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Provisional final championship standings
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FENNYMORE WINS TITLE; GREEN TAKES HER FIRST RACE VICTORY
Graham Fennymore and Rachel Green(pictured leading right) rewrote the Caterham Motorsport history book this weekend (19/20 Oct), Fennymore becoming the first driver successfully to defend the Superlight Challenge title and Green taking the first race win for a woman at this level. Fennymore, the 2006 champion, added the 2007 crown to his CV on Saturday with a crushing 10th win of the season in the penultimate round of the Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge at Brands Hatch. It is Graham's fifth Caterham crown: he was Roadsport A champion in 2005, Superlight titlist in '06, and this season also netted the twin Eurocup Superlight Sprint and Endurance championships. He hopes his newest victory will open doors for him: "It's going to be an uphill struggle for me to finance my next step in racing... Hopefully this result will get me noticed and help someone to decide I'm worth a shot." Green's triumph came in Sunday's final round and was achieved by the smallest possible margin - just one thousandth of a second - to earn not only her first Superlight Challenge win but also the championship runner-up spot. Race 1 Though Rachel squandered her advantage with a slow start, she battled past early pacesetter Will Mitcham to take the lead on the third lap and held on in front for five tours until Fennymore, having picked off those who started ahead of him, latched on to her tail and then sped past through Paddock Hill Bend. Within a lap Fennymore had pulled a 1.3-second lead over Green and, though she gave chase for all she was worth, Rachel was unable to reel back the new champion. "I had to make a safe start," said Graham, "and pick my way carefully through the pack. Once I hit the front I gave it everything." Another who suffered problems in qualifying was Glen Denny, whose times were disallowed after his car weighed in light. Glen started from the back of the 20-car field but battled through to the top 10 by lap three and was on the back of the Mitcham/Peter Ratcliff battle for third by lap 12. Mitcham faded from the fight towards the end with gearbox problems and Denny moved ahead of Ratcliff 11 laps from home and held on in front - despite Peter smashing the circuit lap record in his pursuit - to take the final podium position. "It was very exciting," said Glen. "My tyres were worn out by the end but I managed to stay ahead." Ratcliff placed fourth ahead of Mitcham and championship returnee Charles Bateman, with Chris Bialan surviving a brief slide through the Paddock Hill Bend gravel, and a last-lap collision with Steve Ross, to take seventh ahead of David Knox, Chris Cappuccini, Andrew Beaumont and, enjoying his maiden Superlight outing, Simon Young. Stuart Dixon was the sole R400 runner; he took 14th. Race 2 That left Green on her own on the front row, but once again she fluffed her start, slipping to fifth into the first corner behind Denny, Ratcliff, Mitcham and Bateman. Fennymore joined in dead last from the pit lane. Rachel was soon on the move, liberating fourth from Bateman on the second lap and then leapfrogging both Mitcham and Ratcliff into Paddock next time around. Green was now right on Denny's tail and there she stayed - despite numerous attempts to find a way past - until the last few hundred yards of the race. Rachel got a superb exit to the final corner and dragged her car alongside Denny's for a photo finish. The timekeepers initially gave the win to Denny but, after the Clerk of the Course studied video footage, Rachel was pronounced the victor by all of 0.001s. An overjoyed Rachel said: "What a great race to end the season. I've been desperate for a win all year and to do it in the last race, and take championship second, is a dream come true. It was a great battle with Glen and he deserved to win just as much as me." "In my mind I won that," said a disappointed Denny. "I just don't know how Rachel managed to get alongside me at the end..." Green's victory was all the more remarkable for the fact that she had had to defend her second place in the closing laps from a determined Fennymore, who had battled up through the field and was looking to end his championship-winning year with a win. A badly worn rear tyre put paid to his hopes, however, and Fennymore had to settle for third, a gnat's whisker ahead of Bialan. Just seven-tenths separated the top four at the line. Knox faded from third towards the end but held on for fifth at the line, ahead of Bateman, Reed, Beaumont, Cappuccini, Ratcliff and Young. Dixon was the R400 class victor once more. Backers for Caterham Motorsport's UK and European race series include Bilstein, Brian James Trailers, Cheesman Products, Circuit Driver, Cooper-Avon Tyres, Demon Tweeks, evo, HSBC Insurance Brokers, Mitchell Cotts, Motorsport News, Stack and Steel Fabrications. Provisional results
