From Legends Cars Championship (UK) Media –
| • Perfect hat-trick of Rd11 wins for Chris Needham on Legends return • Robert Barrable aces Rd12 with three wins on day of title battle drama • Will Gibson’s championship lead reduced to 60 points over Jack Parker |
Spectacular action, great drama and a very unpredictable final race of the weekend at Snetterton on Sunday, 8th September, made for a dramatic penultimate event of the Legends Cars Championship season – with Chris Needham (Altrincham) and Robert Barrable (Dublin) the star performers. Needham, making his return to Legends Cars action after missing the previous event, was in superb form during round 11 on Saturday, 7th September, and won all three races to take a maximum 600 points from the day with a sensational hat-trick. Initially looking like he had continued his momentum in Heat One of round 12 on Sunday, Needham was hit with a penalty for an out-of-position start. Barrable, therefore, took the win before adding success in Heat Two and a red-flagged and re-started Final which was impacted by rain showers. The last race of the weekend at Snetterton 300 Circuit appeared to have had a major impact on the championship battle when points leader Will Gibson (Camberley) was caught-up in lap one dramas, ending his race. Chief rival Jack Parker (Wolverhampton), who has now been confirmed as 2024 Legends Cars Elite Cup Champion, also came to grief though at Riches to post a non-finish as well. Needham dominates day one at USA Snetterton 300 Race one of the weekend marked a sensational return for Needham, and a breathtaking race to boot, with a fantastic victory after a superb drive from 14th on the grid. Nick Bridgeman (Baldock) made the early running from the front row, initially dicing with Luke Simmons (Lingfield). Needham took the lead for the first time on lap three, but Bridgeman hit back the next time around and Tyler Read (Weedon) then grabbed the lead before Needham moved back through on lap five. Into the last lap Needham led Parker, Read and Bridgeman and although Parker dived past at Agostini, Needham was right there and popped out on the sprint to the flag to win by 0.075 seconds. Parker took second by a mere thousandth of a second from Bridgeman with Read fourth, Barrable fifth and Simmons sixth. Gibson came through to seventh from an enforced pitlane start, the result of a penalty from the previous event at Knockhill. Needham made it two from two in the second Heat, which the Snetterton specialist won by an infinitesimal 0.001 seconds. Gibson, starting on the front row, took the lead around the outside at Riches but Barrable moved by at the end of Bentley Straight and then Needham made his move for first on lap two, before Barrable responded. On lap four Needham regained the lead, as the top three circulated almost as one, and they pulled away from the rest of the pack. Impossible to choose a winner into the sixth and final tour, Needham stayed ahead on Bentley Straight and led out of the chicane for the final time to win in a photo-finish from Gibson with Barrable third ahead of Read, Simmons and Parker. The round 11 Final began with Steve Whitelegg (Bury) leading away from pole before Oli Schlup (Cuckfield) moved ahead at Agostini, although Whitelegg hit back. Soon the lead scrap was between Schlup and Simmons but everything changed on lap four as Needham almost inevitably appeared in the podium battle, despite starting at the back due to his perfect score in the Heats. Taking third early in the lap, he grabbed second at Agostini and as the lead train headed to Oggies he took first. Gibson, also rising through, went into the lead into lap five but Simmons refused to be dropped either, and he got the lead back shortly after. Read then took a turn at the front on lap six before Needham again found a way back through. Needham led onto lap eight from Read, Gibson and Barrable and into lap nine any of them – as well as fifth placed Simmons – had a chance of taking the win. Red flags were then flown after an incident involving Daniel Pooley (March), from which he thankfully emerged unscathed, and so the result was taken from lap seven, Needham victorious from Read, Gibson, Barrable, Simmons and Parker. Super Sunday for Robert Barrable with three wins Nathan Anthony (Horley) started Sunday’s opening Heat from pole but it was fellow front-row starter Peter Barrable (Dublin) who got the lead around the outside at Riches. Gibson and Read wasted no time in making their presence felt either from the second row, and Gibson took the lead on the run to Agostini. Barrable hit back down Bentley Straight though with Read moving to second. Read took the lead on lap two through the infield before Saturday dominator Needham hit the front on lap three, but hopes of continuing his winning streak were immediately dashed with news of a 20 second time penalty for an out-of-position start. Needham took the flag in first place, but the penalty dropped him to 11th and so Robert Barrable came through to win from Parker and Gibson. Nick Price (March) started Heat Two from pole and although passed by Robert Barrable out of Riches, he remained in the lead battle for most of the contest – certainly one of his best drives in Legends. Barrable led into lap two from Price, Whitelegg, Parker, Bird and Needham and it wasn’t long before Parker moved to the front of the group, before Barrable replied. Into the second half of the race Barrable and Parker had a slight gap, with Price third, but Needham started to make his move and midway through lap five he was third and with the leaders. With lots of position changing among the podium contenders on the sixth and final tour, it came down to another photo-finish with Barrable shading Needham by 0.039 seconds, Parker third and Read fourth – only 0.081 seconds covering the top four. Bridgeman and Price were a terrific fifth and sixth. Rain arrived just before the round 12 Final, then ceased, and then more rain fell to leave a very greasy track surface. After two formation laps, due to the change in conditions, the action got underway with Andy Bird (Calne) and Whitelegg battling at the front, but it wasn’t long until incidents were triggered – several spinning, with Gibson one of those caught-up and forced to retire. The Safety Car was deployed ahead of lap two and when the action resumed on lap four Whitelegg led Bird, Parker and Read. Bird moved to the front into Riches, with Parker passing Whitelegg around the outside at Agostini for second, and Read was right there as well – albeit with a time penalty hanging over him. Midway through lap five, though, Robert Barrable sliced his way into the lead. Opening a one second advantage, at Riches on lap six several drivers slid off the circuit with Parker and Read among them and red flags were almost instantaneous. The race was re-started over four laps and Barrable utterly dominated, commanding the conditions to win by five seconds from Bird, Simmons, Bridgeman, Whitelegg and Peter Barrable. Chris Needham – Rd11 Heat One, Heat Two and Final Winner: “It’s a first for me [three wins in a day], what more could I ask for? It’s a shame the whole year can’t go like this, but I couldn’t be happier. It’s nice to come back and be on the pace straight away, I’ve done a bit of work on the car while I’ve been away, fine tuning and trying to get it better, and we seem to be going in the right direction. I love this track, it’s fast and it flows and I love fast corners.” Robert Barrable – Rd12 Heat One, Heat Two and Final Winner: “When we went out on the initial out lap [in the Rd12 Final], we stayed on the drier tyres so I was compromised at the start but when conditions improved it was all good. At the re-start, I knew where the grip was and knew where to push. I thought if I can pull the pin a little bit early and break the tow, I said I’m going to go for it and put my head down. It’s nice to get three wins as we had bad luck at the start of the year.” Oulton Park in Cheshire will host the single day grand finale of the 30th Anniversary Legends Cars Championship season just three weeks from now on Saturday, 28th September, where competitors will battle for double points as the campaign reaches its eagerly awaited conclusion. Provisional 2024 Legends Cars Championship Points (after Rd12) 1st Will Gibson, 4850pts; 2nd Jack Parker, 4790pts; 3rd Robert Barrable, 4550pts; 4th Tyler Read, 4470pts; 5th Andy Bird, 4335pts; 6th Oli Schlup, 3980pts |
Photo credit: George McNeill
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