Pictured: Aaron Mason. Click to open hi-resolution version

NEWS RELEASE: 14 SEPTEMBER 2014

MASON WINS AT DONINGTON TO SET SCENE FOR A DRAMATIC FINALE

Pictures for download

Five drivers went into the penultimate round of the Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup with a chance of the championship title and, after a thriller of a race at Donington Park, there are still five men in the hunt for title glory with only one race remaining in which to decide the outcome.

Joe Fulbrook increased his championship lead slightly, to eight points, thanks to a fourth-place finish this morning, but the race belonged to reigning champion Aaron Mason, whose Scirocco crossed the line 1.5s ahead of the sister AWM/Warranty Direct Scirocco of James Greenway. It was Mason’s fourth win of the year, bringing him within 22 points of Fulbrook’s tally.

Pole-sitter Mason lost out at the start thanks to a fast getaway from the driver alongside him on the front row, SlideSports Scirocco man David Sutton. Aaron managed to fend off a strong challenge from the Cooke and Mason Scirocco of Jack Walker-Tully to hang on to second, and then wrested the lead from Sutton at the Old Hairpin on the third lap.

Greenway followed Mason’s example to demote Sutton to third on lap three also, and chased the leader hard for the duration but was unable to get on terms. “I made a good start and managed to gain a couple of positions early on,” said Greenway, “and then I managed to get past David for second. I wanted to preserve my tyres a bit – I’ve had this problem all year of my tyres dropping off towards the end of the race – and perhaps I backed off a bit too much. In the last couple of laps I was coming on to Aaron, but it was too late.”

A delighted Mason said: “I think Sutton was always going to get me off the start; I knew I had the faster car but my concern was that I might get backed up into the pack, so I was keen to get past him early on. I got a good run on him at the Old Hairpin and that was that.”

Sutton finished third despite last-lap pressure from Fulbrook, and felt that that was the best that he could have hoped for. “Aaron and James were just that bit better than me out of the tight corners… The rest of the track I’m fine and I could catch them back up. We had a slight issue with a misfire at low revs also.”

“My car was good,” said championship leader Fulbrook. “The boys made some changes after qualifying and that was a big improvement. Now we just have to finish the final race somewhere near the front, and that’s not going to be an easy thing to do…”

Lucas Orrock (KPM Scirocco) survived a lurid mid-race wobble through the Esses to finish fifth ahead of Stefan Di Resta’s JWB Motorsport Scirocco. The pair had been battling hard all race. “I was following Joe and not really making any inroads,” said Lucas, “so I had to try something. I noticed that a lot of cars were taking a lot of kerb at the Esses, so I gave it a go… My inside wheel hooked on to the kerb and it just threw the car.” Orrock saved the slide and Di Resta had to take avoiding action, as a result slipping briefly to seventh behind the THM Racing Golf of Robert Barrable. Stefan then regained sixth on the following lap to keep alive his championship chances.

Rally star Barrable’s drive was an impressive championship debut. The Irishman started 15th on the grid and made it into the top 10 by the third lap, then gained places with the demise of Stewart Lines (engine) and Jack Walker-Tully (puncture), and passed Sam Morgan’s KPM Golf to secure seventh.

Old hand Richard Walker claimed ninth in the Cook and Mason Golf, with a strong drive from Tom Barley in the Team HARD Golf to complete the top 10 after qualifying issues left him 16th on the grid. Morgan placed 11th ahead of James Walker, who started from the back after electing to switch to a spare KPM Scirocco, and the Sciroccos of Josh Caygill, Tim Snaylam, David Fairbrother and Joe McMillan.

The top 20 was rounded out by Darelle Wilson’s TDI Golf, Cameron Thompson and Andy Wilmot (both enjoying their first outings in Sciroccos) and Paul Dehadray, who qualified his JWB Scirocco an excellent 11th only to suffer a wayward moment on the opening lap which dropped him to last but one.

The Team HARD Golfs of Simon Rudd, Graham Ewing and Kieran Gallagher joined Walker-Tully and Lines in retirement. Walker-Tully’s consolation was a new lap record.