Reigning champion Steve Chaplin stormed into the lead of the 2011 Volkswagen Racing Cup with FUCHS Lubricants, the Beetle driver taking two wins around the Dutch circuit Zandvoort. Seventeen year old Zoe Wenham also impressed, taking her maiden series podium in race two.
Round 7
Kieran Griffin continued his good run of form by putting his Scirocco on pole. He got a great start to lead into turn one, but race control deemed it a jump start, giving him a drive-through penalty. He didn't get to chance the penalty though, when a crash on lap two when defending from James Walker saw his race over.
After a brief safety car period, it was Aaron Mason who held the lead in his Golf GTI, with Chaplin and Walker in close pursuit. A superb restart saw Mason pull a 2.7 second lead, but Chaplin closed the gap within two laps and made a move at the first corner, resulting in Mason running wide and losing places with a trip through the gravel.
This left Chaplin with a clear run to the finish for his second win of the season, 5.8 seconds clear of Joe Fulbrook, who worked his way up from sixth on the grid. Chaplin also played his 'Joker' card, giving him double points for the win. On his home circuit, Peter Lettinga put in his best performance of the year to take his maiden VW Cup podium.
Walker ended up fourth, with the impressive Wenham fifth, just ahead of Tim Snaylam. Mike Kurton brought his Scirocco home seventh, ahead of Thomas Wilson, Martyn Walsh and Nick Beaumont, taking the best result so far for the new Mk VI Golf. Simon Elliot in his Caddy took twelfth, with Mason ending up sixteenth.
Round 8
The reverse grid gave Snaylam pole, with the Golf GTI driver holding the lead for five laps ahead of Wenham. Behind, Fulbrook began his charge through the field, moving up to third, with Chaplin passing Lettinga and then Walker to take fourth.
Wenham worked her way into the lead on lap six, but the joy was short lived, with Chaplin working his way through a couple of corners later. Wenham pressured the Beetle in front hard, but couldn't find a way past, while behind a furious battle emerged for third between Snaylam and Fulbrook.
Chaplin crossed the line 1.5 seconds clear to take his second win of the weekend, while Wenham took second for her maiden podium finish in the VW Cup. Snaylam finished third for his first podium, with his points score boosted as he played his joker car pre-race. Fulbrook took fourth, ahead of Walker, Lettinga and Mason, who rose from the back of the grid to seventh. Griffin, Wilson and Kurton completed the top ten.
Provisional championship standings
1 Chaplin 376 points
2 Mason 306
3 James Walker 300
4 Fulbrook 268
5 Steve Wood 250
6 Lettinga 242
7 Snaylam 206
8 Wenham 198
9 Richard Walker 176
10 Wilson 166 etc.
