DOUBLE TOP FOR TAYLOR AT SILVERSTONE
 

The Volkswagen Racing Cup is all set for a grandstand finish following twin wins at Silverstone yesterday for the Big Boys Toys run Golf R32 piloted by Paul Taylor, results which propelled him back into the championship lead.

But just 20 points separates Taylor and his chief title rival Lloyd Allard as they head for the deciding rounds of the Hankook-backed championship at Thruxton next weekend (30 Sept/1 Oct), with Golf TDI racer Allard determined not to give up the fight.

Allard endured a character building time at Silverstone: he was forced to start the first race from the back of the grid and then suffered fuel problems in race two which cost him the championship lead.

Hertfordshire-based Taylor was in superb form at Silverstone in his four-wheel-drive machine, winning both races - one wet, the other dry - in great style, despite clutch problems which hampered his performance and which, despite the greasy conditions, rendered him unable to take advantage of his Golf's superior traction at the start of race one.

Alex Dziurzynski, who claimed his maiden pole position in qualifying, was the early pacesetter in his Corrado, but once Taylor had found his form Alex was unable to hold on to the lead. Paul rocketed past and into top spot on the second lap and, though Dziurzynski harried him all the way to the chequered flag, Taylor collected his fourth win of the season by a 3.7-second margin.

'The four-wheel drive was a definite help to me in these conditions,' said Taylor. 'The car was superb, even though I did have some problems at the start selecting the right gear. We'll have to change the clutch before the next race this afternoon.'

Dziurzynski's attack was hampered in the closing stages by his need to defend against the attentions of his Golf GTI-driving younger brother, Adrian. "We should have agreed on team orders before the start!" joked Exeter-based Alex. Adrian did not push the point too far, however, and settled for third - his maiden podium finish.

Joe Fulbrook enjoyed a strong outing in his Bora Turbo to collect fourth, just ahead of Tony Gilham's Beetle RSi. An excellent sixth despite his relative lack of track experience was former British Rally Champion Gwyndaf Evans at the wheel of the 'celebrity' Polo GTI.

Martyn Culley was pushed back to seventh by Evans with three laps to run, his Vento VR6 beaten back into shape after suffering serious damage last month at Brands Hatch. Relishing the new-found performance of his rebuilt Golf VR6, Tony Harberman ended a long run of bad luck with an excellent eighth, and collected second fastest lap of the race for good measure.

The fastest man on the circuit was Allard. Lloyd fell foul of the scales after qualifying when his ATMR-prepared Golf found to be just shy of the required weight. He was put to the back of the grid, then gambled on slick, dry-weather tyres, only to discover he had made a major mistake.

'I pitted after the warming up lap to change back to wets,' said Allard, 'and lost a lot of time.' He charged back through the field, establishing the lap record for the class, on his way to ninth.

Ray MacDowall returned to the championship in a V6 Golf to take 10th ahead of newcomer Damian Gray's Vento and 17-year-old Darelle Wilson's Beetle RSi.

Sixth on the grid proved little handicap for Taylor in race two, his Golf sprinting into the lead on lap one and away into a lead which it never looked in danger of losing. Win number five was probably the easiest of his season, and Paul was quick to praise his mechanics: 'Big Boys Toys did a great job for me this weekend, changing the clutch between races, and these two wins have given me a big boost for the championship. With heavier spring rates on the H+R springs and an even more powerful map from REVO Technik the car is now a regular race winner in both wet and dry conditions." '

Gilham, struggling for straight line speed throughout the weekend, handled his Beetle well to stay in touch with Taylor, and to keep the determined Alex Dziurzynski behind him for the duration to secure second.

Third-placed Alex, meanwhile, was under intense pressure from Allard in the closing stages, until Lloyd's luck returned with a vengeance at the start of the last lap when his Golf started to splutter through fuel starvation. He managed to make it to the line but dropped from fourth to sixth.

Others in last-lap bother were Adrian Dziurzynski and Fulbrook, the former with a race-halting gearbox problem and the latter with a broken driveshaft. Joe pitted at the end but was credited with seventh.

All of which promoted the remarkable Evans to fourth to collect the new-for-2006 Polo GTI's best-ever finish, just ahead of Martyn Culley. Martin Rutherford made up for a race one non-finish by taking eighth in his Beetle, with the flying Michael McInerney recording his best result of the year in ninth in the Europcar Golf GTI. Barrie Culley, Steve Dorrell and Giles Lock rounded out the top 12.