Double top-10 for Daniella Sutton at Silverstone

BRDC Rising Star Daniella Sutton claimed two top-10 finishes in the latest round of the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship at Silverstone, raced smartly during the opening two races to maximise her performance before escaping unharmed after a sizeable incident in race three.

Photo credits: James Roberts

BRDC Rising Star Daniella Sutton claimed two top-10 finishes in the latest round of the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship at Silverstone, before escaping unharmed after a sizeable incident in race three.

The Race Car Consultants driver raced smartly during the opening two races to maximise her performance while securing a pair of eighth place finishes. While racing for a spot inside the top-10 in race three, Sutton’s car rolled following contact on the approach to Copse corner with Daniella fortunately walking away from the incident.

Following a successful triple header last time out at Snetterton, Sutton moved up to sixth place in the overall championship. This was in part due to Daniella extending her run of consecutive top-8 finishes to seven, while her 100% finishing record was maintained. Sutton was just a lap away from securing a maiden podium finish in wet conditions in Norfolk and she now looking to convert her speed into a first trip to the rostrum.

On the Silverstone National circuit last season, Sutton achieved one of her best starting positions of the year as she qualified inside the top-10. Although she encountered misfortune during the trio of races, she was now looking to make use of her experience and push for strong results at the home of the British motorsport.

After a productive day of testing on Friday, qualifying took place early on Saturday morning. Due to the nature of the Silverstone National layout, the slipstream was extremely powerful with the peak of the tyre leading to the majority of the fastest times coming early in the session. Sutton quickly jumped into the top-6, before spending the majority of the session just inside the top-10.

The fifteen-minute session ran uninterrupted and the lap times remained extremely close. Daniella’s quickest time came on her eighth lap of qualifying and with a few late improvements, the Race Car Consultants driver qualified in 13^th. Sutton was just six tenths away from pole position, while she was three tenths of a second behind third-placed driver Dara McInerney to underline the competitive nature of the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship.

Prior to the first race getting underway, Sutton required a change of radiator following an issue in qualifying and a great job from the Race Car Consulants team ensured this was completed despite a quick turnaround between qualifying and the first race.

Race one of the weekend took place later on Saturday morning with Sutton starting from 13^th on the grid. Daniella got a good initial launch and as she was challenging for a top-10 position, contact was made at the head of the field on the exit of Maggotts. As Christopher Doble slowed, he was collected by both Dara McInerney and Jack Burgess. Sutton did a superb job to avoid this incident and as a result, she ended the first lap in ninth position.

Sutton was now running in a competitive train of cars with Benjy Douglas ahead and Eden Spanswick behind. The top-10 drivers were lapping within a few tenths of a second of each other and therefore momentum was key to making a move. On lap four, Spanswick mounted a challenge on Sutton and both drivers ran side-by-side to start the fifth lap.

With Sutton holding the inside into Copse, she was able to retain ninth spot and after Spanswick came under attack from Bobby Holmes behind, Daniella could build a small margin. This allowed Sutton to focus forward, however she had lost the immediate slipstream to Douglas and therefore Spanswick and Holmes closed in once again.

Inside the top-5, the battles remained close and after Max Fenton and Oliver Heron made contact at Brooklands on lap eight, both of their damaged machines now ran directly ahead of Sutton. The following lap saw Holmes briefly move ahead of Spanswick and he made contact with Sutton into Brooklands, however the Race Car Consultants driver was able to retain her ninth position.

Daniella was now closing in on Fenton and a well-timed move into Maggotts saw her move ahead into eighth. With her rivals trapped behind the damaged machine for an additional corner, Sutton could gain a few car lengths and she was now on the tail on Heron. Following a fantastic move around the outside into Brooklands, Sutton was now into seventh with Heron now behind.

Spanswick was doing a good job to follow Sutton through and on the penultimate lap of the race, he challenged Daniella for position. The Race Car Consultants teammates swapped positions at Brooklands with Sutton settling into eighth. Daniella was able to hold this position to the chequered flag to complete a productive opening race at Silverstone where Sutton gained five positions from her grid spot.

Photo credits: James Roberts

Race two of the weekend took place on Sunday morning with Sutton starting from eighth position courtesy of her race one result. Daniella got a good initial launch off the line and immediately passed Eden Spanswick for seventh as the drivers approached Maggotts for the first time. Sutton ended lap one in eighth position as she ran side-by-side with Oliver Heron to start lap two.

After Heron pulled ahead, Sutton settled into eighth position and with the leading group of drivers lapping quickly, they were pulling away from the pack behind. By lap three, the top-eight drivers had a two second advantage over the chasing group and as the positions in the lower reaches of the top-10 continued to be closely contested, Sutton settled into a rhythm.

The drivers ahead then began battling for position and this enabled the leading trio to escape. On lap five, Sutton was able to use her momentum to make an excellent pass on Benjy Douglas round the outside of Brooklands for seventh. Following an excellent run out of Copse on lap six, Sutton then overtook Heron before picking up a slipstream down the Wellington Straight. This enabled Daniella to line up a move on Lewis Islin and after completing the pass on the entry to Luffield, Sutton was inside the top-5.

Aaron Beattie was her next target and she quickly made a move on her teammate into Copse. Sutton was now running in fourth position and Beattie settled in behind, with the pair of Race Car Consultants drivers looking to use the slipstream to work together and break away from the chasing pack. As more drivers joined the group behind, they were able to close back in and mount a challenge on the top-5 positions in the closing stages.

On lap nine, Beattie re-passed Sutton at Copse while Heron made the move at Brooklands with Daniella now back to sixth position. A personal best time followed and this enabled Sutton to remain in contention with this ahead, while Jack Burgess was now behind as he recovered from his race one retirement.

On lap 11, Burgess got a good run out of Becketts and as he overtook Sutton, she ran three-wide into Brooklands. Excellent racecraft between Sutton, Islin and Spanswick meant that all three drivers avoided contact with Daniella now in eighth position. Sutton defended well on the final lap to ensure Spanswick remained behind with the Race Car Consultants driver securing her second eighth place finish of the weekend.

The final race at Silverstone took place on Sunday afternoon with Sutton again starting from eighth position following her race two result. It was another excellent launch from Daniella as she quickly moved into seventh position while doing a nice job to avoid the slowing car of Aaron Beattie. Sutton completed the first lap in seventh before coming under attack from Jack Sant at Copse.

Sant was able to make the move before Eden Spanswick got a run into Becketts with Sutton in ninth position at the conclusion of lap two. Following a personal best time on lap three, Sutton settled into ninth before mounting an attack on Sant once more.

Sutton just claimed eighth position on the exit of Luffield, with Sant drawing level as the cars began the fifth lap. Dara McInerney was running behind and after utilising the slipstream, all three drivers were overlapping. Contact was then made as the cars prepared to enter Copse corner with Sutton involved in a high-speed incident as the car hit the barrier and rolled. Fortunately, Daniella was able walk away from the crash under her own power as the safety of the cars was once again highlighted.

It was an unfortunate end to the weekend for Sutton who displayed excellent speed and racecraft across the event at Silverstone. Daniella’s two top-10 finishes to begin the weekend were a sign of her consistency as she maximised the performance of the car.

The next round of the Fiesta Junior Championship is set to take place at Donington Park on the weekend of 13^th/14^th September with Sutton aiming to return to the competitive BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship grid.