from the

Here you will find reports from each race meeting, all from a different perspective depending on which one of our reporters covers that meeting.
Don't expect a blow by blow report though, its an overall view and opinions from wherever the title suggests !!!

Who's going to be next?				I FROM THE FIELD
I FROM THE FATHER Alan Brooke	I, FROM THE TERRACE. Sheffield semi meeting, by Carl H.	I, FROM THE TERRACE. by Rob Every	BriSCA F2 BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP, BIRMINGHAM by Dave Goddard	I, from the Cab. Paul Hines.

I FROM THE PITS.
SKEGNESS SEMI MEETING 23/08

VEIW FROM THE PITS
Super sunny Skeg it says on the box, and that is certainly what greeted my arrival on Saturday night. The two weeks of rain dancing by Mark Randell had been no use and ‘monsoon’ Micky would have to have his dry head on for tonight, and it was going to be tough from the back with so much talent in front of him, and would undoubtably have been an easier task with his talent for driving in the rain.

Though my chauffeur for the journey there, Tania, had made the journey smooth, it is one of those journeys from down south that never seems to get shorter the more you do it. Maybe that’s the reason that it always feels good to arrive at the raceway, or maybe it is the anticipation that the racing is very rarely a let down there.

Made my way over to the Randell camp to find some head-scratching going on. Micky had gone out in practice and it had felt reasonably good although the outer rear tyre didn’t have a lot of life left in it. So he changed it for another worn one with a bit more left on it, of almost the same stagger, but that had felt no where near as good. No matter how much measuring was done, we couldn’t get anywhere near the right stagger with any other combination of tyre’s so it was a choice between the two used previously, and the more worn one was chosen. All ready to go now, just the wait for the big race.

Had a brief chat with Paul Hines about his new Goodyear boots he was testing, and he said they had felt great in practice, but in the race it might be a different matter. Visibly they seemed taller that the Hoosier’s and Derek Hines pointed out that they were, so much so that they had had to cut away a small section of side rail just to get them to fit!

I toddled off to watch the V8 world and the first thing that struck me was the general improvement in appearance of the cars. I know they all make an effort for the world final, but overall there is a vast improvement in the professionalism within the formula. The race itself was as expected a Kev Stutchbury benefit with only Mark Allen being able to keep pace with him, until he dropped away. Not to say it was boring though with the kiwi’s hitting anything that dared to be in front of them and Darren Cottrill’s efforts at putting Neil Stutchbury though the fence. Neil’s slow laps afterwards in an effort to bite back proved fruitless when he got a puncture and could’nt hook on to Darren’s rear end in the only chance he got.

Back at the pits and Micky was his usual pessimistic self, with Mark, Paul Hines and myself all trying to pump up the confidence. Micky was having none of it though, which is just typical micky…so we all ignored him!

Come the race and Micky got a dreadful start in a very hectic last few rows, taking a couple of laps just to get track position, and as he did Robert Broome squeezed him onto the inner curb on the entrance to the first bend. The front wheel caught the curb and took the car into the inner tyres, and Micky into passenger mode as he took off for some good airtime with half roll and twist (9.5 9.0 9.5 in Beijing!) ending up on his roof. Micky exited reasonably quickly and unhurt, unlike dad who had managed to do a tendon or ligament in the back of his leg trying to get out to see if son was OK! Funny moment on the centre green as Robert Broome, also out of the race in the incident, stood by Micky’s wreck of a car, looked at Micky and Mark and refering to his exit from the race said " Puncture. Would you believe it !!" Mark and Micky just had to turn away !

The rest of the race was sheer class, F1’s at their best with hit after hit being traded by about 6 drivers, with the outstanding performance coming from Tom Harris. He came from nowhere to seriously challenge the leaders and upset the big guns up front. Eventually he lost out to a well timed 391 hit, but many many people will remember his drive longer than the result of the race.

Heading back to the pits I was convinced we would be loading up, but how wrong could I be. Mickey was up for it, and it was all hands to the pump to get the car in some sort of raceable condition. The roll had done two tyres, two shockers, and track arm, bent the front axle, bent the stub axle and locating arm as well as wrapping the wing round the cab. Now this where stock cars are unique, with so many people getting stuck in to get it all sorted. In no other sport I can think of, will you get so much camaraderie in the pits, it is amazing. The sheer amount of work prevented getting it all done before the consi, but it was ready for the GN, so we all drifted away to watch some more racing. Time was when I wouldn’t have dreamed of missing a race in any formula, but having got involved with a team, to me I get just as much buzz from the pits, as the track

Hinesy on the Goodyears in the final was amazing to watch, with the grip afforded out of the turns, visibly better than any of the other runners. The way he went passed Stuart Smith, and then Closed down Andy was interesting to watch. If it’s a good thing, and good for the sport that the speeds will increase on these boots, is something that I am sure will take up many column inches of debate and much head scratching behind closed doors.

Onto the GN, and after all the work, Micky never made the start. The car just didn’t feel right, and the correct decision was made to load her up and sort it out in the cold light of day. The race itself was another typical Skeg race under lights. Fast, furious and not without incident, particularly for Paul Hines, who after hooking up with lundy, decided to see if you could hit the inner tyres and not roll it. Though he was successful, his ribs might think the roll would have been the softer option !

So that was it and quite a late finish meant arriving at work at about 0300 for a 0400 start, still in overalls and covered in muck. My fellow office workers looking at me and thinking I’m mad..and I guEss as stox fans, we all are in a way.

I, FROM THE NEWBIE.

By Pedro and Kerry Brennan.

For the Peter Falding testimonial meeting I took along someone who has never been to stock car racing before, to get the perspective of a newbie. I deliberately didn’t give her much information, to encourage her to ask questions, which would hopefully give me an insight into where things need to be improved.

Kerry’s first impression was surprise that this facility could be so close to housing, which immediately begged the question “ Don’t the local residents complain” Later on, on the way home, whilst viewing the state of herself in the mirror, she touched on the same sort of subject. “ Can you imagine what it must be like living within a mile of that ? The noise might not be all the time, but you must be forever trying to get the dust (shale) out of, and off of everything.”

