Round 3 of the Essex Winter Series took place this Sunday at the regular venue in the South-East of the UK.
HARPER WINS MODIFIED TO KEEP CHAMPIONSHIP WIDE OPEN
Elliott Harper secured pole position in the LRP Modified class, but the Schumacher driver had a tight battle with Kyle Branson throughout. Kyle, who took the win at R1 of the series in October, topped the opening round with his Tonisport-backed Awesomatix, before Harper took control to win the remaining rounds. The winner at R2 of the series, Alex Thurston, lined up third with his Mugen Seiki, ahead of Xray’s Harley Eldridge and the Schumacher of Peter Eagles.
In the final, Elliott remained in control and quickly opened up a lead at the front ahead of Kyle. The battle on track was for third, with Harley continually closing in on Alex. After keeping the pressure on, Harley finally found a way past Alex in the final minute of the race to move to a podium position. Almost at the same moment, Kyle tapped a corner, damaging his car. He held on to second place, but Harley quickly closed in. Kyle did all he could to keep Harley behind, but with a damaged car it proved difficult, leading to Harley making an excellent high-speed pass through the infield section on the penultimate lap. TO add to Kyle’s injury, Alex then also managed to sneak through on the final lap to secure a podium result. All this action left Elliott to cruise to victory at the front.
This keeps the overall championship wide open, with Elliott, Alex and Kyle each having a win with two rounds of the series left to run.
FINLAY HOLDS ON IN STOCK TO CLINCH CHAMPIONSHIP
Zak Finlay confirmed his hold over the Rush Stock class with the TQ and Win at the event, but it feels like his grip may be slipping slighty as the chasing pack seemed closer this time. Zak, who also took the win at the EWS International in December, took three rounds of qualifying with his Zombie-backed Awesomatix, with Schumacher designer Andy Murray topping Q3 to line up second on the grid. Finley Whitelock kept himself in the mix for the series podium by securing third with his Schumacher, ahead of the Awesomatix of Sam Nicholls and the Iris of Billy Fletcher.
Zak secured the series win by leading every lap of the final – perhaps finding a little more speed by the final, but also helped by Andy having to constantly think about his team-mate behind as Finley stayed close throughout. However he was never able to try a serious pass and thus the top three finished in the order they started. Billy moved up to fourth with a good pass on Sam half way through the race, leaving Sam to round out the top five after five minutes.
BLAKE CONFIRMED AS FWD CHAMPION
Dan Blake continued his domination of the ToniSport Front Wheel Drive class, once again lining up on pole position and winning the A Final. As in previous events, Michael Chapman looked close throughout qualifying, especially after topping Q1, but Dan kept seeming to find more pace as the day went on, extending his lead from Q2 onwards. Former BTCC Champion Jake Hill took third on the grid, with Nathan Parker lining up fourth and Thomas Looney fifth.
Once again, Dan was in control of the final, leading from start to finish to secure the championship with two rounds remaining. Michael held on to second place, and Nathan moved into a podium position with a great pass on Jake at the very first corner. Jake finished in fourth – his first EWS podium feeling even closer – and Thomas took fifth in the race.
The series continues in February with Round 4, and whilst the Stock and Front Wheel Drive titles are decided, it may give a clearer picture of who the podium contenders will be – as well as moving someone in Modified closer to the overall series win!
