It was Lucky Khera (Graypaul Birmingham) and Paul Rogers (JCT600 Leeds) who triumphed in the first race of the fourth round of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli UK, held this weekend at Brands Hatch. The first race of the weekend used the circuit’s short Indy Circuit layout, which followed a series of test sessions on Friday after a two month summer break.
Trofeo Pirelli. Khera started in second position but immediately snatched the lead, overtaking poleman H. Sikkens (HR Owen London) on the first corner. The leader separated himself from the rest of the pack, maintaining an impressive gap for the duration of the race. Khera took the win with a lead of 2.926 over Sikkens, who had to defend himself against attempted attacks from Andrew Morrow (Charles Hurst). Morrow tried several times, without succeeding, to take the second step of the podium, which was eventually occupied by Sikkens. Fourth – and the final position – went to Paul Hogarth (Stratstone Manchester), who took advantage of Graham De Zille (Meridien Modena), who ended up against the barriers due to a mistake on the last lap.
Coppa Shell. Second win of the season for Paul Rogers, who returned to the top step of the podium for the first time since his success in Race 1 in the first round at Oulton Park. The JCT600 Leeds driver also set the best lap times in qualifying and during the race. Second place went to newcomer Carl Cavers (Graypaul Nottingham), an impressive debut in the British series. Third place went to Stuart Marston (Maranello Sales). Off the podium was Shell Cup leader Jason Ambrose (Dick Lovett Swindon), who finished fifth overall, behind Paul Simmerson (Graypaul Birmingham). Ambrose fell down the rankings after spinning during an attempt to overtake Cavers for second position.
Programme. Tomorrow, Sunday 4 September, the activities resume with the Brands Hatch circuit in GP configuration with free practice scheduled from 10.00 to 11.00 and then qualifying from 12.40 to 13.10. Green light for Race 2 at 15.15. The times indicated are local.