Last weekend we made our annual trip to Silverstone, for the penultimate round of the season. The Silverstone GP round always creates interesting racing, and last weekend was no different. With three classes and four championships across one grid, the stage was set for two thrilling races.
This late stage in the title race always adds to the excitement, as the championship battles begin to take shape. All eyes are very much on the prize.
270R
After making his 7 Racing 270R debut at Brands Hatch GP earlier this season, Alex Coombes returned to the grid at Silverstone. After securing a dominant pole position, Coombes went to enjoy a very successful weekend.
In terms of the 270R title battle, James Hall has been the man to beat all season long so far, and he was keen to enhance his advantage at Silverstone. Prior to this weekend, Hall was ahead by a somewhat significant margin, with Amanda Anderson second in the standings, before dropped scores.
As the first of two races began on Sunday morning, Coombes’ pole position start was the ideal advantage, as he raced away from those behind. After 25 minutes of action, it was Coombes who steered his way to victory.
Behind, the battle for second was far from easy, as Anderson, Hall and 7 Racing newcomer, Dean Burden tussled for position throughout.
Hall had looked set to secure another strong result and therefore strengthen his title charge, however after an incident on circuit, he was forced to pit and retire from the action just three laps from the end of the race.
In his absence, it was Burden who claimed second place, ahead of Anderson. Neville Sykes, who has been one of Anderson’s chief rivals on track this season, finished in fourth place, narrowly missing out on a podium spot, ahead of David Tonge, James McCullough and last year’s champion, Myrton Wood.
Onto race two and it was much of the same for Coombes. Starting ahead of the rest of the pack, he immediately raced into the distance, to eventually claim his second win of the season, and the day.
Behind, Burden soon cemented himself in a strong second place finish, immersing himself amongst some of the 310R drivers. With the top two positions confirmed, all eyes were on the final podium spot, as Anderson, Hall, Sykes and McCullough toured the circuit nose to tail for the duration.
Despite Hall’s best efforts, it was Anderson who claimed the final podium position, with Hall fourth, Sykes fifth and McCullough sixth.
310R
After making his return to the 310R championship last time out at Oulton Park, and claiming victory in the final race at the Cheshire circuit, all eyes were on Russ Olivant at Silverstone, to see if his name would top the results once again.
Following qualifying, it was a dominant start to the weekend, with Olivant on pole position, and wife Caroline Everett alongside in second place.
As the first race of the day began, it was clear we were in for a treat, as the 310R grid lapped nose to tail. As positions changed lap after lap, it was anyone’s guess who would cross the finish line ahead, as we enjoyed 25 minutes of high speed, close action.
Challenged by Stuart Bell, Olivant was pushed all the way to the chequered flag, with Olivant ahead over the finish line by just 0.7 seconds. Bell held onto second place, with Paul Goldstein in third. After lapping around fifth place for the majority of the race, Goldstein saw his opportune moment to claim third across the line.
Paul Sethi raced his way to fourth place, with Fraser Riddington fifth and championship leader Craig Denman rounding out the top six. Everett finished in seventh place after a hard-fought race.
A reverse of the top 10 following his race one victory saw Olivant start race two from 10th on the grid. Despite the obstacle in front of him, it wasn’t long before he was battling for success once again.
As the race began, it was Caroline Everett who immediately led the way, as Tim Steel, Paul Sethi and Stuart Bell battled it out millimetres behind. Despite being hounded by the trio in her mirrors, Everett held station at the head of the pack for a number of laps.
Before long Sethi progressed through to second place ahead of Steel, as the top three began to edge away slightly. Behind, Bell was soon under pressure from the chasing Scott Parker.
As the race progressed, there was a change at the head of the pack, as Olivant worked his way into the lead, challenged by Bell. As the pair squabbled, Olivant was soon able to break the tow, as he edged away to victory. It was all change behind on the final lap, however when the chequered flag came into view it was Paul Goldstein who finished in second place, ahead of Sethi, Everett, Bell and Steel.
420R
Prior to this Silverstone weekend, it was Jamie Ellwood who was leading the title charge, with Gary Smith second and Mark Stansfield third. However, with Smith absent from this weekend there was plenty at stake.
After a frantic qualifying session, it was Mark Farmer who claimed pole position, ahead of Stewart Calder.
Still with the championship title in his sights, Anthony Barnes was one of the drivers to watch in this first race. Starting fourth on the grid, Barnes had a good line of sight heading into turn one, however it would be far from easy to get ahead.
With the top seven separated by mere inches, the stage was set for a thrilling 25-minute encounter. Barnes, Mark Stansfield and Farmer battled their way to the head of the pack, disputing positions lap after lap. With JJ Magalhaes, Calder and Wes Payne in the mix as well, who would take the top three positions was anyone’s guess.
After 11 laps, it was Barnes who proved victorious, ahead of Stansfield and pole sitter Farmer. Magalhaes just missed out on a podium finish, to secure fourth place, ahead of Calder and Payne. Payne also secured the first 420R Sportsman victory of the day, triumphing over Tom Greensall and Matt Drew.
With a reverse of the top 10 deciphering the grid for race two, it was Mark Bennett who started from pole position.
As the race got underway, Bennett led the way, closely followed by Diogo Costa and Jamie Ellwood. By the end of lap one, it was Ellwood who led the way, chased by Stewart Calder. Before long all eyes were on Calder, as he made a bid for the lead, briefly passing ahead of Ellwood.
After starting further back due to his race one finishing position, Mark Stansfield was a man on the move, as he immediately started making progress through the top 10. After a few laps, he was right on the tail of the Ellwood-Calder scrap, burying himself in the thick of the action.
As Ellwood and Stansfield engaged in a full-on battle, the pair spent the second half of the race swapping places. As the duo scrapped, it allowed the remainder of the top 10 to latch onto their tails, making it a 10-way battle for honours. Silverstone often creates interesting situations on track, and with 10 cars nose to tail for the lead, anything could happen at this point.
Finally in the closing stages, it was settled that it would be Ellwood and Stansfield battling for the lead. Stansfield led the way on the final lap, however as the pair negotiated cars from other classes, Ellwood saw an opportunity to try and pass for honours. As the chequered flag came into view it was Stansfield who crossed the line victorious, just 0.192 seconds ahead of Ellwood.
Magalhaes held on for a third-place finish, ahead of Anthony Barnes, Calder and Mark Farmer. Wes Payne strengthened his 420R Sportsman title campaign with another victory, ahead of Tom Greensall and Tom Quarendon.
As we prepare for the final round of the season there has been a change across each of the championship tables. Mark Stansfield has now taken over the lead of 420R championship standings, ahead of Jamie Ellwood, JJ Magalhaes and Anthony Barnes.
Wes Payne is still leading the way in the 420R Sportsman championship battle, currently sitting fifth in the overall 420R standings as well. Peter Rimer is second, with Matt Drew in third place.
Craig Denman still leads the 310R title race, just six points ahead of Caroline Everett, with Tim Steel third and Paul Goldstein now fourth.
Amanda Anderson and James Hall have swapped places in the 270R championship standings, with Anderson now ahead. James McCullough is just behind Hall in third place.
There is still plenty to play for, and the stage is most definitely set for an exciting title showdown at Snetterton next month (20th-21st September). If you would like to join us on the grid for the final round of the UK championship, please head to our website to sign up – https://seven.racing/index.php/product/snetterton-300-uk-championship-race-entry/