Both Arthur Forster and Joey Powis were looking for clean sweeps at Castle Combe, after taking victories in the first two of the weekends races. But the reverse grid and a mixture of sunshine and heavy showers put pay to their aspirations as Lee Allen and Luke Caudle took the final spoils.

Only 0.7 secs covered the top seven after qualifying, but it was Martin Depper and Forster sharing the all important front row for the opening race. It was Depper that had the early lead over his team mate with Oli Mortimer doing his best to stay in touch. Phil House lost his initial fourth place on the second lap, as both Shaun King and Allen came charging passed.

As the order began to settle it all closed up again and House started to challenge Allen again in an attempt to regain fifth. But the battle only allowed Carl Bennett and Steve Liquorish to close in too, as both Allen and House started to fall off the back of the lead quartet.

But after shadowing his protégé for 10 laps, Forster decided to make his move for victory. “I had enough of not winning and needed to be in my rightful place, so I got him at Tower,” he said. Mortimer also closed but was never really in a challenging position.

While King continued to hold a solid fourth, Bennett had pounced to snatch fifth on lap eight when House and Allen came together. “I locked up at Quarry and was pushed onto the grass. It knocked my steering out,” House explained. Allen was still sixth but went on to share a couple of exchanges with Liquorish.

As the flag came out though it was Forster’s win by 0.242secs over Depper. “Martin tried a few moves but I blocked him, he tried very hard but couldn’t get me back,” he said. “I knew he was testing me, I showed him my moves but he knew where they would be,” Depper replied. Mortimer retained his racelong third, “My steering rack broke towards the end, but the others had such good pace I was just having to look for points,” he said.

King and Bennett were next home, with Liquorish sixth after taking his duel with Allen right to the flag. Jason Richardson held eighth from lap eight, leaving Laurence Sait, Roger Grimshaw and very last minute S class debutant Graham Parsons to head home the ailing House.

James Blyth had the initiative from the start in the Club Class but Powis was hot on his heels and shadowed him for the first seven laps. “I got him into Tower but it was still close. Then he got a run on me at Quarry but I took him back finally at Quarry,” said Powis after taking victory. Caudle was a clear third from lap two, after easing passed Dave Nixon, but was unable to make inroads on the lead pair having been held up on the opening lap avoiding some contact.

Nick Booth chipped away at Nixon for a few laps before moving into fourth on lap eight. But Nixon never gave up and reclaimed the place on the last lap around the outside at Camp. Kevin O’Connor closed considerably on the final laps to threaten from fifth, leaving Nigel Johnson, returnee Sarah Parsons, Craig Freeman and Roger Bates to complete the finishers.

Race 2

Despite Jason Richardson making one of the clearest cut jump starts of the season, Forster led from pole with Mortimer second into Quarry from Depper, Allen, King and Bennett. A brave move around the outside at Camp failed to pay off for Allen, but Mortimer tried a similar move on Forster’s lead a lap later with the same result.

Both Bennett and Liquorish got by King on the second lap, while Bennett’s momentum took him straight into a challenge for Allen’s fourth place. With Mortimer still attacking for the lead, the top five had broken clear after four laps, with Liquorish doing his best to stay with them.

Mortimer’s pressure finally paid off a lap later, diving ahead on the inside into Quarry. “I knew I had to get Arthur quickly before the track dried out,” he explained. Depper lay in wait too while Allen and Bennett were wheel to wheel and sometimes even closer. But their duel only allowed Liquorish and King to close again. Bennett was almost through at Bobbies on lap seven, but as Allen tried to hold his place through Camp they touched, before Bennett finally nosed ahead.

Back at the front Depper had briefly dropped back, but came back even stronger. Allen had lost out to Liquorish after his skirmish with Bennett, but was back into fifth on lap 10.

Mortimer was finding Forster’s pressure building over the closing laps and with a lap to go he was forced to surrender as they headed along Westway. Forster collected his second win of the weekend in his usual modest way, “My career is relaunched, I knew Oli was quicker when it was wet and mine would come on later. So I just waited until it did,” he explained. But Mortimer lost out to Depper for second too at Quarry on the last lap. “The understeer got really bad and when Martin caught me he just flew passed,” Mortimer explained.

Bennett only just missed out on a podium finish too, taking the flag nose to tail behind Depper and Mortimer. “I pushed really hard once I had got Lee. I was on them at Quarry and the chicanes, so it’s definitely a podium in the last race,” he forecast.

