 |
Volkswagen Racing Cup 2007: Final Round - Rockingham
 Final Race was held on Sunday 30th September 2007
WALKER SNATCHES THE FINAL RACING CUP WIN
With the Volkswagen Racing Cup title decided in Tony Gilham's favour yesterday (Saturday) at Rockingham, today's final round provided a superbly exciting and fitting finale to what has proved a remarkably open and competitive season.
 Alas for Gilham he did not get the opportunity to celebrate his championship win with a race victory, instead the appreciative Northamptonshire crowd were treated to a tooth-and-nail fight between the Golfs of Richard Walker and Paul Taylor, former truck racer Walker using all his guile to pip his rival to the chequered flag.
Walker's GTI started from the pole but it was the four-wheel-drive R32 of Taylor which romped into the lead at the lights from the third row of the grid. Walker was relentless in his pursuit, the Nottinghamshire man breaking the circuit lap record in his Allard Turner Motor Racing-prepared machine as he chased.
With Taylor's tyres fading towards the end, Walker seized his opportunity on the penultimate lap on the approach to the Tarzan hairpin, slicing up the inside to take the lead and go on to a one-second victory. It was Walker's third race win of the year. 'We had a bad day yesterday,' said Richard, 'and this more than makes up for it. It wasn't straightforward - I had braking problems mid-race and I thought it was all over - but I made a charge and luckily it paid off. I'm very happy.'
 Taylor (sponsored by Milltek Sport), the 2006 champion and Saturday's Rockingham victor, was fulsome in his praise for Walker: 'Richard drove very well, a superb race. My tyres were going off and he had the measure of me.'
Darren Blumson scooped third place, the Reigate racer trying out his new 3.2-litre Beetle for size in preparation for a full assault on the Racing Cup title in 2008. Its performance from 13th on the grid bodes well for him.
Alex Dziurzynski and his Corrado got the better of a muscular battle with Steve Wood's Golf GTI for fourth, Wood happy enough with fifth place, which was enough to secure him championship runner-up spot at the expense of Bora driver Joe Fulbrook, whose hopes were dashed by an eighth-lap collision with a tyre wall.
Steve Chaplin's 'Herbie' Beetle headed home Gilham to take sixth, Tony's Regal Autosport Golf still suffering from the turbocharger problems which had beset it on Saturday. Jamie Perry faded from a safe-looking fourth almost within sight of the flag, his Golf V6 suffering an intermittent electrical or fuel problem; he placed eighth.
 Paul Lloyd-Roach snatched a good last-race result from what has proved a trying season by finishing ninth in his Beetle, ahead of the Caddy TDI of Peter Wyhinny, the Golf TSI in the hands of Richard Aucock, Doug Ross's Polo and Barrie Culley's Vento VR6.
Joining Fulbrook on the sidelines were Andrew Smith, whose Golf's power steering packed up, Michael McInerney's Golf with a burnt clutch, Adrian Dziurzynski's Golf and the Beetle of Paul Wyhinny, which was punted into a tyre wall on the opening lap.
Despite his Rockingham woes, Kent-based Gilham ends the season a worthy champion with two wins under his belt and a 42-point advantage over his closest rival, Wood. Fulbrook, who like Walker won three times, takes third overall.
The Volkswagen Racing Cup in association with Hankook enjoys the additional support of Augustus Martin, Castrol, ECM Vehicle Delivery, Europcar, Milltek Sport, Mondial Assistance, KW Automotive, Superchips, TNT Logistics, Turbo Dynamics, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Volkswagen Financial Services UK.
 |
|
 |
|
Provisional results 2007 Volkswagen Racing Cup
Round 1 (of 12) / Oulton Park, 9 April / 11 laps = 29.61 miles
1, Richard Walker, Tuxford, Golf GTI, 20m41.895s
2, Paul Taylor, Great Amwell, Golf R32, +1.082s
3, Darren Blumson, Reigate, Beetle 3.2, +10.835s
4, Alex Dziurzynski, Exeter, Corrado GTI, +14.713s
5, Steve Wood, Ashleworth, Golf GTI, +18.865s
6, Steve Chaplin, Maisemore, Beetle RSi, +19.307s
7, Tony Gilham, Swanley, Golf GTI, +20.112s
8, Jamie Perry, Castle Hedingham, Golf V6, +20.346s
9, Paul Lloyd-Roach, Laxey, IOM, Beetle RSi, +40.241s
10, Peter Wyhinny, Milton Keynes, Caddy TDI, +46.785s
Fastest lap Walker 1m34.244s / 74.10mph Record
Full results www.msttiming.com/meeting.asp?source=bf3gt2006&event=73905
Provisional championship placings
1 Gilham 462 points;
2 Wood 424;
3 Joe Fulbrook (Maidenhead/Bora) 398;
4 Dziurzynski 386;
5 Taylor 376;
6 Walker 366 etc.
View all VW Racing Cup Events |
|
 |
|
 |
|
| Related Milltek Sport Links: |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
