2010 Birmingham Masters

25px **2010 Birmingham Masters**
Race details
2010 Masters Series season

Date	November 18th, 2010
Event	2010 Birmingham Masters
Location	Barber Motorsports Park, Alabama
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.380 mi / 3.830 km
Weather	Sunny
Feature Race
Distance	{{{Feature_Laps}}} Laps {{{Feature_Distance_mi}}} mi / {{{Feature_Distance_km}}} km
Pole position
Driver	Joe Consiglio	Nordsjoen Racing
Time	???
Podium
First	Joe Consiglio	Nordsjoen Racing
Second	Nick Rowland	Guest Driver
Third	Sam Millar	H-P Motorsport
Fastest Lap
Driver	Nick Rowland	Guest Driver
Time	???
Sprint Race
Distance	{{{Sprint_Laps}}} Laps {{{Sprint_Distance_mi}}} mi / {{{Sprint_Distance_km}}} km
Podium
First	Nick Rowland	Guest Driver
Second	Mark Stanton	Constant Racing
Third	David Stanton	Constant Racing
Fastest Lap
Driver	Nick Rowland	Guest Driver
Time	???

The 2010 Birmingham Masters represented Rounds 3 & 4 of the 2010 Masters Series season and was held on November 18th 2010.

Report

Following on from the action packed races at Laguna Seca, the teams remained stateside for Rounds 3 & 4 with a visit to the twisty Birmingham Motorplex track. Once the drivers had got used to the turns, dips and rises of the circuit, they headed out to qualify in what proved to be quite a closely fought battle. Emerging on top once more was Nordsjoen driver Joe Consiglio, who edged out rival Nick Rowland by less than 3 tenths of a second, with Sam Millar, Kieran Ryan and David Jundt all just a few tenths further back.

At the start of the feature race, Rowland got off to a sluggish start and slipped back into the pack, which allowed Millar to get into 2nd place behind Consiglio. However the hard charging Scotsman managed to slip down the inside at the first hairpin and claimed an early lead. Further back Mark Stanton's spin caused problems for Christoph Lichtenstein and others at turn 1, but worse was to follow as Ryan lost control at the chicane causing a small pileup. As the race progressed, a three-way battle for the lead developed between Millar, Consiglio and Rowland, with Rowland moving up to 2nd after an uncharacteristic slip from Consiglio. However a hard scrap between Rowland and Millar resulted in contact and led to both drivers to lose positions to Consiglio, who calmly held it together and claimed his 2nd win of the series.

The sprint race saw an equally dramatic opening lap as pole sitter Kieran Ryan had a poor start and Hatchell-Pennine driver Liam Hatchell capitalised to take the lead. That lead proved short-lived though as he caught a tyre barrier at the chicane and retired soon after. Maltese drivers Jason Muscat and Joe Consiglio also span there, but managed to continue with only minor damage. Sam Millar gained most at the beginning of the race, as he took the lead and started to build a comfortable lead over a closely fought battle for 2nd between Mark Wicks, Mark Stanton and Nick Rowland. A dramatic twist followed however, since Millar was forced to stop just a lap from the flag, gifting the win to Rowland who edged out Stanton by just 0.189s. Joe Consiglio's recovery to 4th means he retook the championship lead.