Second and third places for Paul Sheard at Castle Combe

Bob Marsh - Last modified: 8th May 2009

Qualifying:

It was obvious from the start of the qualifying session that the front runners in the Championship were quick and Paul was soon on the pace but still not as fast as Championship leader Tom Roche.

Paul put in six quick laps before calling it a day and returning to the paddock to prepare for the race.

James put in some steady laps before putting in his fastest lap in the middle of the session staying well out of trouble.

Nick, in his first qualifying session performed well also staying out of trouble and was consistent before he also put in his fastest lap in the middle of the session.

At the end it was Tom Roche with the fastest lap time who would head the grid with Paul who was 0.5 seconds slower, with Rob Boston and Jonathan Greensmith on the second row.

Grid:

1 Tom Roche 1:22.615
2 Paul Sheard 1:23.101
3 Rob Boston 1:23.159
24 James Maxfield 1:26.652
29 Nick Gilfillan 1:33.773


Race One:

There were 32 cars out for the first race in perfect conditions.

As the lights went out it was Tom Roche who was the fastest away with Paul a little slow off the line and as they went into the first corner there was not much daylight between any of the front runners.

At the end of the first lap the lead was in the hands of Tom by the smallest of margins with Rob Boston and Paul just a little way back.

The second lap saw changes in the leading four with Jonathan now in the lead and Paul had taken Rob to occupy third place but losing ground on the front two.

Further back in the pack James was having a steady race and Nick was keeping out of trouble towards the rear of the field.

The lead changed again on lap three with Tom again at the front with Paul working hard to make up the deficit.

Tom held the lead for the next four laps before he was passed by Jonathan and by now Paul had closed the gap down to less than half a second and was starting to challenge the front two.

Over the last three laps the lead changed on numerous occasions with Jonathan just snatching a race win from Tom on the last lap, Paul had to be content with third place just under a second behind.

James Maxfield had a consistent race finishing in twenty first place with Nick a creditable twenty eight in his first race.

1 Jonathan Greensmith 14:07.668
2 Tom Roche 14:08.007
3 Paul Sheard 14:08.524
21 James Maxfield 14:48.529
28 Nick Gilfillan 14:18.932 plus 1 lap

Fastest Lap: Jonathan Greensmith 1:23.141 80.10mph


Race Two:

Shortly before the race it started to rain which left the drivers having to make a decision as to how the cars were going to be set up and to make it more difficult as they were called to the grid the rain had stopped and the circuit was almost dry.

The grid this time was decided on the second fastest times of the qualifying session and again it was Tom and Paul on the front row.

Tom and Paul were quickly away from the rest of the pack and in this race Tom was determined to break away early and build a lead, Paul hung on but at the end of the first lap he was over half a second down and well away from Jonathan Greensmith in third.

The front two were dominating this race and all the time Jonathan was fighting a loosing battle to keep up the pace.

On lap three Rob Boston moved up to third and set about trying to catch Paul but there was to be no catching Championship leader Tom Roche.

Tom continued to pull away from the field and the only question now as would Rob make up the time and catch Paul.

As the laps passed the gap was getting smaller and smaller but not quick enough as Paul used his vast experience to stay ahead.

At the line Tom was well away in first place with Paul second and Rob third, Jonathan Greensmith who had the wrong settings on the car had to be content with fourth.

Another steady race from James Maxfield putting in consistent lap times and finished in nineteenth place and Nick continued his education again finishing a creditable twenty sixth.

Interestingly the second race was much faster than the first which was done in perfect conditions.


1 Tom Roche 13:56.975
2 Paul Sheard 14:03.116
3 Rob Boston 14:04.601
19 James Maxfield 14:44.573
26 Nick Gilfillan 14:09.811 plus 1 lap

Fastest Lap: Tom Roche 1:22.513 80.71mph

The next round of the Ma5da MX5 Championship will be over the weekend of May 16/17 at Croft when there will be three races.