Victory for Webb, Wooder, Babington and Pierce
| 21 July 2014 |
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Dave Wooder (junior), Harry Webb (senior), Sean Babington (DD2) and Martin Pierce (DD2 Masters) have taken victory at the third round of the Rotax MAX Euro Challenge at Zuera (Spain) overnight.
Australian Pierce Lehane finished 11th in Seniors while New Zealand junior Marcus Armstrong was 6th.
A DNF on lap 2 of the pre-final saw Lehane start the final from the back. Up to 20th on the opening lap, Pierce was one of the fastest on track as he clawed his way to eventually grab 11th on the final lap. Armstrong started the final third and jumped to second at the start, but ultimately fell to 6th by the flag.
High temperatures and a stormy wind turning the slipstream into an even more important factor as 102 drivers contested the finals.
Above: Senior MAX final gets underway
pic - RGMMC
official rgmmc report of finals day
Junior MAX:
In the junior’s prefinal pole sitter Dave Wooder (Dan Holland Racing) could maintain his lead only for one lap until he had to leave way to local hero Marta Garcia (MGL Racing Xtreme) and Dean MacDonald (Strawberry Racing). These two showed a close fight on the top, switching the lead a few times. But towards the end Wooder recovered and had the best pace. He overtook one opponent after the other and regained the lead. But Garcia kept in his slipstream and pushed really hard in the last lap. Finally Wooder defended the victory closely in front of the Spanish girl. McDonald could not keep his speed until the end and dropped back to fifth position, while Marcus Armstrong (Dan Holland Racing) and Darren Keane (Strawberry Racing) saw the chequered flag in third and fourth position.
Above: NZ's Marcus Armstrong ran up front all meeting
pic - RGMMC
A real walkthrough was the final for Dave Wooder. After a perfect start he was able to pull away from the grid enlarging his leading gap lap after lap. In the end he completed the double win easily. Marta Garcia had to be satisfied with second place. Yet the lady driver did a remarkable race on home soil, which she underlined by the fastest lap time. Third place went to Dean MacDonald ahead of Richard Verschoor (Team TKP). Both of them gained important points in the championship table, as championship leader Thomas Preining (Team TKP) only managed positions 16 and 25.
Above: Junior MAX winner Dave Wooder
pic - RGMMC
Senior MAX:
The prefinal of the seniors was not as thrilling as expected: Pole sitter Harry Webb (Strawberry Racing) did not leave any doubt and celebrated a dominant start-finish-win, which was never in danger. Even the second place for his teammate Guan Yu Zhou (Strawberry Racing) was a clear matter, which applied to the third place of Zack Clamandemelo (Intrepid Driver Program). A very impressing job did championship leader Joseph Reilly (Strawberry Racing). After a time penalty in the heats, he had to pick up the prefinal from tenth place. He caught up bravely during the ten laps and was rewarded with fourth place – just ahead of his championship rival Edward Brand (Intrepid Driver Program) in fifth position. But due to unfair driving Reilly was excluded after the race, which made Brand gain another position while Lars Lamborelle (Strawberry Racing) completed the top five positions.
Above: Senior MAX
pic - RGMMC
In the final Reilly cut his losses. Having picked up the race from last position, he finally managed a solid seven place in the end. On the top it was Webb again, who drove in a sphere of his own. No one was able to keep the pace of the former junior world champion, who in the end saw the finish line five seconds ahead of the rest of the grid, thus taking his fourth win in a row. As for the further podium positions Clamandemelo, Zhou and Lamborelle showed a thrilling fight which reached his peak in the last lap: In a photo finish they crossed the line alongside and finally it was Zhou in second place ahead of Clamandemelo, Lamborelle and Brand, who had closed the gap on the last metres.
Above: Harry Webb takes the win in Senior MAX
pic - RGMMC
DD2
The DD2 prefinal experienced a changing of the guard. Title defender and pole sitter Ben Cooper (KMS – Birel Motorsport) was not able to tie in with his qualifying performance. Already in the first laps he lost ground and struggled to hold his position. Finally he crossed the finish line fourth ahead of Anthony Abbasse (Sodi) and Ferenc Kancsar (KMS – Birel Motorsport), who found Cooper a hard nut to crack. Yet there were drivers who managed to pass the reigning champion: First and foremost it was Sean Babington (Strawberry Racing). The UK driver did a brilliant start and boosted himself to the top after only a few laps. During the remaining distance he was able to control the lead. By a gap of over one second Babington took his first win of the season. Behind him Jordan Lennox Lamb (CRG SPA) and Andreas Backman (Strawberry Racing) were in good shape, securing places two respectively three in the end.
In the final race Babington, Lennox Lamb and Cooper formed a trio, which set the pace throughout the race distance. They headed away from the rest of the grid easily and brought about the decision among themselves. Especially Cooper was quick again and grabbed the lead for a few laps. Yet Babington did not give up: After some tough wheel to wheel actions Babington asserted himself in the lead and defended it bravely up to the finish. Behind Babington, who secured his best season result, Cooper and Lennox Lamb complemented the podium.
Above: DD2 winner Sean Babbington (602) does battle with Ben Cooper (601) and Jordan Lennox-Lamb (665)
pic - RGMMC
DD2 Masters
As for the DD2 Masters classification Christophe Adams (Sonic Racing Kart) took the win in the prefinal ahead of Tamsin Germain (DG Racing) and Martin Pierce (Praga Racing Team). In the final Adams had to retire and leave way to his opponents. So it was Martin Pierce winning the race ahead of Tamsin Germain and Franck Rouxel (Sodi Shop).
Above: Martin Pierce won the DD2 Masters division
pic - RGMMC
Now the ROTAX MAX Euro Challenge approaches the great season final. At Salbris (FRA) the series will hold its last round from 1st to 7th September, finally crowning its 2014 champions.
Above: No, it's not a special photo effect. All French blue for the KPR Sodi team. This is Adrien Renaudin in Juniors
pic - RGMMC
