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In Club Class, for pre-2000 Formula Renault cars, Ian Pearson retained his title with his eighth win of the season. He now leads the Club Class standings by 61 points with just 51 available in the final three races. Reon Motorsport duo Roberto Tirone (Amberley) and Iain Morton (London) completed the podium.

The drama in FR2000 Class started on the green flag lap when pole-sitter Hywel Lloyd (Corwen) lost control as he warmed his tyres, hitting the crash barrier at Druids hairpin. He recovered to the pit lane, but left the way clear for Double M Racing’s Aaron Steele (Chatham) to lead away from the front row of the grid.

Eurotek Motorsport’s David McDonald (Ewell) made a slow start from third place allowing Rossi to take second ahead of Stoneman, Fisher, Mark Burdett Motorsport’s Ollie Hancock (Hook) and Falcon Motorsport’s Craig Copeland (Wimbourne). Lap one saw the retirement of Russell Racing’s Mark Gillibrand (Manchester) with a broken gear cable and Jigsaw Engineering’s Louis Hamilton-Smith (Stratford), who out-braked himself into Druids and beached in the gravel.

A second incident at Druids, involving Hillspeed Racing duo Chris Dittmann (Tewkesbury) and Ahmad Al Harthy (Hathersage) saw the red flag brought out to recover the stricken car of the Omani driver, who was forced into the gravel in avoidance of his team-mate.

The red flag benefited Lloyd, who was able to take the restart having joined the race from the pit lane prior to the stoppage. Steele was on pole position but was swamped on the first lap as Rossi, Stoneman and Fisher got away well. Hancock then passed Steele on lap two before the local racer suffered a big accident at Clearways as he went backwards into the crash barrier.

Desperate to score some championship points, Lloyd had a storming first lap to lie 17^th at the end of the first tour, gaining one place on each of the next four laps before coming up behind Ian Pearson. He was comfortably ahead of Club Class second-placed man Tirone, with Morton, Fraser Smart and James Heffernan enjoying a close race for the podium places.

Taro Motorsport’s Ash Davies (Conwy) headed a train of four cars in seventh place but was passed on lap seven by Falcon’s Sten Pentus (Faringdon). On the same lap, 3K’s Racing’s Kieren Clark overtook Eurotek’s Tom Mun (Market Harborough) for ninth but was unable to find a way past Davies in the remainder of the 12-lap race.

Once past Pearson, Lloyd overtook Dittmann for 11^th place and salvaged one championship point for 10^th place when he passed Mun on the last lap. He also scored a bonus point for pole position, plus one for fastest lap at 46.700s (92.40mph).

However, Stoneman was easily holding onto second place and happy to follow Rossi on the tight Kent circuit. Rossi continued to lap consistently under the 47s mark to gradually extend his lead over Stoneman, winning by 3.763s. Fisher drove a solid race in third to take his first podium since round one, narrowly ahead of Hancock and McDonald.

A series of four quick laps in the middle part of the race saw Tirone open a gap in second place of the Club Class, with Morton holding off Smart by just over half a second to claim his second podium of the season.

Commenting on his victory, Rossi said: “I had Dean right behind me in the early part of the race until my tyres warmed up and then I was able to hold him off quite comfortably. After that it was a case of treating it like a qualifying session and get some consistent lap times. The car felt brilliant so I thank my team for that and hopefully I can repeat the result in the next race.”

Second placed Stoneman said: “When I knew that Hywel wasn’t going to score many points it wasn’t worth pushing too hard for the lead and I’m happy with second. I eased off slightly about halfway through and I could still see Hywel at Paddock Hill Bend as I was coming down from Druids so I knew there was no pressure.”

Third placed Fisher commented: “It’s been a long time since Donington Park but this podium is a reward for my dad and brother and everyone else who has helped me this season. It’s my first full season of racing so great to get on the podium again before the end of the year. Although I didn’t overtake anyone on the track, I was in position to take advantage of other people’s mistakes and the car has felt great all weekend so hopefully that can remain the case.”

Ian Pearson, who adds the 2007 Club Class title to his wins in 2005 and 2006, commented: “It was relatively straightforward today and a good way to win the title. I always try to have a good race with the FR2000 Class cars and there were a couple I was able to keep ahead of today, which shows that the car was working really well.”

Second placed Roberto Tirone said: “Since Snetterton I’ve found some extra speed and this is another good result for me. In a way it’s good to have Ian up there winning because it gives the rest of us something to aim for. I’ve got a bit closer to him this weekend so maybe I can keep moving in that direction.”

Third placed Iain Morton commented: “I had a good race but there was an FR2000 Class car between myself and Roberto so I couldn’t pressure him directly. We have managed to get the car back to the level it was at before my accident at Silverstone and that’s reflected in today’s result.”

FR2000 Class Drivers Standings after round nine – provisional

1 Dean Stoneman       GBR            Alpine Motorsport              104 pts

2 Hywel Lloyd              GBR            CF Racing                           86 pts

3 Rossi                        GBR            Worswick Engineering        69 pts

4 Ollie Hancock           GBR            Mark Burdett Motorsport      65 pts

5 Aaron Steele            GBR            Double M Racing                  54 pts

6 David McDonald      GBR            Eurotek Motorsport               52 pts

7 Felix Fisher              GBR            Quantexe Racing                 33 pts

8 Craig Copeland        GBR            Falcon Motorsport               27 pts

9 Sung Hak Mun          KOR            Eurotek Motorsport             23 pts

10 Kieren Clark            GBR            3K’s Racing                       23 pts

Club Class Drivers Standings after round nine – provisional

1 Ian Pearson             GBR         Pearson Engineering Services    134 pts

2 Marcus Clutton        GBR         Mark Clutton Racing                      73 pts

3 Roberto Tirone        GBR            Reon Motorsport                         63 pts

4 Iain Morton               GBR            Reon Motorsport                         58 pts

5 James Heffernan     GBR            JH Motorsport                             50 pts

6 Adrian Dixon            GBR            Muzz Race                                 44 pts