Post by Dan Blake on Jul 24, 2015 18:23:30 GMT
Alex Cursley took his first Carbon8 Coupe Cup victory, on a dramatic final lap of round eight, which ended what was an extremely close day of racing at Cadwell Park. Round seven went the way of Simon Miles, who took his third win of the season.
The Coupe Cup visited Cadwell Park, known by some as the UK’s Nurburgring, with a mix of high speed, low speed and undulation facing the drivers. Qualifying saw five of the eight drivers separated by less than a second, proof that the Coupe Cup is as competitive as ever. It was Simon Miles who was able to put his tiger liveried Coupe onto pole position. Simon narrowly beat Paul Manyweathers to pole by just over half a tenth with a 1:51.417. Alex Cursley took third place, three tenths behind Miles and was the last of the drivers in the 1:51’s. Dan Blake and Gary Miller both improved on their final laps to take fourth and fifth places. Gary was following Dan on the circuit and both cars were able to overhaul Matthew Plumb who finished sixth. The eight car grid was rounded out by Ian Brunning and Tony Lonsdale.
Alex Cursley made a fantastic start to round seven, and it was him who took the initial lead into Coppice for the first time. Alex lost the lead on the second lap as the cars braked into Park, Simon Miles getting the better of Alex, who had been compromised by a slow Tricolore car coming onto Park Straight. Behind the top three there was further close racing as Dan Blake, Matthew Plumb and Gary Miller contested fourth place. Matthew was putting Dan under intense pressure as he looked to try and take fourth, with Gary just behind Matthew. The last two laps of the race saw changes happen within a few feet of each other. Paul Manyweathers and Alex went side-by-side for second from the Gooseneck up to the Mountain section. Paul was just able to take the position from Alex, both cars banging doors as they went down the hill towards Mansfield. The battle for fourth was settled at the Gooseneck as well, Matthew tried to copy Paul’s move but unfortunately Matthew caught some of the marbles and dirt on the outside of the track and spun. Matthew’s spin allowed Gary to take fifth and Ian Brunning to also get past the yellow Stroke Association car.
Simon took the victory from Paul with Alex rounding off the podium in third place. Dan held onto fourth with Gary in fifth, Ian sixth, Matthew seventh and Tony Lonsdale in eighth. Tony found nearly four seconds on his qualifying lap as he got more comfortable with the circuit. The top four were separated by just under five seconds.
Round eight saw more close racing as Simon, Paul and Alex once again took the first three spots as the cars completed the first lap. Dan was fourth, Gary fifth, Ian sixth, Matthew seventh and Tony in eighth. Simon and Paul began to pull away from Alex, however in the second half of the race, Alex put the fastest lap in and began to catch up again with the two leaders.
Behind the top three, Ian was in touching distance of Dan but as the race went on, Dan was able to pull some distance between himself and the chasing pack. Gary and Matthew were hot on Ian’s heels and Ian had to make sure he had an error free race as the other two would be past otherwise. As the cars passed the restaurant on the final lap, just before Hall Bends, Simon was leading, Paul was second and Alex was third.
The spectators had a surprise when the black and white car of Alex was first over the line, with Paul second and Simon third, just ahead of Dan. At the hairpin it had all changed, Simon made a small mistake on the exit of Hall Bends and Paul saw an opportunity. The two cars had contact in the chicane which saw Alex sneak down the inside. Simon ended up facing backwards and nearly lost a podium place with Dan right behind him as he recovered. Ian put up a brave resistance from Gary and Matthew to take fifth, with Tony improving on his time again and finishing eighth. This was the first race that Tony had not been lapped by the Tricolore Trophy front runners. The top seven were separated by just ten seconds, a testament to how close and competitive the Carbon8 Coupe Cup is.
Congratulations to Alex Cursley on his first Coupe Cup win and he becomes the fourth race winner this season, with Simon Miles, Paul Manyweathers and Jon Winter all taking wins this season as well. Alex’s win in just his fourth Coupe Cup meeting was a signal of intent from the Cambridge driver. The series takes a four week break before returning at Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix on the 15th of August for rounds nine and ten.
