Family Feud: Father and Son Go Head-to-Head at Donington Park
The Legends Elite Championship made its mark at Donington Park as the support act to the much adored British Touring Car Championship. The event showcased the thrilling debut race between Harri and Paul Musselle, igniting excitement within the entire Giggabox team.
The Legends are renowned for their short, sharp format that lets 4-wide close quarter racing reign and they did not disappoint. The weekend was filled with adrenaline, anticipation and very wet weather!
Saturday
Heat 1
A fiery start to the weekend for the Giggabox racers. Harri started the race with a run at the back, as issues in qualifying meant he needed to complete 2 full laps before overtaking. After these laps were done, he was off and away. Harri caught up with the pack where Paul was making a promising lead. Amongst seasoned drivers, the rookie pushed to the front where he commenced a 2 lap battle against his Dad for 21st place. Paul put up a fight but Harri was able to overtake and claim victory. Paul finished in 23rd and Harri, after fighting his way through a spell of trouble, pushed up to 19th at the chequered flag.
Heat 2
In the second race of the season, mechanical issues unfortunately put Harri to the back of the pack. He finished the race, despite the issues, and achieved his best time of the day of 1.24.8, bringing himself and the car back in one piece. Paul started the race on row 1, up against heavyweights such as Treherne and Oli Schlup. He held his own and kept with the pack to secure a top 15 finish.
Final
Harri was off to a blistering start in the final race of the day. Manoeuvring through the pack proved easy for the up-and-coming racer, until a spin off of the Crane Curves landed him in the gravel. Against the damning gravel of Donington park, Harri prevailed and landed himself back on the track to complete his best lap of the day, 1.24.8. After a day of mechanical discordance, the Round 1 final was remarkably smooth for his father, Paul, who kept with the pack to secure a 21st place finish and a wealth of knowledge behind it.
Sunday
Relentless rain saw Sunday’s races delayed as the Donington Park team worked diligently to get the track into a condition safe for racing, with Paul giving over to #3 car teammate, Mike Schlup. The Legends got under way shortly after midday however a frightening incident for #31, Rob Fountain, saw the race put under a red flag. To the widespread relief of all watching, Fountain was able to walk away from the accident. All of Giggabox wish Fountain a swift recovery.
Heat 1
In the restarted first race, our #28 had a blazing start. With his fantastic ability to swerve through the ranks amongst all the typical Legends chaos, he pushed himself to the middle of the pack and held his own. However, a spin and element of contact with #17 caused him to lose half a lap, pushing him out the pack. He finished the race at a steady and consistent pace, achieving 21st place. Taking over the #3 car, Mike drove a fantastic race to finish 18th amongst the rain induced carnage.
Heat 2
The final race of the day, Heat 2 was off to a great start for Harri. He initiated a gripping battle with #94, Popelyushko, overtaking him to achieve 16th as well as his fastest lap of the weekend, 1.24.8. The race was falling his way until the final lap, where oils on the final turns caused him to spin, making contact with the #17. The spin took him halfway across the track and due to the time limit of the race, he was sadly classified as DNF. Our #3, Mike, however, held his own throughout the race, pushing up on the pack and achieving an impressive 14th place.
“Educational, mental, chaotic, and definitely interesting!”
Harri, describes his first weekend of the season
Proving to be nothing short of the highs and lows we observed last season, wind, rain and fierce competition all came together against our drivers to push them to their limits right out of the gate. They rose to the challenge, providing terrific lap times and most of all, finding their footing at the start of a new season.
