Sean Hudspeth put in the drive of his life to come back from last place to finish in second place in the ProAm2 group after being tapped into a spin on the first lap of the race.
After that, it was maximum attack as he scythed his way through the field, overcoming the deficit during the 30-minute race. The tension really started to ramp up as Sean moved into third place in ProAm1 and set about catching the second placed car. He had a 12-second gap to overcome but was gaining on not only second place but the leader at a rate of three seconds a lap. On the final lap second placed Peter Jennings spun under pressure for Sean and second place was his.
Peter had an equally enjoyable race in ProAm2, which featured a six car train, all swapping places for the majority of the race. He was always in the fight for a podium place but an early braking manoeuvre by Iain Dockerill forced Peter into a spin and down to seventh in class. A podium place was left wanting but Peter was very happy with his day’s racing.
Sean Hudspeth – Started 11th, finished 2nd in ProAm1
“I had a decent start, I got a little bit squeezed but I got past the car in front of me coming into the hairpin. Under braking the car behind me tapped my rear end and I spun off to the left of the track and all the cars came past me so I was in dead last. I managed to come through the field quite quickly and got back up to 11th and second in class, with the fastest lap time even though I had to come through traffic. We did what we could with the situation we had, but you have to be happy with that.”
Peter Kyle-Henney – Started 17th, finished 7th in ProAm2
“It was a brilliant race. That was proper racing. I was a little but unfortunate at the end when Iain came of off the throttle quite early and onto the brakes, I was coming up so fast behind him, it was a case of collect him or go for the smallest gap. I went for the gap and we just clipped the curb and it sent the car around but that’s racing. We had some good overtakes and it was very close so it was good. I would have liked to be on the podium but it’s just one of those things.”
Josh Webster – Driver Coach
“I thought it was a really good race. Sean had a difficult start with other ProAm1 drivers going off but, as is so important in this championship, you have to finish and they didn’t, so it’s great for us points wise. He drove really well and made some stunning overtakes in the race so we are really, really happy with him. The car was working well and we got fastest lap and P2 in class. It was a shame not to win but John McCullagh was quite a way ahead so it was damage limitation but a really good race. Peter made some really good overtakes but there were some missed opportunities as well, he’s learning all the time. Unfortunately he had a bit of a spin with a driver braking very early but he was happy with the car and we can push on from here.”
Paul Robe – Team Principal
“It was a very exciting race. We’ve had an amazing weekend of having to deal with different weather conditions; it’s been chalk and cheese. The weather was good for this race so the drivers could really show what they can do. Off the line the drivers weren’t quite as quick as they wanted to be. In the first corner there was an accident that affected Sean hugely and it put him to the back but there was nothing he could do about it. It meant that he had to race from the back and boy did he do a fantastic job. He drove the car superbly and managed to get up to second in class which was brilliant.”
“Peter had a really close race. He’s still learning and the close racing today showed him a lot of things. He learnt a lot and if it hadn’t have been for a braking manoeuvre that someone did in front of him he would certainly have been on the podium but that is how it goes sometimes. He got points today and it’s still all to play for.”
The team now move on to Oulton Park, where they rejoin the TOCA package on the 3rd, 4th and 5th June.