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Round 1: Silverstone, 23 March 2002

Gerry Marshall guest of honour at first Caterham race of year

BARC Gold Medal winner Gerry Marshall was guest of honour at the Caterham Graduate Racing Club’s first race of the year at Silverstone. Gerry presented trophies to the winners and best improvers in the Graduate and Super-Graduate races, saying how much he admired the friendliness and camaraderie of the series which reminded him of his early club racing days. He added that he was delighted to see such a mixture of ages and sexes in the races, with particular mention to 18 year old Sarah Reader’s pole position in the Super-Graduate race. In contrast to Gerry Marshall’s six hundred race victories, both drivers on the top step of the podium were first time winners in the championship.

A capacity grid of thirty-four cars took the start of the Graduates race. The lead often swapped several times every lap amongst the lead train of ten cars, but it was Chris Bruney who took the win after the race long slipstreaming battle. Second and third were 2001 champion and runner-up, Jamie Ellwood and Paul Manyweathers, with less than seven tenths of a second covering the first five cars across the line. Perhaps the most memorable moment of the race was the sight of the first five cars all abreast through Copse on the penultimate lap!

In the Super-Graduates race, Franek Low took the chequered flag ahead of guest driver John Gaw in his under-powered Roadsports "B" car. Newcomer to the series, 18 year old Jonathan Barnes, took third in his first ever Super-Graduate race. Again, less than a second covered the first five across the finish. Another newcomer to racing, Caterham employee Simon Lambert, was unlucky to be sidelined in a first lap incident whilst leading. Lambert recovered to finish ten, taking the lap record along the way.

Pictures to follow shortly...