CR Scuderia are back on form at Rockingham
James Sutton and Michael Meadows put their Knockhill nightmares behind them by taking a podium finish at Rockingham today. The British pair started the race from sixth place after the Lamborghinis and Vipers showed their new pace in qualifying after a recent performance break.
The race had to begin under the safety car as heavy rain had been falling throughout the day, making for a very slippery race track. The CRS Ferraris were led away by Jeremy Metcalfe who had qualified in fifth place, the highest-placed of all the Ferraris. Paddy Shovlin started from way back in 19th but as usual it wouldn’t be long before Paddy was right in the heat of the battle.
By lap seven Paddy was already up to 10th place, Jeremy was flying in third and Michael was chasing him in fourth. Michael pitted to hand over to James Sutton as soon as the pit window opened and rejoined just as the safety car came out.
Jeremy came in to hand over to Luke and Paddy, who was now up to ninth, handed over to Michael Cullen.
The race was a rather processional affair after this as the field was spread out after the safety car period. James comfortably held on to third whilst Luke brought the no.16 Ferrari home in fifth and Michael finished in eighth place.
“It was quite a boring race for me today but that’s exactly what I wanted,” said James. “After all the early season dramas Michael and I have had it was good to have a straightforward race. This is a very tight championship and this is the first time other manufacturers have led the Ferraris so it is good to take some points today.”
There will be more racing from Rockingham tomorrow when round six takes place at 1325hrs.