MSVR's Donington Decider Sunday as it happened
Fenn and Wilcox take Lotus Cup UK 90 minute race in the dusk
7/10/12 - Rob Fenn and Adam Wilcox took a commanding Lotus Cup UK win in the dusk to end the MSVR Donington Decider weekend. Problems for title leaders Steve Train and Rob Boston keep the championship alive.
Fenn and Wilcox lead from the start, with Adrian Hall slotting in behind but losing time during the first stint. Liz Halliday lost third place to Marcus Jewell, who kept Hall in sight throughout the early laps.
The leaders waited late on to pit, with Wilcox handing Fenn a 45 second lead over Hall, who carried on until his engine started to smoke badly at the Old Hairpin. Meanwhile Boston led the Production race from Ken Savage and title rival Stuart Plotnek.
Hall's car rejoined but such was the leader's dominance that they lapped the entire field, now with title leader Train in second and Jewell third. Train then slowed with minutes to go, as Boston also suffered late woes. This left Hall back in second, with Jamie Stanley and Chris Randall nearly taking him at the line as they demoted Jewell in a breathless end to the race in the dusk.
Lotus Cup UK top six
1. Rob Fenn/Adrian Wilcox
2. Adrian Hall
3. Glenn Sherwood/Jamie Stanley
4. Campbell Cassidy/Chris Randall
5. Marcus Jewell
6. David Harvey/Brian Watts
Witt wins again, Johnston is GT Cup champion
7/10/12 - Derek Johnston took GT Cup Championship honours in a dramatic final race of the season, with plenty of twists and turns. Jordan Witt, meanwhile, claimed his third win of the weekend.
Once again Johnston took the early lead of the race and again Witt looked to have the measure of the Ferrari. Whilst he sized up his opportunity, Chris Bentley fought over second place in class with the Ginetta of James Barker.
The inevitable happened on lap three and as Johnston lost the overall lead, Bentley regained second in his class. Ironically just as Witt was having an effect on the top class battle, when lapping Group 3 leader Colin Broster, the pair almost tripped over each other, giving Bentley a chance of taking the class lead from Barker, who had got ahead of the Porsche once more.
Bentley took the class lead from the Ginetta but dramatically spun at the Melbourne Hairpin at the final time of asking. Witt took the flag but Johnson's second place gave him the championship.
GT Cup race three top six
1. Jordan Witt
2. Derek Johnston
3. Lee Mowle
4. Kevin Riley
5. Don Grice
6. David Barker
Allen takes consolidatory win in MINI Challenge season finale
7/10/12 - Lee Allen took a consolidatory win after his title disappointment earlier today, after rival Lee Pattison suffered problems on the penultimate lap. Fellow title contender Jono Brown also tasted the victory champagne in the Club class.
Allen made the perfect rolling start to take the lead as the field bunched into Redgate. With Pattison stuck behind Chris Smith and championship pressures removed, he charged off into the lead. Pattison took second at the end of lap two. Meanwhile Stewart Lines failed to complete the tour after falling off the road at Redgate.
Pattison then put the pressure on Allen, whilst behind Smith, Kevin O'Connor, Chris Smiley, Sam Osborne, Arthur Forster and Chris Panayiotou fought over fourth place. On lap six, Pattison made his move at the Melbourne Hairpin to take the lead and although Allen fought back, he couldn't regain the lead at Redgate. Two laps later he had another go and the pair ran side-by-side through the Craner Curves but Pattison was wise to the move. However on the penultimate lap Allen stormed through on the pit straight and with Pattison dropping back, the race was settled.
In the Club class, Jono Brown claimed some relief for losing out on the title with a win over Max Leaver.
MINI Challenge race four top six
1. Lee Allen
2. Chris Smith
3. Chris Panayiotou
4. Chris Smiley
5. Sam Osborne
6. Lee Pattison
Winrow celebrates Production BMW title with a second win
7/10/12 - Ben Winrow celebrated his Marangoni Tyres Production BMW Championship title with the final win of the year, in another close battle with deposed champion Mike Tovey.
