Thundersport GB

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With a dry first qualifying session on Saturday afternoon, the times set during that stint were to end up as the starting positions for the first race as heavy rain had hit the second session leaving Tim Reeves and Gregory Cluze with the perfect start to the weekend with pole position ahead of a much improved Andy Peach and Charlie Richardson and current British Champions Roger Lovelock and Mark Howard.

 As the Superpole race began though, Current World Champions Ben and Tom Birchall wasted no time from fourth on the grid to slide into second spot and after a few laps, the Mansfield brothers had even seen off Reeves and Cluze and were looking good for their first victory of the campaign. 

Further back meanwhile, Peach and Richardson were nipping at the heels of Reeves' outfit and after Andy Peach had told us that he was looking for more speed for the race itself, he was walking the walk and putting in a series of quick laps to stay in touch with the leaders. 

Roger Lovelock and Mark Howard however were in a bit of a pickle and having not made the best of starts, they found themselves drawn into a battle with Peddar/Steadman and Pembrey big hitters Allan Schofield and Steve Thomas who were eager to finish well in the Superpole race to make up for qualifying in seventh previously.  

At the front, Ben and Tom Birchall had given themselves a comfortable margin ahead of Reeves/Cluze and with not many laps to go, only a mistake from Ben would now prevent the 2009 World Champions from taking their first victory in 2010. Reeves and Cluze were too busy fighting off Peach and Richardson anyway and despite a great effort and staying in touch for as long as possible, once the front runners got in amongst the tail enders, the gap between Reeves and Peach was now a bridge too far for the #16 L&W Racing outfit of Peach and Richardson as they settled for third.

The fight for fourth was a tasty affair for much of the race, Lovelock and Howard had fallen back slightly and Schofield/Thomas were testing the metal of Bryan Peddar and Rod Steadman but after much tussling, it was the #75 outfit of Peddar's that went across the line in fourth until moments later their name dropped down the screen by three places as a result of a yellow flag infringement.

This meant that Schofield and Thomas took fourth, Lovelock and Howard's bad start was in the end rewarded with a fifth place finish and after starting from 19th on the grid, the talented European Champions Mark Edwards and Jamie Winn spectacularly came home to finish sixth ahead of the demoted Peddar and Steadman that now had to start the last two races in seventh as a result of the superpole result.

On Monday, a warmer and calmer day was predicted by the local BBC weather forecast, but this turned out to be about as accurate as Gordon Brown's election campaign and instead we were greeted with some of the strangest weather that I've personally seen on a race day in quite some time.

With the circuit having been previously damp, it was dry by the time the F1's made their way onto the grid for race two and along with the usual good start from the Birchall's and Reeves/Cluze, it was Pembrey revisited as the 'Scud' Allan Schofield and his Wirral passenger Steve Thomas had made positive changes to the gearing of their outfit and were taking no prisoners in the race itself.

A little further behind, Peach and Richardson were sitting comfortably in fourth whilst Lovelock and Howard's bad luck continued off the line and left them with a lot of work to do to even claim a top eight finish.

As we approached lap five, Schofield and Thomas were on a mission and led the race from Birchall and Reeves when all of a sudden the circuit turned to a darker shade of grey and rain started falling. Before we knew it, hail stones were falling and the wind was picking up and for the safety of all drivers and passengers, Thundersport GB director Dave Stewart called for the red flags to stop the race with most of the outfits surely heading for mishaps on slick tyres.

Once the race was re-started, the dreaded two-part race was called and under dry conditions, the five lap dash to the line fell in favour for the Birchall's and Reeves/Cluze as the two World Championship rival teams almost beat up the #15 outfit of Schofield and Thomas to take first and second respectively ahead of the brave pairing.

With two wins now for the Birchall's, their confidence was sky high and further back, Peach and Richardson were quietly pleased to take fourth in the end ahead of a personal best finish for Phil Bell/Ashley Hawes and a great sixth place for hot prospects Ben Bygrave and Ryan Charlwood.

For the final race of the day, the weather behaved a little better and we were greeted with a completely dry race. Again Birchall got off the line well and Reeves/Cluze followed as they took it in turns to lead the race from start to finish.

With Schofield and Thomas struggling this time with mechanical issues, it was again another chance for Peach and Richardson to fight for a podium slot and although they were unable to match the pace of the leading duo, for the most part, it was quick enough to keep them in third.

With Peddar/Steadman and Edwards/Winn back to their fighting fit pace again, the battle for fourth was heating up and this time Roger Lovelock and Mark Howard even had a say and kept themselves in the hunt. But it was all about Barry James and Carl Morgan this time around..... Having had a disastrous first race and snatching eighth in race two, James and Morgan were not considered favourites for a top five finish on their 16 year old outfit but Barry James had other ideas.

Having clearly left his Weetabix until lunch time, Barry James stormed through the pack and the pair made their way up to fourth with one lap to go and were by now only a few seconds away from Peach and Richardson.

At the front though, the race long battle between Ben and Tom Birchall and Tim Reeves/Gregory Cluze was soon about to come to the final corner and as the pair tried to deal with a tail ender in the best way possible, an inch was given to Reeves in second and he made his move for the lead.

On the exit of the corner the pair were neck and neck, side by side, and just as the two teams seemed to touch, the Birchall's looked to have to clipped the grass with a big cloud of dust being thrown up and the Birchall's were left spinning out and tipping over to end all chances of a valuable treble win at Snetterton.

Tim Reeves and Greg Cluze went on to take win number four of the season ahead of Andy Peach/Charlie Richardson who took their personal best finish of the season and after a fabulous drive from Barry James, he and passenger Carl Morgan made it to another amazing podium to finish third ahead of the frustrated pairing of Allan Schofield and Steve Thomas.

In fifth, Bryan Peddar and Rod Steadman once again proved that they have the pace to fight for podiums this year and after finishing the final race in sixth, Mark Edwards and Jamie Winn ended their weekend with some solid results considering where they'd qualified and even bagged the outstanding team of the weekend award in the process.

Reeves and Cluze now hold a precious 41 point lead over the Birchall's in second but with Schofield/Thomas only a point behind them in third, Peach/Richardson climbing to fourth overall with two podiums and Barry James/Carl Morgan ending the weekend on the pace, the two horse race that everyone expected to see at the front isn't looking quite as dominant as we thought and the twisty flowing corners of Oulton Park in Cheshire should prove to be a weekend not to be missed.

Don't forget to catch all the action from Snetterton on British Eurosport this Sunday.