Mounsey delivers a dominant wet weather ride before Brinton beats Belford in Silverstone spellbinder
Sullivan Mounsey (Wilson Racing/Maddison Media) claimed a phenomenal wet weather victory in Race 1 of Round 6 as the R&G British Talent Cup stars took to the stage at the British Grand Prix. The #4 won by over 20 seconds after Evan Belford (City Lifting/RS Racing) crashed out of the lead, as Harley McCabe (McCabe Racing) and Lucas Brown (Amphibian Scaffolding/SP125 Racing) grabbed podiums.
It was immediately clear from lights out that two riders were in a league of their own in the tricky Silverstone conditions: Mounsey and Belford. The duo built a three-second gap on the opening lap and never looked back, as a fascinating battle played out between the pair.
Having built the gap to over 15s, it was all about Mounsey vs Belford for victory. However, at Turn 2 on Lap 6 after just set the fastest lap of the race, Belford crashed out of the lead. Moments later, Mounsey somehow managed to stay on board his Honda after a near highside at Turn 4, as we nearly lost both riders who were so dominant in Race 1.
Further back, a brilliant podium fight was unfolding between Brown and Amanuel Brinton (Kovara Projects/RS Racing), with McCabe quickly reeling his rivals in towards the end of the race. A two-way fight for P2 and P3 rapidly became a three-way scrap and heading into Copse corner on the final lap, McCabe made his move into P2.
An astonishing 22s up the road, Mounsey took the flag to earn his third win of the season to cut Belford’s title lead to 41 points, as McCabe and Brown beat Brinton to the podium. Rhys Stephenson (Rocket Racing) completed the top five with Filip Surowiak (FS75/FAB-Racing) claiming his best result of the year in P6. Ollie Walker (VisionTrack Racing Team), Ryan Frost (Talentum Motorsport By Azure Notions), Harrison Dessoy (Microlise Cresswell Racing/Eastern Garage Racing) and Alfie Davidson (Banks Racing) crossed the line in P7, P8, P9 and P10 respectively.
After narrowly missing out on the podium in a damp Race 1, Amanuel Brinton (Kovara Projects/RS Racing) responded perfectly on Sunday to claim a second victory of the season. The #43 beat Evan Belford by just 0.041s at a dry and sunny Silverstone, Lucas Brown (Amphibian Scaffolding/SP125 Racing) earned his second podium of the weekend in P3 as title race drama unfolded again with Sullivan Mounsey (Wilson Racing/Maddison Media) crashing out on Lap 1.
Contrasting conditions greeted the BTC grid for Race 2 as we got ourselves set for a barnstormer at the British GP. Drama unravelled almost immediately as Luffield caught out Race 1 winner Mounsey – the #4 sliding down the road unhurt as his stellar weekend ended prematurely. This left a lead group of Brinton, Belford, Brown and Harley McCabe (McCabe Racing) all jostling for the P1 baton, with the likes of Harrison Dessoy (Microlise Cresswell Racing/Eastern Garage Racing) and Rhys Stephenson (Rocket Racing) also in the podium equation.
Lap after lap, corner after corner, the lead continued to change. Brinton and Belford were the main protagonists throughout, but come the final lap, any one of five riders had a sniff at claiming the winner’s trophy.
Belford made sure he was leading coming down the Hangar Straight, but Brinton pounced into Stowe – and made a classy move stick. Would Belford be able to retaliate into Vale? Not this time. Brinton ran slightly wide through the final corner but an expertly executed final sector saw Brinton win a stunning BTC race, as Belford and Brown claimed podiums ahead of McCabe and Dessoy – the front five crossing the line just 0.7s apart.
Stephenson was three seconds adrift in P6 with Ollie Walker (VisionTrack Racing Team), Ryan Frost (Talentum Motorsport By Azure Notions), Filip Surowiak (FS75/FAB-Racing) and Harrison Mackay (Wilson Racing/Super Soco) completing the top 10.
After a sensational weekend of racing at Silverstone, Belford heads to Thruxton with a 49-point lead over McCabe. Four races remain in 2023, it’s crunch time in the title race as the BTC riders head to Hampshire.
