The final round of the 2024 season was held at the highly technical circuit at Cotswolds, on the weekend of 14th/15th September.
Two of the championships were still to be decided. It was forecast to be dry all weekend and the drivers were greeted by bright sunshine on Saturday morning. Set ups were tweaked and some ran in engines ready for race day. Sunday morning was a little cloudy but dry . The usual open practice was followed by driver’s briefing.
It was dry for all the four rounds of heats with most drivers gradually improving their times. The pressure was on to make the A final for those drivers contesting the top of their championship. At the end of qualifying the positions were as follows:
200mm Touring
TQ - Ollie Williams
2nd - Ollie King
3rd - Brent Jeffrey
220mm GT
TQ - Richard Kozakiewicz
2nd- Mark Boothman
3rd - Matthew Cook
Wide Touring
TQ - Jonathan Withington
2nd - Neal Wallace
3rd - Devendra Mahatme
GT8 Electric
TQ Mark Green
2nd Steve White
3rd Nigel Fox
Finals
B Final 1/10
Dev led off but was quickly caught by a charging Phil Edwards. Meanwhile some of the rest of the field were having mechanical issues . Phil was 3 laps up when a mistake resulted in a chunked tyre and a pit stop for a tyre change. That allowed Dev to retake the lead. Phil rejoined but was unable to make inroads leaving a consistent Brent to take second with Frank only 7 seconds behind , completing the podium.
1st - Devendra Mahatme (Capricorn)
2nd - Brent Jeffrey (Capricorn)
3rd - Frank Noel (Infinity)
A Final GT8 Electric
TQ Mark Green dominated all three legs emphatically taking the championship. Steve White took second in all 3 legs just ahead of Nigel fox. A podium lockout for Serpent !
1st - Mark Green (Serpent)
2nd - Steve White (Serpent)
3rd - Nigel Fox (Serpent)
A Final 1/10
This was another great final . In the 220 mm GT class any of Matt, Mark or Richard could take the championship depending on their the placing at the end of the final. In the 200mm Touring championship Ollie Williams had already cemented second place ahead of Ollie King . In the Wide Touring Jon Withington had TQ but that wasn’t enough to displace Neal Wallace off top spot, who qualified just behind Jon for the A main.
TQ Richard K took the lead with Mark and Matt chasing. Ollie Williams was also driving superbly on a similar pace. Unfortunately Mark drooped out after 46 laps ending his championship challenge. Ollie drove consistently to take third place by several laps. Meanwhile there was an intense battle between Richard and Matt who were lapping most of the field fairly regularly. Eventually Matt gradually reeled in the leader Richard and made a smart overtaking move. Richard kept chasing for the the last few minutes but just lost out by six seconds. The win also sealed the 220 GT championship for Matt by count back as both he and Richard finished on level points.
1st - Matthew Cook (Mugen)
2nd - Richard Kozakiewicz (Serpent)
3rd - Ollie Williams (Capricorn)
A great weekend’s racing with another close A Final .
The final championship positions are as follows:
200mm Touring :
National Champion Alex Thurston (Mugen)
2nd - Ollie Williams (Capricorn)
3rd - Ollie King (Infinity)
Wide Touring:
National Champion Neal Wallace (Serpent)
2nd - Jonathan Withington (X-Ray)
3rd - Devendra Mahatme (Capricorn)
GT8 Electric
National Champion Mark Green (Serpent)
2nd - Steve White (Serpent)
3rd - Bob Harley
220mm GT:
National Champion Matthew Cook (Mugen)
2nd - Richard Kozakiewicz (Serpent)
3rd - Mark Boothman (Shepherd)
Thanks to Muriel for running race control all weekend and to Bob Harley for supporting and encouraging the section so enthusiastically. The BRCA AGM is coming up in October where proposals are voted on, and the championship trophies will be presented. Attend if you can.