The Grid.co.uk    the national & club motor racing website - est1998          

  ^News

mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk  

Cornelius came close but Szczerbinski conquered! 

THRUXTON

It was all to play for between Patryk Szczerbinski and Max Cornelius, as both arrived at Thruxton for the Autosport Young Guns finale, with one hand on the title.

Having won the first race of the weekend Cornelius needed to head his rival in the second too, but a desperate lunge at the chicane on the last lap was one move too far. The pair collided and Cornelius was excluded, handing Szczerbinski the inaugural title.

After qualifying the dicing duo were only seperated by 0.370secs, with James Nutbrown and Jake Rattenbury sharing the second row and Russell Danzey and Anton Spires the third.

At the start of the first race it was side by side right through the Complex, before Cornelius nosed ahead. But on the wrong line he was soon back to second behind Szczerbinski. Rattenbury held an early third from Spires, Nutbrown and Danzey.

Into the chicane for the second time it was Cornelius’ turn to lead, as the lead duel broke away from a three way nose to tail fight for third. A lap later it was roles reversed again, but Nutbrown had gone missing from the scrap for third.  “Anton had got me when I backed off from a challenge on Jake, and I went off on a fast right hander and bounced over the grass. It partially blocked my radiator and took the nose fins off, so I had terrible understeer and it was overheating,” he explained.

The top four had paired off but were still duelling wheel to wheel for their places. Cornelius had the edge at the chicane on lap five, but within a lap it was Szczerbinski again after they were inches away from touching at the Complex.  Rattenbury had also begun to consolidate third as Spires fell back with a rear wing problem.

Over the next five laps it was constant exchanging between the title contenders, with Szczerbinski leading onto the last lap, after Cornelius rode the kerbs exiting the chicane. But up Woodham Hill it was side by side, with Cornelius on the inside. He held his line into the chicane and gave Szczerbinski no opportunity, apart from settling for second, 0.445secs behind.

“That was really tight, I thought I had lost it when I hit those kerbs though. It was the best race of my life though and we were only inches apart,” said Cornelius. “Yes it was a bit tight and very hard to get away on this track,” Szczerbinski replied.

Rattenbury celebrated his 17th birthday with a comfortable third, “a rubbish start, but I pulled back two places and then eased off towards the end,” he said. Spires was fourth, despite his wing problem, Danzey fifth and Nutbrown sixth.

RESULT

1 Max Cornelius 15 laps in 20n04.942s (105.58mph); 2 Patryk Szczerbinski +0.445s; 3 Jake Rattenbury; 4 Anton Spires; 5 Russell Danzey; 6 James Nutbrown; no other starters. Fastest lap: Szczerbinski 1m19.172s (107.12mph).

RACE TWO

It was dangerously close on the opening lap of race two, but Cornelius grabbed the early advantage exiting the chicane, as Szczerbinski was almost interlocking wheels with Rattenbury. But it was Rattenbury who lost out into Allard, leaving him to fight hard to keep Nutbrown at bay for third.

For four laps Szczerbinski trailed inches from Cornelius’ gearbox, before diving ahead into the chicane. It was just as close behind, Nutbrown in third from the chicane on lap four, before Rattenbury retaliated a lap later. Spires was also on the move having ousted Danzey from fifth.

Cat and mouse can often be a dangerous game to play, and on this occasion the fact was proven once more. Szczerbinski ran wide at the chicane on lap eight, but the gap was insufficient for Cornelius to challenge.

For the remaining laps Cornelius shadowed his rival, until Szczerbinski braked to a virtual standstill at the chicane for the penultimate time. Cornelius refused to take the bait and stayed behind, but with Szczerbinski set for the victory and the title, Cornelius hurtled across the chicane on the final lap and wiped out his rival. Both cars had spun and stalled, but only Cornelius managed to restart.

Behind them it was any one from four, with Nutbrown heading the quartet on lap seven, before Rattenbury forced him wide and Spires split them. Not to be outdone Danzey joined in too and briefly made it three abreast for fourth. The exchanges between Rattenbury and Nutbrown continued, as Spires and Danzey looked on. But having fallen back to fifth with two laps to go, Rattenbury had a tyre explode through Church. “I went off a very long way and it took the sidepod off the car,” he explained.

