Rowland breaks Elise Trophy duck at Brands

Stuart Rowland finally took his maiden Lotus Elise Trophy series victory at Brands Hatch this weekend.

Having shown front-running pace since the first round of 2011, he led from the start of the first Elise race, under intense pressure from Luigi Mazza. A slide at Graham Hill bend sent him wide and Mazza had nowhere to go, launching off the back of Rowland’s car before returning to the track.

Ironically this helped Rowland’s cause and he won by over six seconds. John LaMaster took third, a just reward after his spectacular roll here last year.

The top two were the main focus of the second race as they fought from the middle of the reversed top-ten grid. This time Mazza was the hunted and he won by half a second. Dave Carr was a delighted third.

Steve Williams added Lotus Cup UK to his Elise Trophy and Lotus Cup Europe trophy collection. A revitalised Marcus Jewell pushed him hard in the early stages, before a spin when he briefly took the lead, the pair running side-by-side through Paddock Hill and Druids. Williams picked up another ten seconds when he pitted earlier, whilst Chris Setters hauled the Series 1 Exige he shares with father Doug to third place and the Open class win. Jamie Stanley overcame gearbox troubles to take the Exige Cup honours with team mate Glenn Sherwood, whilst Stuart Plotnek was the Production class winner.

Watch Lotus on Track Racing Drivers Club action on Motors TV


Kevin Ritson