Jamie Chadwick Series – Round Five
Daytona Sandown Park
Stepping past the midpoint of the season, our drivers took to our Surrey track, Daytona Sandown Park for the fifth round of the ever exciting Jamie Chadwick Series.
First to mark were the Junior and Cadet classes. In Junior Qualifying, Sarah Telford took the pole once again, just a tenth and half in front of Scarlett Drury who was a further six tenths in front of Simran Sangha and Daniella Mcintonsh who lined up on the second row of the grid. In the Cadets, Willow Wright took pole, narrowly besting Mahi Maru, Felicity Roberts and Valentina Bayliss-Wells to the line, all four drivers split by just a few tenths. In the following race Telford excelled in the Junior class to take the win by five seconds over Drury in second place, finishing 13 seconds ahead of Tilly Watson who stormed through the field to take the final podium spot. Over in the Cadets, Maru managed to maintain composure through the tightly packed, battle filled grid which saw a number of spins. She maintained her cool throughout race proceedings, cruising to take the race victory in front of Wright and Roberts.
In the Four-Stroke Lights, Heat One was taken by Tilly Watson by just two tenths in front of Jessika McIntosh after a close battle between the two which saw Megan Gascoyne rounding out the top three. In Heat Two, Telford took victory as she looked to pick up her second overall win of the day. She finished four seconds in front of the hard battling pack with Nicole Robison finishing second, narrowly besting McIntosh to the line. In the Final, Telford took her second win of the day despite a gruelling battle with Watson who finished just six tenths behind crossing the chequered flag. McIntosh rounded out the podium with Robinson in fourth, picking up the fastest lap in a final push across the line.
In the Inters Heat One, Gemma Hunter took the win by just two tenths in front of Lena Reading with Clara Norris making her way through the field to finish third. In Heat Two Norris managed to narrowly get the better of Amber Bradley-Smith as she took the victory with Sophie Marter in third. Norris continued her hot streak into the Final where she took the victory by just five tenths in front of Hunter who took the fastest lap with Reading picking up third.
In the DMAX class, championship leader Julia Stankowiak took the victory in the first Heat in dominant fashion, securing victory by five seconds over Melissa Etherington in second and Milena Clark in third. In Heat Two, Imogen Owen took advantage of the pace she showed in the Heat One to finish seven seconds in front of her next closest rival, with Stankowiak managing to make her way through the field to take second with Sophie Carter In third. In the Final Stankowiak extended her championship lead, securing the victory by nine seconds over Owen who had to put up an exceptional defence to hold off the charging pack behind to take second with Carter once again picking up another podium.
Masters League – Round Nine
Daytona Sandown Park
The penultimate round of the inaugural Masters League season offered a welcome break from the heatwaves of late June, with drivers greeted by a comparatively cool 23 degrees and optimal track conditions.
First onto the track for Qualifying was the 16 strong SODI division. Reece Harris left his best until last in the Inters, reeling in pole position on his final lap with a 52.515, the fastest lap of the entire grid. Arun Sharma pushed him close, taking second with a 52.689, while Larry Andrews rounded out the top three on a 52.746, the gap from pole to third covered by little more than two tenths. In the Heavies, Martin Strutt set his pace equally late, taking pole on his penultimate lap with a 53.888. Andrew Sirkett wasn’t far behind in second with a 53.981, both drivers clocked through the speed trap at 60km/h. Piers Bate completed the top three with a 54.022, set late in the session on lap eight.
In the following Sprint Race, Reece Harris converted pole into a commanding victory, completing 23 laps and crossing the line 1.605 seconds clear of the field. Both he and second-placed Jason McGhie set their best laps on lap 19, separated by the narrowest of margins, 52.505 to 52.504. Larry Andrews completed the podium with a best lap of 52.488 set on lap 20, while Arun Sharma, who’d set the outright fastest lap of the race at 52.319, narrowly missed out on the podium in fourth. The standout drive of the race belonged to Jason McGhie, who carved his way from fifth on the grid into a P2 finish in a monumental effort. His race ebbed and flowed early on, up to third by lap three, back down to fifth by lap four, before he rejoined the podium fight at the halfway mark. From lap 19 he held second all the way to the flag, capping off a strong recovery drive. In the Heavies Sprint Race Martin Strutt continued his strong Qualifying form, leading from the front, backing up pole position with the fastest lap of the race, a 53.697 set early on. Piers Bate brought it home in second, around five seconds back, with Andrew Sirkett completing the podium less than a second behind Bate.