With the leaders off too there was no one more surprised than Spires to snatch victory on the last lap with his Motaworld car. ”I got through when the others slowed each other up, and just took my opportunities,” he explained.

Nutbrown came home second for Falcon Motorsport, “I was in with the battle for third with Jake and Anton, but it was frustrating when I would take them and they took me back,” he reckoned. Danzey completed the podium, “nice to be there this time, but it’s been hard sorting my car out,” he said.

Although Cornelius had recovered to complete the finishers, the points would have given him the title. After lengthy deliberation Cornelius was excluded and Szczerbinski declared the champion.  “I was doing things right and I tried to make him go by the lap before the finish. I gave him a race and that’s what happened, I couldn’t do more. The race had been so good though and very tactical,” Szczerbinski concluded.

The disappointments of small grid numbers has often been compensated by some quality racing. The support of Falcon Motorsport, Motaworld and latterly Muzz Racing has sometimes been beyond the call of duty, as has the undying enthusiasm of creator Martin Phaff. 15 plus cars for 2011 would do very nicely

RESULT

1 Spires 16 laps in 21m29.620s (105.22mph); 2 Nutbrown +0.403s; 3 Danzey; no other finishers. Fastest lap: Cornelius 1m18.356s (108.24mph).

Published by Peter Scherer for Autosport Young Guns, August 30th, 2010

BRANDS HATCH 14-15 AUGUST

Patryk Szczerbinski and Max Cornelius share the spoils

It was honours even at Brands Hatch, with Autosport Young Guns title contenders Patryk Szczerbinski and Max Cornelius sharing the victory spoils. But for a while in the second race, there was glimpse of the possibilities for this fledgling championship, as the hopeful titleists fought inches apart.

It was a very short qualifying session with no one managing more than five laps. But Cornelius just edged out Szczerbinski by 0.2secs, with Jake Rattenbury a further 0.5secs back in third.

In the first race Cornelius led from pole and just held off an initial challenge from Szczerbinski and Rattenbury into Paddock. Rattenbury was all over Szczerbinski as they arrived at Druids and by the exit, the top three had already outpaced their rivals.

The battle for second aided Cornelius’ escape, while James Nutbrown, Anton Spires and Russell Danzey had become well spread behind.

Rattenbury made his move on lap thee on the inside of Clearways, but was never able to consolidate. It took three laps of hard chasing but Szczerbinski’s persistence was rewarded when he reclaimed second into Paddock.  The duo were still close for a short while, until it became obvious that Rattenbury was in trouble. “It was a wheel nut failure, maybe because I kept running out wide, but it just got worse,” he explained after pulling off on the 18th lap.

Szczerbinski made no impression on Cornelius’ dominance though and was over five seconds down at the flag. “I got a good start, but slid a bit though. Patryk nearly got alongside once and then I saw him battling with Jake,” he said after taking the joint championship lead with Szczerbinski.

“I didn’t really expect that from Jake, but it will teach me to never underestimate an opponent.  Even after I got him he came back at me until he had a problem,” said Szczerbinski.

James Nutbrown continued his string of third place finishers, “I just want to match my times from testing. My tyres seemed to come n late in the race and I had problems  quite a few times into Surtees,” he said.

Both Spires and Danzey had fairly solitary races to complete the finishers, following Rattenbury’s retirement.

RESULT

1 Max Cornelius 25 laps in 20n02.309s (89.72mph); 2 Patryk Szczerbinski +5.255s; 3 James Nutbrown; 4 Anton Spires; 5 Russell Danzey; no other finishers. Fastest lap: Cornelius 46.917s (91.97mph).

RACE TWO

It was a similar start to the first race, with Cornelius leading from pole. But Rattenbury was even more determined on this occasion and dived past Szczerbinski for second into Druids on the opening lap.

It remained desperately close again for second, which gave Cornelius a chance to build a substantial lead early on. Nutbrown was in fourth and Danzey had the legs of Spires in fifth.

Szczerbinski had shown Rattenbury his nose a couple of times and decided to make his move as they turned into Graham Hill Bend.  He went for the tiniest of gaps on the inside which left Rattenbury the choice to surrender or be forced onto the grass. He chose the latter and spun down to last place.

It took about another five laps for the gap between Cornelius and Szczerbinski to be visibly closer. But by lap 12 they were nose to tail into Druids and a challenge for the lead looked imminent.

