Despite a weekend where all of the odds seemed to be firmly set against the 2014 MSA British Rallycross Supernational Champion Stuart Emery, he pulled off a spectacular performance to win his class from the back row of the grid, and earn driver of the day.
His win came as a shock to spectators and team members alike, as up until the final, it looked as though he was having real problems with the car.
On the Sunday, he had missed the first heat altogether, and then was forced to retire in the second, due to overheating issues. Nevertheless, Emery went into the third heat with an optimistic view, stating that this weekend was a ‘test run’ for the rest of the season, having already missed Croft.
Yet, again, whilst looking impressive at times, there was evidently something still missing, and Emery finished a disappointing sixth in the field. Undeterred, he and his team worked solidly on the car between the heat and the final, where Emery lined up in last place on the grid.
After an excellent start, by Chessants Drift, Emery had moved up into third place, whilst both Paige Bellerby and Tony Lynch had gone for the joker. The race was initially led by Guy Corner, but an issue with the car forced him out of the running. The lead was then taken by Mike Howlin, who Emery had tried to pass coming down the hill on the second lap, but Howlin shut the door on him.
However, he was not able to withstand the well-timed overtaking manoeuvre Emery made going up Hairy Hill on the third lap, and so took the lead. Coming out from his joker lap with a slight lead over Lynch, Emery drove hard for the remaining two and a half laps of the race, utilising the power that he and his team had worked to achieve over the winter, to take a stunning victory in the MSA Supernational Class, closely followed by Lynch, and Bellerby, who both drove fantastic races.
Despite Emery only seeing the event as a test run, he has admitted that he was ‘desperate to win’ at his first outing of the season, and now hopes that he can continue his good form at the next event on the calendar at Pembury in May.
