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Though there was a new-for-'07 format of two 30-minute sprint races plus a one-hour feature race, the series had a more than familiar look as the Colards Motorsport-prepared car of Hay and Richards, the 2005 and '06 runners-up, went into battle once more against the Hyperion/Acre Jean car, this season in the hands of Morris and Oliver Bull.

It was the veterans who got the better of things in qualifying, Richards snatching the pole for his race by a tenth from Kurt Hoffmann, while Hay edged Morris by four-hundredths.

Sprint race one brought Richards up against Bull, and predictably they quickly broke away from the pack to pursue a private battle for race victory. They exchanged the lead on a dozen occasions at least but it was Richards who pinched it for good at the hairpin on the final lap, leading his rival across the line by three-tenths. "Everything went according to plan," said Clive. "I pressed Olly hard to see where he could respond and then it was just a question of making sure I was right behind him into the last lap."

Italy's Michele Tommasi came back from sixth on the opening lap to emerge triumphant in a long battle for third with Malcolm Johnstone and Jamie Constable. Johnstone was a tenth behind at the flag but Constable finished seventh after overcooking it in the final stages when the trio came upon some backmarkers. Sarah Reader and Phillipe Evrard placed fifth and sixth. There was disappointment for the German contenders: Hoffmann went off on lap two after a brush with Johnstone while newcomer Thomas Klein hobbled home eighth in an overheating car.

Sprint race two witnessed a stirring drive through the field by Morris, who slipped way back on the opening lap. "I was just about last," said Ed, "and so I had to set about picking them off." He made fourth on the opening lap, then the top three next time around and, within three laps, had displaced Hay from second and was bearing down on Joachim Westermann, who had led from the green light.

Westermann appeared to have had the best from his tyres by mid-distance and Morris was not slow to capitalise, Constable following him past the German car to push Westermann down to third.

Hay had meanwhile been pushed back to sixth and had to fight past Tommasi and Johnstone to get back in the hunt. Despite a steadily stiffening gearbox Richard was back on Ed's tail with four laps to go, but that was as close as he would get to victory. "Despite the gearbox I still could have passed him," said Richard, "but he made it very difficult to do so safely."

So Morris triumphed by four-tenths, with Constable emerging third behind Hay for Team Parker Racing after getting the better of a long fight with Tommasi, Westermann and Johnstone.

Saturday's Feature Race should have provided double the intrigue, but an eighth-lap accident sadly robbed it of two leading contenders. Bull had assumed the lead on the opening lap and had just lost it to a determined Hay when, entering the Stadium section, he felt his engine misfire momentarily. It picked up again but then, entering the Südkurve, it died completely and the closely pursuing Tommasi rammed Bull from behind.

"I tried everything to restart the engine," said Olly, "but nothing worked. And then. whack." Both cars ended their race there, Tommasi's badly damaged after impact with the barriers. The problem with Bull's car was traced to a faulty wiring loom.

This left Hay with a 4.5-second advantage over Constable, with Westermann third. Hay was the first to stop, handing an increased lead over to his partner Richards, who then stretched it to nearly 20 seconds by flag fall.

Johnstone timed his stop well to move into second place and claim his first CSR podium finish, ahead of Hoffmann and Westermann, Constable, Reader, Evrard and the Klein/Thomas Engel car, which was much improved after an overnight engine change.

Provisional points placings
1 Hay & Richards 58 points; 2 Johnstone 48; 3 Constable 46; 4 Reader 42; 5 Evrard 41; 6 Bull & Morris 38 etc.

Next rounds: Val de Vienne, France, 4/5 May

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.