BEN TUCK DOMINATES CROFT WITH MAIDEN WIN, 2nd PLACE; LAP RECORD!
26th September 2016
Fresh from his maiden podium at Oulton Park last month, Ben Tuck carried the momentum in emphatic style by dominating the latest round of the Caterham Supersport Championship at Croft in Yorkshire last weekend with a win, a 2nd place and the Caterham Supersport lap record.
After a nail-biting qualifying session, Ben was just being pipped to pole by the eventual title champion, William Smith by 0.19s. After qualifying Ben was happy with the car.
“[The car has] been strong all through testing and we were quickest in most sessions in practice. We’ve barely changed anything apart from a broken suspension part so I’m confident that we have the pace today”.
At the start of Race 1, Ben comfortably slotted in behind the leader as the top 4 quickly broke away. After 7 laps Ben made a move into the lead and holding it until lap 11 after which the top pair constantly swapped positions in a superb display of close combat fighting only inches apart. By the final lap, Ben was pushing William on as the top 3 led the field by 10 seconds, with Ben taking the flag a very close second and also the Supersport lap record along with it.
Race 2 was late on the following day as the weather continued to be fine and dry. Starting on the grid again in second place, Ben felt he had every chance of achieving his first win of the season.
As they got away he calmly followed the leader through the first set of corners until a smooth and confident move at the end of the back straight saw him take the lead. For the remainder of the race Ben calmly put in metronomic laps consistent to 0.25 of a second with times that not even the championship leader could match. In clear air, without the benefit of the tow; from another car in front, Ben stretched his lead until he was over 6 seconds clear. Ben took the chequered flag with an unusually large margin for a Caterham race, underlining his dominance in the race.
“It was probably the best performance of my career so far”, he said. “I knew we’ve had the pace to win and I set out to prove it. I concentrated on putting in clean precise laps every single time and zoned out everything else. So far this season I’ve had to fight hard for every place at every corner. This time it was a challenge to myself to be accurate and calm and show that I deserve the win, and that’s what I did. It’s important for a driver to be as quick leading a race as he is chasing”.
The result was extra special as his entry to the Croft round was under threat because of budget issues, until luxury hotel and resorts group, Park Plaza Hotels, stepped in to help support Ben for the last two races of the season. “It’s great that I’ve shown Park Plaza that we have the pace to be successful and I’m so grateful to them and all my other sponsors and partners – Aviamics, Saturn, Trafalgar Technical Solutions, Air Research, Goldstar and Power Maxed. Without them none of this would be possible and I’m pleased to be able to repay them with a win”.
“We’re really happy to be working with Park Plaza”, continued Ben. “The deal came through too late to put branding on the car for Croft, but they were a big part of this result. We’ll certainly be proud to carry their brand at the next round at Donington Park in October”.
Daniel Pedreschi, General Manager of the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London, part of Park Plaza® Hotels Resorts, was equally happy about the result. “Now that’s what I call the start of a great relationship”, he exclaimed after the race.
The result takes Ben to 8th in the Championship, a remarkable achievement after the many issues he suffered earlier in the season.
Ben next races at Donington Park on 15th / 16th October in the Caterham Supersport Season Finale.
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