Golding has been the class of the field across the campaign with a 100% podium record so far and a supreme run of seven wins in a row. He becomes the first driver to win the G40 Cup title twice, while CTS Motorsport taste success in their debut campaign.
The weekend kicked off with qualifying on Saturday morning and Golding topped the timesheets for the third consecutive meeting. Giles Dawson (Assetto Motorsport) was his closest challenger, while Mark Lee (SVG Motorsport) picked up a maiden Chairmans Cup pole position.
Golding produced a textbook start to lead the field away at the start of race one, however he had a determined Dawson piling on the pressure in the early laps. An unfortunate spin for the latter though opened the door for Golding to storm clear for a comprehensive 21 second victory.
Dawson had dropped to fourth, but he fought his way past Mark Sansom (Assetto Motorsport) and Chris White (Raceway Motorsport) in the closing stages to regain second. Those two contested the final podium spot through to the last lap, but late drama saw them both tumble down the order.
Therefore from seventh on the grid it was Owen Hizzey (SVG Motorsport) who rose through to complete the podium, his seventh in a row. In the Chairmans Cup, Lee was leading the charge from fifth overall on the grid, the best overall qualifying result for a class competitor this season.
His advantage was short-lived however as he and reigning class champion Roy Alderslade (Raceway Motorsport) fell back on the opening lap. Robin Grimwood (Assetto Motorsport) therefore came through to the class victory in fourth overall ahead of Paulo Scripo (Raceway Motorsport).
Gary Wager (SF Racing) dropped out of second in the Chairmans Cup on the penultimate lap, with the recovering Lee and Shawn Fleming (SF Racing) going on to complete the class podium. Alderslade was next up ahead of debutant Adam Croft (CTS Motorsport), Sansom and White.
An exciting start to Sunday’s opening race saw Dawson slide down the inside of Golding through McLeans to take the race lead. One lap later the position switched back at the same corner, with Golding impressively storming around the outside for the decisive move of the race.
From there he would control the remainder of the race, picking up the win by over six seconds. Dawson finished up second once again, while White ran third throughout. One of the closest battles of the race took place behind him, as multiple cars fought it out for fourth.
Grimwood held the position and with it the Chairmans Cup lead for the first half of the race, before Sansom came past to equal his best result of the season so far. A slide wide at the Old Hairpin then cost Grimwood more ground, with Alderslade taking advantage to secure the class win.
Scripo completed the top six overall ahead of Grimwood and Ignazio Zanon (Raceway Motorsport), with ninth overall earning Lee another Chairmans Cup class podium. Wager rounded out the top ten ahead of Hizzey, who dropped down the order with bonnet damage.
Golding headed into the final race of the weekend knowing a race win and fastest lap would be enough to give him an unassailable points lead, and he duly delivered. Proving untouchable throughout, he sealed the title in style with a ten second victory.
Dawson confirmed his status as best of the rest by completing his trio of second place finishes for the weekend, while White ended a great day with his second podium result. A fast start from Zanon saw him gain four places on the opening lap to fourth, where he stayed throughout.
From 11th on the grid, Hizzey impressively fought through the pack to fifth at the finish. Alderslade completed a Chairmans Cup double for the day behind, with Grimwood second in class and Wager third after a last lap incident eliminated his SF Racing team-mate Fleming.
Completing the top ten for his best result of the weekend was Neil Wallace (SVG Motorsport), while a strong debut weekend for Jon Curry (CTS Motorsport) featured a best result of thirteenth on two occasions.
Tom Golding – Provisional 2020 Champion: “A perfect weekend for the second time in a row makes me super happy, and to win the championship means we can’t ask for much more. I’d missed racing so much and it was a no brainer to come back and get on the grid this season. We’ve had some good battles this year and getting three more wins was a great way to win it in the end.”
Full race results for the weekend can be seen here: https://www.tsl-timing.com/fil…
With destination of the 2020 Chairmans Cup title will be decided during the season finale at Snetterton, which is coming up in two weeks’ time (03/04 October).