As we walked through the pits her attention, and camera, were immediately drawn to two cars, Willie Peeters and Tony Smith. When we had got to the end of the pits I asked her why and I already new the answers, with both displaying cartoon characters. Nothing else had really grabbed her attention, Later on in discussion she said she was surprised more drivers didn’t have things on them the fans could follow.

The stadium itself she was very impressed with, it was far better than she had expected, and thought the view of the racing was excellent.

I gave her the programme to read which she did, and as the first race was the COC I explained what this was all about, and then let her watch the first race proper without ‘help’. Afterwards she didn’t have a clue what had happened. “ Why do some start in different places ?” Answered. “ WHERE DOES IT SAY THAT IN THE PROGRAMME ?”. It doesn’t ! “How the hell are you supposed to follow the race, could’nt hear the commentator over the noise ?” I pointed out the scoreboard just behind us.

Next race, “wow, arnt they quick with the next race !. I expected there to be a long time between races “ Credit to the staff there then !!!

During the next race I gave her some guidance and she used the scoreboard, and followed the race, and thought it was quite good. She said it was the difference between being blind and fully sighted having the scoreboard to use. When I said that very few tracks have scoreboards, she was amazed that something so basic to watching the racing could be ‘overlooked’ by stadiums.

During the meeting I gave her more info about the drivers, where the battles were happening and to be honest, she really got into it, followed what was happening and enjoyed it, except the dust…. and the music !!! An extremely Naff selection left Kerry in amazement. “ Who are they trying to appeal to ? nobody can really like this can they ?. Surely If they played some good music it would appeal to the kids ? Or is it like a joke, where they are trying to make it funny ? Why don’t they get a local radio dj for the music bits and give the station some exposure.?

So I asked her overall what she thought. “ If I hadn’t been with you, I WOULD HAVE GONE LONG BEFORE THE END !” Why ? “ You get covered in something horrible outside of racing and it ruins your day, let alone play for the priveledge . If I didn’t have someone explaning it all to me, it wouldn’t have been the experience it was. Why don’t they give out a sheet or have one available for newcomers, like a rough guide, with just an explanation of the flags (was in cov prog), a explanation of the grades, and a brief guide to the top drivers so you can pick someone to follow ? They cant really expect people to pick up on everything on their own straight away, can they ?

She really did enjoy the racing, thought it was far more professional than she expected and understood the points, qualifying procedures etc by the end of the meeting, and was listening to all the conversation around her picking up on things. So when Andy Smith won the Dash for the cash, when we had been discussing beforehand that he shouldn’t have been out there, she was stunned She said on the way home ‘How could they run everything to set guidelines, and then ignore those rules and let someone win all that money when he shouldn’t have” “ Theres no CREDIBILITY in that”

Here is the biggest gripe though. She went to the toilet after a few races, and guess what….NO TOILET PAPER.

Just how many times does this get moaned about over the years ? It unreal. Alienate half the population over something so easy to remedy. How hard is it to have a female member of staff go in and check every couple of races ? If promotors spent a hundred quid on bog rolls per meeting it would be a cheap remedy to provide the most basic of equipment to make a punter comfortable.

Overall Kerry really enjoyed it, would come again, and would like to say hi to the people she met, I think she made some valid points,

I, FROM THE CONTINENT
by Pedro.

Flying to stock car meetings ! Who’d have thought that ten years ago ? But without a doubt the advent of ultra cheap travel has got me to four meetings in the last five years, and it really adds a bit of anticipation to the forthcoming event. Got a lift from our office on Friday to central London, to get the train up to Stansted. Had a bit of time to kill, so sat down in the square above the station and for the first time ever in London, felt uncomfortable. Bloody terrorists.
Uneventful flight saw in very quick time, met by brother, hit venlo, hit the long bar and down that first pint. (of quite a few).
So to the track, and more importantly, Frikandel and chips !!! Ah that first one is real good. The usual news met us..SCUTINEERING. Its like some annual jousting contest trying to guess what the problems are going to be , Dutch srutes –v- English drivers. Moodie was having Major problems getting passed, until the promoter intervened, and inadvertently set a precedent for himself to sort out later on.
The F1’s had the delights of the decibel meter with at least four drivers initially failing and measures being taken by those teams to get them through. First look at the track and it seemed smaller this year (maybe ive got wider !). Lots of yellow shirted officials were trying to organise the traffic on to the track, sometimes with success, and sometimes the same cars were seen going from one entrance to another and back again in an effort to get some track time.
Landklasse ! F1 field guys ripping up some rubber, and the speed difference between those and the F1 tar boys is so wide…and very obviously a very expensive time gap too. Bear in mind that the cost of a set of the shocks used at Venray, would keep a shale driver in the uk in new tyres for a year…or two. Still the field guys are great to watch and number 111 probably the entertainer of the meeting. Just think of Tim Warwick on acid !! ‘He brings as many rear outside tyres as races he has ! ‘ commented Sean on Saturday night.
The f2’s are so quick round Venray, and after an interminable wait for presentation, griding, restarts etc, the Moodie masterclass was awesome to watch in their Gold Cup. Watching from turn one into the steep bend, it was difficult to put into words just how good his racecraft, precision and control was. Quite simply the best driver out there. The farce of not giving him a lap of honour before taking the cars off to scrutineering was IMO very be-littling to the guy. I bet Harry Maessen pulled some hair out Saturday night, having had a protest lodged by Peeters, and having OK’d Moodie to race himself, knowing the car didn’t comply ! devil and the deep blue sea Harry ?!?!
Sunday morning and the word was going round that Gordon had kept the win, but had been given back an engine that was only short of the meccano box to keep it in. Needless to say, there was a driver missing from the presentation of trophy on track later on, and it wasn’t Gordon.
Got to watch a Rebels race or two, and I have to say, they were really good. The track really suits them and the drivers all seem to love it as well. They were so well organised and a credit to the English racing scene.
Rumours of a rain dance by English F1 drivers to give them a chance in the big race proved wrong, and if they had of been successful might have prevented the appearance of the H57 Ladies in err…nothing…well except painted on racesuits. For the rest of the afternoon the pits always seemed busiest where they were. One funny moment occurred when about 70 school kids and teachers were walking through the pits one way, and the two ladies walking towards them the other way. The look on the teachers faces was priceless. Was waiting for them to give the order ‘Children…eyes down NOW ‘. Wonder if anyone told the lady with the larger (although not much) deriere that the walking had rubbed the paint of a little, and by the end of the meeting looked like she had a bright pink baboons butt !!
The gold cup itself was probably the dullest F1 race of the whole weekend, but no yellows meant at least it was a ‘true’ race, and Ron Kroonder a desrved winner. JNR might have been closer had he not spent a few laps trading blows with Dave Schaap but racings full of if’s and But’s.
Peter Rees certainly made an impression in the F1 final with a huge burial of H7 in a true NZ stylee. Apparantly he got the wrong guy as well. So hard was the hit that he managed to move the wall back about 6 feet !
The organisation in getting the cars lined up for races was superb during the meeting and a marked contrast to the practice on Sunday, in fact Venray is a great place to visit, and as I heard that it should still be there next year, would recommend if you havent been, do so before its too late. The racing is not about big hits but more about racecraft and driving to the limit, and is a spectacle to see. The Dutch hospitality is second to none and you do see some funny things, such as the kareokee on the side of a dutch F1 car in the pits between races, and the officials all whizzing around on push bikes. Also funny, although all said in dutch, was the abuse the security guy got on Saturday night when he came round with the fire extinguisher and put out the camp fire started in field pits camping area. Mr popular….NOT.
I spent a bit of time looking at the H10 memorial behind the main straight. It is a beautiful and fitting tribute to the man, and for me it was hard not to look at it, and think about the risk’s that all drivers take in entertaining us the fans. Something maybe we all take a little too much for granted when we moan about this and that connected to our wonderful sport.
No luxury of a flight home for me though. It was home via the tunnel in my Brothers van, and there is no way I would have swapped it for a flight. After a good weekend there is always plenty to chat and laugh about, and look forward to the next time.
BIG thank you to all my Dutch friends for making it a great weekend.

