Rounds 6 and 7: Croix-en-Ternois,Wallbank, Forster and Robertshaw win in FranceMartin Wallbank, Arthur Forster and Gary Robertshaw shared the victory spoils in the John Cooper Challenge during its annual visit to Croix en Ternois over the weekend (10/11 July). Wallbank and Forster shared the S Class victories, while Robertshaw took a clean sweep of pole position, victories and fastest laps in the Club Class.Despite the heavy rain of Saturday morning the opening race was run on a dry circuit, with Wallbank making the most of the improved conditions to convert his pole position into an early lead. The drivers behind him were involved in battles of their own, allowing the Sussex driver to ease away from the field to win by nearly six seconds. "It all went to plan really. They were tangled up together and that did me a favour," said Wallbank.Forster, by contrast, lost out to Nick Smith at the end of the second lap and it took him three hectic laps to get back up to third. Thereafter he set about chasing second-placed Mark Speller down and by lap 12 Forster was able to get alongside in the run to the first hairpin, Magguy. "I managed to get past Mark on the brakes," he said after pulling off the move that gave him second position. Speller couldn't quite stay with Forster and had to settle for third place, ahead of Smith.There was more superb racing in the Club Class, with Paddy Murray, Gary Robertshaw and newcomer Jim Loukes running as one for much of the race. Murray had made a good start to take the lead of the class but his efforts were wasted when the other two slipped by at the start of lap 12. "I have to blame myself," he admitted. "I think I hit the limiter and the car just died on me on the start and finish straight." Nevertheless, Murray was secure in third position and well clear of a massive contest for fourth position in which James Whelan just got the better of Stephen Campbell.The start of Sunday's race proved decisive in the S Class with Forster making a brilliant getaway from the outside of the front row to lead into Magguy. Wallbank followed, and ran close behind Forster throughout, but couldn't get ahead of the Northumberland racer. "I knew that Martin was going to be quicker so I had to stay in front and if he wanted to pass he had to go around the outside," Forster admitted. Wallbank tried exactly that on the approach to Magguy with three laps remaining but it was a move that nearly ended in disaster."I tried to outbrake him but I outbraked myself and ended up in the gravel," Martin explained. He did however power back onto the circuit, regaining fourth position on the road, behind Speller and Andy Sayle. That became third in the published results after Sayle was excluded for a yellow-flag infringement. Smith moved up to fourth overall in the final reckoning.Back in the Club Class, Robertshaw romped away to his second victory of the weekend from Loukes and Murray. "It was the perfect weekend - I couldn't have hoped for anything better: pole position, two wins and two fastest laps," said a jubilant Robertshaw. Loukes was equally delighted with his two second places at his first John Cooper Challenge event. Behind Murray, Whelan took fourth again with Barney Craggs as an enthusiastic opponent this time.The John Cooper Challenge once more provided some fantastic race action and it will make for enthralling television. The racing continues with another double-header at the MINI Festival at Silverstone on August 7/8.