Tom Cockerill wins at Silverstone Winter Series

This weekend was the second round of the popular Silverstone Winter Series. With 15 heats it was sure to be a busy day, 100+ drivers in the 2WD class alone. Competition was very high with several regular national A finalists in attendance along with some good 8th drivers who enjoy a bit of 10th in the warmth during winter. The club had laid an excellent track with plenty of jumps creating the off-road feeling, a “love it or hate it” slippery section, tight twisty sections and some nice flowing fast corners.

4WD would be a close run battle between Lee Martin and Schumacher’s Tom Cockerill. Qualifying was very fast and frantic with all the top drivers grouped in the same heat. The results were split with Tom & Lee taking two rounds each, mistakes being the defining factor to each drivers fortunes on this high grip high speed track. Lee would come out on top, taking pole by virtue of the faster time in the final round. In the final Tom tried all he could to take the win, posting the fastest laps of the race, but a few little mistakes allowed Lee to take the win, Tom 2nd and Chris Bowater not far behind in 3rd.

2WD was very much the blue ribbon class of the day, with all the top drivers running it, it was sure to be a close fought day. A few changes had happened since the opening round last month. Kev Lee had moved on to a new team and a “pre-production” batch of the Schumacher KF were now out so the drivers had time to get their cars dialled in to the unique track. There was a real buzz around the track to see how the day would pan out.

The top drivers were spread over 3 heats in qualifying, meaning that the top 10 wouldn’t get to race each other until the end of the day. Qualifying was again split between 2 drivers, but in reality was much closer than it looked on paper, with Simon Moss very quick with his KF. Kev Lee started the day strongest, taking the two opening rounds. However Tom Cockerill would find pace in the third round to take the win and a new fastest time of the day, the showdown was set for the fourth and final round of qualifying. Tom came out on top again, not quite as quick as round three, but quick enough to ensure he lined up on pole for the single A Main. Simon Moss would line up 4th on the grid with his Schumacher KF, joined in the final by Lloyd Storey and Nathan Waters both running the new car.

The final was action packed with close racing throughout the field. Tom led from tone to finish, a very controlled drive, keeping the gap to second between 0.5 and 1.5s throughout the race. Behind the front two, a couple of early mistakes shook up the race order, then followed 5 mins of great racing, with the KF’s coming through to take the next 3 spots, giving two on the podium and 4 in the top 5.

2WD A final result
1. Tom Cockerill
2. Kevin Lee
3. Simon Moss
4. Lloyd Storey
5. Nathan Waters
6. Lee Martin
7. Richard Barton
8. Tom Yardy
9. David Burton
10.Elliott Boots

Source: Schumacher [racing-cars.com]