ROCKINGHAM BECKONS THE SUPERCUP AS SEASON REACHES MID-POINT
We’re already reaching the half way stage in the 2018 BRSCC Mazda MX-5 SuperCup and this weekend, they feature in their one and only race weekend away from the TCR UK support package. The venue chosen is Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby, a circuit that may not necessarily be favoured by all the drivers in the field, yet the racing that occurs is usually quite a spectacle. Given that this season’s entry is even more competitive than that of 2017, all the signs of a repeat performance look promising.
As a result and pretty much as expected, it’s incredibly tight at the top of the points standings heading into this weekend. Defending champion Luke Herbert, who picked up two of the three race wins on offer at the previous rounds at Brands Hatch, has snatched a 6 point lead over 2nd placed man James Blake-Baldwin, who happened to take the remaining victory Herbert missed out on. Impressively, Blake-Baldwin has only finished off the podium once, but even so hasn’t finished a race lower than 5th so far. Jack Harding is 3rd a further 4 points back and also has a race win to his name this season, but he will be frustrated that he hasn’t had more. It seems as those that these three drivers are the main protagonists for the championship, with two of them having won titles before and the other coming close on two occasions.
That said, never count out those chasing them down. Tucked in right behind them and level on points for 4th place, Jonathan Greensmith and Aidan Hills are certainly getting up there and causing the three drivers ahead of them in the standings some headaches. Greensmith has taken a race win this season at Knockhill, while Hills has come close on more than one occasion this season. It must only be a matter of time before last year’s SuperCup rookie of the year makes that first top step visit, but given how tough this championship is at the front, it might not happen sooner rather than later. Perhaps he just needs a little bit of good fortune to make it happen.
Hills is effectively teammate to Herbert, while the other two current title contenders also have backup of their own. Blake-Baldwin has step brother Simon Baldwin (7th in points) as his running mate, while Jack Harding’s closest ally from the AK Automotive stable is Carl Garnett, who lies behind Baldwin in 8th. Right in the middle of all of them is Rob Boston Racing’s Steve Roberts, with the former multiple time BMW Compact Cup champion enjoying his second year in Mazdas and his first full season. All of the five drivers mentioned above are all ones to watch and will certainly be pushing for their moment in the spotlight this weekend.
Other drivers to watch out for are the trio currently hanging around the bottom end of the top 10. Colin Bysouth sits 9th in points ahead of Sam Tatler and Jack Sycamore, all three of who have shown flashes of true pace within the first three meetings. Keep an eye on them as they continue to make strides towards a top 5 finish or even a podium at some stage in the future.
All of the regular names are here, plus two welcome returnees. Lewis Carter did well on his SuperCup debut at Knockhill in his Laser Tools backed MX-5, however it’s the other name that everyone else will have to watch out for. Rapid youngster and Silverstone race winner Will Stacey missed the last two rounds after an awful accident in the opening weekend’s second race. Now ready to race once again, perhaps once again he may be the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons and upset the form book with more victories? Stay tuned to this weekend’s three races and find out…
Scott Woodwiss