Experienced Radical SR1 Cup racer Rob Ellice and series debutant Jérôme de Sadeleer each earned their first race wins of the season, as the 2017 running of the UK’s fastest entry level championship got underway around the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.
Making his outright racing debut at the iconic Kent track, de Sadeleer got his Radical SR1 Cup campaign off to a flying start with a dominant first career pole position in Saturday qualifying. Setting a blistering time of 1:36.329, he topped the timing screens from lap three of the 20-minute session, initially heading series returnee Richard Baxter before Ellice’s time of 1:37.414 locked out the front row.
A stellar end-of-session charge from Rob Courtneidge secured a second-row starting slot alongside Baxter, while David Thompson’s constant improvement was good enough for fifth fastest with Andrew Ritchie completing the top six for the first race of the season.
The 2017 SR1 Cup field served up a thrilling first round battle around the 2.433-mile Grand Prix circuit in the Sunday morning sunshine, despite a stall from pole-sitter de Sadeleer denying a front-row battle into Paddock Hill Bend. A superb start from Ellice ensured the Radical Works team car led from Baxter and Andy Chittenden heading into Druids for the first time.
Last away and some 20 seconds adrift, de Sadeleer mounted a sterling recovery drive. Picking off places to run sixth by the end of lap six, the 360 Racing driver set an outstanding pace on route to claiming a new Radical SR1 Brands Hatch GP lap record of 1:35.867 on lap nine.
With the trio of seasoned SR1 racers evenly matched from the get-go, Baxter and Chittenden afforded Ellice little breathing space and just 1.2 seconds covered the top three four laps in. By mid-distance, the ever-improving pace of Courtneidge and James Pinkerton reeled-in the leaders and, with de Sadeleer refusing to abate his charge, a fierce top-six battle began to unfold.
An off for David Tagg at Westfield and the resulting red flag on lap 11, however, meant the order remained unchanged and Ellice sealed his maiden SR1 Cup victory. He commented: "It was a fantastic race, I really enjoyed that. The guys are quick, there's only half a second between second to fifth on the grid. I couldn't afford to make any mistakes. I made a couple and as soon as I did Rich was right there. I was lucky that he had Andy behind him putting him under pressure, so it was a bit cat and mouse. The car is fabulous around here and such good fun to drive."
For round two on Sunday afternoon, it was SR3 Challenge regular Baxter who made a flying second row start to lead de Sadeleer, Ellice and Thompson before a brave move from the series newcomer at Sheene secured the lead from lap three.
The top two slots seemingly secure, battles raged further down the field, with Ellice fending off Pinkerton’s determined advances for third from lap four. Meanwhile, recovering from a three-place drop at the start, Courtneidge slashed Ritchie’s three second advantage to make a move at Graham Hill Bend for fifth on lap seven.
With the #51 car off at Stirlings the following tour, the resulting safety car period left the closed-up field with a single-lap dash to the chequered flag. The top five cars running line astern at the restart, Baxter took one final shot at the lead to run side-by-side with de Sadeleer into Druids. The Swiss debutant, however, held strong to take what is sure to be the first of many career race wins.
"It's definitely been a learning curve this weekend, I compared it to playing golf, half the game is in the putt and half the race is in the start!” said de Sadeleer. "I took no risks for the start of race two. I got a good start, lost a couple of places early on, but built up my speed and made a good move to take the lead. I felt the pressure after the safety car period, but managed to defend my line and came home first, so it's a good day. The car was awesome and the team did a fantastic job preparing it, so everything was wonderful."
Peter Devlin takes an early lead in the 2017 Fangio Trophy for drivers aged 45 and over. Andy Chittenden and David Tagg are tied for second with Nigel Paine third after two rounds.