I, FROM THE FIELD

St.Maarten Dutch open 12-8
So after a great weekend at Texel on the 4th and 5th of august, where the Texel open was won on home soil by H12 Pieter Dogger, it was time for the Dutch open at St.maarten.
No less then 62 cars made it to the Enigenburg track including Uk driver Frank Wainman #212. This was one of the meetings in Holland he planned for his farewell tour. Sadly a meeting at Veen scheduled for the Saturday had to be cancelled due to the heavy rain that fell in the south so it was one field meeting less in the farewell tour. The meeting format for the Dutch Open is more or less the same as the British, only here the drivers all race three times to qualify for a place on the grid for the big one, top point scorer gets the inside front row spot. With 62 cars the organisation decided to do seven qualifying heats and that worked out really well with packed heats of 24 cars. All the action started from the off, with Texel driver Pablo Brandenburg #51 rolling in the opening heat. That one caused the yellows straight away with about 16 cars stranded in the pileup. There was a lot of loose stuff on the track, and that caused a lot of dust and little sight for the drivers and the big crowd that had gathered around the dirt oval but old man Frank managed to keep his head cool and got a nice fourth place finish!
Biggest hit of the day was no doubt the 21 car that got stranded on the home straight just before turn one, with so many cars racing it was unavoidable that in the tick of it two cars clipped the 21 car. Fortunately the driver was ok, due to the good car specs the cars seem so much more safer nowadays. But the big crash took the back axle of and a front wheel amongst other things so it was the end of the day for the youngster..
It was all about the lower graders in the qualifying heats taking all the heat wins. Well, the organisation made a mistake, for the third time this season, by placing a blue grade driver (133) on the front row only because he hadn’t raced on the St.Maarten oval before. Maybe it is time for national gradings hah?! Anyway, all credit to that blue grade driver, he did it spotless by racing away from the front every heat and taking the win and therefore taking the pole position place for the big one. The other heats went to 151, 132, 31 and 840. The top boys found it really hard to get to the front and get a decent place on the grid, best of the reds was 29 Durk Greidanus, he got on the second row inside with a fourth qualifing place, yes it is always three on a row at St.Maarten!
After al the action in the heats, including some rollovers, it was all about to come in the big one! All the finals at St.Maarten this season had been really good and this one was no exception. It started quiet with again that 133 car of Wiger Hellema racing away leaving 29 Durk Greidanus in second place behind. But then at lap six the yellows came out for the stranded 212 car, Frank had diff problems and had nowhere to go but park the car on the end of the straight. Good choice from the organisation by bringing the yellows out, it must have not felt nice parking at that point of the track! After the restart it was 29 that gave the 133 car a little nudge coming out of the turn and caused it to spin and ending his chances for the win. By now the flying 540 car of Job Honderd was up to the front and took over the lead from Greidanus only to find himself with a flat inside rear after leading 5 laps. So it was 29 that took over again but the 64 car of hard hitter Richard Talsma had arrived on the scene as well and tried a cannon shot on the 29 car using the 540 car as a cannon ball. It almost worked out well for 64 but he had to try harder. Richard had started on the outside of row three and was desperate to win and as soon he got in striking distance again he planted the big one on the 29 nearly causing it to roll going in to turn three. But 29 wasn’t giving this one away easy and came back with what looked like an ever harder hit only getting each other to tangle. Both cars managed to get going again but the yellow car of former tarmac star 227 Sip Woudstra had taken the lead by now just before yet again the yellows came out on lap 17 for the rolled 33 car. Mark Woudenberg 84 just managed to avoid the car but racing with a flat outside rear the manouvre caused him to roll as well making it two cars upside down on the track. For the last time the cars got underway again to complete the 25 laps and it was like every one wanted to have one more go before the flag fell and the bumpers where going in big time. Axel Nijs, who had below par perfomances all day, by now in seventh started it al by giving a huge hit on the 76 car causing it to take out 29 and 3 in one move! But youngster Weird Gietema 76 came back hard on Nijs with a well timed hit. Nijs managed to keep the car out of the ditch but spun it and Talsma was the one that benefited from it all to follow Woudstra home in second with Gietema in third. Only seventeen cars form the thirthyfour completed the distance in this yet again hectic final.

