MaX5 Anglesey 2016 review

Anglesey, home to some of the best racing in UK Motorsport was host to rounds thirteen and fourteen of the MaX5 Racing Championship and it didn't disappoint. Torrential rain on the Saturday made for challenging conditions that caught out even the most experienced drivers but the track dried overnight and it was bone dry for race two on Sunday.

The tough conditions were reminiscent of the last event at Brands Hatch and it was John Munro who made the most of them as he claimed pole position number two of the year. His closest challenger in class would be Nick Dunn, over 1.8 seconds back - Munro was already shaping up to dominate the weekend. Ian Loversidge came third, a further half second back whilst Geoff Gouriet and Ged Kelly would have one of the closest battles of the season with Gouriet qualifying just 0.032 seconds ahead of Kelly. Andy Pretorius had a fantastic run to sixth in class ahead of George Grant with Richard Smith, Jeremy Shipley and Ade Baker rounding out the top ten in class.

Having the initials JM seemed to be a bit of an advantage at Anglesey as Josh Malin took pole in the MK1 class, six tenths ahead of double Brands Hatch winner Danny Grist. The returning Samantha Laslett was an excellent third ahead of George Snee. Tom Hotchkiss rounded out the qualifiers.

It was a mixed session for the MK4s. Paul Roddison was quick, he set the second fastest time before spinning off and into the tyre wall bringing his weekend to a rather spectacular end. Jonathan Halliwell wasn't as quick, he could only manage the ninth fastest lap but he would at least survive the session.

As the lights went out in race one things went wrong for the front row men. John Munro made a poor start and dropped back a couple of positions. Nick Dunn got away cleanly before spinning out in exactly the same place as Roddison, he kept it out of the wall though and rejoined sixteenth. John Munro wasted no time at all getting back to the lead and once he'd got it, he never relinquished it and ended up winning the race by well over thirty seconds. Geoff Gouriet ended up a very lonely second with over thirty second to first and third places. After dropping back slightly on the start, Ged Kelly and George Grant spent the rest of the race working their way through the field to finish third and fourth respectively with there never being more than a few seconds between the pair. Ian Loversidge struggled for pace but by virtue of making no mistakes, ended up fifth and scoring crucial points for the championship. Nick Dunn once again proved his sheer talent by carving his way through the field to an excellent sixth ahead of the battling Pretorius and Shipley. Richard Smith had an amazing start and ran third for five laps but a small mistake dropped him down the field and relegated him to ninth. Ade Baker would round out the top ten.

George Snee would make a fantastic initial start to take the lead of the MK1s but Josh Malin didn't go down without a fight and squeezed his way past on lap five. From there on in he would face very little challenge from the other MK1s and take his first career win in fine style. By lap ten Snee had dropped back into the clutches of Danny Grist and by lap thirteen Grist was through and into a second place he wouldn't relinquish. Snee came home third in the end with Tom Hotchkiss and Samantha Laslett ending the race fourth and fifth respectively.

Onto race two and John Munro managed to keep the lead off the start this time and disappear up the road to take win two of the weekend. Nick Dunn made his way up to third on the start and despite Geoff Gouriet's best efforts, was into second by lap three.

Munro leading the field through turn two on lap one

Dunn then spent the rest of the race chasing down Munro to no avail. Second place was still valuable points though and he was able to steal some of Munro's glory by setting the fastest lap. With Munro and Dunn scampering away out front, attention soon turned to the battle for third between Geoff Gouriet and Ian Loversidge. The gap ebbed and flowed as the pair dealt with traffic but Loversidge eventually caught Gouriet and made his way through on lap eighteen. Ged Kelly was a fairly quiet fifth with George Grant a very lonely sixth. Behind them there was an absolutely incredible four way scrap over seventh between Lee Hollin, Jeremy Shipley, Andy Pretorius and Ade Baker. The quartet spent the entire race separated by just a few seconds and after nineteen laps of racing the four of them crossed the line with just under two and a half seconds splitting them. Hollin took seventh with Shipley eighth, Pretorius ninth and Baker rounding out the top ten. Richard Smith was involved in this battle until disaster struck, he lost the back of the car exiting turn one and speared into the tyre barrier. Fortunately he was okay, the car not so much.

Grist and Malin had one of the best battles of the season over second in class

The MK1 class was absolutely dominated by Adam Read, who was sharing with George Snee. Read took the class victory by well over half a minute and finished seventh overall as well. Josh Malin and Danny Grist were having an amazing battle over second in class with the position changing ownership several times until Grist's car said enough was enough. A head gasket failure brought Grist's race to an early end despite his best efforts to keep it going. Malin then had a quiet run to second with Tom Hotchkiss in third and Samantha Laslett fourth.

It was this part that brought Grist's weekend to an end

Jonathan Halliwell showcased his skill in fine style as he dominated the race, taking the lead on lap thirteen after starting at the back and going on to take his first victory with the new MK4.

With double points on offer in the final round at Silverstone, the championship is still all to play for. Nick Dunn leads on six hundred and sixty six points a full hundred and one clear of second place Ian Loversidge with John Munro a further thirty six back. No one else is really in with a realistic mathematical chance of winning the title. While Dunn's lead seems quite big, add the drop scores into the mix and everything becomes an awful lot closer.

Tom Hotchkiss has shown the value of finishing every race, he leads the MK1 class on five hundred and seventeen points from Bayliss and Carter, neither of whom have competed since Donington. Josh Malin is an incredible fourth with two hundred and seventy one points, it's becoming increasingly difficult to remember he's still in his first season. Mark Theaker rounds out the top five, eleven points behind Malin.

Dunn, Loversidge and Munro for the title. Two races, one weekend and double points on offer - it's gonna be one heck of a season finale and you are not going to want to miss it.

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