Two Combe titles for local drivers

3:01pm Monday 6th October 2008

Westbury driver Shane Marshall took his first outright championship title at the Castle Combe Circuit's final race meeting of 2008 on Saturday.

Marshall had two theoretical rivals in the savesometax.co.uk race but in reality, his task was merely to bring his car home in one piece to ensure the title would be his.

Conditions in the race made even that job far from a push over, rain certainly not the most suitable conditions for Marshall's powerful V6 Jade. For his closest rival, Bridgwater's Josh Fisher, attempting to be the first man to win two championships at Combe in the same year, it was ideal, his nimble 2 litre Mantis sprinting from ninth on the grid to second by Quarry and emerging to an unassailable lead by the end of the first lap.

Rather than settling for a safe finish, Marshall pushed to the limit, taking second place ahead of class rival and fellow Jade pilot, Guy Woodward from Bath.

Trowbridge's Andrew Shanley took fourth overall after holding second for the first four laps. Fellow Trowbridge resident, Mark Funnell, one of the other potential contenders for the title, suffered a rare class defeat to his Lotus Exige but still finished sixth overall.

Shock result of the day was in the traditional season ending Melton Concrete Products FF1600 Carnival.

After the first qualification race, won by Josh Fisher, Bathampton's Matt McKillop was placed ninth on the grid for the final, courtesy of his third place in the first race. Another driver who had been praying for rain, McKillop made a brilliant start on the wet track, punching his Swift SC93 through to third by the end of lap one.

By lap three, McKillop had passed early leader, Peter Barrable from Ireland, opening out a 4.5 second lead by lap nine, when the safety car intervened.

Watched by his anxious father, Mac - himself a Formula Ford racer - McKillop withstood the pressure and again pulled away to win by 5.5 seconds from Barrable and his brother Peter. Swindon's Oliver Bull also drove brilliantly to come home fourth from a lowly 17th on the grid. Saltford's Steven Jensen was fifth, just ahead of Fisher, with Ed Moore, from Bradford on Avon, off form in the wet conditions in seventh. Chepstow's Nick Jones took the Pre 90 honours in a one off' drive.

Further Formula Ford action came with the Melton Concrete Products FF1600 championship which was decided at the previous round in favour of Bridgwater's Josh Fisher, but second in class B was still open.

Bradford on Avon's David Vivian was just one point ahead of Warminster's Jonathan Hoad, who qualified a superb fourth overall, one row ahead of Vivian. Sadly the battle ended early on lap four, with Vivian putting his Swift SC92 into the barriers at Camp, giving Hoad the points advantage.

Right at the front, Bratton's Ben Norton took his second win of the year from eighth on the grid in the Wiltshire College Swift after passing early leaders Steven Jensen and Castle Combe's Andrew Jones, those two finishing third and fourth respectively.

Another star drive was Chippenham's Adam Higgins, who brought his Van Diemen RF01 up from tenth in qualifying to second. Chippenham's Tim Reynolds, having his first race for three years, beat Hoad to the class B win, while Bath's Chris Acton, in his first race this year in a brand new, previously un-driven Ray GRS08 slipped from third on the grid to finish ninth.

The final round of the National Mobile Windscreens Saloon Car Championship race was another affected by the wet conditions. Title protagonists William Di Claudio, from Chippenham, and Yatton Keynell's Jason Cooper were the two men in contention, the former having a useful four point lead and therefore only needing a modest result. Even that looked in jeopardy after qualifying though, Di Claudio's Peugeot needing major gearbox attention.

With little to lose and a lot to gain, Cooper drove to the absolute maximum to win the 1400cc class easily in his Fiesta, as well as finishing ninth overall, a tremendous achievement against the formidable opposition. Di Claudio had a cautious race to second in class, taking his first title.

At the front, another wet weather maestro, Gary Prebble, annihilated the field in his Evo 7 RS, lapping everyone up to fourth placed Simon Norris from Melksham. Russell Humphrey was the only man remotely in touch, finishing nine seconds behind.

Calne's Tony Hutchings took another class B win in his Audi TT, again courtesy of his wet weather skills, with Bristol's Nick Mizen winning class C in the MG ZR.

A number of local drivers were successful in the combined Tin Tops and Future Classics 30 minute race. The Chippenham pairing of Ian Agnew and Craig Jepson brought their TR7 V8 home sixth overall and second in class, while Edward and Anthony Cooper, from Malmesbury, were second in their class in their Nova Gsi.