Alex Brundle wins Race at Ascari Circuit

Alex Brundle, son of BBC F1 commentator and Le Mans winner Martin Brundle, took two emphatic victories in the Radical Nevada Cup at Race Resort Ascari yesterday (Sunday 20 Feb), his first wins in car racing since stepping up from karts.
Sharing a Radical UK Works Team SR8 RX with his father, the 20-year-old racer from King’s Lynn quickly acclimatised in his first-ever run in an SR8 RX, a sportscar with comparable lap times to his 2010 Formula Three racing car.

The ever-popular Ascari round of the Radical Nevada Cup saw 30 cars entering each race, in addition to numerous trackday drivers from Spain and further afield, and the series welcomed several Radical rookies, who will be going on to contest Radical single-marque series’ later in the year.

Alex and Martin qualified on pole for both races, and held a good lead to the pit-stops, ahead of a great battle between Manhal Allos and Chris Hillaby. With the four-cylinder cars stopping for half the time of the SR8s, the race order was soon mixed up, but a safety car period immediately after the pit window brought the field close together once again. Despite a late charge by experienced Radical pilot Derek Johnston, Martin was able to take the flag by over 24 seconds, Johnston just pipping the lead SR3 RS driver, Alex Kapadia at the line.

Race two was a much closer affair, Kapadia keeping the Brundles honest until the penultimate lap, when the straightline speed of the new RX meant Alex Brundle was able to pass Kapadia for the win. John Stanley and James Swift took third in their SR8 LM, the pairing’s first outing with 360 Racing.