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Donington Park’s National circuit played host to the fifth and sixth rounds of the 2024 Miata Trophy season, on Saturday June 29.
Qualifying
On championship debut, Miller Motorsport’s Paul O’Neill immediately lit up the timing screens. The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) race winner was clearly quick to get to grips with his NC Class Mazda MX-5, setting the early pace in the morning’s qualifying session. However, two strong consecutive laps from Will Morris spearheaded the Hills Motorsport to the top of the classification. Morris’s impressive lap of 1m22.028s ensured the #17 drivers place in SuperPole, with Khali Atkins, Paul O’Neill, Drew Fletcher, David Chapman and fastest ND Class qualifier Kevin Silvain also progressing to the next session.
SuperPole
SuperPole is an exhilarating one-lap shootout for the front of the grid. With no margin for error and pole position at stake, the pressure’s on. O’Neill utilised all his experience to thrive under the conditions, setting a strong lap to leapfrog his rivals and secure pole position by 0.311s. Qualifying pacesetter Morris would have to settle for second, while Chapman rose to third. Hills Motorsport’s Fletcher and Atkins rounded out the top five, completing the grid for the day’s opening race.
Race One
After a pulsating opening lap, O’Neill managed to see off all challenges to maintain his lead. Hills Motorsport’s Aidan Hills enjoyed a tremendous start, rocketing from sixth on the grid to cross the line second after lap one. John Langridge (Miller Motorsport) was another driver on the rise in the opening exchanges, closing the gap to third-placed Morris.
As the field all jostled for position, some excellent overtaking was on display throughout. On lap three, Hills surged past O’Neill at McLeans to take the lead. Determined to get back in front, O’Neill remained hot on the tail of the leader, with less than 0.600s separating the duo over the line for the remaining thirteen laps.
Ultimately, expert defending ensured Aidan Hills took his third victory of the season after an epic encounter. Paul O’Neill’s inaugural Miata Trophy race would culminate in second place, being joined on the podium by Miller Motorsport teammate John Langridge.
Langridge edged an equally enthralling three-car battle for third position, finishing just 0.226s ahead of Morris in fourth and 0.412s in front of Chapman in fifth. 2023 Miata Trophy Champion Declan Lee finished sixth, with Dillon Stepney, Roan Lundy, Drew Fletcher and John Robinson rounding out the top ten. BC Cars Motorsport’s Kevin Silvain converted class pole position to the race win in ND Class.
Race Two
Another stellar getaway ensured Aidan Hills kept the chasing pack behind at the start of the day’s second race, with Paul O’Neill narrowly following behind in second. O’Neill immediately turned up the pressure to the car in front, causing a rare mistake by Hills. The #8 driver ran wide at Coppice, promoting O’Neill to the race lead with Langridge and Lee following through in second and third.
As the race progressed, a sensational battle between Langridge, Lee and Morris developed. The three drivers continued to swap positions, putting on a great spectacle for all those watching on. Almost nothing could separate the trio as they headed into the final few laps, with Morris narrowly holding the advantage over Lee and Langridge.
Out front, O’Neill used his racing nous to bridge a gap to the ensuing pack. When the checkered flag signaled the end of the race, O’Neill had amassed a buffer of 5.642s to secure victory on his maiden Miata Trophy meeting. The battle for second went right to the wire, with Morris eventually pipping Lee and Langridge to claim a hard-fought second place finish and his first Miata Trophy podium. Lee took to the final step of the podium, earning a valuable haul of championship points in the process.
Hills recovered excellently to finish in fifth, ahead of four fellow Hills Motorsport drivers - Roan Lundy, Drew Fletcher, Nicholas Stott and Khali Atkins. Miller Motorsport’s Alex Miller impressively finished in tenth position, having started at the back of the NC Class grid! Kevin Silvain completed a clean sweep in ND Class by picking up his second class victory of the day.
A huge congratulations to all of our podium finishers.
Rewatch both Race One and Race Two from Donington Park, on the MSVT Racing YouTube page.