- 2007 Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge Round 14 Brands Hatch
20 October
FENNYMORE TAKES NINE AT ROCKINGHAM Graham Fennymore edged to within a few points of claiming his second successive Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge championship title at the weekend (29/30 Sept) thanks to a brace of masterful race victories at Rockingham Motor Speedway. Fennymore led both races from lights to chequered flag to take to nine his tally of wins for the season. A handful of points from the two season-closing Brands Hatch races in three weeks will clinch the crown for the Ambitions Racing/Hyperion driver. His Hyperion Motorsport team-mate Craig Welsher made it to the podium for the first time at Rockingham, finishing second in both races to make certain of the team championship prize for his squad. Race 1 Rachel Green made a blinding start to lead Fennymore's pursuers initially, before Denny reasserted himself on lap two and pulled into a clear second. Glen was unable to do anything about Fennymore, who was pulling away in leaps and bounds every lap, but looked settled in second until the last third of the race, when Welsher, having disposed of Chris Bialan, moved past Green for third and set about closing down Denny's advantage. It was an impressive drive from Silverstone Scholarship winner Welsher, who narrowed a 3.3-second gap within four laps and then snatched second from Denny at the Deene hairpin with four laps to go. Fennymore's winning advantage this time was 12.3 seconds. "I got a good start and went out to find some clean air," said Graham, "after pulling a gap I could relax and concentrate on saving the car and my tyres while the others were fighting behind me." Welsher was delighted with second and his maiden podium: "It's been a long time coming and I'm very pleased for me and for Hyperion Motorsport. It was a really tough race, too." Expectant father Denny said his mind was on more important things; his third place was nonetheless a good result and was his fifth podium finish of the season. Bialan liberated fourth spot from Green six laps from home, with Rachel slipping back to sixth three laps later and handing fifth to Will Mitcham. Chris Cappuccini equalled his best result of the season with seventh (and might have finished higher but for an early collision with the car of Peter Ratcliff) ahead of Richard Reed, Andrew Beaumont, Steve Ross, Neil Hinson and Tilley, whose pole position did him little favours. Graham was swamped at the start and slipped to eighth on the opening lap, then spun to dead last on lap three. Bill Addison, Ratcliff and Ron Johnson completed the field. Race 2 Fennymore's getaway was aided by Green's relentless pursuit of Welsher, Rachel pulling ahead of the Hyperion man for a couple of laps at one-third distance before he reasserted himself and went clear, Welsher breaking Fennymore's day-old lap record as he went. Rachel soon after found her third place under attack from Denny and, in the closing stages, a battle royal ensued for the final podium spot, with Denny, Ratcliff and Bialan all taking an interest. Chris had battled through to the front after a first-lap delay when his car was in collision with that of Mitcham. Fennymore took the win by 3.3 seconds from Welsher and admitted it had been tough: "It was a much harder race for me - Craig was right behind me all the time." Welsher promised to give Graham another run for his money next time: "I will be giving it everything at Brands." Green held on for third and her seventh podium of the season ahead of Denny and Ratcliff, Peter just managing to hold off the determined Bialan on the final lap. Cappuccini won the battle for seventh ahead of Reed, Ross, Tilley, Addison, Beaumont, Hinson and Johnson. Mitcham was the only non-finisher, his car refusing to restart after its first-lap bashing. Backers for Caterham Motorsport's UK and European race series include Bilstein, Brian James Trailers, Cheesman Products, Circuit Driver, Cooper-Avon Tyres, Demon Tweeks, evo, HSBC Insurance Brokers, Mitchell Cotts, Motorsport News, Stack and Steel Fabrications. Provisional results
- 2007 Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge Round 12 Rockingham 30
September
FENNYMORE TAKES CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD AT CROFT Reigning champion Graham Fennymore eased into the lead of the Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge today (Sunday) after claiming another fine pair of race victories at Croft in North Yorkshire. Fennymore, who has now racked up seven wins from eight starts, was made to work hard in both races by Will Mitcham, who placed second in each.
