Four 5 minute qualifying rounds and an 8 minute final this week
Darren Ford was the fastest qualifier but James Hart wins the GT12 “A” Final
Nick Bruty takes over as division 2 league leader
Lee Bishop wins in the Mardave class by just 0.18 seconds in a tremendous final
Jake Galbraith closes Jenson Butlins lead in division 2 to just two points.

This was the penultimate round of the current Autumn league and with just the final round to go there were some significant changes to league positions as with the best six from eight round scores to count the drivers worst scores to date were discounted.

In the GT12 class James Hart is assured of the winners trophy as he now has maximum points in four of the rounds.
Darren Ford was again driving well this week and all the races were very close, Darren was quickest by 1.36 seconds in the qualifying to take pole position in the “A” final but James Hart was first across the finishing line by a margin of 1.07 seconds in a thrilling race.

Louis Parker won the “B” final with some impressive driving, being fourth fastest overall in the GT12 class, Mitch Howard was second and Nick Bruty took third place to move him to the top of division 2.

In the club mardave class final Lee Bishop and Paul Galbraith had a very close race and were two laps up on the rest of the field. Paul was in the lead for a large part of the race and looked to be on course  for ending Lee Bishops run of consecutive wins.  However a coming together with one of his two sons car (I won’t mention his name but I think he may have had a long walk home afterwards) let Lee back into the race and he went on to win by the narrowest of margins 0.18 seconds.
Not to be outdone by his dad, Jake Galbraith had an excellent race to finish in third place in the final and get within just two points of division 2 league leader Jenson Butlin – no pressure Jenson for the final round!

Lee Bishop wins again in the club Mardave Class
David Hall and James Hart finish first and second respectively in the GT12 class driving new Schumacher SupaStox GT cars.

Track
Three six minute qualifying rounds and an eight minute final on a fast track design this week.

Lee Bishop took pole position in the Mardave final after qualifying with 34 laps ahead of Paul Galbraith 33 and Jenson Butlin 32.
In the final Paul Galbraith was in the lead until the late stage of the race and Lee overtook to be first to the finish line three seconds ahead of Paul, both drivers getting 46 laps. An excellent drive from Jake Galbraith earned him third place on 44 laps.

In the GT12 class Darren Ford with 41 laps was the quickest in round 1 just over a second ahead of James Hart, with David Simpson and David Hall third and fourth both on 40 laps.
Round 2 saw James Hart reverse the positions by setting the fastest time on 42 laps just over a second better than Darren.
In round 3 James bettered his 42 lap time by 4 seconds to take the top qualifying spot with David Hall moving up into second place 0.42 seconds behind with Darren third also on 42 laps.
In the final James Hart and David Hall went ahead of the rest of the field and had a tremendously close race which was exciting to watch, James was leading up to lap 34 when David Hall took over the lead only for James to get back in front on lap 37. Some very close racing to the end with James maintaining his narrow lead until lap 53 when David Hall slipped past him to win by 0.68 seconds on 56 laps. – great race!
Darren Ford finished third and a fine performance by Chelle Snowden put her in fourth place – well done Chelle!

Louis Parker won the “B” final with 51 laps and Nick Wallace took fourth place and top division 2 driver spot by the narrow margin of 0.38 seconds ahead of Nick Bruty – that was close!

Graham Oxford was the winner of the “C” Final on 46 laps, Jack Cook was second with 44 and Alwyn Hodges third with 36 , Alister Hart took fourth place a further laps down.

Lee Bishop drives to victory in the club mardave class division 1, putting an end to Richard Parkers run of three consecutive wins.
Jake Galbraith reduces Jenson Butlins lead in division 2 by three points
James Hart continues to show everyone the way in the GT12 class
Courtney Orme takes the lead in GT12 division 2

Track
A tricky bend mid straight to catch out the unwary!

Lee Bishop set the pace in the mardave class by taking the top qualifying spot ahead of Richard Parker and then winning an exciting ten car final from Paul Galbraith who took second place one lap down. Could this be the start of a winning run by Lee or will the pressure be too much – we will see next week!
In division 2 Jake Galbraith and current league leader Jenson Butlin were very evenly matched, Jake being best qualifier just two seconds faster than Jenson. He maintained his advantage in the final to score maximum points and reduce Jensons lead in the league.

James Hart was unbeatable yet again in the GT12 class despite some serious challenges from the “Three Ds”, Darren Ford, David Simpson and David Statham – not forgetting Dave Tomlinson and Daniel Williams – “five Ds” ?
The “A” Final positions were the same as qualifying, reliability problems with Louis Parkers car put him out of contention and reduced his lead in the league to a mere two points.

