John Mickel and the crew travelled to Pembrey in Wales last weekend and foremost on his mind was to defend and perhaps increase his overall lead the 2015 UK Nationals Legends Championship.

The weekend started off disastrously but Mickel’s fighting spirit produced some fantastic moves, leading to some very well deserved wins.

Saturday 23^rd May – Round 6

Race 1

The sun was shining as John took up his 11^th place grid position. John’s first race started well as he picked his way through the grid, slotting into 9^th place on lap one. His luck changed on lap four as he was sweeping round Honda Curve and past the number 82. The Rookie driver in the 82 car did not see the bright orange Pocket Rocket #4 K-seal  Legend car coming past him and John was immediately put into a dangerous predicament and needed to take evasive action so as not to crash into the barrier and was unavoidably collected by another driver. The crash was big enough to put an end to John’s race. The mechanics worked tirelessly to rectify the large extent of damage to the K-Seal #4 car to ensure it made the second race. 

Race 2

With the grid reversed for race two, John started from 5^th place.  It was a blessing for the team that the #4 K-Seal car was starting so near the front. Nobody knew how the car would perform having just been stitched back together so quickly. The race got underway and John performed two outstanding manoeuvres that ensured he took the race lead by the end of lap one.  The lead was taken away from John by the end of lap two, leaving John to battle for the remainder of the race to take the lead again, which he did brilliantly on the last lap overtaking on the outside of the bend, a move that left many gasping. John won by the smallest of margins, five hundredths of a second.

Race 3 – Final

The K-Seal #4 Legend started 7^th on the grid for the final. Slow and steady progression was made over the first six laps with John taking the lead on lap 7. John then controlled the race from the front until he was passed twice by the #3 car. John used two more outstanding overtaking manoeuvres to ensure he took the race win.

With one D.N.F. and two race wins, John finished fifth overall on the day.

Sunday 24^th May

Race 1

Day 2 of the Pembrey meeting started with far more testing weather conditions and a damp track. John started in 11^th place on the grid and with the confidence from the first day of racing, it wasn’t long until John was in 4^th place but then the heaven’s opened and it soon became a wet race. The gamble to start on a dry set up did not pay off and John struggled, losing places as the race continued. He settled for 6^th at the finish.

Race 2

The #4 K-Seal Legend ‘s set up was altered for the second race where John started from 7^th place. John’s skilful manoeuvres placed him in 3^rd place by lap 4 and 1^st place by lap 8 following a five car battle for the lead. With drivers bump drafting behind him, John found himself victim to a hard knock, pushing him wide, resulting in a drop to fourth place in just one bend. With just two laps to go, John had to drive hard to chase down the leaders once more.  Another breath-taking move on the last bend ensured John took 3^rd place by just one thousandth of a second.

Race 3 – Final

The final saw John start from 15^th place on the grid. Once more, John’s skilful and experienced driving ensured he had made his way to 6^th place by the end of lap one. A further four very hard fought laps saw John take the lead with the other Championship contenders chasing hard. The skilful drafting of the two McKay brothers who were working well together as a team, cut John’s lead down significantly resulting in a very tense last lap. With the McKay brothers snapping at his heels, John needed to drive the last lap of the race with accuracy and perfection. John managed to drive #4 K-Seal Legend car flawlessly holding off the young challengers to take yet another race win, taking the highest points earner of the day and the first place trophy.  John is now the second highest winning UK driver in Legend’s history.

John still maintains the 2015 UK National Legend Championship lead and has only given up a few of his points this weekend.

The whole of the weekend was televised. We will release the TV times and dates as soon as we have them.