Race 1 It was not until Peter Ratcliff and Glen Denny started to dispute second with Mitcham that Fennymore felt the pressure on him ease a little: "I was trying everything I could to get away," said Graham, "but nothing was working. Then Glen and Pete caught up with Will and that's when I buried all my efforts into pulling clear." The tactic worked and Fennymore's Ambitions/Hyperion Superlight eased away. Denny relieved Ratcliff of third place into the chicane on the 13th lap and, two laps later, moved ahead of Mitcham for second with a daring move into Clervaux. It all went wrong for Glen on the final lap, however: "My gearbox was starting to play up and I was concentrating so hard on getting it into gear that I forgot to brake for Sunny." Denny's Colards Motorsport car ran wide and gifted runner-up position to Mitcham's Taylor's Foundry Motor Sport-prepared machine. Will was 11 seconds adrift of Fennymore at the line, with Denny recomposing himself to retain third ahead of Chris Bialan, who put in a solid showing in the Team GB car. A mistake through Clervaux cost Ratcliff a couple of places mid-race; he slipped further back after colliding with Nick Payne's car and finished sixth behind Craig Welsher. Craig had made a blinding start to take up third on the opening lap but a mistake at Tower second time around dropped him back. Chris Cappuccini earned a season-best seventh spot, just ahead of Bill Addison, excelling on his home circuit. Andrew Beaumont and the sole R400 runner, Alastair Chalmers, staged an entertaining battle for ninth, with Beaumont pulling clear towards the end. Grahame Tilley took 11th and Rachel Green 12th after a pit visit to replace a damaged wheel. Joining Payne in retirement were Richard Reed, who outbraked himself into Clervaux and ended his race in a gravel trap, and Gary Halcrow, whose car suffered electrical problems on the opening lap.
Race 2 There were never more than four or five car lengths between Fennymore and Mitcham at any stage. "Again, that was like a tough qualifying session," said Graham. "I had no chance to relax, I just had to try to go quicker every lap. Great fun." The battle for third place went Ratcliff's way after Peter pushed Welsher back to fourth early on. Bialan had a go at bumping Welsher further down the order on the final lap but was repulsed; Chris finished fifth ahead of Green, Halcrow, Reed, Tilley and Beaumont, with Chalmers taking 11th and R400 class victory. Addison and Payne hobbled home 12th and 13th with sick cars, while Denny's hopes of another strong result ended in the gravel at Clervaux on the opening lap. He was joined in retirement by Cappuccini. Backers for Caterham Motorsport's UK and European race series include Bilstein, Brian James Trailers, Cheesman Products, Circuit Driver, Cooper-Avon Tyres, Demon Tweeks, evo, HSBC Insurance Brokers, Mitchell Cotts, Motorsport News, Stack and Steel Fabrications.
Provisional results - 2007 Avon Tyres Caterham
Superlight Challenge
Round 10 Croft 9 September
DENNY & FENNYMORE FIGHT TO THE FRONT AT SILVERSTONE
Glen Denny and Graham Fennymore shared the Avon Caterham Superlight Challenge honours at Silverstone at the weekend (11/12 August), claiming a win apiece in two hard-fought 30-minute epics. It was Colards Motorsport driver Denny's maiden UK Caterham win and reigning champion Fennymore's fifth of the season.
Race 1 Instead she was pursued by a gaggle of cars, Will Mitcham, Denny, Craig Welsher and Fennymore among them, and came under repeated attack. Denny made a dreadful start, negating his pole position advantage, but took little time in recovering. He closed on to Green's tail by the fifth lap and then managed to nose ahead for a couple of tours until Green fought back to the front. Fennymore, who had suffered all sorts of mechanical dramas in qualifying and who started 11th, crept slowly through the field to latch on to Green and Denny in the closing stages. Going into the final lap it was a three-way battle for victory. Green led across the line to lead into the final tour but felt comfortable letting Denny slipstream past into Becketts. "I knew that I could get Glen back later in the lap," said Rachel, "but unfortunately what I didn't realise was that half the field would try to follow him through." Green took to the grass in avoidance and lost several places. Denny, who claimed his first Caterham win in the Eurocup at Spa a week earlier, kept Fennymore behind to win by less than two-tenths. "That was awesome," he said. "I've never enjoyed anything so much in my life. A brilliant, clean race." Green recovered from her off to recapture third: "I'm absolutely gutted. I thought I had that one in the bag." Silverstone Scholarship winner Craig Welsher put in an appropriately impressive drive to take fourth, his best finish yet, ahead of Mitcham (who posted fastest lap despite having lost third gear), Nick Payne, Chris Bialan and Pat Gormley, who had run as high as third before spinning to avoid a collision with the battling cars of Fennymore and Bialan. Peter Ratcliff and Andrew Beaumont rounded out the top 10, with Alastair Chalmers getting the better of Stuart Dixon in the R400 class battle.
