JHR Developments continued their sensational 2021 form with rookie Matthew Rees taking his second win of the weekend at Snetterton ahead of Phinsys by Argenti’s Marcos Flack and rookie cup challenger Mckenzy Cresswell.
As the lights went out it was Rees that had another exceptional start as Oliver Gray stalled on the grid. Dougie Bolger had a wild spin on the exit of turn one and flew into the tall grass and out of the race. But it was a JHR 1-2 with Rees and rookie team mate Mckenzy Cresswell leading ahead of impressive Australian Marcos Flack, who’s been the class of the Phinsys by Argenti team this weekend.
Championship leader James Hedley was in fourth and being pursued by Abbi Pulling who was looking to turn around her disappointing weekend and championship to get some serious points on the board.
Further down the field we had Matias Zagazeta chasing Pulling in sixth place, and Roman Bilinski continuing the fly the Carlin flag in seventh place. Joel Granfors dipped a tyre on the grass on the outside of turn one but remained in eighth place as the Swede come under pressure from Arden Motorsport’s Zak Taylor.
Matthew Rees was now setting fastest laps as his lead built up, but a major incident occurred between Granfors and Bilinski as the Formula Nordic champion made a move on Bilinski and looked to clear the Carlin driver but the two connected wheels and into retirement, bringing out the safety car.
The biggest mover at the halfway mark was race two winner Georgi Dimitrov, who gained seven places and was running in the final points paying position in tenth place, an impressive opening weekend for the solo Richardson Racing entry after missing the season opener at Thruxton.
As the safety car came back in, it was leader Rees that bolted as positions were shuffling further down the pack, as Zak Taylor and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak locked horns for seventh place.
The battle for second between Cresswell and Flack was now reaching fever pitch as the two were side by side into Palmer corner, enabling James Hedley to make it three-wide but deciding against it as Flack claimed second place and split the JHR stronghold up front.
Abbi Pulling was now running in a strong fifth place and keeping tabs on Hedley with Matias Zagazeta in tow and looking very promising for Phinsys by Argenti – the Peruvian second year driver continuing to show strong intent in 2021.
But as the time wound down and the final lap started, it was rookie Matthew Rees that took his second win of the weekend and in dominant fashion, leading home Marcos Flack by almost four seconds and Mckenzy Cresswell in third.
Championship leader James Hedley came home in fourth place with Abbi Pulling and Matias Zagazeta in close company across the line in fifth and sixth. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak was in seventh with Zak Taylor in eighth, Joseph Loake in ninth and Georgi Dimitrov rounding out the top ten.
Round Six Classification
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Rees (R) | JHR Developments | 10 Laps |
| 2 | Marcos Flack (R) | Phinsys by Argenti | + 3.721 |
| 3 | Mckenzy Cresswell (R) | JHR Developments | + 4.247 |
| 4 | James Hedley | Fortec Motorsport | + 5.071 |
| 5 | Abbi Pulling | JHR Developments | + 5.618 |
| 6 | Matias Zagazeta | Phinsys by Argenti | + 5.769 |
| 7 | Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak | Carlin | + 6.050 |
| 8 | Zak Taylor | Arden Motorsport | + 8.972 |
| 9 | Joseph Loake | JHR Developments | + 9.537 |
| 10 | Georgi Dimitrov | Richardson Racing | + 9.828 |
| 11 | Oliver Gray (R) | Fortec Motorsport | + 11.506 |
| 12 | Roman Bilinski | Carlin | + 12.144 |
| 13 | Kai Askey (R) | Carlin | + 12.816 |
| 14 | Eduardo Coseteng (R) | Phinsys by Argenti | + 13.040 |
| 15 | Thomas Ikin (R) | Arden Motorsport | + 13.705 |
| 16 | David Morales | Arden Motorsport | + 15.116 |
| 17 | Joel Granfors | Fortec Motorsport | + 6 Laps |
| 18 | Dougie Bolger (R) | Carlin | DNF |
Championship Standings (Top 10)
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Hedley | Fortec Motorsport | 85 |
| 2 | Matthew Rees (R) | JHR Developments | 60 |
| 3 | Mckenzy Cresswell (R) | JHR Developments | 53 |
| 4 | Joel Granfors | Fortec Motorsport | 45 |
| 5 | Zak Taylor | Arden Motorsport | 34 |
| 6 | Joseph Loake | JHR Developments | 33 |
| 7 | Marcos Flack (R) | Phinsys by Argenti | 32 |
| 8 | Oliver Gray (R) | Fortec Motorsport | 32 |
| 9 | Matias Zagazeta | Phinsys by Argenti | 26 |
| 10 | Abbi Pulling | JHR Developments | 24 |
