Decisions, Decisions....
With no time for testing between Pembrey and Donington, qualifying would be Stuart's first taste of competitive driving at Donington Park and it was very, very wet! A first lap of 1m 42 seconds and last (ninth) lap of 1m 26.62 showed a steep learning curve - and that last lap was good enough for fourth on the grid in the atrocious conditions.
As race time approached, the track was slowly drying despite a light drizzle in the air! In the end, we opted for wets, as did Peter Clark, while Charles Hall, Matt Bettley and Nick Dudfiled put on slicks. It promised to be an interesting race!
And it was.... Matt Bettley span off at the first corner and Charles began to pull away from Peter and Stuart, both of whom were now praying for rain - which never quite arrived! By lap 5, Nick Dudfield was past Stuart into third and chasing after Peter who was also finding his wets losing grip. A somewhat Kamikaze move at Redgate saw Nick up to second but both he and Peter Clark were now nursing deranged front wings!
Matt Bettley, on a charge after his first lap spin, demonted Stuart to fifth and quickly caught and passed Peter. With one lap to go, he took second spot from Nick to keep his championship hopes alive.
in the 1700 class, Joe Chedid took the win from Jeremy Timms while Mat Baldaci could only manage fourth. Unluckiest of all was Eric Cramer, who qualified fastest in the class only to be caught out by a backmarker on his final lap practice lap, damaging the car suficiently to head for home without starting the race.
Next race is at Oulton Park on the 13th of September - see you there!
Race Results - 11 laps, 21.47 miles.
| Pos | Driver | Car | Division | Time | |
| 1. | Charles Hall | Tatuus RC96 | 2000 | 17:35.80 | Pole |
| 2. | Matt Bettley | Van Diemen RF96 | 2000 | +21.17 | Fastest Lap - 1m 13.28 |
| 3. | Nick Dudfield | Stryx RT96 | 2000 | +22.29 | |
| 4. | Peter Clarke | Van Diemen RF96 | 2000 | +24.02 | |
| 5. | Joe Chedid | Swift SC94R | 1700 | +33.40 | |
| 6. | Stuart Wood | Van Diemen RF96 | 2000 | +35.30 |
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This page was last updated on 16 October 1997 17:42:45