Croft 2009

11th & 12th July - National Championship
Rounds Seven & Eight
Croft

John Higgins and Lee Fitzpatrick once again vied for supremacy in a busy weekend of action at Croft. The Burnett Motorsport duo cleaned up on the victories, with Higgins topping his rival with four wins to two, while Stephen Treherne managed second in all six races.

Ross Marshall started the first of Saturday's races from pole, but was edged out by Treherne as they charged into Tower. With Lawrence Davey and Matthew Pape both of at Clervaux, the safety car came out for a lap, before normal service was resumed.

From the green flag Treherne held his lead, but Higgins shot past Nick Brace for third into Clervaux, before the top three arrived at Tower nose to tail. Simon Belcher slipped ahead of Brace for fourth, but back at the front Higgins was up to second as they arrived at the Complex.

Treherne started to open a gap despite Higgins pursuit. Belcher started to threaten Marshall, while Brace had Fitzpatrick edged towards his fifth place. Into the Hairpin for the fifth time Higgins had the lead, but on the eighth lap of a seven lap race he hit the chicane and broke the steering. "It was my mistake," he admitted. Although Treherne took the flag the race was taken back a lap and Higgins restored as the victor. "I worked hard for that," said Treherne.

Fitzpatrick clinched third after taking Belcher into Clervaux on lap seven and Marshall followed at Sunny to seal fourth. "I circulated behind them and just picked up the pace when they fought with each other," said Fitzpatrick. Peter Morton struggled home in sixth.

The safety car was out again at the start of the second heat, with Higgins, Darren Gaulton and Mick Mercer all off at Clervaux. From the green Fitzpatrick shot clear of Richard Pocklington into Clervaux, "I didn't think I had left any room but Lee still got through," said Pocklington. The erstwhile leader ran wide at Tower and dropped to fifth behind Marshall, Belcher and Treherne. As the top five broke way Treherne swapped with Belcher at the chicane. Although Fitzpatrick was breaking clear there was plenty of action behind. Treherne took second at Clervaux, before Belcher and Marshall touched and spun at Tower. "He hit me, spun me and hit me again," Marshall explained. "That one was a bit boring for me," Treherne reckoned.

Fitzpatrick took the flag with over two seconds in hand over Treherne, while Pocklington came in third. "I could see Stephen trying to catch and just concentrated on not making mistakes," said Fitzpatrick. "That was my best result with a new chassis too," added Pocklington. Marshall held off Davey in the battle for fourth, while Nick Brace kept Ben Power at bay for sixth.

After Higgins took Pape exiting Tower on the opening lap of the final, the defending champion went on to dominate. Belcher was third before a slip at Sunny, leaving Pape under pressure from Davey, Fitzpatrick and Treherne. Davey had second at Clervaux, but lost out to Fitzpatrick at Tower. A lap later Treherne shot past Davey on the back straight with Marshall next in line to challenge.

Treherne had started to close on Fitzpatrick when the championship leaders engine seized at Sunny with a couple of laps to go. Higgins took a comfortable win. "It's nice when a car that's not 100 per cent gets you a win," he said. Treherne was a clear second, "win the day but not a race," he added. Marshall headed Davey from lap five. "I expected to get hit at the start but it was OK. The battles helped me get through though," said Marshall. Belcher, Davey and Pape ran in close formation to complete the top six, with Brace just missing out again. "I could see them but just couldn't get there," he said.

Fitzpatrick had pole for Sunday's opening heat and led from the start as Gaulton was forced to surrender his early second place to Belcher. Pape lost third to Treherne exiting the Hairpin, while Higgins began his charge through the field. The top three were clear after two laps, Higgins took Pape and Belcher and closed on the Fitzpatrick Treherne duel, leaving Belcher solo in fourth.

But on lap five Treherne tried to go through a non existent gap and hit Fitzpatrick and spun him. Higgins pounced to snatch the win, with Treherne retaining second after taking the Complex side by side for the last time. Belcher kept third, despite being caught by the battling Marshall and Davey on the last lap. "I spun at the Hairpin, there was no contact," Marshall explained after dropping from fifth to 11th. Brace and Gaulton therefore moved up to complete the top six behind Davey.

Higgins was never headed in heat two, but was harried all the way to the flag by Treherne. Brace held off Davey for third until Tower on the third lap, with Pape and Marshall in their wheeltracks. While the lead pair ran side by side into Tower on lap four, Fitzpatrick and Belcher started to close on the group ahead. Marshall had shadowed Brace for a while and finally got by into Tower on lap five, followed by Fitzpatrick at the Complex.

But despite Treherne's efforts he still had to settle for second again behind Higgins. "That was a good race, had pressure until I got away later on," said Higgins. Marshall stormed past Davey on the back straight to claim third from Davey on the last lap. "I am looking for that sort of form every race," said Marshall. Fitzpatrick closed on Davey but had to settle for fifth ahead of Pape.

Fitzpatrick had the edge again with a front row slot for Sunday's final. He led Marshall, Treherne, Gaulton and Pocklington from the start. But with John Hilbery's car alight at Tower, the safety car made its final appearance of the weekend. After the green flag Treherne soon demoted Marshall into Tower and set about closing on Fitzpatrick. But as six cars tried for fourth place at the Hairpin, Davey spun Belcher and left the top three clear.

Higgins managed to break from the next group and was hunting down the lead trio, leaving Pape on his own in fifth. But he arrived at Tower on the seventh lap with a cloud of smoke as his engine had blown. "It put a rod through the side," he confirmed. Treherne had managed to get alongside Fitzpatrick until they arrived at Tower and found oil. "I ran wide and Stephen got by," said Fitzpatrick. He needn't have worried as Treherne followed suit a lap later leaving Fitzpatrick to take another win. Marshall took another well deserved third, "that's been a good weekend and I needed it," he concluded. Pape, Davey and Pocklington completed the top six.

Round Seven

Pos	Driver	R1	R2	R3	Score
1	12 - Stephen Treherne	2	2	2	555
2	3 - Ross Marshall	4	4	3	490
3	16 - Richard Pocklington	8	3	8	410
4	1 - John 'Jon' Higgins	1	0	1	405
5	2 - Lee Fitzpatrick	3	1	0	375
6	8 - Nick Brace	11	6	7	360
7	55 - Ben Power	7	7	11	350
8	69 - Gerard McCosh	9	8	9	340
9	11 - Simon Belcher	5	0	4	315
10	7 - Alasdair Gauld	10	9	10	310
11	19 - Lawrence Davey	0	5	5	305
12	17 - John Hilbery	15	10	12	230
13	99 - Brian Cooke	14	11	0	155
14	24 - Matthew Pape	0		6	145
15	32 - Peter Morton	6			140
16	4 - Darren Gaulton	12	0	0	90
17	77 - Robin Webb	13		0	75
18	43 - Mick Mercer	16	0	0	50

Round Eight