Results:

Heat 1 : 132, 92, 3, 212, 58, 32, 540, 12, 63, 87
Heat 2 : 151, 31, 23, 227, 179, 68, 29, 35, 14, 46
Heat 3 : 133, 12, 67, 132, 808, 17, 63, 20, 4, 172
Heat 4 : 31, 61, 41, 229, 76, 29, 227, 23, 26, 38
Heat 5 : 133, 46, 64, 808, 3, 18, 2, 540, 20, 393
Heat 6 : 840, 31, 29, 84, 7, 58, 94, 33, 26, 112
Heat 7 : 133, 46, 61, 67, 185, 64, 18, 38, 2, 76

Final : 227, 64, 76, 299, 20, 185, 3, 840, 41, 32

I FROM THE FATHER - Alan Brooke

Al Brooke gives us a rundown on the NIR/BRISTOL weekend, of Simon brookes 'tyring' weekend.

NIR. Si ended up leading the white top race then droped out with a puncture - he started in the middle of the pack and the first couple of laps were a bit hectic as he made his way forward. Chris Cook had a decent lead by the time Si got through to second (he was nearly taken out a couple of times with some interesting moves!) and had nearly caught up Chris when the 460 car had a puncture Si then took the lead and had quite a few laps in front and pulled out a good lead until his back outside tyre blew on lap 16 (20 lap race) bummer!
Now apart from not having the tyre pressure spot on for such a warm day Si was very pleased with the car, trouble is with tyres we had available it was not easy to get the stagger he wanted.
With the options we chose for the heats, handling was pants so not in the results.
For the all in final, we tried another combination and the car was flying just had a tussle for the lead with 397 when the yellows came out. The restart was "interesting" with 397 going but the back of the field stopped - Si assumed it would be stopped but the green came out, Si got away reasonably OK, certainly better than those behind and took off after 397. After a couple of laps he caught and passed 397 and was off....until his rear outside blew (you know what they say about buses!!). He was going well anyway but that restart gave him an added bonus and he had at least a straight lead over the main field..........double bummer!!
Called it a night at that as we were not sorted for shredding so much rubber!
BRISTOL
First heat going OK but third rear outside blew!!!!!!!!!!! (I really can't remember the last time we even a puncture before this weekend......) - Si spun and hit the fence when the tyre blew and we didn't have time for a complete fix and he went out in heat 2 to try it, but things were pants. There were 2 other races (bangers and buses)before the final so the axle straightener was out, steering sorted........
For the final Si was pleased with the car but he though he had major clutch issues after about 8 laps and he decided to let everyone though so he could check it out! So there he was at the back (if I had much hair left it would have gone then!) decides it's fine then wellies it and managed to get back upto 7th by the end of the race - I queried if there was a fix in not to finish too high (due to the pizzabet!) but he assured me he really thought he had a problem and didn't want to cause more damage.
For the first time all afternoon we didn't have to panic for the GN,as there was no flat rubber and he was pleased with the car. unfortunately to prevent overheating the back outside we had to change it for an ancient Hoosier that had seen better days 3 years ago so a 5th place was not bad, alhough the weekend could have been a whole lot better with luck.

I, FROM THE TERRACE.
Sheffield semi meeting, by Carl H.

After the prophecies of doom that had been pervading the internet the week before the Semi-Final meeting, it was a pleasant surprise to find that the track looked to be in perfect condition. However, the pits were awful! Mainly large puddles with deep mud in between. Lucky I hadn't worn my best shoes, but stock car meetings aren't something I get dressed up for anyway.

As is always the way when we go to Sheffield, the first thing on the agenda was the chip butties. This has been a long standing tradition ever since the stadium reopened, and as per usual, they were spot on. Just as well, as by the time we'd waded through the mud and various puddles in the pits, we needed some nourishment.

After a few races for the F2s and the Heritage cars, it was time for the F1s. The semi was supposed to be on first, but it turned out that this had been changed, and it was going to Heat One. The track looked to be perfect, and the opening heat turned out to be the best race of the day. Andy Powell put in a great drive to take a flag to flag win, while we were treated to Stu Smith and Junior battling it out for much of the race, with Smith coming out on top.

Next was the semi. I had great hopes of Dave Willis pulling something out of the hat in this one, and starting at the back he had nothing to lose by piling a few into the fence on every bend. Given the congestion in the pits, it was probably asking too much for them to come out in grid order, so it was only when Michael Scriven came out of the pit gate that we started to get an inkling that all was not well. Scriven had already raced in the first heat, and according to the programme, he was second reserve. We knew Nick Smith was missing, and Adam Slater had already come out to take his place. A quick count up showed there were already 23 cars on track, and when the final one rolled through the gate, our hearts sank when it wasn't number 337.

The presentations were long and drawn out. Opinions were divided as to whether it was a good or bad thing that we couldn't hear the PA from the back straight, but after an age the rolling lap began. Or so it seemed, but before that, there was a waving lap. Yes, a waving lap. For no apparent reason, the cars drove around the track and the drivers waved at the crowd, while the crowd either ignored them or glared back in disdain. The same thing had been done at the 1998 Semi Final at Birmingham. I can remember, after the usual faffing about, Mark Bond shouting "Officials, are you ready?", and the flag marshalls waving at the commentary box. Then he said "Drivers, are you ready?", to which the drivers waved out of their cabs. And then, as a finale, he came up with "Spectators, are you ready?". And in unison, the entire terracing responded with "Get on with it!". If they'd come out with the same carry on today, I'm glad I couldn't hear the PA.

We were now onto the actual rolling lap, and on the back straight, there was a sense of expectation as the tightly bunched pack slowly circled the track. The green dropped, and as expected, Andy Smith went straight into the lead. The track had been watered before the race and it looked slippery, and as Smith threw it into the first turn, somewhere behind me a young lady, maybe even Mrs Andy Smith herself, shouted "For goodness* sake Andrew, calm down!". (* Or words to that effect).

Hopes for a vintage Sheffield race slowly faded as the laps ticked by, when it became apparent that there was only one narrow racing line around the track, and nobody seemed to want to risk any kind of challenge. It was left to shale virgin Ryan Harrison to add some excitement, when he crashed into the fence and then reversed out in front of Smith. He then went on to take a fence post out before retiring from what had certainly been a baptism of fire for him. Fair play to him for coming back out for the rest of the meeting, which is more than some other drivers did. Murray Harrison is apparently nicknamed "Muzza", which left us wondering what Ryan is known as. We eventually settled on "Razza". I've just Googled it, and thankfully it doesn't mean anything rude.

