REPORT: HALL AND SOUSTER CONQUER SILVERSTONE, OLIVEIRA CHARGES FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP

The Radical Club Challenge’s return to Silverstone featured a packed field of 29 Radicals - including nine SR1s - and captivated fans around the International layout. Rob Souster battled hard with rivals to secure both SR1 class victories, Pedro Oliveira’s double Class B victory launched him into the championship lead, while Charles Hall and the Leon Morrell Racing squad dominated Class A. Numerous new faces appeared this weekend, including Hugh Harnett, James Hadley, James Bark, Jason Burrill and Paul Seward, many of whom had never raced a Radical and faced a steep yet enjoyable learning curve. QUALIFYING “It’s going to be a lottery,” said Ross Drew ahead of qualifying. Words to that effect were echoed by many, as the 29-strong field would share the 1.85-mile circuit. Leon Morrell said “The traffic’s insane… You just have to be patient, watch for your moment, there’s no point throwing it down the inside to ruin yours or someone else’s day.” Souster was “pleasantly surprised” to top the SR1 class in qualifying after a number of setup struggles during Friday testing, with mechanics working as late as 10 pm to fix the issues ahead of race day. Souster set a 1:08.266 and a second-best 1:08.287 to take the SR1 pole in both races ahead of Martyn Ball and James Bark. RJ Motorsports’ Alin Fulga showed superb pace in his SR3 RSX this weekend, looking keen to disrupt Oliveira’s Class B domination. Oliveira’s best qualifying time yielded Class B pole for race one by 0.140 seconds over Fulga. However, the young Romanian’s second-best time was enough to clinch pole for race two by just 0.068 seconds. Ben Higgs reinforced RJ’s strong pace with third-in-class on both grids. At the head of the field, Hall and Morrell were inseparable. Hall managed a very slim advantage of 0.080 seconds throughout the session until Morrell found clear space and broke half a second clear, grabbing pole for both races. Hall settled for second while Aaron Rose and Matthew Twynham, who missed Anglesey due to an engine rebuild, tussled for third overall. RACE 1 A clinical start from Morrell kept him ahead of Hall, while a poor start for Twynham promoted Rose to third overall. That separated Oliveira and Fulga, allowing the Brazilian to break out an early Class B lead. A fantastic start from James Bark in his SR1 saw him rise six places in the opening laps and kicked off an amazing close race throughout the SR1 field. The track heated up under the sun - and so did the action - as the leaders began to lap the field. The gap between the leaders closed until a mistake from Morrell allowed Hall into the lead with seven minutes to go. With the clock counting down, they were side-by-side into the Vale chicane behind Darren Knutton and rookie Jason Burrill. Morrell followed Knutton closely, until slight contact was made and Knutton’s #50 ABV Motorsport SR1 spun into the gravel and ended his race just minutes before the chequered flag fell. Morrell recovered, albeit with front damage, to stay runner-up in Class A. Souster led the SR1 class from start to finish, however it was not plain sailing: “It was all going swimmingly, and then the coolant was getting too hot. So we were trying to manage that, and we ended up with a very close battle with George \[Knutton\], so I’m glad to see the chequered flag at the end!” George Knutton finished runner-up by just 1.042 seconds, followed closely by James Bark and Martyn Ball. Scott Lear, James Hadley and Michael Seymour completed the SR1 finishers. It was ‘trial by fire’ for Hugh Harnett as he retired with a suspected gearbox issue after 10 laps. Oliveira delivered another fantastic victory, mixing with Class A drivers such as Twynham: “It’s nice to have a little battle every now and again. I’ve still managed to take away a win and a fastest lap and did what I needed to do!” Fulga claimed P2, while Higgs completed the Class B podium. Race one was a great return for Sam Venning and Tim Gray Motorsports, who missed Anglesey while driving in the Radical Cup, placing fourth ahead of Paul Seward. RACE 2 Venning’s flying start vaulted him to second in Class B, jumping ahead of Higgs and Fulga. Meanwhile, Hall cleared Morrell on the launch to begin a race of fine margins and huge pressure. Souster fell behind Ball, Hadley and numerous Class B cars. Despite this initial setback, he dispatched Hadley on lap four and, with a switchback at Vale, he managed to regain the lead over Ball in just seven laps. From there, he controlled the race, absorbed the pressure from his good friend Martyn, and completed a perfect weekend including poles, fastest laps and victories in both races. “I managed to mess up the start,” said Souster, “I managed to put the car into neutral as we were going, so I dropped back and I thought I’d blown it to be honest. But a mixture of backmarkers, I think we were slightly quicker, and we managed to get by them and had a very, very good battle.” Oliveira sprinted away from the Class B field, leaving behind an intense battle for second between Venning, Higgs and Fulga. Lap after lap, they chased, only peeking out of line to ramp up the pressure and force an error. The stalemate came to an unfortunate end for Venning as, while clearing a backmarker, he touched the grass on the outside of Farm Curve, spinning him across the inside of Village and almost wiping out the group. Higgs and Fulga continued nose-to-tail until the chequered flag, finishing just 1.061 seconds apart. Venning did not complete the race, after a shunt with Barry Liversidge caused terminal damage to the rear of the #17 SR3 XXR. In Class A, the leaders were inseparable until the chequered flag, where the gap was rarely more than a second. Despite the immense pressure from behind, Hall thoroughly enjoyed the race: “I had a lovely race!” said the victor, “I loved it because of that battle and the pressure. It’s one of those races where someone challenges you so hard it makes a win even better.” Having won seven out of eight races this season, Oliveira mathematically claimed the Class B championship, while sharing the lead of the overall championship from team owner Leon Morrell: “We’ve had some very good ups, which is winning seven out of the eight races. We’ve had some downs as well, which was obviously Anglesey and the car literally catching fire. It’s been a great season in general as a roundup and I couldn’t do it without the support of Leon Morrell Racing and all the family and sponsors helping me do this - very big thanks to them!” The Radical Club Challenge UK will return at North Yorkshire’s Croft Circuit on 19th September. Race report by Kip Morgan Photography by Max Lovejoy