Home triumph puts Adam in the driving seat

Champagne drenched the Scottish flag draped across Jonathan Adam’s (Total Control Racing) shoulders, as photographers lined up to shoot him at the top of the SEAT Cupra Championship podium for the second time that day. The Kirkcaldy driver was soaking in not only the champagne but also the plaudits as he finished Rounds 15 and 16 with two pole positions, two fastest laps and crucially two race wins. It’s the third time this season that Adam has claimed both victories at one circuit, and it has set to line-up an enthralling finish to the season as Robert Lawson (Bardon/JHR) works to maintain his lead in the Championship.

Lawson couldn’t get anywhere near Adam in Round 15, having found himself stuck behind Daniel Welch (Marriot/Welch Motorsport) soon after the start. He retook the place coming down to Real Radio Hairpin halfway through the race though, but Adam was out of sight and it stayed like that until he crossed the finish line 11.348secs ahead of Lawson. Martin Byford (AB Glass/Z Speed Racing) had also taken advantage of the error Welch had made to let Lawson through, snatching a place himself to put himself on the third step of the podium. Meanwhile, Carl Breeze (Blue Chip/Welch Motorsport) made two places up on his qualifying position to take the 5th spot while David Green (Daniels Motorsport) had to settle for 6th having given Breeze a good run for his money.

In Round 16 Adam again got away well and this time Lawson was able to give chase from the beginning. But again, Adam’s pace around the circuit he knows so well proved too great for Lawson to usurp, so they crossed the finish line in the same order as before despite only 4.571secs separating them this time. The fast and furious action though took place further behind them, with Andrew Herron (Brian Herron Plant/JHR) charging from the rear, having resolved the earlier issues with his car, and Green once again going brilliantly towards the front. But after the safety car came out following Jamie Ackers’ (Total Control Racing) off, Welch put his foot down to take 4th from Green, before the Daniels Motorsport driver was collected from behind through the SEAT Curves to end his race early. Byford was still fighting from a set back in the first lap, and his progress through the race was impressive after he suffered another loss of place to Daniel Rowbottom (DRM M-sport) soon after the Green incident. From 7th place, Byford used the hairpin and start/finish straight perfectly to first pass Rowbottom, then Jeremy Gumbley (Millionpixeldriver.com/Welch Motorsport) and finally Welch to finish in 4th place. Despite the heroics though his nearest rival Breeze still finished ahead of him, yet the damage to his hopes of a top three Championship finish could have been a lot worse.

It’s much the same for Lawson too. He may have lost out to Adam twice, but the JHR driver made sure he limited the damage with two second places, which in turn means he left Knockhill still leading the Championship. With Silverstone and Brands Hatch more neutral territory too, the finale of the 2008 SEAT Cupra Championship looks set to be a classic as Adam and Lawson battle it out until the end.

Jonathan Adam: “We were confident after qualifying. I knew we’d be extremely strong around here. The home support, well we don’t get much down south, so that just pushes you on a bit too.”

Robert Lawson: “It’s getting a little too close for comport to be fair, but we’ve still got two meetings to go. Jonathan is always going to be a tough man to beat up here and it could have been a lot worse. We still got a bag full of points and we’re still leading the Championship.”

Carl Breeze: “Fifteen points from the second race and twelve from the first with an extra point I think for most places gained. It’s good to get decent points again. It definitely makes for a less dreary drive back to King’s Lynn than after Oulton Park!”

Martin Byford: “I’m glad Knockhill’s out of the way as it’s never been kind to me before. A podium and a fourth is a decent result, so I can’t not be happy with that.”

David Green: “I felt really comfortable with the car, that I’ve moved up a step and can keep up with the speed of the top cars. It’s just gutting what happened in that second race. I really felt I had the measure of the car and that I had the pace to challenge Breeze.”

Daniel Rowbottom: “The results weren’t brilliant. Unfortunately race one didn’t go well. It’s a technical circuit, a lot of it is air-born stuff. The hairpin is probably the most technical corner and I just picked up the line in the last few laps. We came into this with our eyes closed a bit but fifth is still do-able.”

Andrew Herron: “I so could have caught those guys in the second race. It’s a pity it took us so long to find the problem with the car. It’s a big loss of points, but it’s a character-building weekend for sure. It’s a real stab in the heart when you know it’s not your driving letting you down. But I proved in the last race I had the pace to do well here.”