Winrow and Tovey once again made the race their own, leaving former champion and series veteran Liam Crilly to head the rest of the pack. Harry Goodman and Tim Wilson then engaged in a three-way fight for the final podium position, which brought Jack Gabriel and Matt Parkes into play. Crilly would lose out, falling to seventh place, before rallying to claim sixth at the flag.
Goodman and Wilson disputed the final podium place on the final lap, as Winrow held off Tovey to the end of the race.
Marangoni Tyres Production BMW Championship race two top six
1. Ben Winrow
2. Mike Tovey
3. Harry Goodman
4. Tim Wilson
5. Jack Gabriel
6. Liam Crilly
Cummings and Ellis take SR3 double in Radical European Masters
7/10/12 - Andy Cummings and Bradley Ellis have won their second Radical European Masters SR3 race of the weekend with a commanding lights-to-flag victory.
Cummings and Ellis held the early lead in the Radical European Masters SR3 race from Timothy Lyons and Anthony Dunn, with Bradley Smith and James Abbott holding third place. The trio took command of the race but fourth-placed Roger Bromiley and Miki Esposito were holding back Jamie Stanley and Chris Headlam, who were showing a good turn of speed, plus several other crews.
Abbott took over the third-placed car as soon as the pit window opened, whereas the top two crews waited longer. Leaders Cummings and Ellis were in at the end of the window and returned comfortably in the lead. However Abbott was putting in his customary storming effort and was up to second with eight minutes to go. However a 13 second deficit needed to be overcome and he was only a second quicker than the leader. Sure enough the gap closed but the lead remained the same at the flag.
Radical European Masters SR3 race two top six
1. Andy Cummings/Bradley Ellis
2. James Abbott/Bradley Smith
3. Timothy Lyons/Anthony Dunn
4. Phil Abbott/Ben Anderson
5. Colin Noble
6. Roger Bromiley/Miki Esposito
Fenn and Wilcox claim Lotus Cup UK pole
7/10/12 - Rob Fenn and Adam Wilcox will start the final race of the weekend from pole position. The 90-minute Lotus Cup UK event will also have fellow Open class runner Adrian Hall on the front row.
Hall took the early advantage in qualifying, but his initial efforts were over a second shy of the morning's best effort. However the times quickly tumbled as Fenn and Wilcox joined in. In third place, albeit some way back, Liz Halliday was performing well, heading Simon Deacon, who had taken a trip through the gravel.
However Hall's car appeared to be running into troubles and returned to the pit garage for urgent assistance. Meanwhile championship leader Steve Train was enjoying a much more productive session and claimed third place on the leaderboard.
Hall returned to the circuit with six tenths to make up over the leading Fenn/Wilcox crew. However the gap widened and the Go Green Motorsport Elise retained pole position. Halliday reclaimed third as Rob Boston took Production pole in ninth.
1. Rob Fenn/Adam Wilcox
2. Adrian Hall
3. Liz Halliday
4. Steve Train
5. David Harvey/Brian Watts
6. Paul McNeily/BJ Chong
Pattison ends Allen's MINI Challenge hopes as Gilbert takes title
7/10/12 - Lee Pattison took a second MINI Challenge victory on the final day of the season, defeating Lee Allen once again and delivering a fatal blow to his championship aspirations as Henry Gilbert took another Club class win and the 2012 title.
Pattison took another early lead but this time Allen lost out ot Arthur Forster at Redgate. Allen claimed the place back when Forster ran into troubles but had by now lost valuable momentum to Pattison. The top eight began to pair up as the race progressed, with Chris Smiley and Chris Smith podium hunting.
Gilbert once again held command of the Club class race from Max Leaver and with Jono Brown not in contention it looked as though the category leader was heading for the title.
Up ahead Allen tried every move possible to claim the lead, frequently diving into Redgate only to lose out on the exit. Pattison looked to have an advantage at the halfway point of the race and he gradually eked out a lead over the following laps, which he held until the flag.
