Rounds 11 and 12 
Snetterton, Sunday September 14th, both 11 Laps

Slinn edges closer to title with two wins.

Matthew Slinn tightened his grip on the 2003 MG XPOWER Clubmans Cup at Snetterton on Sunday (14 September) when he scored a brace of emphatic victories in his Mallock Mk30EBX. Mike Luck (Dart S16) and Barry Webb (Mallock Mk23/03) gave chase, but could not answer Slinn's pace in the championship that enjoys support from Powertrain Ltd and Ricardo Plc. 

Qualifying
With two qualifying sessions and two races in one day, this was always going to be a pivotal weekend for the championship contenders. As ever, an excellent 25-car entry gathered at Snetterton, including series debutees Bjarne Mumm and Steve Dickens. Back in the field was the striking new Leopard of Peter Clark, but the car was sidelined after sustaining damage in qualifying. 
Slinn took pole for the opening race, while Howard Payne (Mallock Mk20B) charged into contention to bag pole for the second race. Des Andrews (Mallock Mk27/28) claimed his best ever qualifying results with third and fifth after coaching from Dan Eagling. 

Race one
Into the opening race, Webb bravely went round the outside at Riches to grab the lead as Slinn and Luck chased. However, oil went down on the third lap and Webb was the first to find it, spinning down to seventh place. "Poor old Barry was the first to find the oil at the Esses," said Luck, who only narrowly avoided the spinning car. 
That put Slinn away and clear and despite one or two moments on the oil, he was able to take a commanding victory from Luck as Webb battled back to third. James Lindley (Mallock Mk29H) fought through to fourth from the increasingly rapid Russell Munns (Mallock Mk28/30), while Peter Richings (Mallock Mk27SG-EBX) worked up to sixth from 11th on the grid.

The field streams through the Esses on lap 1 of race 1

Race two
Luck was sidelined before the start of the second race by an electrical gremlin on the parade lap. "It just cut out, but it was a good race to watch," he said. This time, Slinn took control from the start and was able to stretch clear of the pack on the opening lap as Webb chased. 
With Payne slotting into third, the top three was soon well established, but some mighty battles raged down the order and Lindley's bid to storm up the order from 12th was hindered when contact with Guy Woodward at Russell sent him into a spin. 
Eventually, Adrian Lester (Mallock Mk35K) and Richings worked clear to dispute fourth, while Munns completed a good day by claiming sixth. But the big winner was Slinn, who extended his championship lead with just two races remaining. 
(Paul Lawrence)