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Simon Taylor double ensures championship lead
Richard Buckley beaten for first time
First wins of the season for Alvin Powell,
Phillip Latchford, Richard Perks and Matt Hale
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A first visit to Pembrey for the LMA Euro Saloons. Twenty-five cars made the trip and were rewarded with separate qualifying and race sessions on both days of the
weekend, and LMA gave all drivers a voucher for an evening meal and drink in the bar on Saturday night, a big thank you to them for that
Qualifying - Saturday
Local instructor Alvin Powell was unable to partake in the session in his ex-Alain Menu BTCC championship winning Ford Mondeo, so Tony Soper headed the qualifying times
in the Harrier LR9, followed closely by Class B rivals Phillip Latchford (VW Vento VR6) and Dave Nixon (Rover 220 Turbo). Class C was headed by Richard Perks (Honda Civic)
setting a marker for the race, unbeaten Class C driver Richard Buckley suffering problems which left him back in 23rd place. Championship leader Simon Taylor (Honda
Civic Vtec) headed Class E times from Neil Threadgill (Renault Clio).
Race - Saturday
With race favourite Alvin Powell starting from the back, and Richard Buckley just a row
ahead, there was sure to be some excitement as the pair carved their way forwards. By the end of the first lap Powell had already made his way up to 11th, and indeed
would reach second place on lap 3; Buckley was fairing less well, having made up seven places on the first lap, moving further up the field became much harder.
The 30 minute race (the longest race of the season) saw a few cars falling by the wayside. Series returnee Charles Cozens made his debut in the Peugeot 206 GTi but
his race was short lived after a wheel and a wishbone were damaged in an off. Dave Nixon and Richard Hawken lasted 16 laps, the former breaking a driveshaft, the latter
retiring with a puncture. Lee Scott (Fiesta XR2i) and Larry Phillips (Honda Integra) almost made the finish, but fell a couple of minutes short.
Having reached second place on lap 3, Powell set about chasing leader Soper who was able to hold off the challenge until lap 9 after which Soper stayed in touch until a
minor excursion on lap 12 saw the gap stretch past 10 seconds, after which Powell controlled the race to win by 10 seconds. Phillip Latchford was having a close race for
Class B honours with Dave Nixon, inheriting the class win after Nixon's retirement, with Paul Overton moving slowly up behind to take second in class and 4th overall.
An excellent run saw Richard Perks take the Class C honours from Richard Buckley who made it up to 6th from the back row of the grid. Simon Taylor extended his
championship lead with another win in Class E from Neil Threadgill (Renault Clio) just over a lap behind. Chris Brogden (Fiat Uno) won the Class D battle with Tim Morgan
-Barrett (VW Golf GTi), with Simon Jackson and Alan Duly taking the honours in Classes F and G.
Qualifying - Sunday
With Alvin Powell ready to partake in this session, predictably he led the times from Tony Soper and Richard Hawken (Vauxhall Cavalier Gsi). Dave Nixon headed Class B
from Matt Hale, with Class C leader Richard Buckley splitting them and leading the class from Richard Perks. Lee Scott had resolved his electrical problems but still lined
up behind Simon Taylor in Class E.
Race - Sunday
An incident between Dave Nixon and Richard Hawken saw the race restarted as a 20
minute race, Hawken being unable to make the restart as his car was beached at the hairpin and caused the red flag. Tony Soper got away early, Alvin Powell had restarted
further down the grid, but right behind was a battle royal between Richard Buckley, Dave Nixon, Paul Overton and Matt Hale, at times separated by less than a second.
Late in the race Dave Nixon dropped out from this group with overheating problems most likely a corollary of the first race incident, leaving the other three to battle on.
Powell once again brought the Mondeo through the pack, again reaching 2nd on lap 3 and taking the lead from Soper on lap 7 after which he pulled slowly away to win by 10 seconds.
The three way battle behind Powell and Soper raged throughout the race, Phillip Latchford had stayed in close contact for a while but worn tyres told and he dropped
back slowly leaving Buckley, Hale and Overton to take 3rd, 4th, and 5th, Hale taking 4th from Overton by 4/10th, with Buckley and Hale taking the Class C and B wins.
Lee Scott dropped out of contention early on with engine problems, leaving Simon Taylor to take Class E spoils again, but with a smaller margin back to Rhys Bolton than
he had won by on the Saturday. Chris Brogden's hopes to repeat Saturday's win were thwarted by a broken driveshaft in early morning qualifying leaving Tim Morgan-Barrett
to take Class D, with Simon Jackson and Alan Duly again taking the honours in Classes F and G.
A double win for Simon Taylor (152) means he extends his lead in the championship to
4 points from Richard Buckley (148), a double DNF for Dave Nixon allowing Stuart Jefcoate to pull away in 3rd with 116 points.
Results:
Winner (race 1): Alvin Powell (Ford Mondeo), 2nd Tony Soper (Harrier LR9), 3rd Phillip Latchford (VW Vento VR6), 4th Paul Overton (Vauxhall Vectra), 5th Richard Perks
(Honda Civic) , 6th Richard Buckley (Honda Integra)
Class Winners: Class A Powell, Class B Latchford, Class C Perks, Class D Chris Brogden
(Fiat Uno), Class E Simon Taylor (Honda Civic), Class F Simon Jackson (Vauxhall Nova), Class G Alan Duly (Ford Fiesta).
Fastest lap: Powell 1:01.703s (80.42mph)
Winner (race 2): Alvin Powell (Ford Mondeo), 2nd Tony Soper (Harrier LR9), 3rd Richard Buckley (Honda Integra), 4th Matt Hale (Vauxhall Vectra), 5th Paul Overton
(Vauxhall Vectra), 6th Phillip Latchford (VW Vento VR6)
Class Winners: Class A Powell, Class B Latchford, Class C Perks, Class D Tim Morgan
-Barrett (Fiat Uno), Class E Simon Taylor (Honda Civic), Class F Simon Jackson (Vauxhall Nova), Class G Alan Duly (Ford Fiesta).
Fastest lap: Powell 1:01.703s (80.42mph)
Driver of the Day – Saturday
: Alvin Powell
Driver of the Day – Sunday:Matt Hale
Report by Trevor Nicosia, Car 10
Click here for more photos from Pembrey
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