Donington Park, October 17th/18th 2015
Photos courtesy of Jon Elsey.
Henderson seals the title at spectacular SuperCup finale…
The Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire was to play host to the final 3 rounds of the 2015 BRSCC MX-5 SuperCup, and a huge entry of cars for the season finale was set to make sure it was a spectacular ending to what has been a brilliant year of racing.
Alan Henderson arrived at the final race meeting of the year with a comfortable points margin over all his rivals and realistically could not be challenged for the title, but there was still a very close fight over second place in the championship to decide, between Jonathan Clements, Liam Murphy and Simon Goddard.
Adding extra excitement to the racing up at the sharp end of the field would be former BTCC racer Paul O’Neill, making a return to the championship with the Paul Sheard Autos team after his guest appearance earlier in the season at Rockingham where he notched up two podium finishes. With Henderson already having one hand on the trophy coming in to the meeting, this time at Donington Paul would be able to give it everything to challenge the SuperCup regulars for overall wins.
Qualifying
The 30 strong field of SuperCup drivers were first out onto the circuit on Saturday morning in the cold autumnal air, the low temperatures meaning it took a number of laps for the drivers to really get the temperature into the tyres and brakes.
The cars head down the Craner Curves
It was Paul O’Neill and Anthony Nield who set the early qualifying pace, both dropping down into the 1.22s on lap 3 of the session while everyone else was steadily finding speed and going quicker and quicker as they lapped the circuit. Alan Henderson had proved almost unbeatable in qualifying so far this season and it was yet again to be the case, as he snatched pole position away from Paul O’Neill on his final lap by setting a time of 1.22.171, bettering O’Neill’s time by just 0.030 of a second! Almost everyone was putting in their best times at the end of the session and it was a great performance from Will Chappell to take 3rd on the starting grid for race 1 of the weekend, a tenth shy of the time of Paul O’Neill.
Of the drivers in the hunt for second place in the championship it was Goddard who came out on top with 7th place in qualifying, importantly just ahead of the man he was chasing in the points ‘JJ’ Clements in 8th. Liam Murphy struggled in qualifying with a brake issue but still managed to line up just behind Clements and setting things up for a great fight between the trio in Race 1.
The top 12 drivers in qualifying were all covered by less than a second, highlighting just how competitive the SuperCup has been during the 2015 season.
Race 1
Although the sun had begun to shine at Donington as the SuperCup cars took up their grid positions for race 1 of the weekend, the temperature had increased very little from the mornings qualifying session. Missing from the starting grid were Charlie Charman who had suffered an engine problem during qualifying and also Carl Garnett and Jack Harding, who were both starting the race from the pit lane.
Away from the lights it was Henderson who managed to use his position on the inside of the front row to hold the lead from Paul O’Neill as the pair went round the first corner at Redgate, but O’Neill drew alongside through Hollywood and went into the lead down the Craner Curves. A missed gear from George Line on the run to the first corner saw him dropping down the field as the other starters rushed past him.
James Blake Baldwin was challenging Chappell for third place and forced him to defend the inside line into Mcleans, a locked wheel for Chappell made him run slightly wide and allowed Baldwin to get the switch back up the inside on the exit of the corner. Jonathan Greensmith seized the opportunity to follow Baldwin and stuck his nose up the inside of Chappell into Coppice and then out dragged him along the straight to the chicane at the end of the lap.
Paul O’Neill trying to defend from Henderson who ran deep into the Roberts chicane and bounced over the curb on the left hander. Henderson tried to run round the outside of O’Neill but dropped a wheel onto the dirt on the exit, forcing him to go down the start finish straight on the grass as he collected the car up and got shuffled down the order in the process. After a frantic opening lap, it was now Blake Baldwin at the front of the pack as he took advantage of the errors by the leading pair.
Baldwin defends from O’Neill and Henderson
On lap 2, George Line recovering from his poor start attempted a late dive up the inside of Simon Goddard at Coppice and shoved Goddard out wide, forcing him to run through the gravel before re-joining the circuit. Both Nield and Henderson behind got a better run onto the straight than Line and they ran 3 abreast down towards the chicane, Henderson on the inside was bravest on the brakes and took both positions in one go.
Up at the front there was an intense 5-way fight for the lead between Baldwin, O’Neill, Clements Murphy and Greensmith, which was soon joined by Henderson and Line as they lapped quicker than the squabbling pack ahead. On Lap 6, Line attempted to out brake Clements into the chicane and the two entered the right-left sequence side by side. Clements was forced onto the large inside kerb which bounced his car into Line’s, sending Line spinning on the exit and leaving him on the grass pointing the wrong way down the start finish straight.
Jack Harding and Rob Way having a close race in the midfield
James Blake Baldwin who was plagued by mechanical issues at the start of the season was once again struck by a problem that forced him into retirement. The leading pack was now back to a 5 car group before Murphy ran wide onto the grass as he entered the start finish straight, catching the slide but collecting Clements in the process as he speared back onto the circuit, causing them both to drop down the order.
There was now a two-way duel for the race lead between Henderson and O’Neill, running nose to tail and swapping positions frequently. Behind them John Davies who has steadily moved up through the field from his 11th place grid position was up to 5th and challenging Chappell for 4th. On the final lap of the race the pair ran side by side down the Craner Curves, with Davies having the inside line and taking the position away from Chappell at the Old Hairpin.
