Blencowe wins at the ROCK!

Alan had his impressive first win of the season - only two rounds into the season - also gaining a point for setting the fastest lap of the race - a sure sign of things to come as the championship head to Thruxton for the May Bank Holiday weekend.

Alan Blencowe (Triple R) and Jonathan Adam (Total Control Racing) both ended up taking victories and leading by some distance while the cars behind clashed with varying fortunes in their plight to take a share of the points.

ROUND 3

As in Round 1 at Brands Hatch, the first sector again proved dramatic in Round 3 at Rockingham. Carl Breeze (Blue Chip/CMS Motorsport) and Blencowe started at the front of the grid, but a poor start by Breeze put Blencowe in front as they entered the tight Deene hairpin. Gareth Nixon (Nixon Motorsport) and Adam had also managed to squeeze in front of Breeze, putting his blue car down into 4th and it got worse for Breeze as he came out of the right hand Yentwood bend.

Appearing to get clipped at the back end, Breeze span out and rolled back into the path of the oncoming pack. Daniel Welch (Marriott/ Welch Motorsport) couldn't avoid the collision, ploughing straight into Breeze and causing massive damage to his car in the process. The leading Leon Cupra R cars of Ian Churchill (Churchill Motorsport) and Freddy Nordstrom (Advent Motorsport) also found themselves involved, both sustaining enough damage to end their race early. Breeze however tried to drive on but also retired soon afterwards leaving 18 of the starting 22 cars following the safety car for the next few laps while Welch's car was towed to safety.

As the remaining cars headed towards lap five the safety car dropped off and Blencowe crossed the start line followed by Nixon, Adam and Oli Wilkinson (Sureterm Direct/CMS Motorsport). Meanwhile in the Leon Cupra R class Tim Bevan (Pyro Motorsport) had made a magnificent start going from last to 1st, leading from Adrian Churchill (Churchill Motorsport) as the race restarted. After setting a quickest lap time of 1:27.579 in lap six, Blencowe continued to stretch his lead from the hard driving Nixon.

Everywhere on the field battles were developing. Fulvio Mussi (Total Control Racing) was searching for a way past young Liam McMillan (Maxtreme) for 6th, while ahead of them Wilkinson, Adam and Nixon all still believed a 2nd place was there for the taking. In the Leon Cupra Rs Eric Bailey (Startline Services/ABRA) and Kristian Waite (Second Time Round) were putting on a display of great racing as they toiled neck and neck for what seemed like an age, Waite eventually finding a way past the slightly damaged car of Bailey.

After Bevan had screeched dramatically into the pits with bent suspension following an incident with a hay bale, it was Adrian Churchill who kept hold of the lead in that class, with Harry Vaulkhard (Volkis Boozer's/Triple R) playing his usual trick of starting near the back and working his way up to the top spots. In the New Leon Cupra class Mussi had managed to capitalise on McMillan going wide at Tarzan and was now in 6th but nowhere near 5th placed Neil Waterworth (Total Control Racing).

And on lap 15 Ray Macdowall (Total Control Racing) broke past the Scottish duo of Guy Halley (McMillan Motorsport) and Stewart Whyte to move up into 8th position and put that three-way battle to bed. But nobody could get close to Blencowe as he crossed the line victorious with Nixon in 2nd and Adam getting more valuable points in 3rd. And it was much the same in the Leon Cupra R class as Adrian Churchill eased to his first win of the championship.

Round 3 - Results

1. Alan Blencowe (Triple R)...28:22.171
2. Gareth Nixon (Nixon Motorsport)...28:24.950
3. Jonathan Adam (Total Control Racing)...28:25.310
4. Oli Wilkinson (Sureterm Direct/CMS Motorsport)...28:26.485
5. Neil Waterworth (Total Control Racing)...28:31.800
6. Fulvio Mussi (Total Control Racing)...28:35.511

ROUND 4

Blencowe had a nightmare start, thanks to gear selection problems on the grid. Regulations state that despite being 2nd on the grid, Blencowe's problems delayed the race by over 30secs which meant after a second green flag lap he had to start from the back, 19 places behind his qualifying position. When Round 4 finally got underway it was Waterworth who darted from 6th place, past team mate Adam on the outside and into 1st.

