Godfrey stayed in the lead of qualifying while Vitols jumped up to 2nd. After a change of timetable semi-finals will now be run.
Julian Godfrey won qualifying after a near perfect run of sessions at Pembrey Circuit. 2 seconds and 2 firsts meant he secured his first top qualifier spot in nearly 2 years. Roberts Vitols won Q4 to jump up the leaderboard from 4th to 2nd. He has set the fastest lap in every session so far but could only get a single fastest race time.
The Latvian demoted both Ollie O’Donovan and Steve Hill down 1 place. O’Donovan recovered from a mechanical issue in Q2 having won Q1. The 2007 champion will line up in second place of semi-final 1. Steve Hill finished 2nd twice yesterday and could have won had he realised Godfrey was going for an overtake. Only 5th in Q4 meant he dropped down 1 place in the intermediate standings.
The bottom 4 in the standings remained as they were heading into Q4. They were all in the first race which turned into a bit of a demolition derby. At turn 1 Roger Thomas and Tristan Ovenden collided which gave Ovenden a broken right rear, the car crabbing down the straight and into retirement. Within a lap Thomas’s front left was flat. The Welsh driver at his local track was able to finish without being lapped but it didn’t help him move up the points table. After that first lap contact his bonnet had flown off though with no obvious reason why.
Out front was Donnelly thanks to an amazing start. He was set to win until Derek Tohill closed in with a couple of laps to go. The pair made contact into the hairpin with Donnelly pushed slightly wide. On the exit the duo came together again with both sustaining damage to the respective rear wheels, both tyres now at an angle. Tohill had less damage and powered to victory with Donnelly close behind.
“I tried to rotate the car but he just stopped [on the outside]. Just a trackbar out of line.” Derek Tohill
It means Tohill is 5th in the standings ahead of Ovenden, Donnelly and the luckless Thomas is 8th. Semi-finals will now be run despite only 8 cars in attendance. All 8 will qualify for the final but championship points and starting position for the final can be gained or lost. In the title battle 5 drivers are within 5 points of the lead with O’Donovan out ahead. Ollie O’Donovan recently had a penalty overturned from Lydden Hill where he lost 10 championship points as a penalty. Both that and Roger Thomas’s 20 points deducted have been removed after a Motorsport UK tribunal.
Feature Image Credit: Overtake Motorsport
