Double class podium for Maggie Webster, Morgan Kidd twice inside the top-5 at Snetterton

It was an extremely positive weekend for both Maggie Webster and Morgan Kidd at Snetterton who fought for top positions within their respective classes. Kidd impressed in wet conditions, while Webster made good progress which culminated in a pair of Am class podium finishes.

Photo credits: James Roberts

It was a successful return to Snetterton for both Maggie Webster and Morgan Kidd who enjoyed positive weekends in the latest round of the AIRTEC Motorsport Fiesta ST240 Championship at Snetterton. The JRW Motorsport duo battled changeable conditions throughout the weekend while banking valuable championship points.

Kidd excelled in wet conditions as she twice finished inside the overall top-5 during the event, while collecting a trio of top-6 results in the Pro class. Morgan regularly raced among the leading group of drivers while narrowly missing out on a podium finish.

Webster twice stood on the Am class podium at Snetterton, including a strong drive in a wet race three where she missed out on the class victory by just four seconds. Her speed in dry conditions during race two was also strong as Maggie charged through from 17^th on the overall grid to finish in 11^th, while stepping onto the Am class podium.

For the fourth round of the AIRTEC Motorsport Fiesta ST240 Championship, the drivers returned to Snetterton. The Norfolk circuit previously hosted the season opener and it was a return to Kidd’s home track. After missing the previous round of the championship at Anglesey, Morgan was keen to get back behind the wheel for a trio of races. Kidd displayed excellent pace in round one as she narrowly missed out on her first ever overall podium result.

Webster has been no stranger to the rostrum this season with the JRW Motorsport driver a regular podium contender in the Am class. Having scored points in every race of the season prior to Snetterton, Maggie arrived into the weekend in third place within the Am class standings, while she retained an overall championship position inside the top-10. This was particularly impressive for a series rookie and Webster was now searching for her first Am class victory.

After a series of short test sessions leading up the weekend, the first competitive action took place on Saturday morning with a fifteen-minute qualifying session. Conditions were challenging with a damp but drying track at Snetterton and this made setup choices extremely difficult. Kidd made a fast start to qualifying and quickly moved inside the overall top-5.

As the session progressed, Kidd’s speed remained impressive and after completing five flying laps, her quickest time came at the end of the session. With a lap time of a 2:12.797, Kidd had qualified in a superb fifth position overall, fourth within the Pro class. Webster also made steady improvements during qualifying and her quickest lap of a 2:16.005 placed her in 13^th position overall, third within the Am class. It was therefore a positive session for both drivers who put themselves in contention for podium finishes within their respective classes ahead of the first of three races.

The first race of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon and conditions had changed once again as the drivers were faced with a wet track. Kidd lined up from fifth on the overall grid, fourth in the Pro class, and made a great start to hold her position inside the top-5. Webster also retained her 13^th position overall, third in the Am class, as she continued to get to grips with conditions.

Championship leader Alistair Kellett had a challenging start and on lap two, he fought back and overtook Webster with Daniel Robinson following him through. Webster then experienced a challenging third lap as an off-track moment dropped her 19^th overall, seventh in the Am class.

Meanwhile Kidd was remaining confident in fifth position and she opened out a small margin behind on lap two, before briefly claiming the overall fastest time on lap three. Morgan kept the leaders in her sight and on lap five, she made a great move on Am class leader Jason O’Connell to claim fourth position overall.

Webster was beginning her charge back up the order and after Graeme Colfer retired on lap four, she moved into 18^th overall. Class rival Chris Blackburn then received the black/orange flag ahead and after he was forced to pit, Maggie moved into sixth in class. This also coincided with her setting a personal best time and now she was less than a quarter of a second behind Marco Ricci.

As Kidd continued to run with the leading group, Kellett caught the top-5 drivers and he was able to pass Morgan on lap six. A fast and consistent run to the chequered flag saw Kidd secure a fantastic result by finishing fifth overall in tough conditions at Snetterton. Following another small moment, Webster was unable to pass Ricci however she still banked championship points for finishing in 17^th overall, sixth in the Am class.

