NEWS RELEASE: 9 OCTOBER 2011

CHAPLIN CLAIMS BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES

For the second year in succession, Steve Chaplin has been crowned the champion of the Volkswagen Racing Cup with FUCHS Lubricants. The Gloucestershire-based Beetle racer clinched the title at Silverstone yesterday (Sunday) with a seventh-place finish in the championship’s penultimate round, and then rounded off his season in perfect style with a win in the finale.

It was a fitting end to a remarkable year for the 46-year-old, who now hopes to pursue a career in GT racing. Steve moved ahead in the championship after its summer visit to Zandvoort, where he scored twin wins to add to his earlier Snetterton victory. A further win followed at Rockingham, and now Silverstone, and in addition he scored a further four podium finishes.

Chaplin modestly puts his success down to a “methodical, steady pace”, adding: “There are others in the field who have struggled on occasion and that has put them on the back foot. We have done just enough, and it’s thanks to a car which we have set up to give good mechanical grip in the dry; it handles as well as anything out there.

“The problem comes when it is wet – then it is a case of making the best of a bad job and seeing what we can eke out of it. We’ve been pretty fortunate with the weather this year, thankfully.”

Chaplin says he owes it all to his Complete Utilities team, which has won the championship’s team prize. “The lads I have around me are great – Chris Jones, John Dowds, Craig Davies, John Davies, Mike Davies – and all my sponsors have been so supportive. Your dream is to win something like this once, not to do it for a second time, so it’s an amazing feeling to be champion again.”

The first race of the day on Silverstone’s Grand Prix circuit was a slippery affair which saw some runners gamble on a full slick-tyre set-up and others playing it safer with a slick/wet tyre front/rear mix. Pole man Joe Fulbrook was one of the brave ones and his choice looked to have been the right one initially as his Warranty Direct Bora led Aaron Mason’s AWM Golf GTI in the opening laps.

The conditions certainly suited the returning 2006 Champion Paul Taylor and his four-wheel-drive Golf R32, which from 16th on the grid after problems in qualifying had blasted its way through to fourth by the end of the opening lap, and up into third next time around past Chaplin’s Beetle.

Fulbrook fell foul of the treacherous Becketts corner on the third lap when he half spun and managed somehow to collect everything together in time to prevent Mason from stealing past for the lead. Two laps later Joe had to cede top spot to his rival through Village and from that point on Mason was well on his way to his fourth win of the year.

“It was a very tricky race, but I got off the blocks well,” said Mason. “We had wets on the rear and slicks on the front. I knew that Joe was on full slicks so this made me very anxious to get past him, however it seemed more sensible to sit behind him for the first half of the race because we were still pulling a gap from the rest of the pack. Despite making an error that lost me a bit of time, the wets hung on and I was able to get the victory.”

“The track was awfully slippery but it was a very good race,” said Fulbrook. “We spent the week setting up the car for the dry but as usual it was quite greasy out on track. We had a good race and luckily Aaron backed out of a few moves because I put it sideways a couple of times as well. Hopefully it was good fun for everybody to watch.”

Taylor was unable to make any impression on the top two but finished a more than safe third in his first Volkswagen Racing Cup outing of the season. “The four-wheel-drive Golf is always superb for starts,” said Paul. “The conditions today played right into my hands. The boys at the front were quick, I couldn’t quite match the two of them, but against the rest of the pack the R32 was right on the money.”

James Walker was another to opt for dry-weather Hankooks all around, and he found his KPM Golf GTI more than a handful in the conditions. “Full slicks weren’t the right way to go, really,” he said, “but I enjoyed myself.” From ninth on the grid James fought through to fourth at the chequered flag, demoting Auto Express journalist Owen Mildenhall on the final lap.

Mildenhall was having a great outing in Volkswagen Racing UK’s new Mk VI Golf GTI, and delivered its best finish since Nick Beaumont drove it fourth at Rockingham. Stewart Lines collected his first points of the year with sixth in his Mk V Golf.

Seventh place was more than enough for Chaplin to put the championship title beyond the reach of his three title rivals, and he got the better of an entertaining late-race battle with the Golfs of young Thomas Wilson and Peter Lettinga to secure the position. Alex Dziurzynski’s Corrado collected 10th ahead of Zoe Wenham’s Golf and Mike Kurton’s Scirocco.

The slippery conditions led to many spins and excursions, most seriously for Paul Wyhinny in the SEAT Leon promo car, which smote a tyre wall.

Round 14
The dry track conditions that suit Chaplin’s ‘Herbie’ Beetle so well materialised for the second race of the day and the championship curtain-closer. Steve started from seventh and was soon on the move, passing Mildenhall and Tim Snaylam on lap two and then charging past Taylor, Mason and Walker on the third lap to take up station on leader Fulbrook’s tail.

Fulbrook had taken over in front after Taylor had spent two laps in charge, Joe passing Paul through Aintree Corner in a Bora clearly perfectly suited to the track and the conditions. But Fulbrook’s mirrors were soon full of Chaplin’s Beetle and a superb two-lap battle ensued which was decided, cruelly, by an electrical problem for the Bora. “It was the master switch,” said Joe. “I was driving along bashing the dashboard trying to make it work… It was such a shame because I would have won that.”

Fulbrook’s problems left Chaplin with a 3.4s lead and little danger of losing it as second-placed Walker had his hands full defending against the attentions of the pursuing Mason. Aaron managed to find a way through down the Hangar straight and into Luffield on the sixth lap.

Chaplin was 6s clear of Mason at the line. “I’m not really used to starting on the fourth row of the grid,” said champion Chaplin. “It got very close and tight going into the first corner, luckily I just held it all together and gradually we managed to work our way through the field.

“I came out this morning and struggled to fight with the championship situation playing on my mind, but once we got the championship sorted it all came right and it means the world to show the team that they have done a great job and produced a great car.”

Added Mason: “It was very close over the first three laps, so much so that I started to go backwards,” said Mason. “Once the gaps came I managed to pick some pace up. I had a great battle with James Walker and I think I enjoyed that race more than winning this morning.”

Walker’s third place was enough to net him the championship runner-up position: “I think I was on the grass more than the track in the first three laps of the race,” said James. “I ended up having a huge battle with Aaron all the way through, we were both overdriving so much, it was just great fun.

“Most importantly we have scored a result which gives us second in the championship, which is what I came here to do.”

Thomas Wilson saved his best for the last race, taking fourth in the Golf ahead of Taylor, who said he was delighted with his “blinding” race. Lines placed sixth ahead of Didge Dziurzynski’s Mk II Golf, with the Golfs of Richard Morgan and Mark Howard sandwiching Mike Kurton’s ninth-placed Scirocco.

Tim Snaylam, who started from 15th, did well to fight through to 11th at the flag, ahead of Chris Jones’s Jetta and Simon Elliott in the Caddy, the new boss of Volkswagen Group Ireland enjoying his final fling in the astonishing racing van. “It has been a brilliant two years,” said Simon, “a fantastic experience. This is a great championship and the camaraderie is awesome.”

As in race one there were several excursions. Zoe Wenham’s race came to an abrupt halt on the opening lap when her Golf was collected by a spinning Peter Lettinga, and Mildenhall’s hopes of another good run in the Mk VI Golf were dashed when he was punted off on lap three.