Britain's Simon Moulton takes command of THP Spider Cup

Round 3 of the THP Cup  produced yet another change at the top of the championship standings, with Britain’s Simon Moulton easing past Julien Beltoise.




Neither of these two drivers won a race at Val de Vienne. That honour went instead to Picardy-based drivers Julien Briché (Saturday) and Alexandre Rambure (Sunday), the latter notching up his first ever success in motor racing.
 

Provisional championship leader Julien Beltoise appeared to be on target to increase his advantage when he claimed pole position for both races. The Frenchman’s qualifying performance dealt a demoralising blow to his rivals, but the tables were soon turned when Beltoise was forced out of Saturday’s contest following a clutch problem just before half-distance while battling for the lead with Julien Briché and Moulton.

Sunday saw the youngest representative of the Beltoise family pull out an early lead, but that was cancelled out when the safety car was sent out following Demoustier’s off. He was subsequently passed by Rambure, then Moulton whose result puts him on top of the points table.

Sunday’s race was packed with drama, including tangles between Briché and Moulton, and between Castelli - who started from the front row - and Guilvert. The competition was also marked by some exciting fight-backs, but Rambure was first past the flag, tailed by the in-form Moulton and Beltoise who came out on top in his scrap with Saturday’s winner Briché. After finding himself clear in front after Beltoise’s retirement and a mistake by Moulton, Briché went on to secure his second win of the year, helped by the fierce duel that kept Albouy (2nd) and Guilvert (3rd) busy in his wake. The fastest lady in both races was Marlène Broggi who produced a spirited comeback on Sunday following an early error to pip Corentine Quiniou at the post.

S. MOULTON: "It’s clearly been a good weekend for me, even though I didn’t win either race. It was important to score points for the championship and, despite a certain number of incidents, I came out of it reasonably well. I made a mistake on Saturday and finished fifth, and my tangle with Briché on Sunday could have cost me more dearly than it did. I can’t wait for Spa; it’s my favourite circuit."

THP Spider Cup, Val de Vienne - final results:

Race1: 1, J. Briché, 17 laps in 30m10.322s. 2, A. Albouy, +2.272s. 3, G. Guilvert, +2.792s. 4, G. Castelli, +11.299s. 5, S. Moulton, 18.550s. 6, F. Bry, +43.258s. 7, M. Broggi, +47.451s. 8, O. Freymuth, Best lap: S. Moulton (1m45.087s). Pole: J. Beltoise (1m43.573s).

Race2: 1, A. Rambure, 17 laps in 31m56.262s. 2, S. Moulton, +4.812s. 3, J. Beltoise, +6.339s. 4, J. Briché, +7.109s. 5, G. Guilvert, +12.332s. 6, F. Bry, +20.102s. 7, A. Albouy, +20.255s. 8, T. Fillatre, +29.193s. Best lap: A. Rambure (1m45.579s)/Pole: J. Beltoise (1m 43.882s).

Championship: 1, S. Moulton (93 points). 2, J. Beltoise (86). 3, G. Guilvert (80). 4, J. Briché (59). 5, A. Rambure (46). 6, M. Sciabbarrasi (44). 7, G. Castelli (42). 8, A. Albouy (32).