They were almost side by side into Paddock on lap 13, but Cornelius responded and two laps later Szczerbinski tried an indentical manoeuvre with the same outcome. Having spent five laps barely inches apart, Szczerbinski finally made it through as they exited Druids.

Once in the clear the lead grew to a comfortable 6.5secs and with it came the championship lead again for Szczerbinski. “”It’s really hard to overtake here. I concentrated hard and Max didn’t exit Druids well so I went for it, braked hard and looked in my mirrors to see what he would do. I never thought I was going to catch him though,” said the victor.

Cornelius had a few steering issues and was almost caught by Nutbrown in the final laps.  Rattenbury had knuckled down and clawed his way back into fourth place, while Danzey successfully held off Spires for fifth for the duration.

The Championship now heads for Thruxton in two weeks for the finale. It’s all to play for with both Szczerbinski and Cornelius equally determined to leave the Hampshire circuit with the championship crown.

RESULT

1 Szczerbinski 26 laps in 20m36.117s (90.76mph); 2 Cornelius +6.518s; 3 Nutbrown; 4 Rattenbury; 5 Danzey; 6 Spires. Fastest lap: Szczerbinski 46.692s (92.41mph).

Published by Peter Scherer for Autosport Young Guns, August 16th, 2010

CASTLE COMBE JULY 17/18

Max makes the most of the weekend with 2 wins to Szczerbinski's 1

Patryk Szczerbinski managed to retain his Championship lead at Castle Combe, but with Max Cornelius (pictured) taking two of the weekends victories to Szczerbinski’s one, the gap was considerably reduced.

RACE ONE

Szczerbinski made the most of his pole position to head Leopold Ringbom and Max Cornelius in an early break. Ringbom quickly snatched second, but the lead had already began to grow, while back in fourth James Nutbrown managed to get ahead of Jake Rattenbury on lap four, the first of a number of exchanges between the duo.

Cornelius was really pushing hard to stay on Ringbom’s tail, but coming through Camp for the eighth time he touched the grass on the exit and spun across for a complete 360 on the grass before rejoin in still in third place.

Nutbrown finally managed to pull away from Rattenbury until part of his rear wing came off on the 13th lap and allowed his rival to close in again.

But Szczerbinski eased his way through the closing laps to claim another win and keep his title chase on target. “I tried to pull a gap on the first lap and then just tried to progress with consistency,” he explained.

Ringbom retained a clear second from Cornelius and Rattenbury, with 16 year old debutant Russell Danzey completing the finishers after Nutbrown’s race ended in the barriers. “”I knew I had probably lost part of the wing, but after Jake got past it fired me up and I still went for it through Camp, thinking it was the last lap, but it wasn’t and I crashed,” he explained.

RESULT

1 Patryk Szczerbinski 18 laps in 20m17.147s (98.49mph); 2 Leopold Ringbom +5.588s; 3 Max Cornelius; 4 Jake Rattenbury; 5 Russell Danzey; no other finishers. Fastest lap:  Ringbom 1,06.729s (99.80mph).

RACE TWO

Ringbom came out on top of the initial sprint as race two got underway, with Rattenbury and Cornelius side by side through Folly before Cornelius nosed ahead into Quarry.

Szczerbinski had been left at the start but soon latched onto Rattenbury’s tail having shaken off Nutbrown and Danzey. On lap four Szczerbinski claimed third and began to close on the pair ahead. Cornelius had started to pressurise Ringbom for the lead and as he rounded Camp for the fifth time he was on the grass and damaged his nose before rejoining. “I was just too fast and it was under steering. I tried to keep the car straight but as it dug in it damaged the nose,” explained the Finn. “I didn’t think he was going to get around the corner at all and would be in the wall,” Cornelius replied.

It was side by side through Folly but Cornelius had the lead along Avon Rise as Szczerbinski set his sights on the ailing Ringbom.

Cornelius eased his way home to an easy win by over 14 seconds, but confusion followed when Ringbom was blackflagged. Szczerbinski mistook it for him and headed for the pits, followed two laps later by Ringbom.

Rattenbury was left to take second with Nutbrown just holding off a furious Szczerbinski for third. “I just held on to the places I had, while the others had problems,” said Rattenbury. “Patryk was getting bigger in my mirrors every lap, but I kept thinking to myself no way and I held the place,” Nutbrown added.

