Super Tourers put on a show at the Silverstone Classic
James Dodd Chases Leader Robert Huff
The HSCC Super Touring Championship took centre stage with two fantastic races at the Silverstone Classic.
Series leader James Dodd secured pole position in his Honda Accord ahead of the opening race of the weekend, narrowly beating guest star Rob Huff in Richard Meins' Ford Mondeo. The WTCC star had held provisional pole for much of qualifying despite only getting one flying lap in at the start of the session.
Despite Huff's quick lap, Dodd was joined on the front row of the grid for race one by Stewart Whyte as Meins took the wheel of the Mondeo for race one, starting from 12th on the grid. Dodd and Whyte stormed away at the head of the field, consistently duelling for the lead, oblivious to the almighty battle that was raging down the road behind them for third.
John Cleland, Simon Garrad, Neil Smith and Patrick Watts were the drivers in question, swapping positions at almost every corner, putting on a real show for the thousands upon thousands of fans that lined the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. Four became three when Patrick Watts' race came to a premature end owing to an injector problem, while Cleland, Garrad and Smith raced right down until the final corner of the race.
It seemed like third was going the way of Paul Smith in the closing laps of the race, before a sideways moment from Richard McAlpine at Chapel forced the Alfa Romeo driver to lift off – and probably require a change of underwear – allowing Garrad and Cleland to slip past. Cleland then hunted down the Renault driver, making his move at Vale on the final lap to take an incredibly popular third place.
Graeme Dodd completed the top six positions, while Steve Soper took a hugely impressive 10th place in the Ford Capri to win the GA category ahead of Jan Bot's BMW M3 and Craig Davies' RS500.
Sunday's race saw 2012 World Touring Car Champion Rob Huff join the action, starting from twelfth on the grid. That didn't slow him down at all, however, storming up to second place by the time the grid had reached the Wellington Straight on the opening lap. It was a polar opposite start for Cleland, however, who found himself pointing sideways through Abbey on the opening lap. The Scot joined Patrick Watts and Paul Smith, debuting his Audi A4 in the series, in a recovery drive from the rear of the field.
James Dodd once again found himself in a race-long battle for the lead, this time swapping Stewart Whyte's Honda with the Mondeo of Huff. The lead went to the WTCC driver after a couple of laps, with Huff completing a brave move through Maggots, but he could never shake off Dodd, who ensured the World Champion never had a chance to relax at the head of the field.
Stewart Whyte couldn't find the pace he showed in the opening race, making some setup changes overnight that hampered the handling of his Accord. Despite battling with oversteer for the entire race, the Scot held on to third to keep within touching distance of Dodd in the championship standings. Cleland and Watts completed their charges through the field, finishing in fourth and fifth respectively, while Graeme Dodd took sixth place to secure a double points-scoring haul for his Silverstone weekend.
The GA category saw the same three cars complete the top three, only in reverse order, with Craig Davies leading home Jan Bot and John Young.
Other notable mentions for the weekend include Paul Smith, who took tenth place in Sunday's race in the A4, and Mark Wright, who dominated his class to move up into joint third in the championship standings alongside John Cleland.
Rob Huff was not the only professional guest driver of the weekend, either, with current BTCC points leader Colin Turkington getting behind the wheel of Sam Hancock's BMW CSL 'Batmobile' in Saturday's race, finishing 20th overall and third in class.
As a result of the two Silverstone races, James Dodd carries a 12 point lead over Whyte, with Cleland and Wright a further five points behind. Dodd only needs to score a single point in the first race at the Oulton Park Gold Cup to guarantee the title.
Words by James Charman of TouringCarTimes.com
Series leader James Dodd secured pole position in his Honda Accord ahead of the opening race of the weekend, narrowly beating guest star Rob Huff in Richard Meins' Ford Mondeo. The WTCC star had held provisional pole for much of qualifying despite only getting one flying lap in at the start of the session.
Despite Huff's quick lap, Dodd was joined on the front row of the grid for race one by Stewart Whyte as Meins took the wheel of the Mondeo for race one, starting from 12th on the grid. Dodd and Whyte stormed away at the head of the field, consistently duelling for the lead, oblivious to the almighty battle that was raging down the road behind them for third.
John Cleland, Simon Garrad, Neil Smith and Patrick Watts were the drivers in question, swapping positions at almost every corner, putting on a real show for the thousands upon thousands of fans that lined the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. Four became three when Patrick Watts' race came to a premature end owing to an injector problem, while Cleland, Garrad and Smith raced right down until the final corner of the race.
It seemed like third was going the way of Paul Smith in the closing laps of the race, before a sideways moment from Richard McAlpine at Chapel forced the Alfa Romeo driver to lift off – and probably require a change of underwear – allowing Garrad and Cleland to slip past. Cleland then hunted down the Renault driver, making his move at Vale on the final lap to take an incredibly popular third place.
Graeme Dodd completed the top six positions, while Steve Soper took a hugely impressive 10th place in the Ford Capri to win the GA category ahead of Jan Bot's BMW M3 and Craig Davies' RS500.
Sunday's race saw 2012 World Touring Car Champion Rob Huff join the action, starting from twelfth on the grid. That didn't slow him down at all, however, storming up to second place by the time the grid had reached the Wellington Straight on the opening lap. It was a polar opposite start for Cleland, however, who found himself pointing sideways through Abbey on the opening lap. The Scot joined Patrick Watts and Paul Smith, debuting his Audi A4 in the series, in a recovery drive from the rear of the field.
James Dodd once again found himself in a race-long battle for the lead, this time swapping Stewart Whyte's Honda with the Mondeo of Huff. The lead went to the WTCC driver after a couple of laps, with Huff completing a brave move through Maggots, but he could never shake off Dodd, who ensured the World Champion never had a chance to relax at the head of the field.
Stewart Whyte couldn't find the pace he showed in the opening race, making some setup changes overnight that hampered the handling of his Accord. Despite battling with oversteer for the entire race, the Scot held on to third to keep within touching distance of Dodd in the championship standings. Cleland and Watts completed their charges through the field, finishing in fourth and fifth respectively, while Graeme Dodd took sixth place to secure a double points-scoring haul for his Silverstone weekend.
The GA category saw the same three cars complete the top three, only in reverse order, with Craig Davies leading home Jan Bot and John Young.
Other notable mentions for the weekend include Paul Smith, who took tenth place in Sunday's race in the A4, and Mark Wright, who dominated his class to move up into joint third in the championship standings alongside John Cleland.
Rob Huff was not the only professional guest driver of the weekend, either, with current BTCC points leader Colin Turkington getting behind the wheel of Sam Hancock's BMW CSL 'Batmobile' in Saturday's race, finishing 20th overall and third in class.
As a result of the two Silverstone races, James Dodd carries a 12 point lead over Whyte, with Cleland and Wright a further five points behind. Dodd only needs to score a single point in the first race at the Oulton Park Gold Cup to guarantee the title.
Words by James Charman of TouringCarTimes.com