The third National  of the 2026 season was held at the challenging Cotswold circuit near Cirencester on the 4th/5th July . We were treated to great racing conditions with a warm dry weekend throughout and plenty of set up and practice time on Saturday. 

On Sunday morning qualifying followed the usual drivers’ briefing.   

After 4 rounds of qualifying the positions were as follows :

GT8 Electric

TQ - Mark Green

2nd - Alfie Wadsworth

3rd - Aiden Chevens 

Saloon Touring

TQ - Alex Thurston

2nd - Ollie Williams

3rd - Mathew Cook

220mm GT

TQ - Glyn Beal

2nd-  Mark Boothman

3rd - Bailey Rice-Draycott

Finals:

B Final 220mm GT

This turned out to be a race of attrition. Jason and Daniel were off the track early  leaving Bob and John seemingly cruising towards a podium finish. Mark Ayers then dropped out . Jason and Daniel both rejoined after repairs and gradually wiped out the lead. John then literally crashed out .  Bob also  retired . Jason took the win with  Daniel in second . Luckily for him, Bob had completed enough laps to stay on the podium.

1st Jason Thompson (X-Ray)

2nd Daniel Leonard

3rd Bob Harley (X-Ray)

A Final GT8

All three legs finished in the same order with TQ Mark first, Alfie in second, and Aiden in third.

1st - Mark Green (Serpent)

2nd - Alfie Wadsworth (Serpent)

3rd - Aiden Chevens

A Final Saloon Touring 

TQ Alex Thurston led from start to finish. A flame out resulted in Matt Cook missing the start. It was close between Ollie, Craig, and Jen for the first few laps. Matt Cook meanwhile was charging through the  field and eventually ended up on the same lap as Ollie who had suffered a couple of flame outs . Alex won by 6 laps but it was a close finish on the line with Matt taking second by 31 hundredths  of a second!

1st Alex Thurston (Mugen)

2nd Mathew Cook (Mugen)

3rd Ollie Williams (Capricorn)

A Final 220mm GT

TQ Glyn Beal had his first trouble free final to lead from start to finish and take a well deserved  win by 2 laps.. Mark drove superbly to take second with Bailey 1 lap behind. The battle for the remaining places  was very close throughout with Neil Wallace 4th, Kevin Suggitt 5th, and Richard Boult 6th. All three finished on the same lap separated by just 11 seconds. 

1st Glyn Beal (Serpent)

2nd Mark Boothman (Serpent)

3rd Bailey Rice-Draycott (X-Ray)

A good weekend’s racing. Thanks to Steve in race control and to the Cotswold Club. It’s just a short break until the next round on the 25th/26th July at the Wombwell

 circuit.