In the Qualifying laps for the DMAX division a grid of 15 drivers took to the rubbered-in circuit to make their respective defensive and offensive efforts towards championship glory. Tom Brown produced a staggering opening statement in the Inters class, setting a 47.075 at the halfway point of the session to take pole by a sizeable margin. Liam Duffet claimed second with a 47.624, while Jason McGhie was right on his heels in third with a 47.652; positions two, three and four separated by mere hundredths, foreshadowing an exceedingly close Sprint Race. The Heavies displayed a similar tale at the sharp end of the field. Adam Nakar set the pace with a 47.837 halfway through the session. Jay Peters answered late yet definitively, securing second with a 48.134 in the closing quarter of Qualifying, with Justin Hammond completing the top three with a 48.211. Behind the midfield remained evenly matched, separated by tenths throughout.
The Inters Sprint Race saw Tom Brown deliver another statement performance, setting a blistering 46.907 in the closing laps, testament to the consistency he carried throughout the race while building a comfortable 13.614 second gap to P2. Liam Duffett backed up his Qualifying pace to take second with a best lap of 47.561, while Charlie Hoffer completed the podium with a 47.622. The top four held station from start to finish, with positions unchanged throughout. In the Heavies class Adam Nakar maintained his Qualifying form, taking the win alongside the fastest lap of the race at 47.768. But, it was James Roberts who arguably produced the drive of the race, gaining two positions to claim silverware in second with a best lap of 48.049 set, like Nakar’s benchmark, on lap 16. Justin Hammond completed the podium with a best lap of 48.153, the top three finishing with their positions consolidated by race end.
Thursday Night League – Round Eleven
Daytona Milton Keynes
Qualifying saw Nathan Turner deliver a stunning lap to secure pole position by an impressive half a second over the rest of the SODI Lights field. Mark Smith claimed second on the grid, with George Benson completing the top three. Stepping into the following Sprint Race, Turner converted his dominant Qualifying pace into victory with a composed drive at the front, never allowing the chasing pack an opportunity to challenge for the win. Behind him, the battle for second went right down to the chequered flag. Benson and Smith ran nose-to-tail throughout the closing stages, with Benson just holding on at the finish to take second place by a mere 0.095 seconds, denying Smith in one of the closest finishes of the season. In the Heavies class, Qualifying proved to be incredibly competitive, with Josh Grady snatching pole position by the narrowest of margins. His quickest lap was just 0.02 seconds faster than David Rollins, while Michael Bowles completed a tightly packed top three, finishing within a tenth of a second off pole. Despite starting from third on the grid in the Sprint Race, Bowles wasted little time moving to the front and once in clean air, produced a faultless drive. Showing exceptional pace throughout the race, he steadily extended his advantage to secure a commanding victory. Behind him, Rylee Carter put in an impressive performance to claim second place, while Grady recovered from a challenging race to complete the podium in third after converting his pole position into a solid points finish.
Qualifying in the DMAX Lightweight category saw Oliver Sargeant produce a superb lap to claim pole position, finishing 0.2seconds clear of the competition. Tudor Geanta secured second on the grid, while Adam Pughe completed the top three after another closely contested session. When the Sprint Race got underway, it was Pughe who made the most of his starting position. Charging through the field with impressive pace, he stormed to victory with a commanding drive. Sargeant backed up his pole position with a strong second-place finish, while Konstantin Elanov produced an excellent race to climb onto the podium in third, rounding off an entertaining contest in the DMAX Lightweight category.
Thursday Night League – The Final
Daytona Sandown Park
Rufus Sessions laid down an exceptional lap in the SODI Lightweight class in Qualifying. His pole position effort left him comfortably clear of second-placed Dylan Hourican by over three tenths of a second, with Olly Ripley securing third on the grid, finishing just over seven tenths adrift of the pole time. Sessions made the perfect start from pole position and controlled the Sprint Race from the opening lap, he produced a flawless drive to convert pole into a commanding victory, taking the chequered flag more than five seconds ahead of the chasing pack. The standout drive in the Lightweight field came from Sid Stubbings. Starting fourth on the grid, Stubbings wasted little time carving his way through the field, making decisive moves on both Ripley and Hourican to claim an impressive second-place finish. Hourican rounded out the Lightweight podium in third, crossing the line a further four seconds behind Stubbings. The Heavyweight battle was considerably tighter in Qualifying. Louie Paterson edged out Tim Love by a mere six thousandths of a second in one of the closest sessions of the season. Antony Cherrett completed the top three after another competitive session. The following Sprint Race contest provided one of the races of the evening. Paterson and Love traded positions during the opening stages, but Paterson held his nerve to complete another pole-to-victory conversion, with Love forced to settle for second. Cherrett drove a solid race to secure third place on the road.
