June 02, 2010
Published on tags: Supercup
Qualifying for the British round of this year's Supercup saw Liam Hatchell once more showing good qualifying pace taking pole position by three tenths of a second. Behind him Mark Wicks and Wayne Mullins claimed 2nd and 3rd on the grid on their Supercup debuts. Championship contenders Chris Williamson and Christoph Lictenstein could only manage 6th and 7th in the qualifying session.

Off the line Hatchell held on to the lead into Turn 1 with Mullins going around the outside of of Wicks to claim 2nd. Mullins, Wicks and Mark Stanton had an early battle for 2nd which saw a costly spin for Wicks and caused him to drop to the back of the field. Mullins slipped wide at Copse a few laps later which allowed Stanton to take the place.

The going proved tricky as several drivers had small spins in the opening stages, which allowed the recovering Wicks the chance to make good progress through the field. It also saw another early retirement for unlucky Welshman Gavin Thomas and the Williamson cars later joined him in retirement having both spun and lost wheels on the exit of Club corner.

During the pitstop stage there were few dramas as Hatchell retained a 20 second lead over rival Stanton, who now had Wicks only a few seconds behind him. For the remaining laps Wicks pushed hard and caught his fellow Englishman, pressuring him for several laps in a thrilling battle. On the penultimate lap, his efforts were rewarded as he managed to get alongside into Bridge corner and then slipped past the Constant car into Priory.

At the front it proved to be a dominant win for Liam Hatchell who won by 25 seconds and gained good points over both Lictenstein and Williamson who could only manage 4th and 5th respectively.