The Mickel Motorsport crew returned from Pembrey last week with smiles on their faces. They were returning from a weekend where double points were up for grabs, together with a possibility that the hard earned lead, notched up over the past season, could all be lost in two days. This compounded with a very wet weather forecast and Mickel Motorsports history of not yet finding the perfect wet set up, resulted in many serious faces for the opening races.

But all that worry was soon forgotten as the dream of a perfect wet set up, became more of a reality.

John Mickel #4 – K-Seal

John knew that the bad weather was due to hit hard over the weekend so it was important to make a statement from the outset. John fulfilled this requirement by setting the fastest lap in testing. 

Saturday

From the back of the grid in race 1, John found a drying track a bit of a challenge but returned safely to take third place. The second race was extremely exciting, with a huge downpour just as the race cars took to the track. This would determine whether the wet race set up was good enough or not. With the attempts all year to find grip in the wet, the crew had their prayers answered and John stayed out front for the duration to take the win. The final of the day caused visibility issues with such heavy rain almost severe enough to stop the race. John kept out of trouble to bring the car home in 6th. This left John with enough points to lift 2nd place trophy on the day.

Race 1 3rd

Race 2 1st

Race 3 6th

Sunday

With overnight storms, the team woke to a very wet Sunday morning. From the back of the grid, John tiptoed through the greasy, dirty cars to finish 5th, also collecting the fastest lap of the race. In race 2 John started at the front of the field, and his bid for the lead was going well until the last bend when he found himself positioned on the outside of his closest rival, Conner Mills, a manoeuvre that was not going to end well. John’s opponent suddenly had an extremely wide car, forcing John onto the grass but John still clung on to finish 2nd. In the Final, John started from the back of the grid, and despite the very bad conditions causing two red flags, John still finished ahead of his rivals in 5th place, placing him 1st overall on the day. 

Race 1 5th & Fastest Lap

Race 2 2nd

Race 3 5th

The provisional points calculation following Pembrey leaves the team of the #4 K-Seal orange machine, in association with MVIS, Baileigh, PVL and Lucas feeling quietly confident that there is a

high certainty of a lifting the Championship title at Brands ahead of his closest rival, Conner Mills, in the final rounds next week!

Paul Simmons #51 - Baileigh Industrial Ltd 

Paul battled with the wet conditions all weekend and luck was clearly not on his side. The last race saw Paul get tangled in a crash where an unavoidable spinning car was out of control swung directly in the path of Paul’s #51 car. Despite a difficult weekend, the black Baileigh machine is still sited in third place in the Championship but the margin of just 50 points between Paul and his closest rival Steve Whitelegg, leaves the crew holding their breath going into the final weekend at Brands Hatch. 

Saturday

Race 1 10th

Race 2 9th

Race 3 11th

Sunday

Race 1 10th

Race 2 10th

Race 3 DNF

Mike Schlup #3 – K-Seal

Mike showed us a very solid performance placing the K-Seal #3 car at the top of the Team Car Championship on his birthday weekend. 

Saturday

Race 1 11th

Race 2 16th

Race 3 16th

Sunday

Race 1 16th

Race 2 14th

Race 3 10th 

The grand finale in the racing calendar promises to be a spectacular at Brands Hatch with the Trucks parade and the fantastic fireworks display on November 5th & 6th. Don’t miss it!