Triumph Triple Challenge at Silverstone

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Stuart Mitchell and Josh Wainwright shared the winner’s laurels in the Michelin Young Guns Trophy class of the Triumph Triple Challenge at Silverstone over the course of the weekend, as Jack Sim managed to take three out of three victories in the TDG Cup category.

Mitchell gained pole by just over half a second and, after picking up his first win of the weekend in the Superpole race, he was up for the battle again in the first of the two main races.  He crossed the line in the lead at the end of lap one.

After four laps, he had pulled out a gap of just under 10 seconds but disaster struck when he went down at the end of the national straight, giving the lead to Wainwright who was working hard to catch him. Just behind was Latvian racer Aleksanders Bekers who took a sensational second place, his first podium result in the UK.

Just behind the two Michelin Young Guns, Jack Sim crossed the line to pick up his second win of the weekend. Championship leader Mark Cringle crossed the line fourth on the road, third in the Young Guns class, keeping him in firm contention for the title, with TDG Cup leader Mark Cheetham in fifth.

In the second race, Cringle and Sim both got good starts, but Manxman Cringle struggled with a misting visor on the opening lap and had to slot into third behind Sim and Mitchell.

A lap later and Mitchell had found his high gear once again and had blasted past Sim and started to pull away from the rest of the field. On lap five, Cringle mounted an attack on Sim and moved into second place on the road and set about trying to close the gap to Mitchell. The next lap round and Wainwright had also moved past Sim and was now trying to find a way past the points leader ahead of him with just two laps left to run.

On the final lap Josh was given his chance as Cringle got loose in the final chicane and he powered past just as the pair came to the line to take second place.

In the TDG Cup it was Sim who secured a clean sweep of the top step over the course of the weekend and he was understandably happy with his speed and results over the weekend.

The next round of the series takes place at Cadwell Park in five weeks time.