Archive

Radical Speed Weekend @ The Nürburgring: Race 2

28th June 2010

Bell End Racing’s Jamie Patterson came close to taking a second victory in this weekend’s Radical Speed Weekend, but it wasn’t to be, a late puncture awarding Terrence Woodward and Ross Kaiser the win after a fascinating race.

Radical France’s pairing of Patrice Guillaume and Frederic Rouvier took pole for the race, which forms a round of both the Shell Racing Solutions Radical Masters, and the Competition Car Insurance Radical UK Cup. The first time for this duo, they were out-dragged to the first corner by Patterson, with all the cars emerging unscathed from the tight hairpin.

By lap 4 Patterson had grown a slender lead over Guillaume, with Kaiser close behind. Radical Works Team Driver Greg Hart had an incredible start, rising from ninth on the grid to fourth, hot on the heels of Kaiser.

Just as in Race 1, Patterson was the first to pit, and retained his lead after the pit window closed, with the 360 Racing SR8 leap-frogging Guilaume/Rouvier in the stops. In the Supersports Class, Radical Italy’s Marco Cencetti and Andrea Fausti were again proving the cream of the crop, leading the class by a substantial margin over Ross Allen/Chris Dymond, and Colin Noble.

This was to change as a hard-charging Rob Wheldon, taking over from a great drive by David Thorburn, overtook Noble on lap 15. Further ahead, Shaun Balfe was another man on the move, overtaking Greg Hart to move into podium contention. Indeed, this point of the race seemed to be a turning point; as only moments later Patterson was forced to slow with a puncture, and was passed by Woodward for the lead and subsequently the win. Balfe took second as a result, with Greg Hart taking his first Radical podium in third.

Cencetti/Fausti took their second Supersports Class win of the weekend, with Moseley and Smithson coming under intense pressure from Wheldon all the way to the flag. Trading fastest times right to the end, Wheldon ultimately ran out of laps with only a second splitting he and Moseley at the end.

The Radical Masters now move onto Zandvoort in Holland for the next round, at the end of July. It’s the first time that Radical’s premier series has visited the Dutch coastal circuit; however, before this, both the Radical UK Cup and Radical Clubman’s Cup are both back in action at Castle Combe on 17/18 July.