Ringbom returned to complete the finishers, after Danzey retired to the pits after nine laps.

RESULT

1 Cornelius17 laps in 20m54.843s (90.22mph); 2 Rattenbury +14.792s; 3 James Nutbrown; 4 Szczerbinski; 5 Ringbom; no other finishers. Fastest lap: Szczerbinski 1m09.694s (95.56mph).

RACE THREE

It was any one of three at the start of the final race of the weekend, but it was Cornelius who grabbed the initiative again, from Szczerbinski and Ringbom. But as a slight gap opened in Cornelius’ favour, Ringbom darted past Szczerbinski on lap three.

The lead started to grow slowly but suddenly Ringbom started to lose ground rapidly. He persevered for a couple of laps before heading pitwards with problems in the drive train.

Although Szczerbinski continued to press hard, he was unable to make sufficient impression to threaten his championship rivals supremacy. “We returned the settings to the same as qualifying and it felt even better,” said Cornelius. “The key was the race to the first corner, I didn’t get past and was left chasing,” Szczerbinski replied.

Nutbrown demoted Rattenbury on lap seven to claim third and following Ringbom’s retirement, Danzey completed the finishers in fifth.

RESULT

1 Cornelius 18 laps in 20m14.221s (98.73mph); 2 Szczerbinski +3.299s; 3 Nutbrown; 4 Rattenbury; 5 Danzey; no other finishers.  Fastest lap: Cornelius 1m06.618s (99.97mph).

Published by Peter Scherer for Autosport Young Guns, July 19th 2010

PEMBREY, JUNE 26/27

Triple Max!

Having only made his car racing debut in the last rounds at Snetterton, Max Cornelius proved all conquering with a triple victory at Pembrey’s 20th anniversary meeting.

Cornelius’ Motaworld car just headed Falcon’s Patryk Szczerbinski by 0.119s after qualifying with championship leader Leopold Ringbom third in his Motaworld car.  Fourth best was former Saxmax star Anton Spires, just ahead of Falcon team mate James Nutbrown, while BARC Formula Renault racer Jake Rattenbury (Motaworld) completed the grid in a one-off outing.

RACE ONE

As the lights went out Cornelius made a clean getaway, with Szczerbinski heading Ringbom for second. The top three soon broke clear and although Nutbrown got ahead of Rattenbury on the second lap, they still ran nose to tail, with Spires’s playing catch up after problems at the first corner. “I was behind Patryk and locked up and stalled into the Hairpin to avoid hitting him,” he explained.

As Cornelius started to extend his lead, Ringbom started to lose ground and coasted into retirement on his seventh lap. “The left rear suspension had broken,” he explained.

“I was happy with that, just got my head down, concentrated and looked for consistency,” said Cornelius after taking victory by well over two seconds. Although Szczerbinski had continued push hard, he made little impression on Cornelius. “Sometimes I closed and then he pulled away again,” explained.

Nutbrown finally shook off Rattenbury to secure third, “I had got Jake into Hatchets, but had some problems with understeer,” he said. Although Rattenbury retained fourth, the recovering Spires was getting ever closer as the flag came out. “I was struggling to see as my hair gel started to get into my eyes,” Rattenbury admitted.

RESULT

1 Max Cornelius 21 laps in 19m53.788s (92.20mph);  2Patryk Szczerbinski +2.592s; 3 James Nutbrown; 4 Jake Rattenbury ; 5 Anton Spires; no other finishers. Fastest lap: Cornelius 56.199s (93.26mph).

RACE TWO

Cornelius was quickest away again, despite Szczerbinski and Ringbom’s best efforts. Into Hatchets a lap later though Cornelius locked up and both Szczerbinski and Ringbom darted through as all three remained nose to tail. Rattenbury, Nutbrown and Spires sorted themselves out behind.

By lap five Szczerbinski had started to edge clear of Ringbom, who had Cornelius eager to repass him. A lap later they exchanged places, but Ringbom fought back to retake the place, and a number of exchanges followed until Ringbom started to slow again.

Gradually Cornelius reeled in Szczerbinski and made the decisive move into Brooklands with four laps to go. “I kept locking up at Hatchets, lost a lot of ground so really had to put my head down again to close the gaps,” he explained.

By the flag Szczerbinski was well over three seconds back in second. “The car started to go off towards the end and Max got me. I had problems with the handling and made a mistake,” he admitted.

