Milltek Sport Civic Cup
Rounds 9 & 10
Castle Combe – 6th August 2022
Alistair Camp consolidates the championship lead at action-packed Castle Combe, with Alfie Jeakins and Loui Hounsell topping the Production Class podium
The Milltek Sport Civic Cup lived up to its reputation as one of the closest and most exciting race championships in the UK with two action-packed races at Castle Combe on Saturday (6th August). Alistair Camp extended his championship advantage by taking his fourth win of the season in round nine.
Alfie Jeakins and Loui Hounsell each recorded top scores in the Production Class for cars with fewer modifications, on a day that saw the fast,1.85-mile Wiltshire circuit become even more demanding than usual in the hot and dusty conditions.
Qualifying
For some of the drivers, the day’s 15-minute qualifying session was the first time they had ever set a wheel on the circuit competitively, including championship leader Alistair Camp. But that didn’t stop the reigning champion from claiming pole position by 0.031 seconds ahead of Ryan Bensley, who was in turn 0.074 seconds ahead of Dan Thackeray in third.
In the Production Class, Alfie Jeakins continued his run of pole positions setting a time 0.165 seconds from Dave Marshall – with whom he shared the category lead going into the event – who stopped the clock 0.151 seconds ahead of Loui Hounsell.
Endorsing the strength of the competition and the effectiveness of the championship’s controlled technical regulations, the slender margins were apparent throughout the field, with the top 10 drivers separated by less than a second!
Race 1 – Round 9
The first of the day’s 15-minute races stopped almost as quick as it started, when Marshall was unable to avoid the stalled Civic of George Alp-Williams in the middle of the grid. The resulting impact put both drivers out of the race and triggered the appearance of the red flag while the track was cleared. Fortunately, Alp-Williams and Marshall were unharmed, but the same could not be said for their cars.
On the second time of asking, Camp took the lead ahead of Bensley and Thackeray, with Matt Luff, Morgan Bailey, Will Redford and Harvey Caton in hot pursuit. However, Bensley’s challenge for the lead was curtailed when he and was caught up in a scuffle at the Esses chicane and ended up on the grass after contact with Bailey.
Whilst positions changed further down the field, by half distance the leading trio of Camp, Thackeray and initially Luff pulled away from the next duo of Bailey and Redford, who pushed hard in the latter part of the race in an attempt to claim fourth place. In the meantime, Bensley was slicing his way through the field until a contact with another car and then the barrier at Bobbies stopped him in his tracks.
Out in front, the remainder of the race was business as usual for Camp who managed the gap and crossed the line to record his fourth victory of the year ahead of Thackeray and Luff. The fight for the next three places also ended as it began, with Bailey fifth and Redford sixth. Next up was 16-year-old Harvey Caton in seventh, followed by Daniel MacDonald in eighth.
In ninth place, making a guest appearance for the Pro Alloys Racing team, was Castle Combe regular Simon Norris, followed by Mervyn Beckett – last year’s Production Class Champion making a welcome return to the championship, this time in a recently completed Cup Class EP3 Civic.
In the Production Class, Jeakins and Hounsell battled throughout the race, with Jeakins staying ahead to record his sixth victory of the season. Such was their pace, they found themselves battling amongst some of the more powerful Cup Class cars, whilst behind them Mark Hughes was delighted to score his third Production podium finish.
Teams and drivers now have three weeks to prepare themselves and their cars for their next encounter in rounds 11 and 12 of the 16-round season, which takes place at Donington Park on Bank Holiday Monday, 29thAugust.
The Milltek Sport Civic Cup is supported by Milltek Sport, Goodyear, Maximum Networks, Liqui Moly, MaxiCloud Hosted Telephony, Co-ordSport, Berkshire Turbo, Joyce Design, Steel Seal, PRS braking systems and Maximum Performance. The Championship is administered by Club Time Attack.
Alistair Camp – Round 9 Winner and Championship Leader
“Although it was hot out there, I managed to get ahead at the start and then just manage the gap, which is exactly what I was hoping to do. The second race was a very different matter, as towards the end the brake system lost fluid and the pedal went almost to the floor. In fact, I’m not sure how I managed to keep it together, but I was pleased I did as finishing seventh means I hang on to the championship lead.”
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The Milltek Sport Civic Cup is supported by Milltek Sport, Goodyear, Maximum Networks, Liqui Moly, MaxiCloud Hosted Telephony, Co-ordSport, Berkshire Turbo, Joyce Design, Steel Seal, PBS braking systems and Maximum Performance. The Championship is administered by Club Time Attack.