Jason Rishover and Jamie Spence came within a whisker of podium finishes in both LMP3 Cup races at Donington Park. For the first race of the weekend, Rishover qualified his 360 Racing Ligier JSP3 in sixth place and took the first stint in Saturday’s race. He was quick to progress and was ahead of Christian Olsen’s Ligier and Duncan Williams’ Norma by the end of the opening lap, before Olsen retook a lap later. Fairly quickly both Olsen and Rishover closed in on Dominic Paul’s Ligier, who opted for wet tyres on a drying track. From lap four Rishover was in fourth but had Williams closing again for a while. He responded and increased the gap to over three seconds before the pitstop window opened. Rishover was one of the early stoppers, handing to Spence who rejoined in fifth, which became fourth when Charlie Hollings’ Ligier made its stop. “I had started on slicks but it was very slippery for the first few laps. I was happy with my progress though, just keeping my head down and trying to be consistent,” he said. There was a duel for third which aided Spence’s pursuit and on some laps he was able to take a massive nine seconds out of Bonamy Grimes’ Ligier. The gap continued to come down and into the final five minutes it was only 2.154 secs and closing, leaving them nose to tail in to the chicane on lap 49. Spence made his move into Redgate, but ran wide and skirted the gravel, rejoining with the gap back to 5.714 secs again. “They told me on the radio how the gap was coming down, but I didn’t need to brake so late. It was just too much and I hit the gravel,” he explained. Far from giving up, he clawed it all back in the remaining four laps, leaving them locked together into the chicane for the final time. Spence went to the left as Grimes held his line, but the gravel trap beckoned and Spence scythed across the corner. He nosed ahead briefly, but didn’t have the momentum to hold the place to the line, losing out by 0.158 secs. “If I hadn’t have made that mistake I knew I would have got him. I’m pleased I had a go at the end still, but gutted I lost third,” Spence concluded. Rishover took the opening stint again in race two and had settled into an early fourth. But into Redgate for the fourth time he was forced wide and into the gravel. “I had a car on my inside and went in too deep, but did well to keep moving and get out of the gravel again,” he said after rejoining at the tail of the field.