Rob Hambridge was the best placed division 2 driver in qualifying but a good drive from Nick Wallace gave him the top position in the final.

Remember drivers you need to race in at least six rounds to stand a chance of winning the leagues.

Some good results from the leading contenders in the league this week
Richard Parker makes it three wins in a row to extend his lead in Mardave division 1
Jenson Butlin adds another win in division 2 to making it three out of four
Louis Parker still leads GT12 division 1 but others are catching up
Not to be outdone Nick Bruty has his third win in division 2

Track

In the Mardave class Richard Parker faced a serious challenge from Lee Bishop this week but in the end was top qualifier and won the “A” final for a maximum 41 points.
Joshua Gabraith was the top driver in “Team Galbraith” in the qualifying, better give his dad Paul a few lessons!, Joshua could not match Jenson Butlin however who was best qualifier in division 2 and also in the finals just one second faster than Jake Galbraith.

In the GT12 class James Hart was top qualifier again but things were a bit closer this week with David Simpson seven seconds behind. James duly won a very exciting final with another great consistent performance, David was two laps down in second place followed by Dave Tomlinson in third a further lap behind.
Chelle Snowden won the “B” final and Nick Bruty continued his fine run to be first division 2 driver and looks set for promotion to division 1 if he wins the current league. Courtney Orme added a useful 24 points to his league score with a good run in the final.

We are at the half way point in the league with four more rounds to go, don’t forget only the six best scores from a possible eight will count towards each drivers total score.

Richard Parker storms through the field to win the Mardave Final
Another good performance from Jenson Butlin assures him of the division 2 title
James Hart wins again, but Bob Harley leads the GT12 league with Louis Parker in second place and Daniel Williams third

Track
An open and fast track this week

This was the penultimate round of this years Superleague and set things up for an exciting final round on December 16th.

After being fastest qualifier by two laps in the club Mardave class Richard elected to start at the back of the grid in the eight minute final. This proved quite a challenge but with some great driving he eventually took the lead on lap 40 and went on to win with 44 laps ,just two seconds ahead of Mike Simpson in second position and Lee Bishop third one lap down. Great driving Richard, what about giving everyone a lap start next week!

Jenson Butlin was top division 2 driver being two laps clear of his nearest challenger Joshua Galbraith in the final.

In the GT12 class James Hart was in sparkling form and won the “A” final by two laps, David Simpson and David Statham had a good battle for second place with David Simpson eventually getting the upper hand.

The final round of the superleague looks like being very exciting with the winners of most of the classes being decided. Remember it is the best five scores from a possible six to count for each driver.

Mike Simpson leads the Mardave division 1 with 184 points (90%), Paul Galbraith is second with 172 (84%), Richard Parker 154 is third with 154 points (94%) and Lee Bishop fourth with 149 points (91%).
The winner will be from these drivers, Richard being the favourite on current form.

Jenson Butlin has a commanding lead in division 2 with 202 points (99%), Joshua Galbraith is second with 146 points (89%) and Roy Matthews third on 140 points (85%)

Bob Harley leads the GT12 class with 167 points (81%), Louis Parker is second on 139 points (85%) and Daniel Williams third on 137 points (84%)
The winner will be one of these three drives, I am sure it will be a very competitive last round in December, can Bob and Daniel take the pressure or will junior member Louis Parker win his first GT12 league?

Nick Wallace nicks the top place from Nick Bruty in the nick of time
Darren Ford finally beats his GT12 “A” final jinx
Richard Parker extends his lead in the mardave class
Jenson Butlin holds off a strong challenge from team Galbraith

Track

A joint Dave Tomlinson, James Hart and Darren Ford design.

A great evenings racing with some very close results.

In round 1 Nick Wallace and Nick Bruty had a tremendous battle in heat 2 of the GT12 class with only 0.64 seconds separating them, both drivers getting 34 laps with Nick Wallace leading.
In round 2 James Hart won heat 3 followed by Darren Ford with Daniel Williams just taking third place a mere 0.14 seconds ahead of David Statham with Louis Parker setting the fastest lap.
Nick Wallace had a convincing win in round 3 heat 2 to earn him a place in the GT12 “A” final.
After the qualifying Richard Parker was the top Mardave class driver winning every heat, Jenson Butlin had another good week to be top placed division 2 driver.
James Hart was fastest in the GT12 class..