The semi was a strange race, mainly just roundy-roundy, but with the occasional moments of carnage when the track surface caught out cars and threw them to the fence. Less than half of them finished, and I think nearly every one of the non-finishers was tractored off with a bent car.

The fence certainly took a hammering, and I couldn't help thinking that some of the repairs were a bit on the hasty side. After Hayley Parkinson had demolished the fence in front of me, one of the middle ropes was hanging loose, and the fence crew simply got a short piece of chain and chained the loose rope to the one above it. Maybe it looked alright, but I doubt it would have stopped an F1.

As for the rest of the meeting, it wasn't brilliant. The semi-final had wiped a load of cars out, and a load more loaded up despite having no visible damage, meaning both the Consolation and the Final had depleted fields. Matt Newson followed up his brilliant drive in the semi with a victory in the Final, going past four cars on one bend to take the lead. It started raining before the GN, which amounted to a load of brown cars slipping and sliding around the track, with only Andy Smith seeming able to get around the track without spinning around.

Quite why this meeting turned into a damp squib is puzzling. Sheffield usually provides decent stock car action, even with a much smaller turnout of cars. One thing is certain, and that is that Sheffield is not a suitable track for a high risk race like a semi-final. But that doesn't really explain why the rest of the meeting fell well below the usual standard. It seems to be fashionable to complain about the promoters these days, and in fairness there was nothing at all wrong with the organisation, waving lap aside. Maybe it was just that the track conditions didn't allow for much bumper work, or maybe it was just one of those days.

Before today, I was ambivalent about the second semi being at Buxton. I've only been twice in recent years. Once was a WCQR run in glorious sunshine, which was just roundy-roundy all day, the other was a semi run in torrential rain, which was actually quite entertaining. However, it's going to take a pretty poor meeting to be worse than todays.

The F2s were also fairly below par. I am however still waiting with baited breath to see how many of them get disqualified from the results, and even if there will be any results at all. The recent farce over the F2 Euro result certainly makes the F1 National Points nonsense pale into insignificance. I have however now come up with a cunning plan to transform myself into a championship-winning F2 driver. All I need to do is acquire an uncompetitive, but legal car and plod around the track. Then wait for everyone else to get disqualified, thus promoting me to first place. Sorted! Now, where can I get some red and yellow checked paint?

I, FROM THE TERRACE.
by Rob Every

I was standing in the leafy Foxhall Heath paddock at about 5.30 on Saturday with a bag full of wet weather clothing thinking, “what an idiot, there is no cloud in the sky, I should have brought my bloody shorts!”
How wrong can one be, a few minutes later, huddled under the lift of Mike Ashcroft’s truck from a massive deluge I was counting myself very fortunate to have a brolly and some warmer clothes.

The rain was only a heavy shower and then it went away a little as the National Hot Rods went out for practice. (By the way, quite why F1 guys weren’t allowed practice I don’t know, but probab ly best to keep the noise police at bay as much as possible I imagine!!).
The Rods didn’t really clear the water from the track and to be honest it didn’t matter anyway as the rain bucketed down soon after for the F1 heat races.

What a lottery it must be in the wet in an F1 car, if as fans you take time to check out the tyres on an F1, you will see that they are very unbalanced grip wise, you have two very narrow, grippy rally tyres on the left side and rather more open treaded tyres on the right, they do clear the water, but not as well as a proper rain tyre would. Imagine then being in a grid of twenty five cars with no screen and very little to let you know where you are apart from some blurred marker points on the side of the track. These guys are heroes every one of them. I wonder if any of them were doing the counting thing on the straights, y’know, come off the bend, tromp on the throttle, count the three then brake, you should then be in the bend!! Is scary to think it but it happens!

I know from speaking to a few guys that the vision out there was pretty bad, its par for the course when you have a speedway track inside a tarmac oval I guess, Arena is always the same as well when the F1’s race there. It makes it tough in the dry as well with the track being pretty much a one line raceway as there is no grip out of the groove. Suffice to say that in the wet with dirt mixed in with spray it must be almost impossible to see where you are going and every single guy out there deserves credit for putting on a show for the sodden punters! Timing a hit must be hugely difficult as the wheels are locking and you have to be so close to the target vehicle, getting covered in spray and muck!

Some superb drives though all round. For me the best drive of the night came from Peter Falding. The multiple world champ did what experienced drivers do in these conditions and drove with his head whilst travelling at a great speed. I can’t remember the last time Pete won heat and final, think it might have been somewhere like Buxton in the early noughties, but the Rotherham fella was in fine form last night, prepared to mix it with the youngsters and the big hitters like Frankie and Dan Johnson.

Felt a bit sorry for Will Yarrow though, am hopefully right in saying this was Will’s first time out on tarmac this year and the low rider car was flying as usual. Will for me is very under rated, he is one of the few mid grid drivers who doesn’t roll over for the big guys, and he was not prepared to give that final up last night, great stuff and I hope that the boys can do more meetings on the hard stuff now. Also unlucky to fail the weight check, but I guess rules are rules and from what I heard the anomaly was marginal!

Word too for Tony Smith, after so much effort and determination its good to see the big fella win a race, here is a guy whose dedication you just cannot fault, he brings so many people with him and has been involved in so many drivers start out in racing, is great to see him get some reward. I know he didn’t win on track as Paul Phillips won and was dropped for weigh in troubles, but Tony is pretty good in the wet and this was a good drive.

Also big up Mike Ashcroft who drove a belter to get a second in the soaking rain in his heat, albeit inherited after Paul Phillips unfortunately failed a post race weight check, but you have to be there to pick up the pieces and Mike kept his nose clean brilliantly, must be good fun living the dream when its like this, just hope it makes up for the rather nasty incident he had later on clipping a parked car.

