Race Report - Donington Park June 1st and 2nd 2019

REVOLUTION UK TROPHY  - Wheldon’s Revolution double

Donington hosted the first triple-header event for the Sports Prototype Cup. In the Revolution UK Trophy for the all-new carbon fibre Le Mans style prototypes, pole was clinched by Rob Wheldon, who switched from his Silverstone winning Radical SR3 for the Revolution A-One for this event.  Wheldon took the lead at start of race one, narrowly ahead of Revolution development driver James Abbott to secure a commanding win.

In race two, a rain shower before the start meant most of the grid switched to wets, but Abbott gambled on slicks. It was the wrong choice as conditions worsened and the former Formula 4 winner heroically kept the Revolution on the track for half the race before succumbing to the inevitable decision to switch to wets. James Taylor was the star of the opening laps, scything through the pack from 11th on the grid to take 2nd - and fastest lap, before his off at Coppice brought out the red flag.

The 50 minute finale also saw changeable weather, and once again Abbott took the slick gamble. At half distance, he was almost a lap down on the flying Wheldon, who was making the most of his Dunlop wets. Then, a dry line appeared and the top ten drivers were forced to make a tyre change. Abbott emerged in the lead and pulled away to take a stunning win. Wheldon, on fresh slicks, was the fastest car on the track, winning the B.R.M. Speed Award. Taylor also showed impressive pace in difficult conditions, the former Radical SR1 Champion taking second place.

BARC RADICAL SR3 TROPHY : Five winners from five races this year

Chris Preen led at the start, passing guest entry Joe Lock who had shown storming pace in qualifying. Preen was involved in a collision, cruelling dashing his hopes of victory with a damaged upright. This left the fast starting Jon Macrae in the lead, but he had to withstand huge pressure from Danny Kierle. This engrossing scrap came to an end when a sudden rain shower caused chaos and Kierle and 4th placed Mark Hignett fell victim to the greasy conditions. This eased the pressure on Macrae who took a well-earned first win. Kasper Jenson took a solid second place from Paul Pearce, who repeated his Silverstone podium result.

Preen leads Macrae , Hignett and Hale through the Craner Curves

The second race was very nearly payback time for Preen. He led commandingly in very treacherous conditions, pulling away from Macrae who was struggling with visibility issues. The man on the move was Dean Hale who caught Chris. The two battled hard, in a great demonstration of clean driving in tricky conditions, before Hale passed and pulled away to win. Hignett fought past Macrae to take the final podium spot.

In the 50 minute endurance race, it was third time lucky for Preen. Part of the lead battle throughout, he again had to withstand huge pressure from Hale and Kierle, ultimately winning by just 0.146 seconds after 39 laps of racing. Hignett claimed the final podium position after a strong drive, matching the leading pace on the drying track. Macrae should have been part of the thrilling lead scrap, but an off-track excursion cost him a podium result, but with the consolation of the B.R.M. Speed Award for fastest lap of the weekend. Joe Lock in the invitation class Radical PR6 was a star of the race. In the mixed conditions Lock demonstrated his pace by running at the front of the pack throughout.