It would be Henderson who would take the chequered flag first, little more than a tenth of a second ahead of Paul O’Neill but he would be demoted down the order after receiving a time penalty for exceeding track limits, being classified 7th in the final results. This handed the victory to O’Neill in what was one of the most dramatic SuperCup races of the season, ahead of Greensmith in second and with the final podium spot going to Davies.
Race 2
It was another early start for the SuperCup drivers, once again being first out on track for Race 2 of the weekend on a cold and grey Sunday morning. It was now O’Neill and Greensmith starting from the front row of the grid and the pair made an even get away as the lights went out but Greensmith on the left chose to drop in behind O’Neill as they entered Redgate for the first time rather than risk a move round outside.
During the opening laps O’Neill was able to pull a slight gap from the field behind him, as Greensmith was being forced to keep one eye on his mirrors by the closely following Davies. Meanwhile a great start from Henderson saw him already up to fourth position by the time the cars crossed the line at the end of the first lap and he quickly set about catching the fight over second place ahead of him. Exiting the chicane at the end of lap 5 both Davies and Henderson got a run on Greensmith with the cars arriving at Redgate 3 abreast as they braked for the corner, Henderson braked as late as he could and tried to sweep round the outside of the two in front of him but couldn’t make it stick on the exit.
Greensmith in second ahead of Davies and Henderson
Later round the lap, Davies carried more speed through Coppice and pulled out from the tow of Greensmiths car as they headed onto the Exhibition straight. Greensmith jinked across in front of Davies to try and defend the inside line for the chicane at the end of the straight but the nose of Davies’s car was already fractionally alongside the car ahead so contact was made, sending Greensmith pirouetting down the grass to the right of the straight to have a brush with the barrier.
James Blake Baldwin on a charge from his starting position on row 14 of the grid was making swift progress up through the field and setting a blistering pace, on lap 5 of the race he set a stunning new lap record of 1.22.074 as he hunted down the cars ahead of him. Henderson was now into second place and doing everything he could to close in on O’Neill, but the leader had already built up a comfortable margin and was able to manage his pace to maintain the gap to the chequered flag. O’Neill eventually taking a commanding win over 4 seconds ahead of Henderson and with Baldwin claiming the final step on the podium as just reward for his brilliant effort in the race.
A great drive from Clements also starting near the back of the grid following his dramas in Race 1 saw him climbing up to 7th by the end of the race, which would be crucial in maintaining his points advantage over Goddard and Murphy in the fight for second in the championship standings.
Race 3
The final race of the 2015 SuperCup season was set up for a thrilling climax to the season, with Paul O’Neill and Alan Henderson sharing the front row of the grid just ahead of Baldwin who now had only one opportunity left in which to take his maiden SuperCup win.
O’Neill made the best start of the front row men and lead from Henderson and Baldwin round the first corner. Both Goddard and Clements were able to go up the inside of the slow starting Davies at Redgate and tuck in behind Baldwin. The whole of the field fanned out as they raced down towards the chicane at the end of the lap as the drivers tried to either defend or attack the cars around them. Clements caught Goddard unawares and lunged up the inside under braking to take 4th spot, with Goddard locking his wheels and over running the entrance to the corner.
A mistake from Henderson at Redgate on the start of the second lap gave room for Baldwin to sneak up the inside of him and into second place, with Clements also slipping ahead of Henderson on the run through Hollywood.
In the pack jostling for 10th place, James Aspinall and Jack Harding were running side by side down the hill towards the Old Hairpin until James nudged the rear of Jacks car, sending the pair of them sideways. Will Picken was forced to take avoiding action to miss the spinning cars of Harding and Aspinall which also saw him losing control, the end result being all three cars beached in the gravel at the Old Hairpin. This brought the safety car out onto the track to neutralise the race while the marshals recovered the cars from the gravel at the Old Hairpin and also the car of Jeremy Crook who had become stuck in the gravel up at the chicane.
The lights on the safety car went out with around 7 minutes of the race still remaining and the action at the front of the field was resumed once again. Baldwin took advantage of the slip stream of O’Neills car to draw alongside down the straight towards the chicane and use the inside line to take the lead. O’Neill then tried to make the same move on Baldwin to retake first position, but Baldwin positioned his car firmly on the inside line braking for the chicane which allowed Clements who was braking on the normal racing line to go round the outside of O’Neill through the right hander and into second place.
Baldwin leads the field out onto the start finish straight
Ray Grimes had made a mistake braking for the Old Hairpin after the safety car restart and his car was now also stuck in the gravel down at the bottom of the hill, meaning waved yellows on that section of track. This unfortunately brought a premature end to the race and what had been shaping up as brilliant final lap to the 2015 season. At the flag it was Baldwin who took his first win in the SuperCup from Clements and Paul O’Neill, with the top 3 separated by just 0.5 of a second over the line.
4th place at the flag was enough to secure the 2015 BRSCC Mazda MX-5 SuperCup title for Alan Henderson after what had been a brilliant season for him, and had seen him come out on top as a worthy championship winner in what has been the most competitive season of SuperCup racing so far. Clements also did enough over the weekend to hold off the challenges of Murphy and Goddard and claim the runners up spot in the championship standings.
Congratulations also go to Ray Worley for becoming the 2015 Masters SuperCup Champion after a very closely fought championship with second place going to Jeremy Crook and Boreham Motorsport’s Jim Hart in third place.
It has been a fantastic year for the MX-5 SuperCup with big grids providing close and exciting racing throughout the season, thanks must go out to the championship organisers, competitors and sponsors for making it all happen and we look forward to another year’s great racing in 2016!