Of the top guys it looked like Andy and Stuart Smith were having a hard time getting power down and finding grip in the real wet stuff, but their cars looked much better as the track dried out, gotta say it must be hard work having Stuart behind you! That lad really is a hard hitter and takes no prisoners, is superb to watch him shovelling trains of cars into the bends, but as I say would hate to be in the middle of one of those trains, with your legs flapping about back and forth as you clatter into each other. Andy hooked up real well in the end with a great National win to keep up the points chase.

Looks like the rain helped out Frankie though, the main man was looking a bit more like the dominant force he was early on in the year, though still not all there, the rain no doubt helped him and his ruthlessness in the traffic was great to see, remember he wasn’t that far away from winning the final after all the final lap stuff between Falding Johnson and Yarrow.

And what of Dan Johnson? Seemed a Falding car night as the pair of them chased down Yarrow, Dan was prepared to mix it as we have seen a few times now and was very close to winning another final, is scary to think how good this lad might become and with someone like Peter and Dad Dave guiding him you have to think that he is gonna be up there for a while. He was running from red as well remember, so even more impressive.

Finally the weigh in fiasco is one that drivers and fans could do without really. I think some of it stems from maybe not having the right people in the right areas from what I have heard. But even so, drivers and results should be able to be trusted as they are given.
Can you imagine the scene if a driver was in a race and was taken out by a car that shouldn’t have been in the race coz it was underweight, the driver maybe gets injured and the whole thing starts getting a little bit political and law related! As I see it, if a driver fails a weight check for inside weight (which is what it usually is for) then he should be dumped from the results straight away.
I concede that mistakes are rare and more often than not this part of racing passes of un noticed but iI do think its one area where consistency is vital.

BriSCA F2 BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP, BIRMINGHAM WHEELS RACEWAY, SATURDAY 16^TH JUNE

For the first time in its history, the F2 British Championship was staged at Birmingham on 16^th June, and given the nature of the racing that the Wheels oval usually provides, the event was very eagerly anticipated.

Given the huge turnouts that Birmingham pulls in even for non-championship events, the turnout of 80 cars could be seen as a slight disappointment, especially as rumours of a 110-plus turnout had been circulated, and also as nearly 20 drivers failed to honour their bookings. Nonetheless, there was still a quality entry packing out the Wheels pits with drivers from all over the UK, including Robbie Dawson (854) from the north of Scotland and five welcome travellers from Northern Ireland. There were also plenty of travelling supporters from Scotland, and they were rewarded for their efforts as Gordon Moodie (7) added yet another title to his massive collection.

Threatening-looking thunder clouds hung over the stadium several times during the evening, but mercifully the weather would stay dry throughout. The entry was split into nine groups racing over no less than nine heats to qualify for the British, with each driver racing three times to qualify.

The stage was set for what would surely be one of the most open title meetings in years, and racing began on the stroke of 6pm with 27 cars on track for the first heat. Simon Farrington (259) was at the front of the yellows on the grid following his downgrading, and would surely prove a threat. Darren Foster (831) led the first few laps, while Chris Bradbury (886) was the fastest mover and was quickly among the yellows. The first incident of the night saw Ian Serpell (613) spin with Simon Edwards (430) and James Thackra (324) tangling in avoidance to go onto the rumble strips, Edwards then collected by Chris Burgoyne (647). While that was taking place Farrington took up the lead followed by Brian Shadbolt (70), but Bradbury was on a charge and punted Colin Smith (719) into the side of Foster to take fourth. There were problems for several of those tipped for the title as Thackra was taken out once again by Stuart Rolph (782), while ee Dimmick (59), Tim Pullen (50) and Chris Cuming (393) all hit trouble and retired. Bradbury moved past Shadbolt for second with a couple of laps to go but couldn’t catch Farrington who survived a scare when Paul Bailey (297) rejoined ahead of him to win, Shadbolt shrugging off contact with Bailey for third.

25 cars for the second heat although Mike Lees (135) pulled off on the rolling lap. Ian Meacham (532) led them away as Rob Batten (467) hooked up on Andrew Palmer’s (606) rear bumper on the opening lap, while Moodie had made up around eight places in the first two laps. Kelvyn Whalley (101) was debuting a very smart new car and mounted the back of Dave Polley (38), the latter almost taking out Palmer as Gary Grattan (NI917) hooked up with Carl Issitt (103) taking both into the banking. Second placed Paul Lowe (490) lost it and hit Johnny Hall (326) T-bone style as Chris Stephens (628) bumpered Nick Rogers (742) aside to move into the reckoning, but Ian Thompson Jnr (NI901) was up behind him in fourth and looking to challenge. Gary Wrench (359) drafted past Meacham on the back straight to lead as Mick Sworder (152) and Moodie joined the line behind Thompson before Stephens ensured Wrench’s lead lasted just one lap with a move on the inside of turn four followed by Thompson. Meacham bravely tried an attack on Moodie as Thompson went down the inside of Stephens to lead as Sworder and Moodie passed Wrench for third and fourth with the Scot then taking Sworder wide for third on turn one. The first two were safe for the last few laps and it was a win for Thompson for Northern Ireland, Stephens and Moodie next with Sworder losing out on the last bend to Bryn Thomas (900).

Justin Fisher (315) was the quickest mover from the front of the blues in a 28-car heat three as Phil Young (205) led off and Neil Hooper (676) was shunted wide as the reds tops began their battle. Tim Farrell’s (667) defence of his British title began badly as he was turfed aside by the pack, and he would later retire on the second bend. Daz Kitson (732) was rapidly cutting through the pack as was yellow top Tim Matthews (257), the latter taking the lead on turn one swiftly followed by Fisher. Starting the penultimate lap Matthews took up the running as Thomas Bailey (117) rode over Pete Bott Jnr (222), before Fisher just forced his way down the inside into the last turn and stole the win, with Kitson taking Richard Bowyer (761) for third as Tom Montgomery (585) went head-on into the wall on the final bend.

