Truck Racing spoils shared as Division 2 takes centre stage at action-packed Snetterton
The battle for supremacy in Division 2 of the MV Commercial BTRA Championship intensified at Snetterton this past weekend (September 7/8) as Steven Powell, Luke Garrett and Paul Rivett shared the spoils in the latest action-packed chapter of the 2019 season.
On what proved to be a pulsating sixth event of the season in East Anglia, reigning champion Garrett remains as the driver to beat still – maintaining his advantage at the summit of the standings.
Paul Rivett kicked off the weekend at the front of the field as he utilised all of his Renault UK Clio Cup experience around the 2.99-mile layout to clinch pole position, with title protagonist Steven Powell hot on his heels in second.
Rivett was unable to convert his front row start in the opening encounter however as Powell continued his championship pursuit with a superlative victory. DAF ace Bowler leapt into the lead in the early stages before Powell came the fore on the fourth tour.
From there, the MAN driver was peerless as he stretched his advantage to triumph ahead of Bowler and Rivett, whilst former champion Adam Bint produced a star performance to finish fourth.
Race two saw Garrett underline his credentials as the defending champion of the Division as he served up a commanding lights-to-flag victory.
Starting on the second row of the grid, Garrett muscled his way into the lead by the end of the first lap and never looked back afterwards – stretching his legs to take the chequered flag by more than nine seconds.
Behind, the scrap for second place had seen Simon Cole in contention in the early stages but it was not to be for the Mercedes driver as he dropped down the order and into retirement at the end of lap two.
Bowler and Rivett ultimately took advantage to tally their second podiums and it would be those two that would go wheel-to-wheel for honours in race three.
In what proved to be a bruising six-lap spectacle, Rivett controlled much of the race from the front however the ever-determined Bowler muscled his way to the front, causing damage to his machine at the same time, in the closing stages to score victory.
However, Bowler’s celebrations were short-lived as stewards ruled that he had gained an unfair advantage and was subsequently handed a 4.1-second time penalty, relegating him to second and gifting Rivett the win whilst Erik Forsstrom rounded out the podium.
The fourth and final race of the weekend proved to be an action-packed affair as the Division 2 contingent joined the leading lights from Division 1 for a Grand Final, which took two attempts to run.
A red flag after the second lap of the finale left several trucks out of action and work to be done to recover them before racing could resume.
After a lengthy clean up operation, a three-lap shootout for victory saw Garrett maintain his lofty championship position as he scored his second win of the weekend whilst the DAF pairing of Bowler and John Powell capped off the rostrum.
To view the full classification of results from all Division 2 sessions at Snetterton, click here.
Pembrey Circuit provides the backdrop for the penultimate event of the MV Commercial BTRA Championship campaign, with the second visit of the year to South Wales taking place on October 5/6.
