Adam Dudley has clinched second position overall in the inaugural Thundersport GP3 Championship held over last weekend at Donington Park and Mallory Park, respectively.

Riding the Fireplace Warehouse Honda RS125, Dudley was in sparkling form all weekend, taking two podiums on the Saturday at Donington Park, followed up by a memorable win on the Sunday at Mallory Park, the latter seeing him overhaul Tom Weedon to be runner-up in the Championship to series winner Ed Rendell.
 

Having not ridden at Donington for some time, Dudley had to re-familiarise himself with the circuit during the qualifying sessions. This was hampered initially by the pin coming out of the brake lever, leaving him with no brakes, resulting in him colliding with another rider, and sitting out most of the session.

Still trying to gain circuit knowledge and discover his braking points, he had an excursion off the circuit during final qualifying, but still ended up with a time good enough for fifth position on the grid.
 
With rivals Tom Weedon and Jason Dobson also encountering problems in qualifying, it was down to Dudley to make the most of his second row grid position. As the lights went out to signal the start of the first race, Dudley initially made contact with another rider, but held second place going into Redgate corner for the first time.

As the race progressed, Dudley was learning the track all the time, and despite Matthew Paulo coming by for a place, he would hold on to a strong third place and a deserved podium.
 
The Fireplace Warehouse mechanics made some small changes for the second race, and once again Dudley made an impressive start, leading the pack for the opening laps. Rendell came by for the lead, and an error at Hollywood allowed Paulo to take second place.

A few laps later, however, Paulo crashed, leaving Dudley chasing Rendell, but with a sizeable gap behind him, Dudley settled for the points and another podium, this time in second place.
 
Reflecting on his Donington Park performance, Adam said: “In the first race the bike was working really well but we had a few problems towards the end of the race, particularly with the rear end. For the second race the bike was superb power wise and engine wise, but we were still struggling with the rear. I must say a huge thanks to the team, particularly Ady, for all their hard work, and also to Dunlop for their expert advice. We came here 30pts behind Tom Weedon, and leave here only 9pts behind, so the race is on for tomorrow.”
 
The organisers had decided to combine the Thundersport GP3 with the EMRA club regulars for both qualifying and the race, at Mallory Park, so it was always going to be a bit congested out on the track. Arriving at the circuit on a high from the previous day, Dudley demonstrated his new found confidence in securing third place on the grid during qualifying.
 
When the race got underway, Dudley made another great start and was leading into the high speed first corner, Gerards. The following lap, Rendell took the lead on the brakes into Edwina’s but Dudley got better drive all the way up to Shaw’s hairpin, where Rendell lost the front in trying to out brake Dudley, resulting in Dudley running wide, and Shaun Winfield taking full advantage to become the new race leader.

Dudley chased him for a few laps to build a decent gap to the third place rider, but as Winfield was entered in the EMRA race, not the Thundersport GP3 race, all Dudley had to do was bring the bike home, for his first win of the season in the Thundersport GP3 series. Weedon, meanwhile had finished tenth, which meant that Dudley had overhauled a 30pts deficit to finish as the Runner-up in the 2008 Thundersport GP3 series!  
 
Adam Dudley: “The bike was fantastic today, and I couldn’t have wished for a better set up. I am so happy that I finally got my win; it’s never too late for a win. I would just like to say a big thanks to all at the Fireplace Warehouse, and everyone who has helped and supported me this year.”