Ten drivers lined up for the first Chase the event for CLUB level drivers with Scott Munday topping the times from the practice session with a 33.996. As we went into super pole single lap qualifying though some drivers found it hard to put in the perfect lap when it mattered.
Simon Rosendale managed the situation best claiming pole position with a 34.535 by just 0.029 seconds ahead of Matt McIntyre 2nd and Scott Munday in 3rd 0.105 from pole rounding out a very tight top 3 from qualifying. As the 45 min race got underway Rosendale made a great start from pole position and took advantage of the clear track ahead to initially pull almost 3 seconds clear in the opening stages as his rivals behind all scrapped for positions. Behind him Munday had moved past Mcintyre and into second and it wasn’t long before Mcintyre was demoted down another position to 4th as Gavin McCourty started to feel at home with his kart and start his charge was now up to 3rd. At this point Munday and McCourty were a little way off the leader but set about closing the gap and were lapping nearly 0.3 seconds quicker than the race leader at this stage of the race. Behind the front 4 there was an almighty scrap for 5th all the way down to 9th place involving Robert Smith, Rhys Gaughan, Nick Rush, Daniel Curran, and Luke pinder all bumper to bumper and trading places. Amazingly after struggling in qualifying and having to start 8th Smith had now cut his way through this pack into 5th and started to ease away. Another driver, Rush also was recovering brilliantly from his poor qualifying position of 10th and was now in full attack mode and up to 6th.Struggling to hold onto this group and slowly dropping back was Marc brooks in 10th place. Back at the front McCourty in 3rd was now the fastest driver on track and had pushed Munday up to the back of race leader Rosendale. Munday went for a move on Rosendale and the pair touched which allowed McCourty to take advantage and drive past the pair of them. From this point Rosendale was always in touch with the leaders but never quite had enough pace to launch an attack on the two in front. McCourty and Munday however traded places several times and were locked together until the closing stages of the race. Smith now found himself in a lonely 4th, with Rush now leading the pack in 5th, with Curran 6th, Gaughan 7th, and Mcintyre 8th all trying to find a way through. This battle really started to hot up as Curran desperately fought for a way past Rush who was now driving a brilliant defensive race. Curran lost out to Gaughan and Mcintyre as he tried a move round the outside of Rush allowing the pair through through. Despite trying hard for the remainder of the race he too had no luck and could find no way past Rush who was in a determined mood. In the closing stages Munday looked to have the advantage but McCourty was coming back at him and once again took the lead with a lovely out braking manoeuvre at the pits corner also forcing his opponent out wide and giving him the small break he’d been looking for. McCourty now set the fastest lap of the race with a 33.218 and looked like he had the race under control with Munday 1.2 seconds behind and Rosendale just behind him. But then with just a couple of minutes remaining the lead trio caught back markers and disaster struck Munday who collided with a slower driver and unfortunately aggravated an old rib injury and retired to the pits, promoting Rosendale back to 2nd and Smith 3rd at the chequered flag. Congratulations to Gavin McCourty who becomes our first CLUB ACE and wins free entry to next month’s event in his attempt to regain the prize. Next Month’s CLUB chase the ace will take place on Thursday 21st March. To book your place on the grid please contact the track or call 0844 998 0000