DW Racing cleans up in victorious Zeo Prototypes round at Snetterton

DW Racing took a clean sweep of Class C pole positions and race wins in Round 2 of the 2024 Zeo Prototype Series on the Snetterton ‘300’ circuit (Saturday 18 May).

Oscar Joyce topped the qualifying times and then took a lights-to-flag victory, before John Davis brought home a second class win for DW Racing on his maiden competitive outing at the East Anglian track.

Darren Winter: “We went into the Zeo Prototype Series weekend at Snetterton treating it as a precursor to the forthcoming Hagerty Radical Cup UK round. That’s not to devalue Zeo, as the championship is good fun and competitive, and I’m keen to encourage more teams and drivers to enter because it would be good for the series and for us Radical competitors, who would benefit from the extra track time.

“My hope for both Oscar (Joyce) and John (Davis) was for them to have a good time and improve their pace. I’m super happy Oscar took well-deserved pole positions and started both races well, going on to win the first contest. It would have been a double win had he not suffered a fuel pressure problem, but I’m thrilled John (Davis) was there to bring the victory home. With supreme coaching from Will (Hunt) and Peter (Berry), John has improved massively and both drivers left Snetterton happy.

“It’s very pleasing that DW Racing won both races in Class C. I can’t fault the engineers, mechanics and driver coaches. We presented ourselves well, the cars looked great and I couldn’t have asked for anymore from them.”

Oscar Joyce

DW Racing’s Oscar Joyce set the pace in Zeo Prototype Series Qualifying at Snetterton, the 1m51.693s that assured him of a P1 start in the first race backed up by a second-best time of 1m51.872s.

The Richmond, London-domiciled driver duly led Class C from pole position to launch into a race-long pursuit of the Class B #15 CTR01, which put up a staunch defence and proved to be immovable due to its superior straight-line speed.

Nevertheless, Joyce was pleased to convert pole into the Class C victory, and stablemate John Davis followed him home in second for a DW Racing one-two finish.

In race two, Joyce once again led from pole but worked his way up into the top five overall at the expense of the #73 Radical SR10, before halving his eight-second deficit to the #99 Norma from the headlining Class A.

Unfortunately, a drop in fuel pressure brought him to a premature halt moments from the end of the 20-minute contest and he ultimately crawled across the finish still in P3.

“The second Zeo Prototype Series race initially panned out better than the first for me, as I managed to clear the Class B cars and get in some clean laps, which is particularly good here because testing is always so busy on the Snetterton ‘300’ circuit,” said Joyce. “Everything went well until the final corner, when the car developed a fuel pressure problem. It was frustrating watching everyone fly by, but I managed to re-fire the engine and drag the car across the line for a respectable third place. Still, I’d much rather have a mechanical problem this weekend than next time out in the Hagerty Radical Cup UK.

“Other that the fuel pump issue, it has been a pretty solid weekend. It was very helpful as a precursor to next weekend’s Radical Cup UK round. Any track time is useful, but to have an opportunity to race, figure out where you can pass and practice starts is invaluable. I definitely feel far more comfortable with the Radical SR3 XXR on the Snetterton ‘300’ circuit than I would if we just rocked up and headed straight into qualifying next weekend.”

John Davis

DW Racing worked exclusively with John Davis in Friday (17 May) testing and, in light of his long absence from competition, the Welwyn Garden City driver’s first tasks were to get reacquainted with both his Radical SR3 RSX and the Snetterton ‘300’ circuit.

Working with DWR’s professional coaches, Will Hunt and Peter Berry, Davis successfully honed his driving techniques, grew in confidence and found more than six seconds in lap time.

He continued on an upward trajectory on race day, as he qualified fourth for both Zeo Prototype Series races in East Anglia, before pushing forward from row two of the grid.

In fact, Davis followed young teammate Oscar Joyce home to complete a DW Racing one-two, after consistently hitting the target 1m59s lap times during a relatively lonely race one.

Also rising from fourth to second in the latter Zeo contest, Davis was in the right position to sweep up the Class C win when Joyce was struck by a fuel pump issue, and he also breached the 1m58s barrier with the chasing #3 Radical SR3 XXR looking increasingly threatening in his rear-view mirrors.

“I’m ecstatic and I cannot believe I’m taking away a win from the Zeo Prototype Series round at Snetterton,” said Davis. “My DW Racing teammate Oscar (Joyce) had an issue, but this is part of racing and I could just have easily had a problem myself, so I’ll happily take this victory. I’ve seen masses of improvements with great tuition from Peter Berry and Will Hunt. At first, I didn’t believe I could do what they were asking of me, but it all became more natural. I gradually introduced their advice, building on it over the course of the weekend, but I still can’t believe I’ve ended up P1.”