Rounds 4 and 5: Castle Combe, 31.05.04Wallbank, Parsons and Murray take the spoils Martin Wallbank, Graham Parsons and Paddy Murray were all winners during rounds four and five of the John Cooper Challenge at Castle Combe on Monday (31 May). In two thrilling races in front of a bumper crowd, Wallbank narrowly took a double in the MINI S Class while Parsons and Murray each took a Club Class victory. In the dry first race, Arthur Forster set the early pace but Wallbank was chasing hard and when Forster ran wide at Camp on the fifth lap, Wallbank saw his chance. "He made one mistake and I got him," explained Wallbank. Once ahead, Wallbank edged slowly clear leaving Forster with his mirrors getting ever fuller with the cars of Andy Sayle and Mark Speller. However, into Camp for the final time Speller dived inside Sayle and they crossed the line in a near dead heat for third; Speller got the verdict by less than one hundredth of a second!The Club Class delivered tremendous battles all the way down the field, but at the head of the pack Graham Parsons drove superbly to claim his first win, as Murray chased hard. "Paddy kept me honest for two-thirds of the race. I was just trying to ignore him and not look in my mirrors," said en elated Parsons after his debut win.Gary Robertshaw battled hard to clinch third in the Club Class after a fine battle with Gary Kounnis, Barney Craggs and Glen Christian and Mike Beauchamp. After 20 minutes of racing, third to sixth places were covered by less than four seconds at the flag.Rain arrived just before the start of the second race, and produced a race full of incident and drama as the drivers encountered incredibly slippery conditions. Nick Smith pulled off a lightning start from sixth on the grid to lead into the opening lap, but Forster soon nipped ahead. As the cars slid around at impossible angles to the delight of the crowd, Speller grabbed the lead and was then joined by Wallbank when Forster lost time with a spin.Speller drove a mighty race, but Wallbank was a constant threat and on the final lap the lead changed three times before Wallbank squeezed decisively ahead to complete a perfect day. "Mark was driving a blinder but my chance came and I nipped up the inside," said Wallbank. Speller's recompense came when the circuit commentators awarded him the driver of the day trophy for his efforts. Smith completed the S Class podium with an assured drive, while evo magazine's Jethro Bovingdon, in the VIP car, drive a superb race to fend off Forster for fourth after a tremendous battle. "It was fantastic! They should make every race wet," joked Jethro.The action in the Club Class ran all the way to the flag, but it was Murray who mastered the conditions for his first win. "I was praying for rain. That's the best feeling ever; I'm totally over the moon," he said. "My sponsors are here today, so all my dreams have come true!"Stephen Campbell was another star in the rain as he fought up from 15th on the Club grid to a remarkable second. "It was an absolutely fantastic race; I just had to concentrate 100%," he admitted. James Whelan was another driver to revel in the rain and claimed his first podium finish in third, while Robertshaw turned in a storming recovery drive to fourth after spinning to last on the opening lap. Dave Phillips and Beauchamp chased Robertshaw home to wrap up the top six Club cars.Once again the John Cooper Challenge had delivered some outstanding racing, with three new winners and a host of debut podium finishes. The action resumes in France in mid-July with a double-header at Croix-en-Ternois on July 10/11