Richard Jepp, at the wheel of the #65 Harwin and Amigo Wraps-sponsored MET Motorsport Peugeot 107, took class pole position for the Race One of the season finale of the Student Motorsport Challenge on the Silverstone International Circuit.
The Portsmouth-based driver was the only SMo Challenge entrant to lap under 1:32 with a 1:31.829 followed by Ben Creanor in the #38 OBU Student Challenge (Oxford Brookes) Citroen who put in a 1:32.230.
Third quickest was the current SMo Challenge leader, Andy Burgess in the #57 East Surrey College Peugeot 107 who lapped the 1.85-mile international circuit in 1:32.764.
Richard Jepp, who has tested at the circuit the day before, was pleased with the time but felt there was still more in the car.
“We didn’t change anything on the set-up from yesterday and the track conditions were pretty much the same as well so I was fairly confident straight out of the block. The only downside was I didn’t get any tow down the back straight as the wind’s fairly strong so I was losing nearly half a second alone down the straight compared to yesterday.
“I know the pace is there and I’m looking forward to Race One as we’ve definitely got the speed to win the class.”
With an overall grid of 40 cars for the final weekend, was traffic a concern for the MET Motorsport pilot?
“Towards the end of the session the traffic did make it hectic,” said Jepp. “It should be OK in the race though as there was some confusion at the start of qualifying.”
Three 20-minute contests comprise the final race weekend for the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship which incorporates the Student Motorsport Challenge with two races on Saturday and one on Sunday. The lights go out for Race One at 3.00pm on Saturday October the 15th with Race Two getting underway at 5.20pm.
East Surrey College and Andy Burgess currently lead the standings on 162 points followed by the MET Motorsport Peugeot driven by Richard Jepp who are currently 15 points behind. OBU Student Challenge are third in the standings on 132 points.