While Allen and Liquorish disputed fifth, House picked them both off on consecutive laps and left them to battle to the flag for sixth while he consolidated his place. “I had cooked my tyres after four laps but wasn’t going to give in. We swapped a bit but I finally held Steve off down the inside at Tower,” said Allen.

King settled in eighth, “I couldn’t see a thing. I was third into Quarry on the first lap, but had no screenwash when they kept going over the chicanes in front of me. It was horrible,” he explained. Sait and Richardson completed the top ten on the road, but Richardson’s jump start penalty dropped him behind Grimshaw to 11th.

Blyth made the best of the start again in Club Class but went wide at Camp on the second lap and let both Caudle and O’Connor go by. Powis then followed a lap later and hunted down O’Connor, before joining Caudle in a fourth lap break. But Blyth had more problems at Camp and was unable to rejoin the battle for the lead, which grew lap by lap.

Into Quarry on lap eight Powis grabbed the lead, but Caudle wasn’t giving up without a fight. “I got him at Quarry but he briefly got me back on the last lap, but I don’t know how he got through,” said Powis. Caudle reluctantly had to accept second on this occasion, “I just overcooked it a bit,” he said. Blyth was left with a solitary third, “I had three moments at Camp and just lost too much. The car was a real handful and they were out of reach,” he said.

Booth was fourth after escaping from a determined O’Connor, Nixon rounded off the top six and was followed to the flag by Parsons, Johnson, Freeman and Bates.

Race 3

As usual the reverse grids caused an upset. With Allen having won the equivalent race last time out at Donington, his confidence was high despite the wet track. Although Allen made a good getaway from pole from a text book rolling start, House made an even better one. But into Quarry Allen surged back ahead, with Bennett in third from Forster, Mortimer and Depper.

By the end of the opening lap it was clear Forster was struggling. Mortimer had taken him and Depper followed a lap a later. But it was the battle for second that caught the eye, with House and Bennett side by side along Westway before House held his place into Camp. They were side by side on numerous more occasions until Bennett started to fall back to Mortimer on lap five.

Having dropped back to sixth Forster had Liquorish were next in line to challenge. “I just couldn’t get the front to turn in, so I had to throw the back out. I was on worn wets and knew straight away it was the wrong way to go,” he explained.

Having temporarily shaken off Bennett, House was able to focus solely on challenging Allen. He had the lead at Tower on lap six, only to lose it again a lap later. “I got it at Tower and lost it at Tower,” he said.  That brought Bennett back into conflict, who had also towed along Mortimer and Depper in a clean break for top five. Within a lap though both Mortimer and Depper had lost touch again but Bennett stayed inches from House’s tailgate.

House ran out of grip though on lap nine, “it was a lack of ABS at Quarry trying to keep up,” he explained. He dropped to a solitary fifth as the top four paired off. Bennett pushed hard but it was Allen who claimed his second win of the season, “We had struggled all weekend with understeer, which turned out to be wrong tyre pressure due to a faulty gauge. The only bit I didn’t get right was the start, as Phil judged it perfectly,” said Allen.

Bennett’s earlier forecast proved spot on as he took the second step on the podium, while Depper shook off any late threat from Mortimer to secure third, after ousting the Scot at Tower on lap nine. “I had new tyres and the grip was Ok. I could tell Arthur was struggling. I managed to build a gap over Oli and then missed a gear at Tower on the last lap,” said Depper. “Standard procedure, understeer all the way, terrible.” Mortimer added.

While House managed to retain fifth, both Liquorish and King eventually got the better of Forster. “It was a great dice with Arthur but I couldn’t see a thing early on in that spray,” said Liquorish. Sait, Richardson and Grimshaw completed the S Class finishers.

Caudle was a comfortable Club Class winner having started as the 5th Club on the rolling start his karting experience showed, and he led from the second lap. Having led the opening lap Booth tried hard to hold off the challenge from Blyth for second, but his defence was breached on the third lap. Although Powis caught and began to challenge Booth from lap six, it was another five laps before he finally got by. But Booth came straight back, “Nick got me on the run to Quarry after I went wide at Camp, but I got him back again at the Esses on the next lap,” said Powis.

It was Caudle’s victory over Blyth, with Powis third and Booth just fourth, as O’Connor closed in after he finally shook off Nixon. Parsons, Johnson, Freeman and Bates once again completed the finishers.