It was time to get back on track last weekend, as we headed to Snetterton for the second round of the 7 Racing UK Championship calendar. By some miracle, we always manage to secure sunshine for Snetterton, and this year was no different. With four races and plenty of on-track excitement, it was a great weekend all round.
The 310R championship was first to hit the track this time around, with qualifying taking place on Saturday. As the field battled for supremacy, it was Russ Olivant who secured pole position, with Caroline Everett set to start alongside on the front row of the grid.
As race one began it was anyone’s guess as to who would come out on top. As positions changed throughout, it was Olivant who managed to retain his pole position advantage to triumph. With a comfortable gap of just over three seconds back to second place, Olivant’s nearest challenger was early championship leader, David Yates, with Allan Curtis completing the podium in third place.
After starting in third place on the grid, Tom McEwing finished fourth, ahead of Paul Sethi, with Everett completing the top six.
Saturday also played host to the 420R championship qualifying session. After missing the opening round at Silverstone last month, it was reigning 420R champion Anthony Barnes who secured pole position, with JJ Magalhaes lining up alongside. McMillan head honcho, Andy McMillan, made his long-awaited return to the track at Snetterton, qualifying in third place.
After waiting until Sunday morning for their first race of the weekend, the 420R drivers took to the grid, ready to battle it out for victory. After 10 hard-fought laps around the Snetterton 300 circuit, it was Gary Smith who secured top spot, just 0.029 seconds ahead of McMillan. Barnes finished in third place, with the top three separated by less than half a second.
Behind, Magalhaes and David Baldwin raced their way to fourth and fifth places, respectively, with less than one second covering the top five. Ben Gillias completed the top six on his return to Caterham racing, also claiming the first 420R Sportsman victory of the weekend ahead of Tom Quarendon in second and Mark Bennett in third.
As the 310R grid lined up for their second race, a reverse of the top 10 finishing positions from race one saw John Shiveral claim pole position, with Neville Sykes alongside in second place. Formerly a 270R competitor, Sykes had made the decision to upgrade to 310R ahead of this Snetterton weekend and was hopeful of a strong result courtesy of a front row start.
After racing nose to tail for 10 laps, the chequered flag crowned Olivant a double winner, as he raced his way through from 10th on the grid, this time just half a second ahead of nearest challenger Sethi. Yates completed the podium, and strengthened his championship charge in the process, with McEwing fourth once again. Harry Eyre claimed a strong fifth place finish this time around, whilst Curtis completed the top six.
Onto the final race of the weekend, and it was race two for our 420R drivers. It was Mark Bennett who claimed the coveted pole position spot this time around, with Caterham stalwart Carl Jones lining up alongside.
As the race got underway, it was clear we were in for another exciting 10 laps, as the field raced its way around the opening lap.
Before long, it was Wes Payne who had navigated his way through from fourth place on the grid, to be battling for honours with Jones. As the pair trailed one another towards the chequered flag, it was Payne who narrowly got the advantage to claim victory, just 0.2 seconds ahead of Jones. Barnes secured the third and final podium position once again, ahead of Magalhaes, Baldwin and Stewart Calder. Gillias once again claimed the 420R Sportsman championship victory, ahead of Tom Quarendon and Mark Bennett.
We now have a slight gap until the next 7 Racing UK Championship round, with round three taking place at Donington Park during 27th-28th June. There is still time to join us on the grid, for more details, or to secure your spot on the grid, head to our website: www.seven.racing or contact John Watts – tel: 01455 239900 or email: [email protected]. We’ll see you there!uk. We’ll see you there!