31st December 2020 - Season Review
Bankhurst clinches the title
The first meeting for the HF3 “Screamers” was at the Brands Hatch. Jeremy Timms qualified on pole with Simon Armer second. Armer and Timms enjoyed close racing for the first few laps until an oil pipe blew off Timms’ car, causing him to retire and Armer to spin and drop to fifth. This promoted Ewen Sergison to the lead which he held to the end. Steve Seaman climbed the order from seventh to finish second with Mike Scott third. Armer led the second race from start to finish. He had close competition from Sergison for the first four laps, but a drop in oil pressure caused Sergison to retire. Jason Timms enjoyed a great race to climb from seventh to second and Ian Bankhurst finished third.
Cadwell Park two weeks later hosted the annual Justin Haler Trophy. Simon Armer claimed pole by six seconds to Paul Waine. Armer took a convincing victory in race 1 with Waine keeping Ian Bankhurst behind him to take second. Race two again saw Armer on pole, but a slow getaway left him swamped by both Waine and Bankhurst. Waine led for eight laps as Armer and Bankhurst engaged in a battle that eventually caught Waine. On the final lap, Armer made his move to reclaim the lead. He slipped past but a light touch sent him spinning off and handed the win to Bankhurst, with Waine and Armer rounding out the podium. Further down the order, Paul Booth and Simon Etherington had a race long battle with Simon claiming the position on the final lap, slipping past amongst lapping cars. The Justin Haler Trophy, awarded on the aggregate result of the races, was won by Ian Bankhurst.
On to the final meeting of the season at Mallory Park and it was all to play for, with Simon Armer leading the championship by 6 points from Ian Bankhurst. Bankhurst qualified on pole by a fifth of a second from defending champion Simon Armer. The first race had a fantastic three way battle for the lead lasting the duration of the race until a moment under braking for the Hairpin put Armer and Seaman out of the race, leaving Bankhurst free to claim victory under the red flag. This moved Keith Messer up to second while Ewen Sergison came third, having started from the pit lane. Armer was unable to start the second race and it was Sergison who got the jump into turn one to take the lead ahead of Bankhurst. By mid-race Sergison was clear in the lead but was forced to retire on the final lap, leaving Bankhurst to claim victory. Messer took second place away from Andrew Tart on the final lap and Steve Seaman recovered to fourth after an earlier spin.
Championship honours went to Ian Bankhurst, with 3 wins, two third places and a fourth place this season. Simon Armer managed to hold on to second, despite the Mallory Park drama and Andrew Tart was pleasantly surprised to come third.
Rachel Lovett
View Results and Timings (as a PDF document) [PDF]
