The MSVR meeting at Snetterton in May was headlined by the GT Cup and F3 Cup but saw some good support racing from the Mini Challenge and the new Focus Cup. Also racing was the Radical Challenge and on Sunday the Trackday Championship and MSVR Supercup. We were there on day one to witness action. 

The GT Cup saw a good 20 car entry for their four races over the weekend headed by double winner at Donington’s opening round Richard Chamberlain with his Porsche 935. Following a damp qualifying on Saturday morning it was an all Ferrari front row as Bonamy Grimes took pole with FF Course team-mate Dan de Zille in second both driving Ferrari 458GTC’s. Championship leader Chamberlain would start in third. Race one on Saturday was due to be a 25-minute sprint race but contact early in the race between Grimes and Chamberlain left the Porsche stranded and on lap three the race was red-flagged to recover the Porsche. The race re-started as a now nine-minute sprint and it was Grimes again starting from pole who took the lead with the Lamborghini of John Searle in second. At the flag in was an easy win by six seconds for Grimes with Searle second, wining GTO class, and de Zille in third. In eighth was GTA winner Kris Prosser in the Team Hard Ginetta just ahead of John Whitehouse the GTH winner in the JMH Automotive McLaren 570 GT4. Late afternoon saw the 50-minute pit-stop race and it was pole sitter Tom Webb who took the lead in his Lamborghini Huracan. He was soon in a three-way lead battle with Searle’s GT3 spec Huracan and Grimes Ferrari. At the pit-stops Grimes handed the Ferrari over to Johnny Mowlem who now held the lead setting a good pace. With Jamie Stanley having taken over from Searle he was now in second and closing down on Mowlem taking the lead with four laps to go. With Stanley leading and pulling away from Mowlem it was the fight for third to watch. The Team Webb Huracan, now in the hands of James Webb was trying to hold off a late charge from the FF Corse Ferrari of Adam Carroll. A move on the final lap saw Carroll take third with Webb fourth. Driving solo Grahame Tilley took sixth overall winning GTA while in seventh the McLaren of Whitehouse and Steve Ruston again took GTH honours. 

The Mini Challenge had three classes racing in two groups, the Cooper Pro and Cooper Am classes made one grid while the Cooper S class had their own races. Race one for the Cooper Pro & Am’s turned out to be a short affair. The race was red flagged on lap two following a multi-car incident on the Senna straight. The Snetterton marshal’s worked hard to clear the incident and the race was re-started but time allowed for only three laps. It was Robbie Dalgleish who took a narrow win from the returning Martin Poole overall and in the Pro class while behind in 11th overall it was Paul Manning who took the Am class honours. In Cooper S it was Daniel Butcher-Lord who took pole by a second from Stuart McLaren. The 15-minute race saw Butcher-Lord take the win but challenged all the way by McLaren who set the fastest lap. In the Radical Challenge Dominik Jackson took pole by over two seconds from Jerome de Sadeleer but in the first 50-minute race it was a different story. The win was taken by Marcus Clutton by almost ten seconds from de Sadeleer with Jackson in third. Later in the day Clutton made it a double by winning the 20-minute sprint race.

New for 2019 is the Focus Cup, an arrive and drive championship with identical diesel engine Ford Focus. Each round will see the drivers being allocated a car on the day all having been prepared by the same team to the same standard. Each car has an individual sponsor with just the driver name being changed on the side. Snetterton was the second meeting for the new formula and having attracted former touring car driver Andy Wilmot to its permanent line-up current British Touring Car star Josh Cook was competing as a one-off drive. Qualifying saw Cook on pole by over two seconds from young Newmarket driver Harry Nunn. The first 15-minute race saw Cook take a lights to flag win by 13 seconds but behind the battle for the podium went to the flag. Wilmot was leading a three-car dice onto the last lap from David Rowe and Mark Holme. Less than a second covered the trio as they crossed the line with Wilmot second but things didn’t end there. Having been warned during the race Wilmot was handed a five second penalty for exceeding track limits dropping him to fourth, promoting Rowe to second and Holme third. Race two saw the top six places reversed with Richard Avis starting from pole for the 15-minute race. It was Wilmot who lead at the end of lap one, going on to win by nine seconds from Holme with Cook in third. The day’s single seater action came from the F3 Cup, a championship for close to contemporary Formula Three cars. Stefano Leaney took pole in his CF Racing Dallara F317 with current Champion Cian Carey second in his Chris Dittmann Racing Dallara F311. From the lights it was Leaney who lead going on to win with Carey second and the second CF Racing Dallara of George Line third. In the day’s second 20-minute race it was Carey who took a narrow win from team owner Chris Dittmann with Leaney third. With Leaney racing in the invitation class it meant maximum points for the current Champion Carey.

Photo albums;

GT Cup & F3 Cup – https://www.facebook.com/pg/Snap-magcom-2061747147426100/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2384302418503903

Focus Cup – https://www.facebook.com/pg/Snap-magcom-2061747147426100/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2385115521755926

Mini Challenge – https://www.facebook.com/pg/Snap-magcom-2061747147426100/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2385191285081683

 

Gary Malkin