2021 SMRC Cadwell Park Round 4
Scottish Mini Cooper Cup
Another Podium and Fastest lap for Hose at Cadwell Park
Neil Hose took another podium finish at Cadwell Park as the Scottish Mini Cooper Championship (SMRC) headed south of the border to enjoy glorious sunshine for the only away round this season.
The Glasgow Independent BMW & Mini Specialists driver showed impressive pace all weekend despite never having driven the roller coaster of a track. Hose pushed his ALM run Mini hard in qualifying posting a time which secured a front Row start nearly a second clear of 3rd place and championship leader Michael Weddell. Chad Little secured pole with an outstanding lap.
The first of 3 races was relatively calm for a Mini Cooper race with Little getting the jump off the line to clear a small gap after the first few corners. Hose momentarily dropped back to 3rd before regaining second on the inside at Charlies bend. Little stretched out his lead whilst the hard charging Weddell started to apply pressure from behind as the longer than usual 20 minute race unfolded. A late mistake on the brakes from Hose at Mansfield with a few laps to go gifted Weddell 2nd place with Hose rejoining the track to secure the last step on the podium and fastest lap of the race.
Race 2 proved to be the thrilling Mini encounter spectators have come to expect with a 4 way battle for 2nd and 3rd. Little got away at the front delivering a solid performance to seal the victory whilst the pack battled hard for the final few steps on the podium . Glasgow Dent Centre backed driver Hose fell back to 6th place after an unfortunate start finding the door firmly shut each time he tried to make a move on the narrow Lincolnshire circuit. As the order shuffled repeatedly towards the end of the race, Hose made an ambitious move to take back 3rd place from Craig Blake going into the hairpin with Blake defending the position minor contact resulted in Hose colliding head on with the tyre wall and scoring a DNF with serious consequences for his Championship standing. Dylan O’Donnell grabbed the opportunity for the 2nd step on the podium with Blake holding onto 3rd. Hose once again claimed another point for fastest lap of the race.
Andrew Lamont Motorsport team did an impressive job to repair the damage on Hose’s car to get him out for race 3. However it was damage limitation for the Scottish driver starting dead last for the final race of the day. Despite a less than optimal car, Hose gained a few places for P6. A resurgent Michael Weddell took a lights to flag victory in the reverse grid race with Blake 2nd and Chad Little taking P4.
After Hose said, “We had great pace all weekend, qualifying on the front row having never driven Cadwell Park before the weekend, however we couldn’t quite convert that speed into the championship points we were looking for. In summary I absolutely loved racing the Mini round Cadwell Park and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of learning a new track. Although this weekend has been a disaster for the championship, I’m confident we will be challenging for more wins in the remaining 2 rounds at Knockhill.
Hose is on strong form at the moment, posting fastest laps and qualifying front row in the last few rounds. The championship heads north again to Knockhill in Scotland for the Remaining 2 Rounds of the season where Hose will hope to add another victory to his tally of podiums this season.