LFS Beginner's Cup Round 5 Race Report
Written by Joseph Ellis, 28 September '08
The Mini-FBM round started off with Simon Mathei on Pole, Petr Jelinek in 2nd, and Darryn Lobb in 3rd. Following an uneventful first corner, Yann Laprevotte dropped down into 7th, after nearly spinning whilst attempting a very risky pass on David Novak. Early on in the race, Atkinson was already battling with Russell for fourth place. Laprevotte slotted in between the two, allowing Atkinson to take 5th.
Chris Karsten was right on the back of Russell, looking to take 7th position. At the front of the pack, Mathei was steadily pulling away from 2nd place man, Jelinek. He had now established a 2 second lead, only 3 laps into the race.
Meanwhile, Karsten had managed to overtake Russell, but made contact in the process. As lap 4 begun, Laprevotte overtook Atkinson, but Atkinson was already looking to regain his 5th place. Karsten was steadily making his way up through the field, and was now attempting a pass on Atkinson, who had not managed to keep up with Laprevotte. This scrap lasted several laps, but Atkinson managed to defend his position.
A third of the way through the race, the front five cars were very spread out, and Mathei had opened up a huge lead over Jelinek. Once again, Karsten was bearing down on Atkinson, waiting for the right opportunity. On the 12th lap, Ott went wide and crashed his car into the tyre wall, causing significant damage to his car's bodywork and suspension. He was now stone dead last, and pitted in on Lap 14 to repair damage.
The top 3 cars had held their positions from the start, and there was a noticeable lack of action at the front. Reaching the half-way point, Karsten's car was still glued right to Atkinson's gearbox, and he showed no sign of giving up. Aquino gained a place from Russell after a short lived battle, and soon overtook Karsten, after Karsten hit the grass and went off upon entry to turn 1 of lap 19. Karsten's hopes of gaining 6th place were now totally out the window.
Booth rolled his car after colliding with the tyres in the final turn. Karsten narrowly avoided the stranded car. This brought out the Safety car. A time-out from Aquino ended what was "The best race I was having for a long time". The race resumed with 8 laps to go after a somewhat painful four laps behind the Safety car. David Novak nearly became another victim of the final turn, after he clipped the tyres and lost control. This left him in a rather dissapointing 7th place.
A fierce battle sparked between Lobb and Atkinson on the final lap, with Atkinson being the eventual winner of the 4th place. A good race for Laprevotte, finishing third, and a successful one for both Jelinek and Mathei, finishing first and second respectively.
