West Pinchbeck racer Ben Smalley was once again in the thick of the action at the latest round of the British Superlite Championship at Cadwell Park.
The young South Holland speedster enjoyed a victory and a second place in the first two races, but his chances of overall glory were ended by a collision in the meeting’s finale.
Smalley’s first attempt at the track proved fruitful, as in Saturday practice he topped the timing tables in two of the four sessions in the S6 class.
Qualifying took place on Sunday morning and he managed second place in his class amid tricky conditions of high winds and heavy rain.
Race one started with Smalley chasing down last year’s champion Phil Redfern.
And, having sat behind him for eight laps, he duly hit the front on the penultimate lap, setting the fastest lap of the race as he brought his car home in first place.
Race two ended up being a six-lap sprint after two red flags had stopped the previous two starts.
Starting from top spot in his class, Smalley was jumped by rival Redfern at the start and was again faced with hunting him down.
Lap after lap the gap was close and Smalley made his move on the final lap on the run to the line, only to be denied the win by 17/1000ths of a second.
With everything coming down to the final race of the day, Smalley in his blue 96 car once again found himself starting second in his class behind Redfern.
The experienced leader got himself off the line quickest again, leaving Smalley to chase him down once again.
Both drivers were hampered by slower cars from other series’ – and it was ultimately one of these cars that was to decide the fate of the race.
With Smalley placed exactly where he was in the first race and poised ready to strike for the lead on the final lap, he was unfortunately taken out with a lap and a half to go having just posted the fastest lap of the race.
Going up the left-hander of Charlie’s, the white S9 car of Smythe re-joined the circuit after going off onto the grass and he was clipped by the number 37 car of Wilkes.
This sent Smythe spinning right into the path of Smalley, causing heavy front end damage and rendering the car undrivable, forcing Smalley to retire.
This meant Redfern was left to take the race win and the overall honours for the class on the day.
Fortunately, enough had still been done for Smalley to still take second overall on the day.
The Cadwell result has also promoted Smalley into second place overall in the championship standings, but with Redfern further extending his lead at the top, further progression is highly unlikely with only one round to go.
The finale will take place at Wigan on December 5, providing the meeting will be allowed to go ahead due to the current English lockdown restrictions in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
