The fourth instalment of the 2018 Radical SR1 cup round saw the teams and drivers head north to the renowned Cadwell Park circuit. The championship returned here after an absence in 2017 and it was expecting to be a real thriller in the on track battles.
The race weekend was blessed with sunshine and temperatures well in to the 20’s with Friday practise providing all the drivers with all of the time needed to learn the new track. Will Hunt used the early morning sessions as an opportunity to do some ‘citing laps’ where he would identify the best lines and references to allow him to push in the afternoon. By the end of the day Will was beginning to find pace, however his championship rivals were doing the same putting Hunt under more pressure than ever in the run-up to qualifying.
“We definitely have some homework to do tonight. Ideally we would have liked to have been a bit quicker today but that’s always the difficulty when learning a new track. We always come back stronger for qualifying so im looking forward to tomorrow.”
With the uncharacteristically sunny weather for the north continuing on through into Saturday, Qualifying begun. Hunt had positioned himself at the back of the pack for qualifying, enabling him to back off, warm the tyres up and find some clear track.
This clear track meant the #21 SR1 car could be pounded round for the whole 20 minutes of Qualifying that is allocated for the 2018 SR1 Cup. A last minute, lap at the end of the session put Will Hunt in 3rd and on the second row of the grid for the races and a whole second off his lap time from yesterday.
“I have this habit of somehow finding lots of time overnight between Practise and Qualifying, It must be all the homework I do between my sessions looking back at the footage and telemetry. Nonetheless I’m really happy with how that session went, but there is still some time to be found. This is a track which is all about track position so as long as we can hold position at the start and not get swallowed up by the pack we should be fine.”
Race 1- As the lights went out Hunt found himself in the worse possible situation with 4th place Chris Short getting a superior start. Tucking up behind Short’s wing, Will began to pile the pressure on the charge to retake his position. A lack of overtaking locations meant Will was struggling to find a place to make a move; despite remaining within just 1 second of Short for the majority of the race. With only a couple of laps to go, Will began to get even closer to within 0.5 tenth of Short, filling the Radical driver’s mirrors with the sight of the #21 Scorpio SR1. Eventually the mounting pressure seemed to get the better of Short as a mistake into Barn corner sent the driver round, allowing Hunt through despite a small clip to the rear wing of Hunt as he passed through. This would mean Will could secure the third place and claim another podium visit for Scorpio team.
“It was very hot out there today! I didn’t get a good start and Chris got me, so I spent most of the race playing catch-up. Sadly towards the end of the race he made a little mistake, which gave me the opportunity to take the place but I suffered a bit of rear end damage in the process. But I’m really happy to get third and extend my lead in the Rookie Cup.”
Race 2 – As the lights went out it was another poor start that hindered Hunt heading into Turn 1 putting him back into P4. Coming down the back straight a slow exit from turn 2 gave Julian Lay a good run on Hunt with a move round the outside.
"A slow exit from Lay out of Park corner gave Will an opening into Chris Curve which he takes despite a small coming together on the narrow circuit. Hunt would reside up behind Chris Short’s rear wing in a repeat of Race 1 for the duration of the race where sadly there would be no repeat miracle from race 1 meaning the #21 Scorpio SR1 would settle for 4th place.
“I can’t thank my team at Scorpio enough for this weekend. We came here with no knowledge of the track whatsoever and brought home a podium finish and some good points. I let myself down with my race starts this weekend which is something I seriously need to evaluate heading into Donington Park on 8th September. With the Rookie Cup now separated by just 4 points it’s now the business end of the calendar and it is time for me to start upping my performances and start putting the top 2 under pressure.
"We know we have the race craft to do the job but with tracks like Cadwell Park qualifying and track position are critical. Looking back at Silverstone (Battle with Adarsh Radia) I have the resilience and ability to race wheel-to-wheel, so if the Rookie Cup does go down to the final round, I know I am capable of doing the job…”
The penultimate round of the 2018 Radical SR1 Championship continues at Donington Park on the 8th September.
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