Race 2 With the advantage of a front-row grid slot this time around Fennymore surged into the lead past pole-position man Denny, who once again made a tardy getaway. Green and Welsher gave Fennymore no chance to make a breakaway, and Denny hauled himself back into contention by lap four. Fennymore was ousted from the lead only once, briefly by Denny at mid-distance, but had no chance of getting away from his rivals. "They seem to have found an answer to my pace," said Graham. "It's going to make for an interesting end to the year." Green appeared to have the measure of the reigning champion, slotting past Denny for second with five laps to go. "I knew where I could get Graham on the final lap," said Rachel, "and had it all worked out. Then I missed a gear and lost my chance." Thus Fennymore crossed the line a quarter of a second in the clear, with Rachel a tenth ahead of Denny, whose car was lacking straightline speed after an opening-lap clash blunted its pace. "It was a fantastic fight," said Fennymore, who moves past Green into championship second. Welsher lost touch with the leading trio towards the end but nonetheless kept ahead of Ratcliff for fourth once again, with Payne and David Knox overcoming Bialan on the final lap for sixth and seventh. Chris Cappuccini, Richard Reed, Grahame Tilley and Neil Hinson rounded out the top 12 and Chalmers regained the R400 class points lead with his class victory over Dixon. Among the non-finishers were Beaumont and Mitcham, both of whom were caught up in a first-lap crash triggered by an over-enthusiastic Gormley. Pat finished 11th on the road but was later excluded from the results. Backers for Caterham Motorsport's UK and European race series include Bilstein, Brian James Trailers, Cheesman Products, Circuit Driver, Cooper-Avon Tyres, Demon Tweeks, evo, HSBC Insurance Brokers, Mitchell Cotts, Motorsport News, Stack and Steel Fabrications.
Provisional results - 2007 Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge
Round 8
Silverstone 12 August
ANOTHER DOUBLE FOR REIGNING CHAMP FENNYMORE
Graham Fennymore gave a masterclass in race winning at Brands Hatch yesterday (Sunday), proving to all his Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge rivals that it will take an extraordinary effort to stop him retaining his championship crown. The 42-year-old Oxfordshire driver led the way for all but a few hundred yards for the Ambitions Racing/Hyperion Motorsport team. The only driver to put a nose ahead of Fennymore all weekend was new championship leader Glen Denny.
Race 1 There was plenty of action behind, however, as Denny's Colards Motorsport machine displaced Green from third and sparked a battle which would be maintained to the chequered flag. Will Mitcham and Peter Ratcliff meanwhile staged a spirited battle over fifth, swapping the position several times a lap. A spin at Paddock Hill Bend by Steve Ross resulted in his car coming to rest in an awkward position in the gravel trap, stopping the race five laps early. It mattered not to Fennymore nor those pursuing him in vain: Graham was nearly five seconds clear. Said second-placed Payne: "I'm very pleased with my performance and the car is absolutely on song now. Unfortunately Graham managed to open a gap on me at the start and after that there was no way to catch him." Green regained third place five laps from the end with Denny staying ahead of the battling Mitcham and Ratcliff to collect fourth. Will won the fifth position argument despite some intense pressure from his wily rival. Craig Welsher took seventh ahead of Pat Gormley, Richard Reed and Chris Bialan.
Race 2 The battle for second place was the main feature of the race, disputed by Green, Payne and two drivers making impressive maiden Brands appearances, Denny and Reid. Rachel liberated second from Denny on lap two but later had it taken from her by Payne; she had to fight back past the Londoner six laps from the end to secure the position. Payne successfully repulsed Denny to take third, with Silverstone Scholarship winner Welsher bouncing back to form to take fifth ahead of Mitcham and Reed, who could not maintain his strong early race pace. Andrew Beaumont placed eighth ahead of Gormley and Ratcliff, who had had to fight back from dead last after a first-lap tangle with Bialan's car. Fennymore, who missed the opening rounds of the championship at Oulton Park, is now up to third in the standings, only five points behind Denny, who has assumed the championship lead early in his maiden car racing season. Backers for Caterham Motorsport's UK and European race series include Bilstein, Brian James Trailers, Cheesman Products, Circuit Driver, Cooper-Avon Tyres, Demon Tweeks, evo, HSBC Insurance Brokers, Mitchell Cotts, Motorsport News, Stack and Steel Fabrications.