Rattenbury managed to keep the duelling Nutbrown and Spires at bay, “I was just trying to keep it consistent as I got used to the car more,” he said. Spires final got the better of team mate Nutbrown for fourth on the last lap, “It was new car for me this weekend and the handling was much better than in yesterdays race,” he said. “It just wasn’t working for me,” Nutbrown added.

But for Ringblom it was another non finish. “The rear wheel started to come loose,” I couldn’t believe my luck again,” he concluded.  

RESULT

1Cornelius 21 laps in 20m03.482s (91.46mph); 2 Szczerbinski +3.793s; 3 Rattenbury; 4 Spires; 5 Nutbrown; no other finishers. Fastest lap: Cornelius 56.482s (92.80mph).

RACE THREE

Cornelius already had an eye on a hattrick of wins and as the first Englishman to have won in Young Guns, he was in a determined mood at the start of the third and final race of the weekend.

The start was even better and exiting Spitfires he already had a length’s lead over Szczerbinski, Ringbom and Rattenbury.

As the lead pair started to go clear, Ringbom pulled off with a blown engine. “Something didn’t feel right at the start, so I short shifted to try and save the engine, but it didn’t work,” said a very depressed young Finn.

It was down to Szczerbinski to chase down his increasingly confident rival, but despite his best efforts the lead continued to grow. “Once I had realised Leopold had gone, I knew I only had to think about Patryk,” he said. By the flag the lead was his biggest of the weekend, 4.598secs. “I can’t wait for Castle Combe,” said the Bath based driver.

“He was quick alright, so I started to think of my championship position more in this race,” Szczerbinski explained. Rattenbury consolidated third, with Nutbrown fourth after he edged out Spires at Hatchets on lap seven, but still ran wheel to wheel for the rest of the race.

RESULT

1 Cornelius 12 laps in 11m22.428s (92.16mph); 2 Szczerbinski +4.598s; 3 Rattenbury; 4 Nutbrown; 5 Spires; no other finishers.  Fastest lap: Cornelius 56.301s (93.09mph).

Published by Peter Scherer for Autosport Young Guns, June 28th 2010

SNETTERTON, MAY 08/09^TH

Engine failure costs Ringbom a clean sweep 

Leopold Ringbom looked set to retain his 100 per cent having taken two victories at Snetterton to add to his first round win at Rockingham. But fate dealt him a cruel blow when engine failure left him sidelined in the final race of the Norfolk weekend.

Ringbom secured pole on a wet track by 0.170s from Motaworld team mate and former Saxmax frontrunner Anton Spires, making his single seater debut. Falcon’s Patryk Szczerbinski headed the second row from debutant Joe Ferguson, while James Nutbrown and newcomer Max Cornelius completed the grid. But engine problems left Szczerbinski sidelined after the session.

It was a chaotic start with Ringbom stalling and Ferguson hesitating. “I thought I had the revs but it stalled. I was in a panic and thinking where’s the starter,” said Ringbom. Spires grabbed the lead before Nutbrown went ahead into the Esses.  Ferguson followed at Russell, with Ringbom recovering in fourth behind Nutbrown.

But by the end of the second lap it was a four car lead train, with Ringbom having ousted Spires from third into Sear. Ferguson piled the pressure on Nutbrown for the lead and it finally paid off into Riches for the fourth time. Ferguson led and Ringbom followed at Sear.

It was still wheel to wheel for the lead over the next two laps until Ringbom shot through o the inside at Sear. Ferguson tried to fight back but had to settle for second. “I hadn’t really tested in the wet. I knew Leopold would catch me, but I tried to defend and he still got me,” said Ferguson.

Spires completed the podium after taking Nutbrown through Coram on lap seven and Cornelius survived his wet baptism too.

RESULT

1 Leopold Ringbom 14 laps in 20m02.228s (81.83mph);

2 Joe Ferguson +9.611s; 3

3 Anton Spires;

4 James Nutbrown;

5 Max Cornelius.

Fastest lap: Spires 1m22.909s (84.75mph).

RACE TWO

There was no repeat of Ringbom’s first race mistake, as he headed Spires, Szczerbinski, Ferguson, Nutbrown and Cornelius into Riches. Ferguson pressed immediately for third place and made it through on the inside of Sear on the second lap.

