Touch of Mojo Mk2 Golf GTI Championship

Brands brings success for Martin and Vaulkhard

Rounds 9 & 10 Brands Hatch – GP Circuit 25th August 2013

Race reportsRounds nine and ten of the Touch of Mojo Mk2 Golf GTI Championship took place at Brands Hatch this weekend, where Jamie Martin was back to his winning ways with a hard fought victory in race one. In race two it was Harry Vaulkhard - double-winner last time out at Spa – who took the spoils, denying Martin his second victory of the weekend on the final lap.

In Class 1 it was a perfect weekend for Alex Nuttall, who scored maximum points by winning the category for eight-valve engined cars - as opposed to the 16-valve versions that run in Class 2 – in both races. Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session witnessed another shoot-out for Pole position between James Bark and Jamie Martin, the rivalry between these two this year underlining the competitiveness of the championship. This time it was Bark who snatched the top spot ahead of Martin, with Vaulkhard third and his regular sparring partner Henry Wright in fourth – the top four Class 2 cars separated by just one-second, whilst Andrew Aldridge, who was also a double-winner at Spa, was once again the fastest of the Class 1 runners.

Race 1 (round 9)As the first four drivers had qualified so closely, there was a considerable amount of breath-holding from the moment the lights went green to the moment the cars exited Paddock Hill bend, a corner that has seen more than its fair share of first lap action over the years. Initially it was Bark, followed closely by Martin and then Wright in third, having passed Vaulkhard on the first lap. Whilst Bark and Martin tussled at the front, Wright and Vaulkhard were doing likewise just behind. However, on lap three things between the latter pair got a little too close, their Golfs touched at Sheene Curve, Wright ran wide and into the gravel, his tyres dug in and the car rolled. Thankfully Wright emerged unscathed and, although not badly damaged, his Golf wasn’t going any further for the rest of the weekend. A great shame for someone who builds his car and funds his racing himself. By consequence of the incident, Tom Witts moved into third place and took up the battle with Vaulkhard where Wright had left off.

As the leading pair rounded Clearways at the end of lap five they were closer than ever and, as they exited Paddock Hill Bend, Martin got the drop on Bark as they went down the dip and up the hill towards Druids, Martin managing to squeeze his Golf on the inside under braking for the hairpin.

Once in front, the 2012 Champion was unlikely to yield and, although Bark did what he could, the opportunity to re-take the lead never presented itself. In similar vain, Witts and Vaulkhard were also circulating as though their Golfs were joined at the towing eyes, with Witts using his Kart racing experience to keep himself ahead and take a well deserved third place.Another driver who raced Karts is Alex Nuttall, who used his previous experience to good effect to claim his first ever Class 1 victory ahead of Adrian Ward and Tim Cox, after Andrew Aldridge had retired on the first lap with a technical issue.Race 2 (round 10)With the results from race one dictating the starting order for race two, it meant that Martin and Bark swapped sides on the front row. However, that didn’t stop Bark taking the lead into the first corner, after Martin didn’t get off the line as cleanly as he would have liked. Behind them, Witts and Vaulkhard were at it again in third and fourth places respectively.Aiming to repeat the move he had executed in the previous race, Martin got alongside Bark on the run up to Druids at the start of lap three, but this time the gap was narrower and the two cars touched. Whilst Martin continued up front, Bark began to drop back and soon fell into the clutches of Vaulkhard and Witts, who had now swapped positions. If for a second Martin thought he might be able to complete the rest of his race unchallenged, he was wrong and, on the sixth – and what turned out to be the last –lap, Vaulkhard got past at Druids to take the lead. Preparing himself to re-claim the position as he rounded Clearways before the start and finish straight, Martin was somewhat surprised to see the chequered flag appear, the race finishing sooner than anticipated, due to the curfew applied because of the impact of noise on local residents.With Bark dropping back further and crossing the line for the last time in fifth place, the final results read: Vaulkhard, Martin and Witts, with Jason Tingle – another former Kart racer - in fourth, whist in Class 1 Nuttall made it two-out-of-two, with Aldridge second and Simon Tomlinson third.With just a small number of points separating the top drivers and a possible 32 points up for grabs, the chase for the 2013 title is down to the season’s finale at Snetterton. For the drivers it’s going to be an anxious time, as they now have to wait two months before the last two races on 26th & 27th October.


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