FUN CUP ENDURANCE 2025 – ROUND EIGHT – DONINGTON PARK –
RACE REPORT
DRAMA TO THE END AS UVIO STEAL LATE WIN……………
WELL IT IS FUN CUP
It wouldn’t be Fun Cup without a dramatic finish and we certainly had it once again at Donington, when Chris and Charlie Hart’s Morpheus Motorsport car ran out of fuel on the last straight of the last lap, handing victory to UVio/Hofmanns Farquini and Fabulous Randaccio.
Randaccio started on pole for UVio/Hofmann’s and just held off Ninky Nonks Matt Hyde and Demon Tweeks’ Jason Minshaw through Redgate at the start.
But Charlie Hart was flying and led the field to the completion of the first lap for Morpheus from Hyde, Randaccio, Minshaw, PLR’s Ben Pitch and GCI’s Ian Wood.
The lead trio the started to break, with another trio led by Pitch, disputing fourth, while Mark Armstrong headed pitwards with bodywork rubbing on a tyre on the iLockerz car.
Hyde briefly led into Redgate on lap four, before Hart took it back. It was all change behind too, with Randaccio second, from Hyde, Wood, Minshaw and 2nd Choice’s Will Smith for 2nd Choice, as Pitch slipped to seventh.
It was race over for Sherardize UK’s Peter Belshaw though, as the Croft race winner came into the pitlane smoking heavily, before the smoke turned to flames.
Greenheath’s Paul Turner was next into the pits, another with bodywork rubbing after contact, but out in front it was now Randaccio, from Hyde and Hart, with Ted Bradbury up to fourth for Vapeclub EDF, despite starting at the back after their Silverstone victory.
But Bradbury had Smith hanging on after the pair had swapped a few laps earlier, while Wood was now solo in sixth. John Perott was making good progress for AxiaMetrics, closing in on Rob Croydon’s Rare Vinyl car for seventh.
Hart led again into Redgate on lap 11, with Hyde now third behind Randaccio. But Hyde had started to lose ground on the lead pair, before the Bradbury v Smith dual for fourth ended when both drivers were given track limits penalties.
“Will had done well and he was pushing me until the penalty split us up,” said Bradbury.
Wood was up to fourth, from Perrott and Croydon, before Randaccio and Hart exchanged again for the lead. But a few laps later Tom Pattle was off at Coppice having spun on his own oil. The leaders were the first on the scene and both Randaccio and Hart were off through the gravel, handing Hyde the lead as the safety car appeared.
“It was a great opening stint, but there was no warning about the oil and we just slid off,” said Hart. “Lot’s of progress but I had lost a bit of ground and was lapping a little slower, so I had some warning when the other two went off and came out in the lead,” Hyde added.
“An oil pipe came off so I spun on my own oil, but I thought the engine had gone,” Pattle admitted.
It was a lengthy safety car period which took us into the first pitstop window. Everyone except Mean Machine’s Guido Basile pitted as another three laps under caution followed, before the green flag was waved.
Chris Hart had taken over from son Charlie and had the lead, from Olympian/GRD’s Simon Rudd, Vapeclub EDF’s Vlad Vassiliev, Ninky Nonks’ Neo Clarke on his car race debut, UVio’s Farquini and AxiaMetrics’ Chris Weatherill. But as Vassiliev had to pit for Vapeclub’s second stop go, the top three broke away again.
Olympian had made nine places at the stops, so Rudd was the leader after the first hour, just 0.489 secs up on Hart, closely followed by UVio’s Farquini, before a gap to Ninky Nonks’ Clarke in a solo fourth, GCI’s Craig Butterworth and AxiaMetrics’ Weatherill, while Club’s Vassiliev had dropped to 19th.
Although Olympian had continued to lead up to the next pitstop window, GCI emerged as the new leaders, while Morpheus’s Chris Hart and UVio’s Randaccio disputed second, from Red River’s Johnny Mowlem and rare Vinyl’s Rob Croydon.
The lead began to come down though and Hart lead from lap 69, completing half distance with a five second lead over GCI, with UVio still third, from Red River, while Rare Vinyl had retaken sixth when Greenheath pitted.
Randaccio had lost time to the leaders when he had an off. “I went off at the Old Hairpin, through the gravel and back on,” he explained. Then I went off a second time at Coppice and I could feel Chris Hart laughing in his helmet,” he added. “I was enjoying the battle with Fab until he went off,” Hart replied.
