Video: Ward and Shedden Take Gerry Marshall Trophy Honours
Click on the Video tab for race action form Saturday night!
Saturday evening’s Gerry Marshall Trophy race lived up to expectations, with action form the start and the win going to the Rover SD1 of Chris Ward and Gordon Shedden.
Mark Blundell was on pole in the Escort he was sharing with Kerry Michael, setting the quickest time on Saturday morning in the final moments of the session as the track dried and was at its quickest. It was a dramatic start at the beginning of Saturday evening’s first race, Blundell jumping the start, and earning a time penalty, while alongside the Bryant family Camaro twice stalled and tumbled to the back of the field.
That put Ward at the front at the end of the opening lap in the Rover from eighth on the grid ahead of Blundell and Nick Swift’s Mini. On the move was Stuart Graham, who starred in the early laps aboard Nigel Garrett’s Camaro Z/28.
Shedden and Ward soon asserted their dominance following the driver changes 20min in as the recovering Camaro of Graeme and Oliver Bryant moved into second place with Garrett circulating in third. The safety car was deployed at two-third distance after Mike Wilds connected with the tyre wall in a Mazda RX-7, which erased the leaders’ 45sec lead at a stroke.
Nevertheless, they clung on once racing resumed until the chequered flag descended after 52mins of fabulous racing.
Touring car star Shedden commented: “It was a fantastic win, and the Rover was much more fun to drive in the dry than this morning in the wet. It was huge fun, but the lights were at best average!”
The Rover also came out on top in Sunday’s ‘sprint’ race, Ward at the wheel.
Race One (One-Hour, Two-Driver)
1 Ward/Shedden (Rover SD1) 35 laps in 56m08.345s
2 Bryant/Bryant (Chevrolet Camaro Z28) +12.660s
3 Graham/Garrett (Chevrolet Camaro Z28) +25.863s
4 Blundell/Michael (Ford Escort RS2000) +40.940s
5 Swift/Jordan (Mini 1275 HT) +41.530s
6 Clark/Neal (Chevrolet Camaro Z28) +1 Lap
7 Wood/Morgan (Ford Capri) +1 Lap
8 Bruce/Harvey (Rover SD1) +1 Lap
9 Priaulx/Watts (Ford Capri) +1 Lap
10 Berger/De Borman (Ford Capri) +1 Lap
Fastest Lap: Graham/Garrett 1m27.433 (98.81mph)
Blundell/Michael and Swift/Jordan, 10-second penalties, false start.
Race Two:
1 Chris Ward (Rover SD1) 10 Laps in 15m22.034s
2 Mike Whittaker (Ford Capri) +2.650s
3 Patrick Watts (Ford Capri) +7.292s
4 Jim Morris (Volswagen Golf Mk1) +7.833s
5 Nicholas Padmore (BMW 530i) +8.280s
6 Nick Swift (Mini 1275 GT) +8.435s
7 Grahame Bryant (Chevrolet Camaro Z28) +8.502
8 Stuart Hall (Rover SD1) +9.297s
9 Kerry Michael (Ford Escort RS2000) +12.289s
10 Raphael de Borman (Ford Capri) +12.531s
Fastest Lap: Ward, 1m29.287s (96.76mph)