The second round of heats began with 23 cars on track for heat four. Gary Webb (421) led them away and pulled out a gap as the red tops began pushing instantly, Moodie and Burgoyne using their bumpers well from the back. Whalley was spun around by Dawson as Farrington moved into fourth from the back of the yellows, while Burgoyne then spun through the puddles on turn four. Webb still led past half distance before Foster hit the wall after contact with Graham Malings (11) for the first yellow flag of the evening negating the white top’s advantage. Webb controlled a very slow rolling laps before flooring it for just the restart he wanted as Farrington stuffed Shadbolt wide for second, while Barry Goldin (401) stuffed Rob Batten (467) into Steve Green (15) as the reds resumed their battle towards the rear of the field, many having made little progress. Green returned the favour punting R Batten into Goldin allowing Moodie to pass Green and R Batten in one move with a fantastic fight for fourth developing. R Batten sent Green wide with Goldin moving through as well. As the leaders went into the last lap Whalley rode over Hall’s nerf rail on the back straight, Whalley’s new car flipping onto its roof before sliding into the infield banking. While that was going on the leaders were rounding the last turn with Farrington just getting alongside Webb, but Mr Starter Bill Mincher appeared confused about whether to display a yellow or chequered flag, and the leaders were greeted by no flag at all as they rounded the final turn. Yellow flags were then waved around the raceway, with Mr Starter then displaying red and chequered flags several moments later to applause from the crowd! Whalley was thankfully only shaken, while the results was counted back to lap 15 giving white top Webb an excellent win, only the second of his career, with Farrington and Shadbolt enduring good grid positions with second and third.

25 cars for the fifth heat with Lowe the early leader as Serpell spun on turn three and was T-boned by Issitt for an early yellow with Jim Bamford (302) almost fencing Simon Young (99) as he tried to avoid the stricken cars. Chirs Mikulla (522) had already made up several places before the restart and moved into third, but he was then spun out by Bradbury along with Dave Berrisford (157) allowing Joff Gibson (249) through to second. The blue top led briefly but the flying Bradbury took over just as the yellows appeared for Mikulla’s stranded car. Bradbury took off into the lead on the restart as the threat of rain increased in the air, while Thompson moved up on the inside of Bill Batten (167) in the fight for second, shaking off an attack from Gibson to move past the veteran. Nathan Maidment (935) T-boned Bott as the leading pair pulled away, while Bamford’s night ended with a blown engine. Berrisford and Young spun as Bradbury held off Thompson for victory, with B Batten third. This meant that the five heats held so far had been won by drivers from five different grades!

The approaching rainstorm fortunately diverted its course prior to heat six, and 27 cars lined up under a dramatic sky. G Grattan sent Tom Smart (744) sideways from the off as Ian Helliwell (271) led the early laps until Matthews took over heading into the third turn on lap three. Bowyer chased down Iain Mclean (175) for third and then took second as Sworder attacked Fisher, with Kitson and Smart soon chasing the ex-Lightning Rod man. Gary Chambers (NI271) then hooked onto Wrench’s rear bumper sending the pair onto the infield where they parted, while Kitson took second only for Bowyer to spin him sideways with les than a lap to go, allowing Matthews to escape for the win. Bowyer took the best result of his f2 career in second, with Smart and Grattan next.

The last round of heats began with 25 cars on track for a very lively heat seven. Foster led them away as Bradbury attacked Pullen only to be taken out on the back straight dropping him to the rear of the field. Steve (299) and Colin Smith tangled sending the latter into the wall before Young spun and lost a wheel to bring out the yellows. Farrington ground to a halt on the rolling lap of the restart, before an explosive restart saw third placed Green waste no time, slamming hard into the back of second placed S Smith sending him into the back of Foster with both spinning towards the wall. While that was going on Pullen had hooked on Dave Harley’s (362) outside wheel at the other end of the raceway, and with Harley hard on the throttle for the restart Pullen’s smart RCE was sent over onto its roof. Needless to say that was an instant yellow flag, although fortunately there were no injuries despite Pullen’s roof fin being crushed. Green led the restart away only for Bradbury to tangle with Thomas ripping a wheel from Bradbury’s car, the offending wheel being carried down the home straight by Moodie for more yellows. By this stage Cuming was up to second behind Green for the restart, with R Batten moving into third as the West Country stars mounted their challenge on Green. Cuming stalked the blue top for a few laps until he ran wide out of turn two, Cuming then leaning him wide as he tried to correct for the lead. The Cornishman went on to win ahead of Green, with R Batten holding off Thackra and Moodie for third.

26 cars for the penultimate heat with Bruce Carter (575) the early leader as Colin Gregg (305) stuffed David Waterhouse (701), before Shadbolt went from third to first past Young and Carter exiting turn four. Mark Gibbs (270) attacked Mikulla as the superstars slowly progressed through the pack, while Shadbolt pulled away as Thompson briefly hooked up with Gibson to dislodge a wheel guard on the 901 car, the Irishman black flagged as a result. Up front an elated Shadbolt stayed ahead for his first ever tarmac victory, with Kitson and Goldin next home.

The final heat had 23 cars on track and was led away by Berrisford, while Sworder and B Batten tangled as they crossed the start line! Meacham took over the lead but Matthews was closing in once again, while Stephens was the fastest man out there and was carving through the yellow graders very rapidly. B Batten exacted revenge on Sworder by stuffing him into the back of Chambers as McLean briefly took up the running until Matthews came through. Mark Simpson (871) spun Fisher into the back straight banking as Hooper and Farrell hunted down Palmer for fourth, while Stephens managed to get his front wheels onto the inside line and took the lead exiting turn four. Palmer spun Berrisford resulting in the red top losing a couple of places, while Stephens took the flag only to be docked two places for jumping the start, giving Matthews the second win to secure him pole position for the big race. Mclean took second with Stephens demoted to third a head of Hooper, with a fifth place for Farrell enough to get the defending champion onto the grid after a less than perfect evening.

Once the grid was worked out, the line-up could have been mistaken for a random draw rather than a grids decided on points, such had been the open and even nature of the qualifying heats with all five grades represented in the leading positions. A total of 37 drivers had made it onto the grid for the 2007 British Final, and the atmosphere seemed to reach fever pitch as start time approached for what promised to be one of the most open F2 championship races for a long time.