The DMAX Lightweight Qualifying session promised a close fight for pole position, with Jack Redfern ultimately coming out on top, setting the benchmark lap just over a tenth of a second ahead of Callum Bendelow, while Freddie Burden was less than three hundredths further back in third to complete an incredibly competitive top three. Championship leader Palmer endured an unusually difficult session, Qualifying only sixth and leaving himself with plenty of work to do in the race. After starting sixth on the grid in the Lightweight Sprint Race, the championship leader produced an outstanding recovery through the field. Benefiting from an incident in the Heavyweight class, Palmer fought his way into second place and limited the damage to his championship challenge. However, having started from pole, Redfern controlled the race throughout to complete another dominant lights-to-flag victory, crossing the line over five seconds clear of Palmer. Burden completed the Lightweight podium in third, finishing another three seconds behind Palmer. In Heavyweight Qualifying, Mikhail Sitnikov struck the first blow in his title fight with Shrubb by securing pole position with an excellent lap. Alfie Shrubb qualified second, three tenths behind the pole sitter, while Jason McGhie claimed third, just another tenth adrift. Moving into the Sprint Race, Sitnikov converted pole position into victory after another composed performance, taking maximum points when it mattered most. Shrubb remained in contention throughout to finish second, while McGhie completed the podium in third. With only a single point separating Shrubb and Sitnikov before the race, the final championship outcome would once again depend on how the drop rounds would shuffle the standings.
Daytona Tamworth
Two nearly full grids took to the track for the finale of the first 2026 Thursday Night League season at Daytona Tamworth. With most of the championships still undecided, it was going to be a blockbuster finale.
The eventual top three in the N35-ST Lightweight category were all gunning for high championship positions, and the battle between was befitting of a championship finale. Tyler Sharp took victory, along with the fastest lap honours, but this was not quite enough for him to sneak into the championship top three, just missing out behind Tom Webster by fifteen points. However, it was behind Sharp where the real intrigue laid. Joseph Smith finished second, trying desperately to make an almost impossible points swing ahead of Charlie Walmsley-Ryde, who stuck to his tail unwaveringly. Despite his best efforts and a remarkable defensive drive to keep Walsmley-Ryde behind, it was not to be for Smith who’s second place finish in the Sprint Race dashed his championship hopes, settling for second but undoubtedly with every chance of making the top step next season. Therefore, Walsmley-Ryde capped off a championship winning season with his final podium of the season, an almost unbeatable driver and worthy champion. As for the Heavyweights, Dylan Morrall had all but wrapped up the championship before the round, but left nothing to chance nonetheless, taking a dominant victory and the championship crown. He was joined on the podium by Daniel Stantos Piedrabuena, who was not in contention for championship title or podium despite being right at the sharp end all season. The final spot was claimed by Tim Avery, just four tenths of a second behind, Avery going into the round knowing even a win would not topple Morrall from the top but still capped off a fantastic season where he finished runner-up in the standings.
In the DMAX Lights class Oliver Malinowski and Toby Clark shared a wonderful battle over the twenty minutes of the Sprint Race, with Malinowski requiring a win to climb into the top three in the standings. Unfortunately for him, he fell just four tenths of a second short and so had to settle for fifth in the standings, only two points short of third. Cordell Hayles’ seventh position was enough for him to claim the final podium spot. Clark therefore took victory, and they were joined on the podium by Kyle Scarrott. Despite finishing fifth, Lucas Gathercole had already wrapped up the championship in a remarkable season. Rhys Collier took victory in the Heavyweight category and won enough points in doing so to take the championship crown ahead of his brother Joe, who finished in fourth. Neil Pearson placed second, nine tenths behind the race victory, but just three tenths of a second ahead of Brandon Gathercole. The two of them had an excellent battle, with Gathercole on a recovery drive after a Qualifying session that saw him have a big impact with one of the barriers. Gathercole showed incredible resolve to pick himself up and take a podium position, even if he was not able to get ahead of Pearson.
Results:
Daytona Tamworth
Daytona Milton Keynes
Daytona Sandown Park
Jamie Chadwick Series
Photos:
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