The mardave final was a great race with eight cars on a fast track, Richard Parker won (again!), Mike Simpson was second and team Galbraith took third (Paul), fourth (Josh)and fifth (Jake) positions. A great performance in particular from Joshua – well done!
Chelle Snowden won the GT12 “B” final ahead of Nick Bruty and Graham Oxford.
James Hart seemed to be in control of the GT12 “A” final until a racing incident let Darren Ford into the lead and he took full advantage to win on 57 laps, James finished second with 55 and there was a fine race for third place by David Statham, Dave Tomlinson and Louis Parker – this being the finishing order with just 1.51 second separating all three of them.

James Hart wins again in the GT12 class
Richard Parker gains maximum points as Lee Bishop falters under pressure in the “A” final
Nick Bruty and Jenson Butlin both make it two wins in a row

Track

A combined James Hart and Dave Tomlinson production

Mardave Class

Some great racing in the qualifying rounds, Richard Parker being fastest on 34 laps with Lee Bishop and Mike Simpson both two laps down.
In division 2 things were very close between Jenson Butlin and Jake Galbraith, in the end both finished on 30 laps with less than two seconds between them.

The finals did not disappoint with a tremendously close race for second place in the “B” final between Jake and Joshua Galbraith, both finished on 26 laps with Joshua 0.13 seconds ahead – no Galbraith team orders here!
In the “A” final Richard Parker got away to a good start from pole position and soon pulled away from the rest of the field, Lee Bishop was second off the start grid but Paul Galbraith and Mike Simpson soon got past him. Lee chased hard for the remainder of the race but was unable to make up ground and had to settle for fourth place. Richard had a comfortable win, Mike was second and Paul third. A great drive from Jenson Butlin extended his lead in division 2.

GT12 Class

James Hart was again in invincible form on a fast and flowing track design, in the qualifying Darren Ford and David Simpson were closely matched, it was Darren who qualified in second place behind James with David third just 2 seconds adrift.
Everyone was treated to a great “A” final with all the cars lapping at great speed, James won with 38 laps, behind him Darren and David had a battle for second place and after several changes of running order David crossed the line just 0.36 seconds ahead of Darren. It does not get much more exciting than this!

Chelle Snowden won the “B” final ahead of Daniel Williams and Nick Bruty was third to get another maximum points to add to the one he got in round 1.

Robert Hambridge the club charirman presented the trophies for the 2014 summer league.

Mardave Club Class Division 2
Winner – Jenson Butlin

Second – Joshua Galbraith

Third – Jake Galbraith

Mardave Club Class Division 1
Winner – Mike Simpson

GT12 Class
Winner – Daniel Williams

Well done to all the trophy winners, note that there are now two divisions in each class for the current autumn league.

The wheels come off in qualifying for Lee Bishop but he tightens his nuts to win the Mardave “A” Final.

James Hart gets the best out of his his new Schumacher GT12 to show everyone the way.
Darren Ford finals jinks continues.

Track
A James and Alister Hart design this week.

This was the first round of the autumn league, there are now two divisions in both the Club spec Mardave class and the GT12 class to “Supercup” rules each with a winners trophy to be retained until the completion of the next league.

Mardave Class

Richard Parker was quickest in the qualifying as usual followed by Lee Bishop who had trouble keeping the wheels on his car, however an excellent drive in the final gave Lee a well deserved victory with 47 laps followed by Richard on 46.
Jenson Butlin made a great start to defending his division 2 league title with a maximum 41 points, the racing is very close in this division so watch out for Jake and Joshua Galbraith in the future rounds.

GT12 Class

James Hart was top qualifier and had an easy victory in the “A” final scoring 52 laps, his nearest challenger Darren Ford had to retire from the race due to mechanical problems. A good performance from Louis Parker earned him second place in the final with Nick Bruty third to lead division 2. Daniel Williams finished in fourth place but this was still good enough to put him at the top of division 1.

Note that although Louis Parker’s final result is correct, the individual lap times are not due to a problem with his transponder.

Team Parker continue their run of good form.
Lee Bishop wins the Mardave “A” final.

Racing in the opposite direction for a change this week proved more of a challenge to some drivers than others.
Richard Parker won all of the Club Mardave class qualifying heats and not to be outdone his son Louis was the top in the GT12 class with some outstanding driving – good stuff Louis!

In the finals Richard Parker retired from the Mardave “A” final on lap 23 and Lee Bishop went on to win with Paul Galbraith second and Mike Simpson third.

James Hart won the GT12 “B” final, Graham Oxford had a good drive to take second place ahead of Nick Bruty.

In the GT12 “A” final Darren Ford seemed to have the race in the bag until a loose transponder put paid to his chances, David Simpson took full advantage of the situation to win the race. Louis Parker was second and Bob Harley third, pushing Dave Tomlinson down into fourth spot – well done Bob!

Back to normal direction next week with the start of the autumn league, best six from a possible eight weeks scores to count.