Liam Doran won qualifying for round 3 as several driver collided. O’Donovan and Godfrey made heavy contact in Q2 while Ide and Hill came together in Q1.
Liam Doran won every session to take the top spot in qualifying. The British Bomb was overtaken at the start in Q2 and Q3 but fought back to reclaim the lead each time. Andreas Bakkerud was due to race the car but wasn’t able to attend leaving Doran to race again. Just like the day before it was his teammate Enzo Ide in second place. Both him and Oliver Bennett finished first or second in each race with the Audi driver coming out on top twice. Mark Donnelly continued to reinforce his claim to the title by being best of the rest in fourth place.
Tristan Ovenden put in a consistent showing to take fifth overall. In his first Supercar event Hal Ridge claimed a remarkable 6th place after surviving contact with the barrier in Q2. Mike Sellar was next in his best run in his return to the series which included a race win in Q2. Julian Godfrey had a disastrous day which included several spins and a collision with Ollie O’Donovan. The reigning champion spun in Q1 three times. The first was in avoidance of Ovenden and caused a red flag. In the restarted heat Godfrey spun twice more after the front drive shaft broke.
In Q2 from last on the grid Godfrey got up alongside poleman O’Donovan. As the pair turned into the first corner Godfrey tried to back out of the move but made contact with the rear right corner of O’Donovan. The Irish driver hit the inside apex barrier while Godfrey went wide hitting Ridge. Both hit the barrier with Ridge completing a full spin though was able to continue. Godfrey and O’Donovan sustained more substantial damage and crawled back to the pit. However, on the exit of turn 1 O’Donovan turned away from the corner into Godfrey. It spun out the GB1 onto the infield who struggled back to the pits with a damaged front left corner from the first collision. O’Donovan was unable to fix the car for Q3 and finished qualifying in 11th place.
Image Credit: Overtake Motorsport
Dom Flitney was the last driver to start all three races and scored 9th place overall. He missed round 3 as he made sure the car was race ready on Saturday. Pat Doran struggled in each session with a lack of boost from the car. A loose airpipe caused the 4 time champion to lose power. Hill brought up the rear of the field after a collision in Q1. On the exit of turn 1 Ide ran up the inside of Hill. Unfortunately the pair came together with Ide drifting wide from the inside of the corner. Hill was spun across the nose of Ide and hit 2 apex barriers with the second briefly launching Hill into the air. The damage meant he wasn’t able to race in Q2 but made it back out for the final race.
Q1
Steve Hill held the lead from pole position with last on the grid, Liam Doran, slotting into second. Donnelly tried to go around the outside of Doran but had to back out on the wet loose section. Ide was able to go around O’Donovan in the joker lap to take 4th on the road with Pat Doran bringing up the rear out of the joker. Out front Doran looked to immediately overtake Hill and the pair went side by side into the Hairpin. Hill held the inside line with Doran going right around the outside to take the lead. Ide closed in on the Mitsubishi driver and took the inside line on the exit of Chessons. Ide then ran wide and made contact with Hill with the latter being spun across the track and making contact with the apex barriers. Hill was briefly lifted up but landed back on all 4 wheels. Doran held onto the lead ahead of Ide, Donnelly, O’Donovan and Pat Doran.
Ridge jumped his first ever supercar start and was given a penalty. Bennett fully utilized pole position in the second race. The Mini driver took the lead into turn 1 followed by Ovenden. However, the Citroen driver ran wide at the end of lap 2. Godfrey took evasive action to avoid Ovenden and spun, blocking the inside of turn 1. The race was red flagged. At the restart Bennett took the lead with Godfrey slotting into second. Ridge in his first supercar race tried to squeeze Ovenden on the inside but was forced to top into 4th. After the red flag Ridge had his penalty nullified. Sellar led Flitney into the joker lap and the pair dropped to the back. Halfway through the race Godfrey spun with a broken front drive shaft. He recovered back onto track but lost a significant amount of time. It was made worse when be spun again and dropped off the lead lap. Bennett held onto the win with Ovenden taking 2nd. Ridge made it third place with Sellar 4th. Flitney crossed the line 5th just behind lap down Godfrey.
Image Credit: Overtake Motorsport
Q2
Third place Ide made the best start and squeezed his teammate to take the lead. However, he ran wide at the Devil’s Elbow and let Doran retake the lead. Bennett led into the joker lap followed by Ovenden and the Mini driver set about third place Donnelly. The championship leader jokered on the next lap and dropped to 4th which released Bennett. When the leaders jokered Bennett split the Audi’s with Doran taking the win.
There was drama right from the start after Godfrey made a great start. The last place starter managed to get up the inside of O’Donovan into turn 1 with the pair coming together. O’Donovan slammed into the apex barrier with Godfrey hitting the outside wall and bringing Ridge with him. Ridge hit the tyres and spun 360 before continuing on. Both Godfrey and O’Donovan suffered race ending damage and dragged their cars back to the pits. On the exit of the first corner O’Donovan ran wide into Godfrey’s car with the 6 time champ spun onto the infield. Sellar was the only one to take the standard lap and come out unscathed. Pat Doran led Flitney into the joker lap on lap 1. The pair then set about chasing the leader. Sellar was able to hold the gap and when he jokered held first place. Doran finished second with Ridge managing to hold off Flitney for third.
Q3
Ide made the best start from the outside and cut across to lead into turn 1. Doran went in behind his teammate with Bennett going to the joker lap. Donnelly and Sellar followed close behind while Ovenden was in last as he followed Bennett into the joker lap. Doran jokered with two laps to go in a bid to get the lead back. It worked as when Ide jokered on the final tour he came out behind Doran. Bennett wasn’t able to challenge and took 3rd. Despite suffering a misfire for most of the race Donnelly held onto 4th spot. Ovenden was able to pass Sellar for a top 5 finish and 7th overall.
In the final qualifying race of the weekend Ridge led into turn 1. He was gifted the highest starting slot after poleman O’Donovan wasn’t able to repair his car for Q3. Steve Hill followed Ridge through turn 1 but powered past on the exit to lead. Godfrey led a slow starting Flitney into the joker lap and chased after the leaders. Once the top 2 took their alternate route Godfrey became the leader and set the 4th fastest time overall. Pat Doran was absent from the grid with a lack of boost in the car.
Feature Image Credit: Overtake Motorsport