It hadn’t been plain saying for Rare Vinyl either, “my seat moved at the start and I could hardly reach the pedals. Then it locked OK and made ground, but still losing out on the straights,” Croydon explained.
Despite two stop go penalties Vapeclub still came through the order and rejoined the lead battle as the penultimate hour was completed. With more stops Bradbury had a spell in the lead for Vapeclub, but after three hours it was Morpheus well clear, having fuelled to the end (or so they thought) and Charlie Hart over 40 seconds up on the still duelling UVio and Farquini and Vassiliev, with GCI still in contention too.
But Vassiliev started to lose ground and Wood took GCI back into third at Redgate and lap 121, with Ninky Nonk a lap down in fifth, from Signature RV and Greenheath, while Olympian were back to eighth after Riley Phillips went off at Redgate with a puncture, following backmarker contact.
The final pitstop window opened on lap 129, with Ninky Nonk in first for Smith to hand to Hyde, followed by Signature RV as John Whitehouse made way for Marcus Clutton.
Clutton soon took Hyde through Redgate, but the Formula Vee racer had the pace to hang on.
Morpheus were one of the last stoppers, with Chris Hart rejoining with their lead intact and with 39 seconds in hand over Farquini, followed by Vapeclub’s Bradbury and GCI’s Butterworth.
Although Phillips was third for Olympian, Clutton and Hyde were both catching him, and on lap 140 they both got by. They continued to swap and change and two laps later Hyde was back ahead of them both as his rivals outbraked each other at Redgate.
“Then I threw it off at the Old Hairpin, but brought it back on with no splitter and had permission to go for it from Steve and John,” Clutton admitted after losing 3 ½ secs.
Bradbury then ran wide at Redgate and Butterworth took third as rain started to fall again. But a lap later after going side by side through Schwantz Curve Bradbury claimed it back, just before the safety car came out with the iLockerz car off at the Old Hairpin.
Hart’s 30 second plus lead came down and down to just 7.861 secs as the green flag waved with 6 1/2 minutes on the clock.
Bradbury and Butterworth immediately swapped again in Vapeclub’s favour and Clutton retook Phillips for sixth before making a challenge on Hyde for fifth.
But Hart’s lead had continued to come down as UVio had the scent of victory, while Bradbury had began to close on both.
There was the possibility of another safety car when Mowlem stopped at McLeans. “We’d had problems with electrics, so changed the coil and it seemed OK. Then it started to hesitate and just stopped,” he explained.
The race was allowed to run it’s course and a lap from home Hart’s pace had reduced even more, so Farquini led and Hart was under attack for second, which swapped on the final lap.
It was a second win of the season for Farquini/Randaccio but Bradbury was just 0.453 secs behind at the flag. “I gave it my best shot,” said Bradbury.
“That was cool and Ted was coming at me. So I really had to work hard for that,” Farquini admitted.
Hart still managed limp home in third, “I was nursing it for the last four laps and I could see them catching before it cut out at McLeans. So I just limped to the finish on the clutch,” Chris explained. “I’m glad it wasn’t me in the car,” Chalie added.
With a top four looking a cert for GCI it went wrong for them too. “I was battling with Ted and then we ran out of fuel,” Butterworth admitted.
With GCI out, Ninky Nonk was into fourth, but still under pressure from Phillips and Clutton. “I kept them under pressure earlier in the stint, then into Coppice on the last lap I dropped a wheel off in the wet and they got me back,” Hyde admitted.
“I had no wipers and hadn’t worked so hard for a while, but managed to force Marcus into a mistake,” Phillips explained, after sealing fourth for Olympian/GRD with Rudd and Chris Dovell.
Signature RV and the Ninky Nonk therefore completed the top six, with Aussie visitors Sam Gibson/Lam O’Donnell a lap down in seventh. “My first time at Donington, first time in the wet,” said Gibson.
“My Fun Cup debut, I just needed time to learn the car and track,” O’Donnell replied.
Greenheath were next home with Turner/Gary Bate, “not a scratch on the car for once,” Turner admitted. PLR’s Ben Pitch/Neil Plimmer and Racelogic’s Julian Thomas/David Denyer rounded off the top 10, with the latter duo changing cars the day before to EDF’s spare.
https://www.tsl-timing.com/file/?f=BRSCC/2025/253731fun.pdf
Published by Peter Scherer for Fun Cup Endurance, September 15th 2025
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