Monoposto Rounds 9/10 - Cadwell Park
Mark Reade’s sophomore season in Monoposto continued to be a trying one, as the series visited the challenging Cadwell Park mountain circuit last weekend. Reade left the Lincolnshire circuit with just a 9th place to his name, following a DNF in Race 1 but team mate Morgan McCourt enjoyed better fortune, capturing two top 6 finishes on his first visit to Cadwell in the Leastone 1000.
Qualifying went well for both drivers, with Reade logging a time good enough for the inside of row 2 for both of the day’s races. Morgan would line up 4 rows behind, 11th quickest overall and 8th in the Monomoto 1000 class.
Race 1
Race 1 began well, when Reade jumped to second off the line and took the race lead when the erstwhile leader was forced into the pits with a mechanical issue at the end of the opening lap. Morgan enjoyed a similar decent start jumping up to 5th in class.
Reade was under pressure at the front but was placing his car in all the right parts of the twisting mountain track and looked to be comfortable in the opening laps. On lap 3, as the leaders entered the flat out Coppice corner, a rod end on Marks rear suspension broke, leading to a wild moment and ultimately forced him into a disappointing retirement. In the meantime, Morgan continued to battle to hold onto his 5th place but eventually slipped back to 6th at the chequered flag.
Race 2
The suspension failure was a simple fix for the team during the break and Mark was able to take his 3rd place grid slot for Race 2. Further bad luck would hit the Naas man on the warm up lap, when the persistent electrical problem that had plagued him in earlier 2018 rounds returned, leaving him severely hampered.
Morgan again made a good start jumping to 6th place off the line and was in the thick of a 4 car battle that was to last for the majority of the race. Reade frustratingly limped around for the entirety of the race, knowing that any points could prove vital later in the season. He would manage to secure 9th place, which was a great result given the misfire he was suffering from.
Morgan continued to battle hard for the remainder of the race, enjoying more wheel to wheel battles around the tight and twisty track. He would come home 6th in class and 8th overall, gathering more championship points to further bolster his 7th place in the championship table. Despite Reades problems, he left Cadwell 4th place in the standings and still in with a shout of defending his Monomoto 1000 championship. The championship will be back in action at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit on August 18th.
Mark Reade - Leastone 1000 No.45 - R1 DNF / R2 P9
‘Not a great weekend but still we grabbed a few points. It was a scary moment at Coppice when the rod end let go, I could have done without that! More frustration in race 2, with the electrical issue reappearing, we were pretty sure that we had that issue solved but it is back to the drawing board. The one positive is that I was almost 2 seconds quicker at Cadwell this year, so it’s great to see such progress with the car.’
Morgan McCourt – Leastone 1000 No.48 - R1 P6 / R2 P6
‘Another very enjoyable weekend of racing. The compressed timetable makes for a hectic days racing but once again the wheel to wheel racing was great. The circuit is very challenging and very satisfying to when you put a good lap together, I’m already looking forward to coming back next year!’
