Anglesey Race Report

Anglesey Race Report

23 May 2023

After Miata Trophy enjoyed a sensational debut two rounds on the prestigious Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit in April, the new-for-2023 championship returned for it’s third and fourth rounds on May 20th. The venue - Anglesey’s stunning Trac Mon circuit.

Miller Motorsport #5’s John Langridge started the morning’s Qualifying session in tremendous fashion, setting a strong 1:20:167secs on just his third lap of the coastal configuration. Competition to get into the second-ever Miata Trophy SuperPole session was once again incredibly fierce, with little to separate a vast number of drivers. As the session concluded, Langridge’s early time remained the one to beat, meaning it was Miller Motorsport #5 who headed the field into SuperPole. The #5 MX-5 would be joined in SuperPole by: Jack Sycamore (Sycamore Racing), Declan Lee (Hills Motorsport #12), Daniel Parrans-Smith (Boreham Motorsport #73) and Simon Fleet (Jiffy Winks). To highlight just how competitive the field is, three drivers missed out on SuperPole by less than 0.041secs! Turner Property Services Racing’s Liam Cochrane headed NA Class into the next session.

Excitement grew as the unforgiving SuperPole session got underway. Jiffy Winks’ Simon Fleet was the first out and the #55 driver rose to the pressure, setting a lap time quick enough to leapfrog Boreham Motorsport’s Parrans-Smith to qualify fourth. Also making the most of SuperPole was Hills Motorsport’s Declan Lee, who managed to get the jump on Jack Sycamore to secure a front row start. All eyes then turned to Miller Motorsport #5. John Langridge did not disappoint, blitzing the previous best time to secure his first-ever Miata Trophy pole position!

Glorious Welsh sunshine descended onto Trac Mon for what would turn out to be an epic first race of the day. Despite a solid opening lap for polesitter Langridge, Declan Lee (Hills Motorsport #12) was undeterred in his pursuit of his rival and managed to pass Miller Motorsport #5 before the end of lap two. This setup a spectacular battle between the two for the remainder of the race, with fantastic overtakes and firm-but-fair defensive driving galore. To demonstrate just how close the two were, the gap between the drivers was never more than 0.700secs over the start/finish line. Eventually, despite Miller Motorsport 5’s best efforts, Declan Lee (Hills Motorsport #12) became only the second driver to win a Miata Trophy race – finishing just 0.125secs ahead of Langridge! Both put on an excellent show and no one had a better viewpoint than Jack Sycamore (Sycamore Racing), who had an excellent Miata Trophy debut to finish third on the NC Class podium. Daniel Parrans-Smith (Boreham Motorsport #73) capitalised on early pace to finish fourth, ahead of Alex Miller (Miller Motorsport #7) in fifth. Elsewhere, Liam Cochrane recorded victory in NA Class.

After the incredible first race, excitement and anticipation for the second and final race of the day couldn’t have been higher. It did not disappoint. Following his victory in race one Declan Lee would start on pole in race two. The Hills Motorsport driver controlled the early pace, keeping earlier rival Miller Motorsport #5 narrowly behind. However, unlike in the first race, Lee was unable to keep Langridge at bay and on lap seven the decisive overtake was made. From that moment there was only ever going to be one winner, as Langridge expertly managed the remaining laps to record his first Miata Trophy victory. Declan Lee again put in a fantastic performance to finish in second, narrowly ahead of a storming Alex Miller. Alex Miller’s performance earned the #7 driver the final step of the podium and ensured there would be two Miller Motorsport drivers earning trophies in the second race of the day. Jack Sycamore (Sycamore Racing) rounded out a solid debut with fourth in race two, with Daniel Parrans-Smith (Boreham Motorsport #73) earning important championship points in fifth. Liam Cochrane completed a victory double in NA Class for Turner Property Services Racing.

While the battle for the front was extremely exciting, there were a great number of enthralling battles and excellent performances throughout the grid in both races. Amongst others, Simon Fleet (Jiffy Winks), Xavier Brooke and Nicholas Stott (Hills Motorsport #4) all demonstrated strong pace and recorded high finishes as a result.

Up next for Miata Trophy is Donington Park in July. After the enthralling start to Miata Trophy’s first Championship, we really can’t wait to see the action in Leicestershire!

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