Autosport – 25 July 2019

AL

L^ P

ICS

:^ M

OIR

Gronkowski (l) and Cowley were

inseparable for much of the David

Leslie Trophy weekend at Knockhill

Paterson claimed the opening

Scottish Legends victory, but it

was his weekend’s highpoint

66 AUTOSPORT.COM 25 JULY 2019

CLUB AUTOSPORT NATIONAL REPORTS

encounters, with a number of intriguing

sub-plots being played out over three races.

Andy Forrest claimed victory in the first

race in his Radical, but only after fighting

back from sixth place following contact

with GT Lights leader James Thompson

while lapping the Irishman at the Hairpin.

Forrest doubled up in race two, but

mechanical trouble prevented a clean sweep

and handed the Nemesis Kit Car of Ron

Cumming a second victory of the year.

GT Lights proved to be the pick of the

action behind, with Conor Farrell claiming

two wins to boost his championship

aspirations. Jake Byrne won race three, while

points leader Peter Drennan’s two podiums

made sure he kept his nose in front.

Minimax’s Michael Weddell closed

the gap to Robbie Dalgleish at the top

of the Scottish Mini Cooper Cup

standings with a strong haul of points.

With Dalgleish competing at Brands

Hatch, Weddell headed Ian Munro to

victory in the opening race and followed

Vic Covey Jr in the third race to reduce

KNOCKHILL

SMRC

20-21 JULY

It wasn’t quite the bumper Formula

Ford 1600 grid the Scottish Motor

Racing Club had campaigned for, but

a trio of stunning races made sure

the David Leslie Trophy lived up to

its billing at Knockhill last weekend.

There was another maximum score

for Jordan Gronkowski, but the bigger

prize for the Van Diemen driver was a

first Trophy victory since 2013 following

a weekend-long battle with Graham

Brunton Racing interloper Matt Cowley.

Gronkowski continued his qualifying

dominance by claiming pole on Saturday,

but a poor start in the opening race left

Cowley with a clear advantage heading

into Duffus for the first time.

Cowley’s defence was then tested to

the limit as his Ray was caught in the

corners but edged away under acceleration.

Gronkowski closed to within a car length at

the Hairpin for the final time, with the pair

split by just 0.106 seconds at the finish.

Cowley and Gronkowski again crossed

the line together at the end of race two,

with the former edging the win, this

time by just 0.074s.

Come the final race, something surely

had to give. Cowley led for the majority but

once more fell into the grasp of Gronkowski

towards the end. The pressure eventually

told as Cowley locked up into McIntyres

and ran through the gravel on the exit,

handing Gronkowski the lead.

Cowley tried to regain the lead at the

Hairpin but ran too deep as Gronkowski

finally ended a six-year jinx.

A total of 29 cars entered the combined

Scottish Sports & Saloons/Global GT Lights

the deficit to just two points.

Munro made amends in race two by

escaping a raging four-way battle for second,

which 2017 champion Mark Geraghty

edged from Craig Blake and Weddell.

A decisive move on reversed-grid

polesitter Ian Walsh gave Covey Jr the

lead in the final race, with the veteran

beating Weddell and Blake by just seven

tenths to complete a Minimax 1-2-3.

A trio of top-five finishes gave David

Newall the Scottish Legends points lead

heading into the final two rounds.

Newall made the most of a chaotic

second race, in which race-one winner

John Paterson ended in the McIntyres

barriers and Steven McGill completed just

one lap, to claim his first win of the year.

Dave Hunter won the final race with a

typically astute drive out front, beating

Paterson and McGill by just over a second.

Reigning double Scottish Classic Sports

and Saloon champion Alastair Baptie was

again the man to beat as he took his MGB

GT V8 to another clean sweep of victories.

Gronkowski ahead when it

matters to take Trophy win