Truck & Driver UK – August 2019

(^94) Summer 2019 Truck & Driver
TRUCK RACING
withstanding a race-long
challenge from 2011 title
winner Jenkins.
Converting pole position into
the race lead, Smith recorded a
lights-to-flag performance that
fans have become accustomed
to down the years. Unlike
previous races, Smith was
unable to make his escape as
Jenkins kept him honest
throughout, with Oliver a
comfortable third. Coleman
scored more points in fourth,
while Newell produced a stellar
fightback to finish fifth.
Race four After notching pole
position and picking up two
pieces of silverware,
Jenkins capped off his
weekend on the top step
of the podium with
victory in race four. The
MAN racer mirrored
Newell in enjoying a
scintillating start,
surging into second
and first respectively.
From then on, former
Division 2 title holder
Newell produced a
defensive masterclass as he
fended off Jenkins and then
Smith. As the fight for supremacy
intensified, things came to a
head at Druids as contact
between the leading contenders
left Smith on the grass facing the
wrong way, Oliver with smoke
pouring off his truck and Jenkins
finding his way to the front.
Division Two
Race one Donning the mantle of
defending champion, Luke
Garrett underlined why he will be
the man to beat once more as
he stormed to pole position in
qualifying. Hitting the top of the
times early, the MAN driver was
never headed and finished what
proved to be a frenetic session a
little under a second clear of his
nearest challenger.
Garrett would be unable to
convert his pole position into
Steve Powell leads the way through Paddock Hill Bend
victory in the first race of the
year, however, as Erik Forsstrom
claimed outright honours.
Launching off his front row start
and into a commanding lead,
Garrett looked to be on course to
record yet another win in the
series until an apparent turbo
pipe issue.
Seeing his advantage
dwindle – Forsstrom had
leapt into second on the
opening lap – Garrett
was shuffled into
second place on lap
nine where he would
finish, as Forsstrom
romped away out front
for a memorable win.
Race two took two
attempts to run, the first
being halted owing to a red
flag, but come the end of the
race those in attendance
were left on the edge of their
seats. Steve Powell in his MAN
scythed his way through the
order to clinch victory after the
brightly coloured Mercedes of
Cole pitted from the lead with a
technical problem.
Having worked with Garrett
and Paul Rivett to thread his way
towards the sharp end, Powell
hit the front with a handful of
laps remaining and held his
nerve to cross the line and score
his first win of the season.
Rivett, making his full-time
debut in the Championship,
showed that he will be a credible
threat during the course of 2019
as he hounded Garrett
throughout the race, ultimately
scoring a maiden podium.
Races three & four Easter
Monday at Brands Hatch
belonged to 2018 champion
Garrett as he produced a
virtuoso performance to win
races three and four.
Garrett proved to be in a
league of his own in the third
encounter as he cantered away
from the field to win by more
than 16 seconds. As Garrett
led, all eyes were fixed on
the ever-growing battle for
second place which
involved Powell, Rivett,
Forsstrom and Bowler.
WDE Motorsport’s Rivett
was the biggest mover out of
the quartet as he threaded his
way forward, although he would
become stuck behind the
resolute Powell – both of them
rounding out the podium.
Rivett’s sensational weekend
at Brands Hatch continued in the
final race of the weekend as he
narrowly missed out on securing
a breakthrough win.
Leading his first lap in the
Championship after pulling off a
string of overtaking manoeuvres,
Rivett was powerless to stop
Garrett from finding a gap and
taking the lead.
L to r, Dave Jenkins, Ryan Smith, Stuart Oliver L to r, Luke Garrett, Steve Powell, Paul Rivett