Lawson’s title hangs in the balance

The Bardon Aggregates and Concrete-supported racer, who has been a revelation this year at the wheel of his 300bhp Seat headed into this weekend’s action at the Kent venue leading the title race by 21 points, albeit with the threat of a 25-point penalty hanging over him due to a contested judicial decision from the previous meeting.

As it now stands, following the latest rounds, Robert has a points total of 320 which sees him 19 points clear in the title race and, theoretically, in a position to be crowned 2008 Seat Cupra Champion.

However, should the penalty, for alleged incorrect camber on one of his wheels, which was caused by an impact with a kerb on track, be upheld, the category rookie will end the season as championship runner-up.

Alongside his podium from the first of Sunday’s races, the JHR Developments driver also achieved a fourth place result during the final round which proved to be a very static race with little in the way of overtaking.

Qualifying in fourth position, Robert stayed there for the duration of the encounter.

“We came to Brands Hatch with very high expectations and the first session went OK, I just missed pole position, but fourth was the best we could manage in second qualifying which wasn’t good enough. It was the lowest I’ve qualified all year but all in all, a second and a fourth isn’t too bad at all. At worst we’ve finished second in the championship but if the appeal over the Silverstone penalty goes our way, we’ll win the title. It’s a shame it’s come down to this but the decision against us at Silverstone was wrong, it’s as simple as that.”

Whether or not Robert ends up being crowned 2008 SEAT Cupra Champion, one of the highlights of the year will come this week at Silverstone where he will test a SEAT Leon TDI touring car, as raced this year in the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship by Jason Plato.

● Last weekend saw three local teams venture to the forests near Welshpool to compete in the Plains Rally.

Bishop Auckland driver Tristan Pye, along with regular codriver Kirsty Riddick were in action in the Yokohama-sponsored Subaru Impreza and the pair, who are both challenging the BTRDA championship, started the day well.

On the first stage, they finished 12th overall and fourth in class and improved on SS2 as they climbed up to tenth. Unfortunately, they lost some time on the fourth stage, but managed to claim it back in the subsequent stages and after a long day competing in the Mid- Wales forests, the pair finished 11th overall and fourth in class Ripon driver Charlie Payne and co driver Craig Thorley, from York, also tackled the 45 stage miles in their Mitsubishi Lancer WRC. After a good first stage that saw them climb to seventh overall, the pair encountered problems on the second stage, which lost them time and dropped them to 15th overall.

Unfortunately, they had to retire before the start of the third stage.

Contesting in the BTRDA 1400 Championship was local co-driver Mike Scrimgour of Whitby with driver Gary Scott in their 1400 Vauxhall Nova. The pair had a good start to the day and were lying sixth in class after the second stage, when on the third stage they had an encounter with a ditch and were forced to retire.

● After a break of two months since the last event, Simon Cole, from Moulton, and his navigator Ian Jackson, from Hartburn, took to the twisty asphalt roads of Weeton Camp in Lancashire last Sunday for the Hall Trophy Rally, which comprised a round of the BMW RWD Challenge.

After a relatively steady run of the first stage in their BMW 325i, the pair upped the pace and began setting some very competitive times and trading seconds with several cars on each of the following stages.

After 12 stages and 55 miles, they were very pleased to emerge as the fourth fastest BMW and also the first BMW Novice. With this result, the pair secured a good haul of championship points as they claimed 23rd overall.

Also out competing on the army training barracks near Blackpool was Thirsk driver Mat Smith and his brother Darren in their 1600cc Peugeot 205 Gti. The pair notched up further points in the Yokohama Peugeot 205 Challenge as they finished an impressive 14th overall, third in the one-make series and third in class.

The pair had led the challenge from the outset and maintained their advantage despite several problems, including a misfire, before disaster struck on stage nine when an electrical fault caused them to lose around 35 seconds and dropped them down the order to third. Despite their best efforts across the final three stages, they could not make up the lost time, just missing out on second place by three seconds to their main championship rivals Dan Corner and James Greenwood, but they are still within reach of the 205 Challenge title.