Photo credits: James Roberts

Race two of the weekend took place on Sunday morning with the grid positions based upon the results on Saturday’s first contest. As a result, Kidd started from fifth position overall while Webster lined up from 17^th on the grid. Track conditions were fully dry at Snetterton and it was a challenging start for Morgan who initially fell to tenth position overall, eighth in class, at the end of the first lap. Webster, meanwhile, gained one position from her starting spot while moving inside the top-5 of the Am class.

Kidd was keen to gain back positions after her difficult opening lap and she was quickly ahead of fellow Pro class competitor Simon Horrobin. After passing Am class racer Luke Warr on lap three, she was into eighth overall and now had a sizeable gap ahead in which to push into.

Webster was also making good progress and although Pro class racer James Pope moved ahead on lap two, she did a nice job to follow him through the field. Both drivers were able to overtake Sean Reynolds and Simon Horrobin on successive laps and this elevated Maggie back inside the overall top-15.

After Kidd had cleared Warr, she was now the fourth fastest driver on track and following another personal best time on lap six, she had closed in on class rival Connor Blackburn. Webster’s race improved further on lap five as she overtook Pope, while issues for Graeme Colfer and Chris Blackburn allowed Maggie to run as high as 12^th overall, fourth in class.

Her strong pace had brought Webster in contention with Daniel Robinson who was occupying the final spot on the Am class podium as the pair began lap six. A fantastic move from Maggie then saw her claim the position, before immediately pulling out a margin behind. A consistent end to the race saw Webster hold this position as she returned to the podium by finishing in 11^th overall, third within the Am class.

Kidd’s pursuit of Connor Blackburn was equally successful as she passed her fellow Pro class racer on lap seven. Morgan just ran out of time to close in on the group of drivers ahead, however she enjoyed another positive race by taking the chequered flag in seventh position overall, sixth in the Pro class.

It was an extremely quick turnaround for race three and once again the conditions had changed with rain falling at Snetterton. Therefore, all drivers fitted the grooved tyres and with the top-10 positions drawn randomly, this put Kidd onto pole position while Webster lined up from 11^th on the grid. Despite the added pressure of leading the field away, Morgan did a nice job and remained with the leading group of drivers as she completed the first lap in fourth position.

Webster experienced a challenging start as she dropped four positions to 15^th overall, fourth in the Am class, however she was keen to put her knowledge from the previous day into practice. Her speed in wet conditions was much improved and on lap two, Webster passed both Simon Horrobin and Am class rival Chris Blackburn which elevated her back into a provisional podium position within class.

Kidd was also targeting a podium finish and her pace remained strong in the opening exchanges. After lap two, she was less than one and a half seconds away from the race lead and although George Foxlow moved ahead on lap four, the margin to the overall leader remained small.

On laps four and five, Webster overtook both Sean Reynolds and David Nye and this moved Maggie into 11^th position overall, while she remained third in class. Blackburn was following her through and therefore the pressure on her podium spot remained high despite her forward progress. Kidd was edging her way closer to the overall rostrum and after passing Connor Blackburn on lap five, she was into fourth position.

A hard-charging Alistair Kellett then moved ahead of Kidd as he aimed to make progress from tenth on the grid, however Kidd remained fourth as both drivers overtook Joseph Knight. The battles for the top-10 positions remained extremely closely contested in the final stages and on lap seven, Webster overtook Gary Miller while setting a top-5 lap time.

Webster was still required to defend from Blackburn on the final lap, however a fantastic drive in difficult conditions saw her hold onto third position in the Am class, while securing her first overall top-10 result of the weekend. Despite Knight getting the better of Kidd on lap seven, she achieved her second top-5 finish of the event with both of these performances coming in wet conditions.

It was an extremely positive weekend for both Webster and Kidd at Snetterton who fought for top positions within their respective classes. Kidd impressed in wet conditions, while Webster made good progress which culminated in a pair of Am class podium finishes.

Both drivers will now be looking ahead of the next round of the AIRTEC Motorsport Fiesta ST240 Championship which takes place at Silverstone on the weekend of 16^th/17^th August.