MINI Challenge race two top six
1. Lee Pattison
2. Lee Allen
3. Chris Smith
4. Chris Smiley
5. Sam Osborne
6. Stewart Lines
Witt takes commanding GT Cup win
7/10/12 - Jordan Witt has claimed a runaway victory in the penultimate GT Cup race of the season, with title contender Derek Johnston taking second place to keep his championship hopes alive.
Johnston made an assertive start to take the lead at the first corner, with Witt slotting in behind. Meanwhile Chris Bentley was running second in class from Colin Broster, leaving the title fight finely poised. But the Chevron looked threatening in the opening laps and Witt was through on lap three.
Witt's laptimes were considerably quicker than Johnston's and he soon pulled out a fair gap to the Ferrari. However Bentley's Porsche was even further behind Broster's example, so the honours remained even in the title race. Kevin Riley completed the podium in his Mosler, which just kept ahead of Lee Mowle's Ginetta.
GT Cup Championship top six
1. Jordan Witt
2. Derek Johnston
3. Kevin Riley
4. Lee Mowle
5. Don Grice
6. Colin Broster
Winrow takes first blood in Production BMW title battle
7/10/12 - Ben Winrow defeats Mike Tovey to give him the championship advantage ahead of the final Production BMW race of the season later today.
Winrow and Tovey settled into their own private title battle as behind Matt Parkes, Harry Goodman and Stuart Waite engaged in a physical tussle for the final podium place. Waite fell pack into the chasing pack, led by Liam Crilly, so first and third places distilled into separate duels.
Parkes was looking set for a podium place but spun it away at the Old Hairpin in the final moments of the race. This promoted Crilly to fourth place, and just half a second away from the podium. Meanwhile Winrow held off Tovey to give him the advantage going into today's final race.
Maragoni Tyres Production BMW Championship race one top six
1. Ben Winrow
2. Mike Tovey
3. Harry Goodman
4. Liam Crilly
5. Stuart Waite
6. Jack Gabriel
Wells and Littlejohn hold out for Radical SR8 honours
7/10/12 - Tony Wells and James Littlejohn held out for victory in the Radical European Masters SR8 race, despite a late charge from James Abbott.
Wells and Littlejohn kept fellow front row starters Woodward and Kaiser behind after the rolling start and the two crews began pulling away from the Abbott/Shaun Balfe car.
The order remained the same after the pitstops but with Abbott now in the third-placed car, the top three drew closer together. Abbott took second place on his quest to win the race but with ten minutes remaining had ten seconds to make up. Within a lap he had taken nearly two away and by the finish just 1.3 seconds separated the pair.
1. Wells/Littlejohn
2. Abbott/Balfe
3. Chapman
4. Allos
5. Woodward/Kaiser
6. Hyman/Mortimer
Seldon holds off Catliff in Project 8 Racing Saloons
7/10/12 - Peter Seldon defeated Karl Catliff in the second Project 8 Racing saloons encounter. Once again the BMW M3s dominated at the head of the field.
Seldon led from the lights, with Cattliff and Mike Dugdale following. The leading two ran together as the race progressed, with John Willcocks best of the rest in the BMW 1-2-3-4.
Munich machines covered the next two in the order, with Roger Kneebone and Rick Kerry heading Don Hughes' Peugeot 306. However with Kerry experiencing car troubles, the French hatchback gained a top six place, with Jason Christie's Escort RS2000 following through.
Project 8 Racing Saloons top six
1. Peter Seldon
2. Karl Catliff
3. Mike Dugdale
4. John Willcocks
5. Roger Kneebone
6. Don Hughes
Fenn and Wilcox set early Lotus Cup UK pace
7/10/12 - Rob Fenn and Adrian Wilcox set the early Lotus Cup UK pace in the practice session ahead of today's 90-minute race into dusk, whilst Production title favourite Rob Boston was quickest in his class.
Guest driver Mark Speller was setting the early pace in Tom Chatterway's 2-Eleven from Exige Cup leaders Glenn Sherwood and Jamie Stanley, with race favourite and Open class runner Adrian Hall third, whilst Production title leader Rob Boston held fifth.
Stanley and then the Fenn/Wilcox Motorsport Elise pairing took over at the top of the times and with Hall speeding up, the two Open class racewinners were running 1-2. Boston is well placed for Production victory, with Ken Savage half a second off his pace. Supersport leader Steve Train was only eleventh.
