Reigning Radical SR1 Cup Champion Shane Stoney secured a podium finish in the opening Radical Challenge at Oulton Park last Saturday.
Stoney had secured a late deal with Banbury based RAW Motorsports and hadn’t sat in the car prior to Friday’s re-race test day.
He qualified an amazing fourth, with RAW team mate Rod Goodman eighth, which lined him up on the grid directly in front of son Elliot, who had the fourth RAW car in Peter Brookes’ hands behind him.
“I kept finding people to follow so it was a good gauge to my pace,” said Rod.” I was struggling for traction out of every corner,” Elliot added.
“I was the guinea pig and was sent out on wets, but had to come straight back in for slicks. I got quicker at the end but felt very rusty,” Brookes admitted.
Down in penultimate place was a very disappointed John Macleod. “The car fine, but it was overweight and just slow,” he said.
Race 1:
There was a slight shower before the start of the opening race, which may have contributed to Rod Goodman going off on the out lap. “I just slid off on cold tyres,” he said after being sidelined from the race start.
Stoney was in contention from the start, battling in a three-car fight for fourth. His progress was fairly swift, and on lap seven he was into fourth, after Rishover spun at Old Hall.
Following the pitstops Stoney was the new leader, “then I went into Brittens chicane too hard and got sideways onto the grass and spun,” he explained.
He still held onto third place, while despite problems throughout, Macleod came home eighth, with Brookes ninth and Elliot Goodman 11th after making an extra stop. “We changed the height and it felt good, but still no pace and it cut out a few times,” said Macleod.
Race 2:
In the shorter sprint race Elliot Goodman, Stoney and Macleod were all stuck behind a very defensive Chris Preen for the first half of the race.
Stoney had got to the head of the queue a lap later and finally got passed Preen on lap nine, leaving the RAW quartet of Elliot, Macleod, Rod Goodman and Brookes still in an orderly queue.
But as Stoney began to consolidate seventh, he was forced to pull off with the engine temperature soaring.
With Preen’s defence proving impenetrable, Rod won the battle of the Goodman’s for eighth and ninth, with Macleod taking the flag 11th, while Brookes suffered transmission failure on the last lap.
“Elliot went to go inside Preen at Knickebrook, so I went through the gap,” said Rod. “I had to give Dad a point, frustrating though,” Elliot added. “I overcooked it at Shell when I was trying to get by too,” said Macleod.
Race 3:
With his non finish Stoney started the final race at the back of the grid, so it was Elliot Goodman setting the RAW pace early on in fifth.
Stoney had made god progress which continued after the stops, claiming sixth four laps from home, which became fifth after track limit penalties were awarded to rivals. “I was happy with that, I think I was one of the quickest out there, but it was hard getting through and I overtook where I had never done it before,” he said.
Goodman had been in fifth until he was squeezed out at Old Hall, finally finishing eighth, ahead of Macleod in ninth and father Rod in 11th. Brookes had started from the pitlane and retired with further transmission problems.
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