Allen keeps CALM to star from the stern in Snetterton All Porsche Trophy

A chaotic start led to a standout performance from Warren Allen as he starred in the CALM All Porsche Trophy races at Snetterton.

The pole position car, Christian Walker’s Cayman, did not even finish the green flag lap due to an electrical problem. A mix-up at the restart then meant that fellow Cayman driver Allen was sent to the back of the grid for jumping the start. Richard Neall’s 911 was the winner on the second restart, but Allen produced a real hero’s drive to finish second.

Allen received a grid penalty for his misdemeanor and started the second race from 12th, but he was through the pack and bothering Neall again within three laps. He passed Neall and quickly built up a gap, winning by just over four seconds. Walker was third, having started right at the back. He had a harder time making progress but got there, passing Peter Dilnot’s 911 late on for the final podium position.

Allen played down his chances in the concluding 40-minute enduro, but this proved not to be the case, with Allen gaining another largely unchallenged win, ahead of Neall. Paul Simpson’s Cayman was third. Walker dropped out on the second lap and had to be recovered, triggering a short safety car period.

Craig Pollard is the new F1000 championship leader after two wins. The first was relatively straightforward, with most of the action happening behind him. Robert Welham quickly passed erstwhile championship leader Matthew Higginson for second, although a track-limits penalty dropped him to third, behind Thomas Westworth. Higginson had lost some more ground after his car’s rear bodywork tried to detach itself.

A reversed grid made things more unpredictable in race two, for the first couple of laps at least. Kayleigh Cole, from the front row, was judged to have jumped the start, but she did well to hold off the faster cars, the first of which was Higginson. Welham took longer to come through the pack, but he was soon on Higginson’s back, and then in front. Higginson was fighting back towards the end, but Welham kept hold of the win. Pollard was third, right on Higginson’s exhaust.

Pollard was back on top in race three, followed by Higginson and Welham. Even a slide at Coram from Higginson was not quite enough to lose him second, with Welham third.

Leon Morrell took two victories in the Radical Club Challenge, taking advantage of the fact that his chief rival Shane Stoney, who has had the upper hand all season, had to pull out with gearbox problems. Race one was a relatively easy win, but Morrell had to overcome a slow start in race two before his PR6 took its place out in front. Class B driver Daniel Headlam, in an SR3, was second both times, although he had stiff opposition in the shape of Pedro Oliveira’s SR3.

The combined 116 Sprint Trophy and 120 Coupe Cup were dominated position-wise by the 120s, although they were vastly outnumbered by the 116s. Matthew Highcock was the overall winner both times, with George Heler and Anthony Seddon taking a second place apiece. Peter Keen was a double 116 winner, but there was a lot of jockeying for position in the class, particularly after a first-lap pile-up in race one. Class polesitter Jack Godden was among the drivers affected when a lunge at the hairpin went wrong. He eventually finished 16th. Four other cars were eliminated.

The 116 Trophy enduro was shortened to 45 minutes after it was red-flagged due to sudden heavy rain, and three cars went off. Keen was the winner in the end, just holding off James Wareing, who had the quicker car on the final lap.

The first Formula Vee race was a duel between reigning champion Matt Harbot and Leon Frost, both in AHS Dominators. The two switched places at the front for most of the 15 minutes, until Frost was able to negotiate a backmarker situation more efficiently and pull out a lead. Harbot was not happy and had a good go at reversing this situation in race two, but a broken axle beam put paid to that plan.

Sports 1000 had a clear winner in Ryan Yarrow’s Spire, but a new face in the Mittell team has got straight in on the action. Noah Osbaldeston, a 17-year-old novice, qualified second behind Yarrow. He lost out to his more experienced Mittell team-mate Dan Clowes in race one, although he was on Clowes’s tail all the way.

Ryan Yarrow withstood pressure from Dan Clowes in Sports 1000

Photo by: Richard Styles

The same winner prevailed in race two, but it was Osbaldeston’s turn to challenge. He quickly got round Clowes, and despite several strong efforts, Clowes was unable to catch him – only for a track-limits penalty to reverse the positions.

Both Clio races only had one leader, but there was some movement behind, particularly in race one. Behind Darren Ransom, Peter O’Connor had a clutch issue and dropped to third on the last lap, after third-placed Joshua North had an electrical problem and retired. Jack Kingsbury was second, then won race two. Ransom and Justin Griffiths had an early scrap over second, with Griffiths gaining the upper hand.

Hot Hatches and the new Swift Sport Challenge ran together, providing a huge 42-car grid. Gordon Macmillan (BMW Compact) won all three Hot Hatch encounters, although it sometimes looked as if Alex Foden’s Clio was going to reel him in, particularly in the first and third races. Chris Dear won all three Swift races from Adam Blair, although Blair led for a good portion of the second. His car seemed lacking in power compared to Dear’s.

An incident involving Swift drivers Connor Forster and Michael Sanford caused a red flag and a delay. This gave Foden and Blair an opportunity to catch their respective leaders, but also ate into the Toyota MR2 race that followed.

Adam Lockwood had won the first from Neil Stratton, after Shaun Traynor lost the lead due to a malfunctioning gearbox. It was replaced for race two, but it was Jim Mew who led early in that shortened race. Lockwood snatched the lead on the final lap, with Mew second and Traynor third.

Chris Dear (46) got the better of Adam Blair (11) in busy Swift Sport Challenge contests

Photo by: Richard Styles