Provisional results - 2007 Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge
Round 6
Brands Hatch 15 July Donington Park 2-3 June
There was another fiery moment in race two when Craig Welsher's Superlight was struck hard by another car; the race had to be red-flagged and restarted. Alas the second attempt to complete the race was unsuccessful also - more red flags flew when Clive Coote and Patrick Maher tangled at the Goddards chicane. Fennymore was declared the victor of the truncated race, ahead once again of Gormley, with Knox third and Denny fourth. There was further heartbreak for Mitcham, whose brilliantly repaired car was struck by several others which had failed to slow for the red flags. DOUBLE TOP FOR MITCHAM AT OULTON PARK
Will Mitcham yesterday (Saturday) staged the best possible start to his campaign to recapture the Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge crown by winning both of Oulton Park's exciting opening rounds. It was a repeat performance of the twin wins Will claimed at Oulton in 2005 to set him on the road to title glory. The 31-year-old from Suffolk claimed pole position in qualifying and - despite considerable pressure - led every lap of both 30-minute races his Taylor's Foundry Motor Sport-prepared Superlight. Both races were real Easter crowd-pleasers and, with 25 Caterhams arriving to compete, they boasted the healthiest Superlight Challenge grid seen for several seasons. Race 1 Mitcham made a superb start in the Angel Air and Brown & Co-backed Superlight to claim a handy early lead, pursued by Green, Payne, Halcrow and Peter Ratcliff, up from seventh on the grid. Ratcliff was the man on the move: he shot through to third by lap three and past Green for second by the fifth tour. Mitcham's advantage by this stage was eight-tenths but Ratcliff soon whittled this away to nothing and then made a lunge for the lead into Old Hall Corner. Mitcham was having none of it, however, and repulsed the attack so successfully that Ratcliff had to back off and lost ground. Green was not slow to spot her opportunity; she chased down Ratcliff and locked everything up into the Knickerbrook chicane to seize second place from him once more. With the squabble for second engaging not just Green and Ratcliff but also Payne, Halcrow and Denny, Mitcham took the chance to stretch his legs and his lead. "The first five or six laps were really tricky," said Mitcham, "because I just couldn't make the break and then I had to fend off Peter. But after that I was able to break the tow and stroke it home." Mitcham was 4.2s
ahead at the chequered flag with Green resolute in her defence of
second. "I had the biggest battle with Peter Ratcliff," said Rachel
(Pic below), So Ratcliff had to settle for third, with reigning Roadsport champion Halcrow seizing fourth from Payne with two laps to go and Denny finishing in Payne's wheeltracks to claim a creditable sixth. Denny was not the only Superlight debutant to impress, however. Places seven to 12 were taken by first-timers, respectively Bialan, who got the better of a long battle with Clive Coote, reigning R400 champ Pat Gormley, ex-Roadsporteer David Bend, Silverstone Scholar Craig Welsher, novice Stephen Ross and Scottish Sports Car Champion Richard Reed. Andrew Beaumont placed 14th, just ahead of runaway R400 class victor Alastair Chalmers. Race 2 Two laps later Mitcham made what was probably his only error of the weekend, rounding Lodge Corner slightly wide and allowing Ratcliff to close right on to his tail. Peter was unable to capitalise on the mistake, however: "After that Will did not make one error," said Ratcliff, "despite me piling on the pressure. He's a cool character." "That was a harder race," said Will. "The track conditions were different and didn't suit my car, but I consoled myself with the thought that it was probably the same for everyone. It's a great start to the season - I still can't quite take it in." Mitcham won this time by 2.1s, with Ratcliff on this occasion second. Green's hopes of wresting the position back were thwarted when she came under prolonged attack from Payne, and she had her hands full keeping Nick behind her. Halcrow made amends for a poor opening lap to fight back from eighth to fifth, gaining a place from Gormley in the process. Pat shadowed him home to take sixth; less than three and a half seconds covered the top six at the line. Welsher drove well in his second-ever car race to take seventh ahead of Bend, Coote and Bialan. Denny had looked set to claim another top-six finish until a mid-race mishap dropped him down the order. He went on to 11th, ahead of Jack Newland, Beaumont, Ross and Bill Addison. Chalmers was once again an untroubled R400 class winner. Backers for Caterham Motorsport's UK and European race series include Bilstein, Brian James Trailers, Cheesman Products, Circuit Driver, Cooper-Avon Tyres, Demon Tweeks, evo, HSBC Insurance Brokers, Mitchell Cotts, Motorsport News, Stack and Steel Fabrications. Provisional
results - 2007 Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge Round 2 Oulton Park
7 April Provisional
championship standings Next rounds: June 2/3 Donington Park Caterham Jubilee
mail your links to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk
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"and I'm absolutely shattered from keeping him behind me. I was
determined not to give up my position."