Lotus Cup UK practice
1. Rob Fenn/Adrian Wilcox
2. Adrian Hall
3. Glenn Sherwood/Jamie Stanley
4. Tom Chatterway/Mark Speller
5. Simon Deacon
6. Mark Gooday/Steve Williams
Pattison takes MINI win, Gilbert stretches lead
7/10/12 - A highly entertaining battle between Lee Pattison and Lee Allen saw the former take the MINI Challenge win, despite a last lap in which the two fought tooth and nail. Henry Gilbert took the Club class honours, aiding his title challenge.
Allen outdragged Pattison into Redgate, however halfway through lap one Pattison took the lead. With Chris Smith and Arthur Forster were running side-by-side, the was action aplenty in the opening laps. Meanwhile in the Club class Henry Gilbert was leading Max Leaver, with title contender Jono Brown having to fight his way back up the field.
The race was neutralised early on with a safety car period and just over seven minutes remained at the restart. The two leaders set off into a race of their own, with Forster, Smith and Chris Smiley fighting for third place. Further back, Brown's pace dropped off and Gilbert just had to keep Leaver at bay. Allen made a bid for the lead on the final lap, the pair together through Redgate
MINI Challenge race two top six
1. Lee Pattison
2. Lee Allen
3. Arthur Forster
4. Chris Smiley
5. Chris Smith
6. Shaun King
Title contender Winrow takes Production BMW pole
7/10/12 - Ben Winrow will start today's first Production BMW encounter in pole position after a close qualifying session between the two title contenders.
Mike Tovey got his title bid off to a good start in qualifying with the early pacesetting time, with rival Winrow initially over a second slower in fourth. However Winrow picked up speed during the session and was soon lapping at front row speed.
Tovey meanwhile had dropped to third place and, the tables now turned, needed to find a second. Immediately he clawed back half of the deficit to return to the front row but his next effort yielded a mere tenth. With just one lap left in which to steal pole position, he was unable to improve any further.
Production BMW qualifying
1. Ben Winrow
2. Mike Tovey
3. Tim Wilson
4. Liam Crilly
5. Stuart Waite
6. Matt Parkes
7/10/12 - Several MSVR Championships will be decided at Donington Park today (7 October) on the final day of the MSVR Donington Decider Weekend. Follow the action live here.
The ever popular MINI Challenge will close another spectacular season with three drivers set to do battle for the overall crown in four sprint races. Lee Allen, who has been a force to be reckoned with in the top JCW Class, will be aiming to reel in two Club Class drivers Henry Gilbert and Jono Brown at the top of the standings. With 80 points up for grabs for race victories, the title battle could feature as many twists and turns as the Craner Curves.
Derek Johnston and Chris Bentley will go head-to-head for the 2012 GT Cup Championship over three races this weekend. Johnston, in his stunning Ferrari 458, has been one of the most consistent performers this season, but he only holds a slender nine point advantage from Bentley's Porsche 996.
Former Renault Clio Cup champion Ben Winrow and reigning Production BMW Champion Mike Tovey will continue their fascinating season long battle for the 2012 PBMW championship. The title race is delicately poised but with the series typical for bumper-to-bumper racing, anything can happen! Further tin top action will be provided by the Project Eight Racing Saloons, a series catering for production based cars constructed before 1994.
The penultimate round of the Lotus Cup UK Championship could also see a title decided. The Production championship is the most likely to come to a conclusion with leader Rob Boston only needing to claim nine more points than his rival Stuart Plotnek. Boston has also been the leading driver in the Elise Trophy and will be the overwhelming favourite, whilst Steve Train will be aiming to extend his Lotus Cup UK Supersport lead and perhaps score his first outright victory.
The Radical European Masters also has one round remaining after this weekend and just 11 points covers the top two crews as the quest to find Europe's best Radical racer builds towards its conclusion.
Tickets for the MSVR Club Car Championships at Donington Park today (7 October) are available on the gate for £15, with free entry for children aged 15 and under.
