Andy Scott took his Albatec Racing Peugeot 208RX to victory in the MSA Supercar Class during a thrilling day’s racing for all the classes at Round Two of the 2015 MSA British Rallycross Championship, held at the Lydden Hill Race Circuit in Kent.
In the MSA Supercars, the overall Heat wins were shared out between LD Motorsports Pat Doran and Julian Godfrey, who won Heats Two and Three overall to put himself on the front row for the Final. However Kevin Proctor and Andy Scott were on the pace during the Heats and despite suffering a puncture in Heat One, Ollie O’Donvan joined Godfrey and Scott on the front row.
Mark Flaherty progressed through the Heats to qualify for the Final on his return to BritishRX but retired after hitting the barrier during the first start and making contact with Kevin Procter in the third restart. Procter himself suffered starting issues in the Final with his Ford Fiesta.
Julian Godfrey took the lead of the Final at the fourth restart and was pursued by Andy Scott as seven cars made it off the line. O’Donovan and Belgian driver Jos Jansen were missing as the depleted field got away with Pat Doran slow to get away. However contact with barrier on the last lap saw Godfrey slow into Devil’s Elbow and Scott take the lead and the victory ahead of Godfrey, with Steve Harris taking third in his Citroen DS3 ahead of Andy Grant, Steve Mundy, Doran and Procter.
Scott was very happy with taking the MSA Supercar win, saying: “I thought during the final that second overall, was best we would do today, but Julian slowed going up the hill, and I had to try and pass him. It came off thankfully and we are delighted with the win.”
In the MSA Super National Class, it was Daniel Rooke who guided his Citroen AX to take his first victory in the A Final whilst others fell before him. Paige Bellerby was again rapid in her Lotus Exige and despite an off in Heat One as well as missing the Joker in Heat Two, she took victory in the B Final and thus qualified through to the A Final but several spins put paid to her chances of a win. Stuart Emery came second in his Peugeot after passing Croft winner Gary Simpson on lap 2 whilst Allan Tapscott guided his Vauxhall Corsa to third.
In the Retro Rallycross Class, Rob Gibson enjoyed a successful return in his Metro 6R4, taking a hard fought victory in the Final that at one stage saw victory being contested between Gibson, Ray Morgan in his Ford Escort and James Harrold in his Volkswagen Beetle. Gibson won two heat races to qualify for the Final with Morgan taking the third heat victory. However it was Gibson who won the Final ahead of Morgan and Lance Foster who took third after a late lunge on Morgan by Harrold caused the Beetle driver to spin out and slip down the order at the final turn.
In the RX150 Class, Marc Scott guided his Buggy to three race wins to qualify for the final where he took victory ahead of Chrissy Palmer and Steve Jones. BTCC star Tom Ingram enjoyed a good outing, taking two second places during the heat races before damage ruled him out of the rest of the days running. Murray Coulthard, Nephew of F1 Commentator David Coulthard, had a brief outing in Heat One before suspension damage ended his day.
The Super 1600 and BMW MINI Classes ran together with Croft Super 1600 winner Craig Lomax being joined in the category by Nick Potter and Mike Jones. Jones won the Super1600 class with Lomax missing Heats Two and Three due to engine issues, whilst Kris Hudson headed home David Bell in the BMW MINI’s.
The Hot Hatch Class saw Tomasz Weilgosz take the win in his Peugeot 106 against a horde of chasing Citroen Saxos. John Lyne took second place in a return to form after Croft whilst Jeff Hope-Davies was third in the category.
The MSA Junior Swift category was won by Drew Bellerby who battled throughout the Heats and the Final once again with Bradley Durdin and Jennie Hawkes. The three young drivers provided some good racing during the day.
The Suzuki Swiftsport category saw Croft victor Tristan Ovenden take his second win of the season ahead of a competitive field that comprised of fifteen entries and several different candidates for the win. Darren Scott took second place with Rob Maynard taking third place. Aiden Hills was a contender during the Heats on his return to the series but an early spin put paid to his hopes of victory. Andrew Hawkes and David Ellis completed the top five. Power Maxed boss Adam Weaver also impressed during his first outing in the class by almost taking a heat race win.
Round Three of the British Rallycross Championship takes place at Pembrey in Wales on 10 May.