Richmond brothers Mark and Andrew Constantine finished 30th overall and won class one in their 1400cc Vauxhall Corsa. They suffered with fuel starvation on stage one but managed to make the time up as they used the event as a shakedown ahead of the Tour of Mull in two weeks time.

● Blyton Circuit played host to rounds five and six of the 2008 Rallycross Open Championship and after two days of sunshine and action packed racing at the Lincolnshire venue in front of a large crowd, it was Mark Watson from Barnard Castle who walked off with the headlines, as he retained his Division 1 Rallycross Open Championship for a second successive year However, the destiny of this title was never clear cut, as Watson had to endure a series of incidents on and off the track. The 40-year-old Hotelier looked to be on course for the title when closest rival Mike Manning failed to show due to a blown engine the previous day. Mark’s mission was simple – to qualify for one final to take the title.

But it wasn’t that simple for him as his Citroen Xsara WRC burst into flames at the end of the first heat when the fire was sparked by leaking fuel injector rails.

The damage looked irreparable but his team worked furiously to repair the car, to put him back on track to claim his second final win. With Watson looking unlikely to make the final, Toyota driver Tony Bell from Ferryhill, began to think he could snatch the title, but a win on both finals was the least he needed to take the championship to Croft next month.

He duly took three heat wins and pole position for the final, but then Bell and Watson’s luck completely reversed when Watson emerged from the pits with a completely repaired car. While Bell’s weekend came to an end in an expensive pool of oil, Mark went out in the final to dart from the back row and into the lead and took his second title.

The second day, the second meeting, more problems arose when the throttle cable stuck open. Fortunately, with this fixed Mark won his next heat, which secured him a place in the final. He went on to finish with an impressive win in a car that had endured so much over the weekend. Mark retains his British open title with five wins and a second place out of six meetings.

● The ambitious Darlington and District Motor Club bring the curtain down on a summer of car racing when they play host to the final meeting of the season at Croft Circuit, near Darlington this weekend.

As well as bringing a varied selection of national and local racing to the circuit, all eyes will be on the club’s flagship series, the Northern Sports and Saloon Car Championship, which is set to be decided, and as a result, an unprecedented entry of 60 competitors has been assembled for those races alone.

The race for the championship is as close as it is even with both David Cox from Darlington and Hartlepool driver Gavin Lee having to start the Sunday race in order to decide who will be the 2008 champion, the final margin could be as close as one point meaning all really is to play for.

In addition, the Lotus on Track Elise Trophy will be making a visit for a double header on the Saturday and the PROMIL GT Cup will also compete in two, 30-minute races over the weekend.

At the inaugural event at Snetterton in 2007, they had more than 20 cars take the grid with a fantastic mix of Ferrari 360s, Porsche GT3s, and Marcos’ to name a few.

VdeV UK will also feature, which is endurance racing for Sports Prototypes. After making a successful debut at Brands Hatch last year, the grid had grown to 17 sports prototypes.

With professional drivers, pit stops and beautifully designed cars like the Ligier JS49 and the Juno SSE, VdeV looks and sounds truly spectacular.

The MG Cockshoot Cup Championship will complete the programme for the weekend with a mix of MG Midgets and MGBs.

The action gets under way with practice on Saturday at 9.30am followed by the first of five races at 1.55pm. Sunday’s six-race programme commences at 12.05pm and adult admission costs £10 each day with accompanied children aged 15 and under free.

Further details are available at www.croftcircuit.co.uk or by calling 01325-721815.

● The biggest rally of the season is set to hit the North Yorkshire forests tomorrow when most of Britain’s leading competitors converge on Pickering Showground for the Trackrod Rally Yorkshire.

Comprising rounds of both the Tesco 99 Octane British Rally Championship as well as the Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Championship, there will be a number of local drivers in action, including defending British champion Guy Wilks, from Heighington, who will be out in his works Mitsubishi, as well as Scorton father and son team of Steve and Stephen Petch who swap their usual Hyundai and Mitsubishis for the day.

With classes for historics and clubmans as well as the major championships, the action starts at 7.30am with the last of the crews finishing 12 hours later. Further information can be found at www.trackrodmotorcub.

co.uk ● Any motorsport news?

Email larry@cartersport.com.