MCDONNELL’S THE CLASS OF THE CLUB

Harry Storer managed to collect maximum points from both races on the International layout, but the outright race win was taken both times by guest driver Ali Bray, standing in for Kevin Dengate for the opening weekend and proving his and the car’s pace. Matthew Fletcher and Declan McDonnell also took podiums that day too, and it would set the tone for who to watch out for throughout the year.

The first Snetterton visit saw guest driver Thomas Langford pick up race one victory in the ex-Oliver Allwood Mk1 with Fletcher chasing him down and McDonnell completing the podium in a feisty multi-car scrap. Declan then went two places better later that day with his first Clubman win of the season, leaving a seven-car melee for the rostrum to fall the way of Fletcher and Langford in the end.

The return leg to the Silverstone GP circuit on the C1 24 Hours weekend saw McDonnell and Fletcher both share a win apiece this time, but not after the pair ended up dicing back and forth in both encounters with Storer and Neil Chisnall all in close attentions too. Brands Hatch would then see Dawkins begin his charge in the championship, collecting a brace of wins in Kent as McDonnell, Fletcher and Storer ended up fighting amongst each other and shared top five places between them. Fletcher was even denied a podium finish thanks to a false start in race one which dropped him from third down to fifth.

On to the second half of the campaign and Oulton Park was next up, where Pethick claimed his first pole but only came away with one second place for his efforts, while Neil Chisnall took his first win of the season before McDonnell was again victorious in the second race later in the afternoon. Jack Warry also showed his form with a pair of impressive third places too. Then came Cadwell Park and the only weekend that was a blot on points leader McDonnell’s copy book as a spin on the opening lap of race one left him struggling back to 13th, and then only up to ninth in race two. Out front, Dawkins again was in command with two more wins, leading home Storer both times with Pethick and Fletcher also taking a P3 apiece.

Donington Park’s GP circuit saw McDonnell lead race one for over three quarters distance before constant pressure from Pethick helped him capitalise on a late mistake at the chicane to pick up the win, as Declan took second and Dawkins third. Later in the day, Dawkins took the lead early on and charged to another victory while McDonnell and Warry completed the podium. Effectively the Snetterton finale was something of a formality for McDonnell in the end, as a pair of P2s allowed him to wrap up the title as Pethick and Dawkins added another win to their respective tallies, helping them to secure second and third respectively in the final standings too.

As for the Masters title, McDonnell was able to top the points here too with a very impressive run of strong results, followed by Dawkins who placed one better than his overall standing and Michael Pearce who completed the top three.

Year on year, there’s been one series that has consistently shown growth, development and exciting on-track racing thanks to an ever varied and eclectic mix of cars on the grid. With a simple 45-minute race format including a mandatory pit stop, five classes and both solo and two-driver entries permitted, such is the popularity that sometimes you just never know what’s going to turn up on the grid at each race! Scott Woodwiss introduces the BRSCC’s incredibly popular ClubSport Trophy mini-endurance series.