For more information on the Carbon8 Coupe Cup visit www.coupecup.com
The Coupe Cup visited Cadwell Park, known by some as the UK’s Nurburgring, with a mix of high speed, low speed and undulation facing the drivers. Qualifying saw five of the eight drivers separated by less than a second, proof that the Coupe Cup is as competitive as ever. It was Simon Miles who was able to put his tiger liveried Coupe onto pole position. Simon narrowly beat Paul Manyweathers to pole by just over half a tenth with a 1:51.417. Alex Cursley took third place, three tenths behind Miles and was the last of the drivers in the 1:51’s. Dan Blake and Gary Miller both improved on their final laps to take fourth and fifth places. Gary was following Dan on the circuit and both cars were able to overhaul Matthew Plumb who finished sixth. The eight car grid was rounded out by Ian Brunning and Tony Lonsdale.
Alex Cursley made a fantastic start to round seven, and it was him who took the initial lead into Coppice for the first time. Alex lost the lead on the second lap as the cars braked into Park, Simon Miles getting the better of Alex, who had been compromised by a slow Tricolore car coming onto Park Straight. Behind the top three there was further close racing as Dan Blake, Matthew Plumb and Gary Miller contested fourth place. Matthew was putting Dan under intense pressure as he looked to try and take fourth, with Gary just behind Matthew. The last two laps of the race saw changes happen within a few feet of each other. Paul Manyweathers and Alex went side-by-side for second from the Gooseneck up to the Mountain section. Paul was just able to take the position from Alex, both cars banging doors as they went down the hill towards Mansfield. The battle for fourth was settled at the Gooseneck as well, Matthew tried to copy Paul’s move but unfortunately Matthew caught some of the marbles and dirt on the outside of the track and spun. Matthew’s spin allowed Gary to take fifth and Ian Brunning to also get past the yellow Stroke Association car.
Simon took the victory from Paul with Alex rounding off the podium in third place. Dan held onto fourth with Gary in fifth, Ian sixth, Matthew seventh and Tony Lonsdale in eighth. Tony found nearly four seconds on his qualifying lap as he got more comfortable with the circuit. The top four were separated by just under five seconds.
Round eight saw more close racing as Simon, Paul and Alex once again took the first three spots as the cars completed the first lap. Dan was fourth, Gary fifth, Ian sixth, Matthew seventh and Tony in eighth. Simon and Paul began to pull away from Alex, however in the second half of the race, Alex put the fastest lap in and began to catch up again with the two leaders.
Behind the top three, Ian was in touching distance of Dan but as the race went on, Dan was able to pull some distance between himself and the chasing pack. Gary and Matthew were hot on Ian’s heels and Ian had to make sure he had an error free race as the other two would be past otherwise. As the cars passed the restaurant on the final lap, just before Hall Bends, Simon was leading, Paul was second and Alex was third.
The spectators had a surprise when the black and white car of Alex was first over the line, with Paul second and Simon third, just ahead of Dan. At the hairpin it had all changed, Simon made a small mistake on the exit of Hall Bends and Paul saw an opportunity. The two cars had contact in the chicane which saw Alex sneak down the inside. Simon ended up facing backwards and nearly lost a podium place with Dan right behind him as he recovered. Ian put up a brave resistance from Gary and Matthew to take fifth, with Tony improving on his time again and finishing eighth. This was the first race that Tony had not been lapped by the Tricolore Trophy front runners. The top seven were separated by just ten seconds, a testament to how close and competitive the Carbon8 Coupe Cup is.
Congratulations to Alex Cursley on his first Coupe Cup win and he becomes the fourth race winner this season, with Simon Miles, Paul Manyweathers and Jon Winter all taking wins this season as well. Alex’s win in just his fourth Coupe Cup meeting was a signal of intent from the Cambridge driver. The series takes a four week break before returning at Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix on the 15th of August for rounds nine and ten.
For more information on the Carbon8 Coupe Cup visit www.coupecup.com