Rockingham is the next track on the schedule for the John Cooper Challenge on Sunday 29 August. Round ten of the season will take the MINI racers to the fantastic facility at Corby (Northants) for a race on the track that combines a technical infield section with a high-speed blast around the famous banking.
A piece of motorsport history has been created this season, with the first ever races for the exciting new 140mph Works MINI Cooper S. This is the third year of the John Cooper Challenge, which was created to honour the memory of the man who developed the original Mini Cooper back in the 1960s. But for the first time in 2004, the superb Works Cooper S is competing alongside the existing MINI Club Class cars in a two-class championship.
After the Rockingham race, just two rounds remain at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch, so the title races are now moving into the closing stages and it could scarcely be closer at the head of the championship. Just two points separate the top two drivers heading to Rockingham.
The top of the S Class features a tremendous contest between Martin Wallbank and Arthur Forster, and Wallbank currently has a slender advantage. At the end of the season, drivers drop one score from their total and currently that would reduce Wallbank's lead to a single point!
Forster raced at Rockingham in the John Cooper Challenge in 2003, but for Wallbank it will be a new challenge. To date, there has been precious little to chose between these two fine racers and they will surely continue their battle at Rockingham.
Meanwhile, 2003 champion Mark Speller is leading the chase of Wallbank and Forster, and is ready to pounce should either of the top pair falter. Other leading S Class contenders include Andy Sayle, Nick Smith and Rob Holgate.
There have already been five different winners in the Club Class, but Gary Robertshaw is now tightening his grip on the class after a superb run of success. Like Wallbank, Robertshaw is one of the drivers new to Rockingham but Gary has already demonstrated that he learns new tracks quickly!
Paddy Murray shot to prominence with two fighting drives at Castle Combe and is now second in the Club Class, albeit 12 points down on Robertshaw. Third in the class is student Stephen Campbell while Barney Craggs is the fourth of the four Club Class drivers that have pulled clear of the rest.
This is the start of a busy few days for the drivers as round 11 will be held at Oulton Park on Saturday 4 September, just six days after the Rockingham race. It is a six-day period that could well decide the destiny of the 2004 title!
