Theodore Glory at Thruxton

James Theodore (Telford) played no small part in helping his team mate win the BARC title challenge at Thruxton, and during the first of the weekend’s races he emerged as the dominant force, taking his third victory of the year with an outstanding drive, winning by almost 4 seconds clear of second, posting the fastest lap of the race on the way 1m12.882 seconds (116.37 mph)
Championship leader Hale qualified his Fortec Motorsport run car on pole position for the first encounter after shading Theodore by just 0.065 seconds with championship returnee Dino Zamparelli (Bristol), who finished third overall in the 2009 title chase, third on the grid.
At the start, points leader Hale got away well from pole but part way through lap one Theodore had made his way to the front and then Reilly edged his Fortec team-mate back to third by passing for second at the chicane. Hale’s race then started to come seriously unstuck with a major lock-up at the chicane on lap two, dropping him to sixth position three places behind Powell.
Theodore set the fastest lap of the race on the third tour – 1m12.882 seconds (116.37mph) – to increase his lead over Reilly with Powell third and Wright in fourth place.
Then, the Safety Car was deployed at the beginning of lap five due to the stranded MTech car of Jake Rattenbury (Vale of Glamorgan) which came to grief at the chicane. Racing resumed on lap seven with the top eight reading: Theodore, Reilly, Powell, Wright, Hale, Zamparelli, Josh Webster (Stowmarket) and Privateer Cup Champion James Birch (Rickmansworth).
Theodore came under intense pressure with six laps to go and Reilly attempted to wrest first place away on the run through Brooklands and up Woodham Hill. Taking the inside, he attempted to get alongside Theodore but the latter defended and his rival had to put two wheels on the grass.
Yet more drama then followed on lap 11 when Hale, who was running in fifth at the time, was pitched into a spin at the mid-part of the complex following contact. Dropping Hale to 12th, the incident would end up playing a major role in the outcome of the title but he recovered well into eighth at the finish to maintain a slim points advantage into round 12.
Reilly’s race also came unstuck on the penultimate lap at the chicane following a spin while dicing with Zamparelli over third place, the Antel Motorsport driver having deposed Wright for fourth two laps previously. As it stood, Powell had already got ahead of Reilly at the complex and so she ended up 3.7 seconds behind winner Theodore to set-up a mouth-watering title decider.
Wright took his fifth podium of the season in third place ahead of Webster, Privateer runner Birch – equalling his season’s best in fifth position – and Zamparelli. Newcomer James Thorp (Worcester) enjoyed a fine debut in seventh place ahead of Hale.