Spires was managing to hold the lead gap to Ringbom steady, but seemed unable to make any progress. Ferguson also found it hard to consolidate third, as Szczerbinski proved a stubborn opponent. Into Russell for the fourth time the young pole took a look down the inside. Ferguson kept the door closed. But a lap later at the Esses he finally succumbed.

The scrap for third started to edge towards Spires too, but Ferguson was unable to stay on the same pace as Szczerbinski lined to challenge Spires. It took until lap 11 for Szczerbinski to make it through, having been fastest man on the track for a few laps before making it by at the Esses.

The gap to Ringbom closed over the remaining laps, but the Finn still had over two seconds in hand at the flag. “I pushed hard at the start to build the gap, but was aware of Patryk closing. At least I got the start right this time,” said Ringbom.

“I lost time early on as I hadn’t warmed my brakes up on the green flag lap and nearly went straight on at the first corner. Joe caught me by surprise a bit, but I kept my head down and got on with it,” Szczerbinski explained.

Spires was delighted with another third place, “I kept up for a few laps but was a bit disappointed to lose second,” he explained. Ferguson, Nutbrown and Cornelius all made it through untroubled to complete the finishers.

RESULT

1 Ringbom 17 laps in 20m35.270s (96.70mph);

2 Patryk Szczerbinski +2.178s;

3 Spires;

4 Ferguson;

5 Nutbrown;

6 Cornelius.

Fastest lap: Szczerbinski 1m11.008s (98.96mph).

RACE THREE

Although Spires had pole for the final race of the weekend, Ringbom led the charge into Riches again from Ferguson, with Spires down to third. Nutbrown headed Szczerbinski for fourth and in his efforts to stay in contention Cornelius had a full spin at Russell.

As early as lap two Ringbom’s lead began to look decisive, leaving Spires to challenge Ferguson for second. But exiting Russell a lap later the leader suddenly slowed and pulled off with engine problems.

It was nose to tail for the lead but their duel only allowed Szczerbinski to close, after he had seen off Nutbrown a lap earlier. On lap six Spires lost out but initially fought back as Szczerbinski set his sights on Ferguson’s lead.

The pressure began to show and Ferguson had a wheel on the grass at Russell, which gave Szczerbinski a run on him. It all closed up and was back to nose to tail for the top three. Szczerbinski kept showing Ferguson his nose and was alongside on numerous occasions, but Ferguson still held on.

But chaos followed after Szczerbinski took the outside line at Riches and took to the grass in his efforts to lead. “Joe and I touched, I thought I was clear of him on the outside but he was still there. I rejoined and then saw him off at the next corner,” said Szczerbinski.

Ferguson had spun at Sear and was collected by Spires, who rode over the side of his car and damaged the rear wing. “I came together with Patryk at Riches and he caught my front wheel. Then Anton went up my inside and he was all over me. I tried to move over and we both went off,” Ferguson explained.

Spires was the only casualty from the trio, as Szczerbinski claimed his maiden victory, with a surprised but delighted Nutbrown second. “I just came around the corner and saw them all trying to get back on,” he said.

Ferguson nursed his damaged car home for third with Cornelius surviving his car racing debut weekend with a creditable fourth.

RESULT

1 Szczerbinski 17 laps in 20m46.174s (95.86mph);

2 Nutbrown +3.694s;

3 Ferguson;

4 Cornelius.

Fastest lap: Szczerbinski 1m11.386s 998.43mph).

Published by Peter Scherer for Autosport Young Guns, May 10th 2010

AUTOSPORT YOUNG GUNS OPENING ROUND, ROCKINGHAM

Finnish karting ace Leopold Ringbom had the honour of taking victory in the inaugural Young Guns race at Rockingham, after misfortune struck leader Josh Webster as he was about to start his seventh lap.

Six of the Suzuki GSX 750cc powered JKS cars set out in qualifying, which was not only a toe in the water for the teams, but for most of the drivers their first real taste of a race car in a competitive situation.

Only 0.388secs covered the top three, to prove how close and exciting the racing will be as the grid sizes increase. Josh Webster ‘s Falcon Motorsport car was on pole, “I have had about five days testing, but still feel there is more to come from me and the car. But I am looking for consistency,” he said.

His Falcon team mate Patryk Szczerbinski was only 0.115secs down in second, “All I had before this session was one day at Pembrey. I will try to beat Josh, but to be honest I would be happy just to be on the podium. I just haven’t enough experience with the car, but it initially feels real quality,” he said.

