MINI CHALLENGE REPORT: Rockingham

MINI Challenge Race Report
Rockingham Motor Speedway 18-19th June
Words & Photos: David Young

Jono Brown leading the JCW pack

Rockingham Motor Speedway was always going to be different.  The cars go round anti clockwise for starters! A 2-mile circuit, half on the high speed banked section, the other half on the technical infield section.  The Grandstand, Pit garages, Paddock areas and facilities are superb. Car park big enough to house 20,000 cars too. In the outskirts of Corby not too far from the M11, A14 and the A6116. Well so the sat nav says. Six races plus qualifying, in all a busy weekend. 


Cooper and 'S'
The Cooper and Cooper S class have seen the dominance of Max Bladon with 6 wins out of 6 races in the Cooper Class with Cooper S class showing reliability to be required to score points, Steve Cocker has lead most races but seems dogged by issues, Scot Adam grabbed pole in front of Rob Austin and Tim Porter. 

New boy to the MINI CHALLENGE Carlito Miracco having provisional pole taken away by using the wrong ECU in his car. In the Cooper class Sam Weller grabbed pole in front of Max Bladon, would this be the end of Max’s dominance? Simon Walton had his car well sorted and was in P3. In the first race Max had his work cut out, he just could not get past Sam and had Simon champing at the bit to seize on any mistake, Max had an unusually poor start and had to claw his way back through the field from 4th. Max took his time, managed his tyres well and ended up with a tight 3 car train. Sam had some brake issues and Max pounced, got the lead and stayed there until the flag, 7 out of 7. 

love:mini driver Josh Gollin was 2nd after a mega drive with Simon Walton close behind getting the first podium of the season for him. Some great wheel to wheel racing, especially when you consider they had to contend with the faster Ss coming through with their own race.  

The S class had Steve Cocker starting in 4th with Rob Austin making a blinder of a start, but he went off at Deene to leave Scot Adam leading with Steve Cocker close behind with Tim Porter keeping them both honest.  Another great race but Steve Cocker was to get the lead after a tough battle dodging the Cooper Class cars, Tim Porter completed the podium. 

Steve Cocker and Scot Adam turning
into the Main Straight Race 1

Next race for the Cooper and 'S' class had Steve Cocker on pole next to Scot Adam in the Ss and Max Bladon next to Josh Gollin in the Coopers.  As expected Max Bladon made it 8 out 8, but the drivers behind him showed him he will have to work hard. Josh Gollin and Simon Walton challenged him hard in the early stages of the race. Simon’s car began to lose oil, in fact he dumped it all around Deene which caused the race to be red flagged, with the count back Max Bladon took the win, 8 out of 8 with Brad Hutchinson taking a well-deserved 2nd and Simon 3rd.  

In the 'S' class Scot Adam got his long awaited win with Steve Cocker 2nd and Carlito Miracco getting 3rd with the right ECU fitted courtesy of Manic Maps. Steve was having trouble selecting gears and a gearbox re-build is long overdue. Would it last the 3rd and final race?  Would Max Bladon make it 9 out of 9?

Max Bladon on his way to 9 out
of 9 leading Brad Hutchinson to the flag

With the draw for grid positions putting Max 4th on the grid he struggled, Josh Gollin led away but did not appear to make much headway with Brad Hutchinson climbing all over him, Max kept in touch and when the time came he took both of the places to make it 9 out of 9. James Goodall got his 1st podium by taking Josh on the penultimate lap, Brad Hutchinson keeping his 2nd spot safe.  In the S class, Scott Jeffs had the pole position alongside Carlito, followed by Steve Cocker and Scot Adam. Cocker was struggling trying to reel in Scott Jeffs after a poor start with no 2nd gear, only to out brake himself letting Tom Porter through into the lead. Carlito had a puncture leaving Scott Adam in 4th from Rob Austin.  Happy days!

JCWs
23 JCWs turned up for the CHALLENGE this weekend, a disappointment after Donnington’s great turn out, the JCWs are not cheap to run. But they do sound and look awesome. Qualifying was red flagged after a few minutes, cold tyres and cars all over the place did not help.  Second time out, Brett Smith, brother of Jeff Smith (BTCC Eurotec) showed that he has the pace to race. love:mini driver Nathan Harrison struggling with rear end grip, (who isn’t?) was in 2nd place followed by Jono Brown who seems to be on a bit of a mission this year, Chris Smith was 4th showing how tight it is at the top. 1 second covered the first 7 places.

The first race was won by Nathan in his usual style but he lost it due to the stewards giving him a 5 second penalty demoting him to 3rd. Brett had Oakfield Motorsport running him this weekend as BTCC duties took the Eurotec team to Croft along with Jo Polley and Jeff Smith. 

Nathan undertaking Brett Smith, the
move the Stewards penalised Nathan for.

Charlie Butler-Henderson was not a happy chappy with loads of oversteer, a very snappy rear end, you need it loose but not violent. The race was very tight with 3 clear races going on. Spectacular but for the most part great race craft demonstrated and very little panel damage. Unfortunately for Nathan it was not to be his day. Jono Brown had been promoted to first place after Nathan’s penalty. The move actually caused Brett to go sideways allowing Jono through to 2nd place, that with the 5 second penalty gave Jono the win.  Ho Hum that is racing!

James Turkington leading his pack
into Yentwood in the 2nd Race

2nd race had Jono Brown on Pole position, Jono showed us at Silverstone that he likes to lead, yet another lights to flag victory. Hard work with team mate Chris Smith keeping up the pressure. It was all a matter of tyre management and grip. Aggressive driving on Dunlops reduces grip and increases wear, obviously really but you do have to think about it over the course of the weekend with a restriction on the amount of tyres you can use and when you reverse them front to back.  So 2 wins out of 2 for Jono and suddenly the championship comes into life. Charlie Butler-Henderson came 3rd, Nathan Harrison 3rd, 2 3rds this weekend so far, Rob Smith was having a great battle with Brett Smith and unfortunately for him, this let Charlie slip by them both. 

Charlie Butler-Henderson with his rear end under control!

The penultimate race of the meeting was the JCWs final race of the weekend. The draw for grid places had Rob Smith on Pole, Brett Smith on P2 followed by Nathan and Charlie. What a ding-dong of a race, Brett and Rob had a bit of line dancing taking to the gravel with them letting Nathan into the lead with Charlie close behind. A safety car was deployed, luckily it was only out for 2 laps and Nathan had a great restart after the Safety Car left the circuit, he stormed away to a well-deserved lead with Charlie close behind.

Nathan Harrison romping home for
a well-deserved win in the last race.

David Grady had a great 3rd place. The star of the weekend was Mark Wakefield who had a clutch replaced and came 4th ahead of Chris Smith and Henry Neal. Mark received the Best of British Award from Mintex.
 
Poor Jono had a spin at Gracelands, stuffed his front full of grass and overheated, finishing a lowly 16th, but a finish still scores points. 

Mark Wakefield with Nigel and Brenda Wakefield (AKA Mum & Dad) proud parents and sponsors!

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