Last updated 09:32, Friday, 22 August 2008

Ex-Legends British champion, Chris Grieve from Birtley, near Wark, continued his challenge in the Radical Club Cup at Donington Park in round four of the competition.

Unlike his first race of the season at Croft, were Grieve was forced to start from 28th on the grid due to a faulty transponder during qualifying, Grieve found himself starting from pole this time, as he continued to show the rest of the field his true racing pedigree.

A lot of work has gone into the car, sponsored by Motor Bodies and Top signs of Hexham, by the Chris Grieve Racing team.

The whole team is still learning, due to testing and a breakdown prior to the second lap at Croft, the team had not been expecting Chris to take the pole for the first race.

The race started with high expectation after Grieve’s qualifying performance.

It wasn’t long before Chris with his usual aggressive style was heading the field around the Donington Park circuit.

However, Grieve was struggling with the handling in the car, and as he pushed to keep his place at the front, he spun off the track.

Straight back on and away again Chris continued to push but the car setup was still making it a struggle.

Another spin relegated him to fourth.

As the race drew to a close Chris just lost his fourth place to end the race in fifth position.

It was a disappointment after his pole start, but still a very impressive performance considering it is still only Grieves second race in this class.

It was enough for the Radical team themselves to head down and give some helpful advice to the team about the car’s setup.

With no time to spare, the team then started to alter what they could on the car ready for the second race of the day.

Chris now started from second in the field for the next race, with some small adjustments made to the car the hope was just to improve on the first race.

Chris found himself struggling again, as this car drives very differently to the Legends car that brought him so much success.

It was a solid drive though that saw Grieve finish in fourth and third overall for the weekend.

It leaves the Chris Grieve Racing Team full of optimism for the next round this weekend at Brands Hatch in Kent.

Chris has set his sights on finishing third overall this season, and is currently lying fifth.

Anyone interested in sponsoring Chris, contact Willie or Chris at Barrasford Garage on (01434) 681228.