Motaworld‘s Leopold Ringbom headed the second row. “I had a problem with the left front hub. I could hear the brake touching it and it almost destroyed the disc,” explained the Finn, who also has testing experience in Formula BMW.

Former T Car racer James Nutbrown was alongside in the third Falcon car. “It was OK and felt quick enough. But we are changing the front wing to cure the understeer, so hopefully it will be better in the race,” he concluded.

The grid was completed by Malaysian karter Sazlan Sirajudin in the second Motaworld car and Ollie Walker, who was plagued with teething problems in his Anglo Racing run car.

RACE ONE

Most of the cars had tweeks made between qualifying and the race, but all six made it through unscathed.

As the lights went out it was good clean start with Webster heading Szczerbinski, Ringblom, Sirajudin, Nutbrown and Walker through Turn One for the charge into Deene Hairpin.

The top three started to open a gap on the second lap, but Szczerbinski came under pressure from Ringbom as they braked for Deene. The young pole was forced into a missed gear through Yentwood as the pressure continued to build, finally succumbing as Ringbom set about chasing down Webster’s advantage.

Szczerbinski continued to push hard and was sideways through Yentwood on the fifth lap. But Ringbom was getting away and had his sights set on the lead. Fourth placed Sirajudin also explored his limit on the sixth lap, running off at Gracelands and bouncing through the gravel before rejoining behind Nutbrown and Walker. “I had a lot of understeer and missed a gear into the corner. I think I was in fifth so just kept going through the gravel,” Sirajudin explained.

The gap between the leaders had visibly closed when Webster suddenly ground to a halt on the pits straight, his race was over. “Leopold was catching me and I went from second gear to third out of the last corner and got neutral. It was a broken sprocket,” Webster explained. Ringbom was left clear but was unable to relax as Szczerbinski was still on a charge. “I had been catching Josh and was ready to challenge,” Ringbom added.

It was Gracelands again on lap seven that appeared to have put Szczerbinski out of contention. Like Sirajudin he bounced through the gravel. but unfortunately lost his nose fins as he rejoined.

Ringbom had a straight run to the flag over the remaining laps but the determined Szczerbinski was still charging. What was a fairly comfortable advantage was all but erased on the final lap. They were nose to tail through Tarzan and Szczerbinski took a brief look up the inside, but Ringbom had it covered. At the flag they were separated by only 0.295secs.  “I had a couple of sideways moments but was really pleased, as I am the least experienced. I was pushing too hard and needed to calm down and relax,” said Szczerbinski. “I had a good balance with the car but had some engine noise near the end, so I slowed and then saw Patryk in my mirrors and had to speed up again,” Ringbom added.

Nutbrown held third until he lost a wheel, which promoted Sirajudin, after he retook Walker on the inside of Tarzan on lap 11. “I was turning into the corner and had a bit of understeer on the long left, then the wheel came off and I spun,” said Nutbrown. 

Walker made it home fourth but was still struggling with his new car. “Overall the drivers were full of praise and eager for the next round, after the second race was cancelled on safety grounds. “We decided to pull the race after James lost the wheel. It’s a safety decision over concerns for the rims, and although they are the same as we have used in testing, we will be looking to replace them before the next round,” said series chief Martin Phaff. 

PETER SCHERER

Q&A CRAIG DOLBY – Superleague Formula Driver

When you were the age of these Young Guns you had to race abroad, why?

“Yes we went to Belgium and did Formula Renault 1600 as I was 15 and couldn’t race in the UK. There was no real junior single seaters in the UK, it would be good if we could start Young Guns at 15 too.”

Having tested the Young Guns cars what do you think?

“When you start a new championship you are bound to get some niggles. But we got here and that’s the big jump. We now just need more drivers and cars. It’s very refreshing to see a single seater car series that’s cheaper than karts though”

Do you think the transition from Karts to Young Guns is easy?

“Nice but not easy. Do it step by step and yes maybe it’s the easiest from karting as you have the speed.”

Any tips for a champion?

“It surprised me how close qualifying was. So long as it’s one of the boys I coach. But overall I was impressed by them all.”

Is it stressful watching the lads you coach then?

“Oh yes indeed. My hands are shaking sometimes.”