathan Marshall being locked in battle for the duration of the race, the result could have gone either way but it was Nathan who won, being just over half a second in front of Roy.

Only three of the five drivers started the GT12 D final but this did not detract from the race, Paul Carter was quickest on the track but Benn Norris won the race by just 0.23 seconds, Paul finished in second place and Courtney Orme third.

Jordan Leavis was in command of the GT12 C final from start to finish to take the win, behind him some great racing between Bob Harris, Mike Simpson and Chris Metcalfe. Positions changed several times during the course of the race wow was it close near the end, but for the second week running Mike finished ahead of Bob and Chris being fourth and best in F3.

After Darren Ford and Dan Sheppard being so close in qualifying we were expecting a similar result in the B final, however Darren pulled out all the stops to take a fine victory, Dan finishing in second place just ahead of Matthew McAdam.

With just the A final left could James Hart take yet another victory? The answer was a resounding yes, this time with a fastest lap of less than nine seconds. Steven Donald and Ashley King were left to fight for second place, a super race this with Ashley first to the finish a full second ahead of Steve.

So just James Hart and Chris Metcalfe left now with maximum league points, a good start but with the best six from a possible nine round scores to count there is a long way to go yet.

At the end of the evening there was a presentation for the previous league.
Winners of the major trophies were:-
Mardave Class    Nathan Marshall

GT12 F3              Kayleigh Knight

GT12 F2              Karl Norris

GT12 F1              Steve Donald

Chairmans Cup   Harvey Forster

There were trophies for the first three places in each league division – congratulations to all the winners.

The 2018 racing season got underway in anger with round one of nine rounds in the first league of the year, the best six round scores to count.

 Qualifying
James Hart was fastest with an impressive 38 laps. Karl Norris, Ashley King and Steve Donald were very evenly matched eventually finishing in that order for second, third and fourth places, just over a second separating them.
Dan Sheppard was the top F2 driver, Darren Ford being second and Jordan Leavis third.
In F3 Chris Metcalfe was a lap clear of Benn Norris and Courtney Orme.
Roy Matthews took pole in the mardave final ahead of Harvey Forster, it was close though with Harvey putting in the quicker lap time.

Finals
The mardave final was a head to head race between Roy Matthews and Harvey Forster with Roy having the advantage of starting from pole position on the grid. This proved to be a incredible race with only a few car lengths between them in the early stages, Roy then pulling out a few seconds lead only for Harvey to get to within 1/100th second on lap 12. It was neck and neck from there on, Harvey taking the lead on lap 13 and Roy chasing. With the finish nearly in sight and the pressure building Harvey’s lead was cut to just 0.33 Seconds at the end of the penultimate lap but held on to record a great win.

It was the GT12 D Final up next and following on from the previous race it was also a very close fought battle. Chris Metcalfe was the winner. Benn Norris took second place, Courtney Orme third and Jack Walsh fourth all less than three seconds apart.

Visiting driver Justin Heath had the fastest lap in the C Final but the winner was Tom Sheppard, Justin finishing second, Mike Simpson third and Bob Harris fourth.

Darren Ford won the B Final after a close fought race with Jordan Leavis who had the quicker laps. Bob Harley was third just a cars length in front of Stephen Deacon.

The A Final saw James Hart take yet another win with some fine driving. As in qualifying Karl Norris, Steve Donald and Ashley King had a tremendous race, they finished in this order but was so close with only 0.42 Seconds gap between them all.

A superb start to the new league with all the finals producing some fine, competitive racing with close finishes.

For 2018 the Spring, Summer and Autumn league scoring will be using the standard RC-Timing option with points being scored for the Final positions only.

See “Rules” section of website.

An ordinary club-night this evening prior to the clubs busy calendar for 2018 swinging into action next week with the start of the new league.

Qualifying
It was very close in the GT12 qualifying where Steve Donald was quickest, Ashley King and Karl Norris being just a few seconds down in second and third places.
Mike Simpson was best in the club mardave class and James Hart led the way in the LMP class by two laps, Louis Parker being in second place.

Finals
With both Roy Matthews and Harvey Forster having issues with their cars performance, Mike had a comfortable win in the mardave final.

Jack Walsh won the GT12 C Final after a great race with Benn Norris, Paul Carter having set the fastest lap finished third.

In the B Final Bob Harley was on pole but it was “Team Sheppard” who took control, Dan having an excellent drive to win the race with Tom finishing second.  Bob Harris was third pushing Bob Harley down into fourth place. Two Bob’s and two Sheppard’s in one race – all very confusing!

As expected the GT12 A Final was run at a fast pace with Steve Donald determined to make the most of being on pole position.  Another great race to watch this, Ashley winning to be “King” of the GT12 class, Steve second and Karl taking third place.

Just the LMP Final to go where James Hart and Louis Parker battled for first place, Louis set the fastest lap but James was the winner, Louis being second and Richard Parker third.