After the wettest start possible to summer, a hot and sunny day beckoned for round 5 of the 2012 MDA/BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship held at Mallory Park race circuit.

With the biggest field of the year so far, 6 cars were entered for the event. Current Championship contenders Richard Wakeling, Mark O’Flanagan, Tommi Edwardes and Todd Crooks were joined by Mark Griffin and newcomer Mark Day, better known for his skills fixing cars at Rallycross meetings and racing in Autograss.

So, 6 cars and 3 Marks driving - a challenge for the commentator!

Result of Heat 1
1st Richard Wakeling, 2nd Todd Crooks, 3rd Mark Griffin, 4th Tommi Edwardes, 5th Mark Day, 6th Mark O’Flanagan

Heat 2 Result
1st Tommi Edwardes, 2nd Richard Wakeling, 3rd Mark Griffin, 4th Todd Crooks, 5th Mark O’Flanagan

Heat 3 Result
1st Tommi Edwardes, 2nd Mark Griffin, 3rd Richard Wakeling, 4th Mark Day

The Final
A few delays during the day caused some concern as to whether there would be time for all of the final races to take place, but thankfully the drivers were called for the mini-cross final about 40 minutes before the end of the day.

The line-up for the final was Tommi Edwardes on pole, with Richard Wakeling and Mark Griffin on the front row, Todd Crooks and Mark Day on row 2 and Mark O’Flanagan on row 3.

Richard Wakeling got a good start, moving in front of Tommi, with Mark Griffin and Todd Crooks again battling over 3rd place and Mark O’Flanagan getting past Mark Day. As they exited Gerard’s on lap 2, Mark and Todd were still neck and neck going down the back straight, but a mistake by Todd Crooks saw him spin going into the chicane, hitting the tyre wall. This left Mark Griffin free to concentrate on catching Tommi Edwardes and, on the final lap they too were battling down the back straight. This very close racing was great for the spectators and final standings were Richard Wakeling, Tommi Edwardes, Mark Griffin, Mark Day and Mark O’Flanagan.

Race Result for the Minicross class
1st Richard Wakeling
2nd Tommi Edwardes
3rd Mark Griffin
4th Mark Day
5th Mark O’Flanagan

The next (and final) round is at Pembrey on 7th October with everything at stake with double
points on offer! A Track Day is being held prior to that final meeting on 9th September at Blyton.