Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup regular Michael Epps made a dominant one-off appearance in the Maximumgroup.net VAG Trophy this past weekend, winning three out of three races around the Silverstone GP circuit.
Returning to a track he competed on just two weeks prior in the VW Cup, Epps headed into the weekend aiming to get some more crucial track time in his Team HARD VW Golf as he continues to get to grips with tin-top racing after the transition from single-seaters.
In soaking wet conditions, Epps stormed to the top of the timesheets in qualifying with his first timed lap, his best time of 2m 42.594s being nearly three seconds fasters than his closest competitor – the first sign of the dominance that would continue throughout the weekend.
The opening race was won with ease, Epps pulling clear on a wet track to win by 25 seconds in just six laps, setting a fastest lap 1.9 seconds quicker than anyone else’s best. With a reverse grid for race two flipping the top ten though, it would be a tougher victory second time around.
A good start saw him rise from tenth to fifth before the safety car was introduced on track. With four laps to go at the restart, Epps quickly worked his way up to second, but had to wait until three corners from the end to pass his team-mate John Stevens in Team HARD’s new VW Passat.
Put third on the grid for the final race, Epps quickly assumed position at the head of the field and pulled clear by nearly 22 seconds as he capped off his treble win in style, completing a fastest lap hat-trick en-route.
“I’m really happy with that,” said Epps. “Not only did we improve our wet pace, but that last race in the dry showed where our race pace was relative to two weeks ago. It was great to stretch out a lead and get some good racing in too. Thanks to Team Hard Racing and Maximum Group VAG Trophy for an awesome weekend.”
Epps now returns to VW Cup duty at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium in four weeks’ time hoping for his best results of the season so far.