Nixon was hot on the tail of Adam going into the first bend but Waterworth was looking quick and appeared to be making more distance between himself and 2nd placed Adam as they exited. Coming through Chapman Curve McMillan and Bevan further down the field made contact, both of them heading onto the grass, but with only McMillan rejoining the race. Nordstrom took full advantage, finding a gap through the dust to take the lead in the Leon Cupra R class.

After being taken out in the first race of the day, he started to push hard to try and get away from the rest of the traffic. Meanwhile race leader Waterworth was made aware of a drive through penalty for a false start, but kept driving for three more laps in the lead before taking his penalty as the race headed into lap five. Coming back out he rejoined the race in 9th place behind Welch, whose very presence in the race was a miracle after the damage he sustained just hours earlier in Round 3. By this point Blencowe had passed all of the Leon Cupra R cars and was also ahead of both Waterworth and Welch.

But Adam would not be catchable as he and Nixon continued to put distance between themselves and 3rd placed Breeze. Meanwhile Bailey, Mike Doble (Doble Motorsports), Rob Austin (Startline Services) and Waite were having their own four way tussle for 2nd place in the Leon Cupra R class, looking like a locomotive as they went into corners nose to tail. All were driving defensively, wary of not making a mistake and losing a position, but again showing the Rockingham crowds some great competitive racing. Another battle between Wilkinson and Mussi saw Wilkinson take his chances and 4th place putting him right on the rear bumper of Breeze.

Coming into Deene hairpin on lap nine the two CMS Motorsport team-mates came together, both heading cross country but Wilkinson ending up in a tyre wall while Breeze rejoined in 5th with Waterworth closing in quick. Clearly Breeze's car was not as it should be as he was soon passed not only by Waterworth, but also McMillan, Halley and MacDowall). However, MacDowall's place gain was short lived as he retired from the race moments later.

With Austin retiring too, lap 13 saw just 12 cars left in the race with very few chances for the positions to change. Doble made a late charge out of the final corner to try and take 2nd place in the Leon Cupra R class from Bailey but couldn't quite manage, while Waite was close behind to take 4th. Nordstrom's lead in the class had been unassailable from very early on and he crossed the line over 18secs ahead of 2nd place.

But it was Adam who took the greatest glory, winning the race outright and setting a fastest lap of 1:27.432 for an extra championship point. Nixon found himself standing one step down from the race winner for the second time in one day while Mussi finally saw champagne and a third place.

Impressively, Blencowe had managed to fight his way up into 4th from the back of the pack while Breeze still got in the points with his 7th place despite obvious problems.

Round 4 - Results

1. Jonathan Adam (Total Control Racing)...19:18.701
2. Gareth Nixon (Nixon Motorsport)...19:21.874
3. Fulvio Mussi (Total Control Racing)...19:27.915
4. Alan Blencowe (Triple R)...19:28.435
5. Neil Waterworth (Total Control Racing)...19:38.521
6. Guy Halley (McMillan Motorsport)...19:55.968

With many of the potential title challengers having mixed fortunes at Rockingham, and a number of the drivers citing Thruxton as one of their preferred circuits, Rounds 5 and 6 on May 5-6 should make for great viewing. Adam may be leading the Championship now but with Blencowe, Breeze, Nixon, Mussi and Waterworth all proving they have the pace there'll be no guarantees for anyone of a podium finish. And with Ian Churchill in the Leon Cupra R class failing to score any points at Rockingham and Nordstrom now proving he can translate good qualifying into high race positions the racing in the second half of the field should be equally as exciting.

2007 Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship (provisional points after Round 4)

New Leon Cupra Class

1. Jonathan Adam...71pts
2. Alan Blencowe...52pts
3. Gareth Nixon...47pts
4. Fulvio Mussi...39pts
5. Neil Waterworth...38pts
6. Carl Breeze...37pts

1. Harry Vaulkhard...51pts
2. Mike Doble...46pts
3. Adrian Churchill...45pts
4. Eric Bailey...39pts
5. Ian Churchill...38pts
6. Kristian Waite...33pts