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Jeremy Ellis emerged the most successful driver of the day, the 2005 Roadsport B Champion recapturing winning ways to emerge on top in both his races and to take an early championship lead. In Roadsport B, David Tansley claimed a win and a second to take the class lead overall.

With 38 drivers wishing to start in the Roadsport category the field had to be split into three groups and three races were held, each driver taking part in two of them.

The first was an Ellis benefit, Jeremy leading every lap but the first. He had to overcome an early challenge from Simon Young but once this was achieved there was no stopping the Kent man.

Young had to fend off the attentions of six others for second place, managing to break free of them with three laps to go. But by this time Ellis was long gone. Jeremy crossed the line 13 seconds ahead of Young, with David Pearce putting in a brilliant drive to third from 17th on the grid, just ahead of local hero Toby Talbot.

Mike Richards proved that a year out of the cockpit need be no hindrance with a finely judged victory in race two, again from lucky spot 17 on the grid. Richards, the 2003 Academy Champion, broke into the top 10 by lap three and crept inexorably towards top spot. The Essex man popped out of the others' slipstreams on the 22nd and final lap to win by three-hundredths.

No fewer than four drivers had already taken a turn in the lead - Pearce, Graham Johnson, Luke Embling and Mike Robinson. Pearce's hopes of another top-three ended in tears at the final corner with contact and a spin.

Race three went Ellis's way once more, but this time he had to work hard to fend off the attentions of a number of drivers. James Davis was only a tenth adrift at the flag, with Richards close behind for third place. The race was marred by a high-speed crash for Matt Porter, who suffered concussion in the incident.

The Roadsport B action was no less frenetic: in race one, Andrew Thomas made a superb start from the second row to grab the lead on the opening lap. But polesitter Chris Legg was not about to let Thomas run away with things and put up a spirited fight all the way to the final corner. Alas for Legg, his do-or-die lunge at the Russell chicane brought him nothing more useful than a spin.

Thus Oxfordshire's Thomas earned a 4.7-second victory over Tansley, who had held a solid third the whole way until promoted to runner-up at the flag. Legg recovered his composure to take fifth, with Driver of the Day Paul Storton third and Gareth Thomas fourth.

Four different drivers led race two, Gareth Thomas and Storton making the early running before Tansley and Paul Latimer charged towards the front. Andrew Thomas was once more in the thick of it, but his hopes of a repeat victory ended on the final lap when contact with another car sent him spinning down to ninth.

Wiltshireman Tansley held on to take the win and the championship lead, just seven-hundredths ahead of Legg, with Storton third ahead of Gareth Thomas and Roelant de Waard.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS
Roadsport race 1
1 Jeremy Ellis; 2 Simon Young +13.063s; 3 David Pearce; 4 Toby Talbot; 5 Toby Dicker; 6 Tony Hawkins. Fastest Lap Young.
Roadsport race 2
1 Mike Richards; 2 Mike Robinson +0.033s; 3 Graham Johnson; 4 James Davis; 5 Dax Humberstone; 6 Luke Embling. FL Richards.
Roadsport race 3
1 Ellis; 2 Davis +0.113s; 3 Richards; 4 Robinson; 5 Simon Young; 6 Dicker. FL Dicker.
Roadsport B race 1
1 Andrew Thomas; 2 David Tansley +4.661s; 3 Paul Storton; 4 Gareth Thomas; 5 Chris Legg; 6 Roelant de Waard. FL Legg.
Roadsport B race 2
1 Tansley; 2 Legg +0.071s; 3 Storton; 4 Gareth Thomas; 5 de Waard; 6 Kevin Begley. FL Legg

PROVISIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PLACINGS

Backers for Caterham Motorsport's UK and European race series include Bilstein, Brian James Trailers, Cheesman Products, Circuit Driver, Cooper-Avon Tyres, Demon Tweeks, evo, HSBC Insurance Brokers, Mitchell Cotts, Motorsport News, Stack and Steel Fabrications.

Next rounds: 14/15 April, Silverstone.

02.04.2007