Legends Racing UK: Tyler Read claims early lead after Donighton Park

The opening event of the Legends season went green last weekend as after six intense races and fast paced action, Tyler Read comes out of it with the championship lead.

Mills took win in opener before Read pulled the double on Saturday

The races were held on the full Donighton Park circuit which was the first time that the series has raced on the Grand Prix layout. But the circuit layout was not the only first that happened at the weekend as the all new MT09 engine was used by nine of the drivers this weekend including inaugural Elite Cup Champion Connor Mills who went on to win the opening race of the season as the former champion looks to reclaim gold in 2025. He finished ahead of Tyler Read by 0.2 seconds after Read came back from 18th on the grid due to the grid draw. Despite last seasons’ Overall Champion, Will Gibson, looking fastest in the practice session that Saturday morning, he wouldn’t be able to top either Read or Mills for a sustained period of time, dropping him to final step of the podium but with the fastest lap of the race by the end of the first heat. Oli Schlup would come home for 4th place after Heat 2 pole sitter and 2011 Champion Stephen Treherne would have an incident with last seasons Elite Cup winner Jack Parker, leaving them both out of contention.

With Treherne lining up on pole alongside Bridgeman, they would have a difficult time holding on to them positions with Tyler Read in third. Almost immediately off the start, Read jumped Bridgeman and so did Gibson as both now contest over second place while Treherne had a small lead. However, disaster would strike for the pole sitter as he would fall down the order after having a mechanical issue.  This would leave Gibson and Read to fight it out at the front while the rest squabble for the final podium spot. After an intense battle between the two, Read would win Heat 2 just pipping Gibson by a tenth of a second. Meanwhile the battle for third raged on between Moylan, Parker, Mills and Schlup. The four would contest for the position hard but teammates Schlup and Parker would go off the road at the chicane ultimately losing out on positions. Mills would manage to get ahead of Moylan and take home not only third but also the fastest lap of the race.

The round 1 final would see Stephen Treherne take an early race lead while Parker went from12th to second before a Safety Car came out due to Chris Needham’s car needed to be recovered. Treherne’s misfortune would continue as he would encounter another issue costing him more valuable points. Parker would now lead ahead of Schlup, a returning Marcus Pett as well as Nick Price. Action resumed on lap 4 as Schlup and Parker would battle it out for the lead all while a hard charging Read was moving up the field from 19th. By the end of lap 7 he had the leader of Parker in his sights after passing Schlup for second. Read’s pace was immense as he would take the win by 2 seconds while Parker barely held on to second as Mills was only a few tenths behind. Schlup would finish 4th yet again while Gibson retired due to an oil pressure sensor issue.

Gibson and Treherne comeback with wins on Sunday

Reigning Elite Cup Champion Parker would start on Heat One pole and keep hold of the lead after Redgate with Mills up to second making a challenge. Mills would take the lead at the Cramer Curves all while Read moved from eighth to third and was racing Parker by the end of the second lap. The lead group grew to as much as eight drivers as Treherne found his way into the lead all while Schlup and Hollywood was continuing to make their presence known against Read, Mills and Gibson. Gibson made a late move on the final lap to take the win and his first win of 2025 while Read took yet another second place, having not finished outside the top two in the opening four races and Mills managed to pip Schlup for the final podium spot all while Parker and Moylan completed the top six.

Heat two saw Bridgeman lead the opening corners before Moylan took the lead away from him and the pole sitter started to drop positions to Gibson and a fast-moving Treherne who started from 14th. Both drivers passed Moylan on lap 2 all while Read is making an attack of his own from 13th place. The top three grew more feisty and intense as Treherne would lose second to Read on the fourth lap of the race at McLeans all while hunting Gibson for the lead. The two would continue to battle but after swapping positions but Gibson would triumph for the second time this season ahead of Read all while Treherne dropped to 4th as Mills snatched the final podium spot.

The final race of the weekend would be the most unpredictable yet as Treherne would go from row seven on the grid to the race lead by the end of the first lap before Needham fought back on the second lap. But, after Gibson bump-drafted Treherne on lap three, Needham would fall to third. Gibson would then lead before Mills had a brake failure causing him to plough into the wall. The chaos would not stop their though as Read, who was now up to second, would fight Gibson for the lead before the pair tangled after an engine cut out for Read left them both out. This meant that the top three in the championship would not finish and major points to grab for everyone behind. Treherne would make the most of this taking the win by 5 seconds over Parker while he squabbled to take second from Schlup and Needham who finished third and fourth.

This would leave Tyler Read with 960 points and leading the championship by the weekends end claiming 75 points more than second placed Connor Mills. Oli Schlup leaves the first race weekend of the season third in the standings ahead of last seasons the Elite Cup Champion Jack Parker and Overall Champion Will Gibson in 4th and 5th in the standings respectively.