While Ash Sutton appeared almost certain to take the British Touring Car title at Silverstone last weekend, Callum Voisin looked just as likely to also wrap up Porsche Carrera Cup GB spoils with a round to spare. The Century Motorsport driver has been metronomic upon his switch from single-seaters but he chose this crucial moment to make a rare mistake.
The first race was already a messy one for Voisin – having slipped from second to fourth on the opening lap he then ran wide at Copse a few laps later after contact with Sid Smith. But, having regained his composure and passing key rival Will Jenkins at Luffield, the red mist then descended as he attempted a very optimistic lunge on Max Coates into Brooklands. The move was never on and both drivers were sent pit-bound for repairs. Voisin did continue but the tracking was severely out and suddenly his serene path to the title had become a little more complicated.
“It was a bit more of a tricky weekend for us, not so much in terms of pace,” he said. “Race one was a bit argy bargy and I was a bit angry and wanted to prove a point and it all went a bit pear-shaped.”
Two other consequences of Voisin’s misstep were a four-point championship reduction and he would also start down in 13th for race two.
The Porsche Carrera Cup GB Junior was a “little more conservative” second time around but did not shy away from making moves on what was initially a damp track to eventually finish fifth and seal the title. Voisin was aided by Jenkins falling from second to fourth with a track-limits penalty.
Race one was a contest to forget for Voisin as he was involved in several scrapes
Photo by: JEP
“I’ve never won a championship with a weekend to spare – it’s an incredible feeling,” Voisin enthused. “I always set very high goals for myself but did I expect to win a round early and dominate the championship for most of the season, not at all. It’s a very tough championship and there’s drivers with a lot more experience in these cars than me.”
While Voisin’s victorious run came to an end – he had triumphed at least once on every weekend prior to Silverstone – there were two new winners in Northamptonshire. Voisin’s Century team-mate Isaac Phelps won from pole in the opener before Team Parker’s Jack Sherwood resisted pressure from Jenkins and Phelps to take victory in the finale, after leaders Jonathan Moore and Sid Smith had both locked up and ran wide during the damp opening tours.
“I’m happy to finally achieve that win – it’s more of a relief than anything as I’ve been so close all year,” admitted Sherwood. “It wasn’t plain sailing – it was super difficult trying to pick your braking point.”
It was not all plain sailing for Voisin either but in the end he was able to emulate the achievements of Harry King by sealing the title early in his first year as the Junior.
Wherrell woe puts Van Langendonck on brink of title
This Copse spin was the moment where Wherrell’s title bid faded
Photo by: JEP
Another driver who came incredibly close to sealing a title at Silverstone was British Formula 4 points leader Dries Van Langendonck. Just a month ago, the Belgian’s championship chances took a huge hit when he was given a one-event ban after exceeding 12 points on his licence. But since his return he has been masterful, adding another two wins in Northamptonshire.
However, the 72-point lead he enjoyed by the end of the weekend also owed much to the misfortune of chief rival Lewis Wherrell. The JHR driver jumped polesitter Van Langendonck at the start of race one only for an early safety car to draw the Rodin racer back on to his tail.
Wherrell felt it was a late call to turn off the safety car’s lights and was vulnerable on the resumption as Van Langendonck darted to the inside of Copse. Wherrell attempted to brave it around the outside but lost control on the dirt and spun into the gravel. It was a gigantic gift for Van Langendonck who headed home Hitech’s Theo Palmer, the only other driver loosely in the pre-event title picture.
“I should’ve backed them up more and gone earlier on the restart, I was a bit too late,” said a devastated Wherrell. “Dries found a gap on the inside and I just hit the marbles and couldn’t save it. It’s going to be hard getting all of those points back.”
He then nearly had another DNF in race two as he attempted to fight through from the partially reversed grid. Wherrell attempted a bold move on Ethan Lennon at Brooklands but half spun and was oh-so nearly collected by the Rodin driver. Instead it dropped him behind Van Langendonck again as they finished sixth and seventh while CDR’s Tommy Harfield finally bagged his first win of the season from pole.
The title protagonists were alongside each other on the grid again for the finale but, after an aborted first attempt following a startline clash, Van Langendonck was able to resist Wherrell’s early pressure to put the McLaren junior just three points away from wrapping up the title with an event to spare.
Sock strife kicks Ovenden’s Mini momentum as others shine
Algieri scored his first JCW victory in the opener
Photo by: JEP
Of all the reasons to be excluded from qualifying, failing to wear fire-resistant socks has to be among the more unusual. Yet seven of the Mini Challenge drivers fell foul of the undergarment rules at Silverstone, including championship leader Tom Ovenden.
The reigning champion had his points advantage cut from 33 to 14 over the course of the weekend, but it could have been a whole lot worse. The Excelr8 driver recovered from 16th on the grid to eighth in the opener and then bagged a pair of fifth places in the other two races. Meanwhile, his key rival Max Edmundson – who finished runner-up last year – scored sixth, third and second positions to narrow the gap, but the Pro Alloys racer was unable to fully capitalise on Ovenden’s wardrobe error, having only qualified seventh himself.
Instead, other drivers had the chance to shine. Excelr8’s Olivier Algieri bagged his maiden JCW win in the opener after demoting polesitter Alex Solley at Copse early on in a move that also opened the door to Josh Porter.
Then Algieri’s team-mate Nathan Edwards finally opened his win account for the year in race two with another Copse move proving decisive. Reversed-grid polesitter Henry Howarth was defending hard from Harry Hickton and Edwards was able to pounce on them both.
The finale was then a thriller as rain grew heavier and the lead train grew longer. Algieri was at the head of the pack for the first 14 of the 18 laps but was then barged aside at Becketts by Sam Gornall (Pro Alloys), who went on to win. Algieri plummeted to ninth, while Edmundson nabbed second from Edwards on the line to take a further nibble out of Ovenden’s lead.
Team Parker duo prove unstoppable again
Rogers and Marshall occupied their regular positions at the head of the Cayman horde
Photo by: JEP
The Porsche Sprint Challenge GB has been all about Team Parker Racing pair Joe Marshall and Josh Rogers so far this year. And the duo continued their unbeaten streak at Silverstone with Rogers scoring another hat-trick.
The successful sim racer has really found his stride in real-life competition too, and never really gave the more experienced Marshall a chance after scoring a double pole. Rogers was untroubled in the uneventful opener while Ethan Hammerton scored just his third podium of the season.
Marshall did get closer to Rogers on the first lap of race two with a look up the inside of Luffield but was unable to prise open the door and the Australian again triumphed with Matt Kyle-Henney completing the podium this time.
A mid-race safety car in the wet finale appeared to give Marshall another chance to deny his team-mate but, despite the Silverstone National circuit only having four corners for recovery crews to be stationed at, it took an eternity for a telehandler to arrive at Copse to retrieve James Seale’s beached Cayman and the race was never restarted. All of that meant Rogers closed the gap to 15 points to Marshall as the intra-team rivalry rumbles on.
Rogers’ hat-trick puts him just 15 points behind his team-mate as his trophy haul grows
Photo by: JEP
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– The Autosport.com Team
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