A decisive win for Scott Makin
Scott Makin underlined a dramatic improvement with a decisive win in the opening round of the SEMSEC Saloon and Sports Championship at Lydden.
The Canterbury driver started racing last season with a rare Sylva Riot kit car and most of the time he remained an unobtrusive tail-ender.
He soon raised a few eyebrows when he claimed pole position and then led from start to finish to beat Ashford engineer Bill Richards by more than seven seconds.
He seemed surprised by his sudden success. “I just put some new tyres on it” he said.
After David Fuller had blown the engine on his Midget Elham’s Nigel Craig led the second round of the series and seemed set for victory. But former speedway star Steve Weatherley stormed past Richards, caught Craig with two laps to go and swept past to win. So the local driver had to be content with second place.
Christopher Spencer held off a race-long challenge from Lou Watts to win the first Single Seater Championship round. Chris Chandler had made the best start but his Formula Renault Tatuus was inadvertently taken out by Dover grocer Matt Hayes on the opening lap when his Jamun M97Z lost its brake fluid.
Watts gained some consolation when he led the second round all the way to the flag. Runner-up Chris Scott finished five seconds adrift and Hayes repaired his car in time to take third. Chandler recovered well from a poor start to finish fourth.
The Jade Trackstar of former champion Mark Burton dominated all three Sports Racing events and he managed a fastest lap over 90mph, despite the dusty track. Each time Charles Harvey-Kelly had to be content with second place and after some tremendous battles Nigel Bent always edged Julian Sage out of third place.
Bent went on to win the John Taylor Handicap comfortably from Nick Cole.
The next round of the South East Motor Sport Enthusiasts’ Club Championships will be at Lydden on May 9th. |
