Endurance NDC Round 8
Mark Wraight takes the 2017 MPBA 3.5cc Endurance Drivers title!
The penultimate round of the Endurance National Drivers Championship was full of thrills and spills at Brentwood this weekend. With many drivers eyes on the World Championship Eliminators in 2 weeks time, numbers were down from the average entry list but there was still plenty of tight and intense racing on offer. And what a stroke of luck that the sun made an appearance for the podium pictures!
3.5cc – This continues to be the most competitive class in the UK and was the only class with the numbers for 2 heats today. Mark Wraight was looking to seal the 3.5 title and match Andy Coburn’s 2016 feat of taking the title with a race to spare. Despite only finishing in 6th place and doing pretty much everything to scupper his chances by crashing in both heats and breaking his OS engine, Mark duly took the title on countback after deduction of Dave Hole’s worst score of 4 (8 out of 9 races count). Geoff Parmenter took the win today having put in a faultless first run and electing to sit out the 2nd heat to save his boat for the eliminators.
(Click on a boat to enlarge)
7.5cc – Deja Vue with that man Geoff Parmenter again producing a faultless first run to take the win. Geoff appears to be in great form for the eliminators and missing a few races this season seems to have been a wise choice with his goal being qualification for the MPBA GB Team in France 2018. Gary Wraight drove a controlled race to take 2nd, and now has a great record of 3 out of 4 podium finishes with his Daniel Kleff 8 Ball. However, he will be looking for a bit more speed before the eliminators to qualify with Geoff, Julian and Ross Waumsley, Rob Daniel and Dave Marles all strong contenders. Gary now has an outside chance to overtake Mick Szebeko for the 7.5 title at the Prestwich Classic but will need a bit of luck.
(Click on a boat to enlarge)
15cc – Mark Wraight drove a controlled 2nd heat to take the win after a few mishaps in the first heat. With Terry Holmes only managing to place 6th with 15 points, this now puts Mark 30 points clear after the worst scores are deducted (The 8 best scores out of 9 count). Barring a disaster at the Prestwich Classic, Mark now looks nailed on for the double in 3.5 and 15cc. Paul Adams came in 2nd only half a lap behind Mark and Mikey Hillstead took 3rd after an exciting battle with Sam Lincoln in the 2nd heat.
(Click on a boat to enlarge)
27cc – James Taylor took the win with the highest laps of the day with his Boudicca / Tiger King combination. A great return to form with a new boat which lifts him to within 11 points of 27cc leader Mick Pain. This one is going down to the wire with James determined to prevent his number of Championship wins being equalled by Mark Wraight. Mick Pain put in his usual consistent run to take 2nd. Numbers were very low in 27cc and Paul Adams took 3rd with only 4 laps!.
(Click on a boat to enlarge)