Under the floodlights the qualifiers were driven out onto the track mounted on their cars for a parade lap, before parking up against the Armco to be called forward into their grid slots. 36 cars were present, including a repaired Pullen minus his aerofoil, with Bamford the only absentee due to his blown engine, while there was a delay of a few minutes to allow Craig McConnell (NI925) to repair a broken clutch cable. Yellow graders Matthews and Shadbolt headed the grid, and after clerk of the course Colin Richardson gave the signal to start engines they led the field round on a very slow rolling lap, before the 25-lap race exploded into life in a crescendo of noise. Polley hooked on C Smith as they crossed the start line, while Kitson got away quickest from row two and hugged the rumble strip around the first turn to move into the early lead, while Moodie went straight into third behind Matthews. Farrell was out of luck yet again as he tangled with Thomas on the opening lap, while S Smith rode over the front of Rolph. Moodie went into second at the start of lap three as R Batten took out McLean and Bradbury took third on turn four. The early pace set by the star graders meant that Kitson was unable to pull out much of a gap, and he clipped the side of S Smith as he lapped him just as McLean hit the side of Moodie but both continued. Moodie closed on Kitson as they started to encounter the first backmarkers, with the first attack going in on turn one of lap seven but Moodie wasn’t quite close enough. Into the city bend Moodie got the bumper in on Kitson and squeezed down the inside to take the lead as they passed the start line, and from then on he set about building his advantage. Further back Goldin was holding off repeated attacks from Thompson for fourth, the Irishman eventually spinning the 401 car as third placed Bradbury pulled off leaving Thompson in a clear third. Moodie was driving as hard as he dared at the front, sliding out of the turns as he carved through the backmarkers and tried to put as much distance as possible between himself and Kitson. By lap 20 he was the length of a straight clear and the travelling Scottish fans were at their most vocal, and they reached a crescendo as Moodie smoked his tyres out of the last turn and powered across the line for another title. Kitson held on for second almost three seconds behind Moodie with Thompson third meaning we had three different countries in the top three places, while Cuming upheld West Country honour in fourth ahead of B Batten. Burgoyne took an excellent sixth place from the very back of the grid, with Sworder coming through for seventh and Simpson, Gibson and Thackra completing the top ten.

The top four pulled up on the infield and a jubilant Moodie stood atop his car to a huge roar from the crowd, before Mr Starter Bill Mincher presented the first three with their trophies. Following the photocall it was announced that Moodie had become the first driver to hold the “Big Four” titles – World, National Points, European and British – at the same time in the history of the formula, with the top three then set off on a lap of honour.

There was still the Grand National to come, and 28 cars returned for what would prove to be an epic finale to the night, including Farrell who was already sporting a red aerofoil. The grid was held to allow Moodie and Kitson, whose cars had been weighed on the infield, to join the grid, and the race began with Berrisford leading them off as Kitson T-boned McConnell, the latter spinning Berrisford as he rejoined handing Danny Queenan (661) the lead. Young hit trouble again as he tangled with Tim O’Reilly (740) before Matt Deeble (530) rolled on turn two against the fence to bring out the yellows. Queenan led the restart away as Stephens battled with the repaired Dimmick and S Smith, while Gibson fought his way past Shadbolt into second as the hits flew in all the way down the pack. Gibson took the lead as the race reached half distance followed by Green, but the pair then tangled and spun out handing R Batten the advantage but he promptly slowed up handing Shadbolt the lead, the yellow top then passed by Farrell.n Burgoyne then joined the battle, taking second from Shadbolt who fought back as Gibson and Sworder joined the battle. Young spun into the wall as did Queenan who almost took Dimmick with him, while Farrell made up for his earlier disappointment with the win over Burgoyne, while Sworder went for the big last bend lunge on Shadbolt but missed allowing the yellow top to take third ending a fantastic meeting.

I, from the Cab.
Paul Hines.

SCOTLAND THE BRAVE

You start feeling it Monday morning. You are not sure what you are feeling but you know something special is on its way. It's a bit like Christmas. The build up is as exiting as the event itself. Your mind is almost consumed throughout the week by this feeling. You still cant really describe the feeling. It's definitely excitement. But you are sure there are a hint of nerves in there too. You are not feeling scared but you are thoughtful as to what will unfold. Whatever you are feeling and no matter how long you feel this way you cant wait for what is about to happen!

You have guessed it. We are racing at Cowdenbeath on Saturday! They call it 'The Racewall' for a reason. The track is an animal. Its tight, its narrow and there is no where to escape. You have 680bhp under your right foot and you are trying to negotiate a track that's hard enough to lap on your own.

It all starts on Monday. The team will spend every night of the week preparing the car and the transporters for the journey northwards. You always do that extra little bit for the weekend. You take spares you would not normally take and you check every inch of the stock car to be doubly sure that everything will go as well as possible.

Throughout the week you build up to the weekend. You don't want to but you cant help but think about winning that Scottish championship and sort out tactics for the Saturday night. What tyres will I run and should I change my springs. I will definitely need to raise the car and stiffen the dampers. All these things and so much more go through your head trying to sort out a winning formula.

The team travelled on Friday. It's a long journey from leafy Leicestershire to 'Golden Acorn' in Glenrothes so travelling up on Friday always seems easier. However a journey that can take 6 ½ hours on a good take took 10 this year. The forth Road Bridge was closed and the Friday night traffic was congested to say the least. We eventually arrived at 8:15pm just in time for a bit to eat and a swift half. But there has been something on your mind all day. That feeling is still there. It's a lot stronger now and is all you can think about. No matter how I was feeling though it did not stop a good sleep Friday night.

Saturday morning arrives. We have a walk around the town. Simone buys some shoes and a new hand bag so she is happy. As you walk around your whole mind is occupied by racing. 'Have I checked that? Did I do that nut up? Shall I run shale tyres?" You just want to get to that track now. You want to feel the buzz from the crowd. You want to see the nerves around the pit lane and you desperately want to get on that track.

We arrive at the track at around 2:30pm. I remember thinking "it hasn't changed". You check the car over one last time and take on a few laps practise. The track is so bumpy and uneven. It's a challenge to try and do a lap on your own let alone with 20 others drivers. You have to brake hard but aim for the fence. The quickest line is around the fence for almost the whole lap. You know there is not room for error. You brush the wall a couple of times to know your limit. This track feels so good to race! I am lucky that I have driven there a few times now so I know what to expect. The best thing is looking at other drivers who are racing there for the first time! Their expressions usually tell a thousand words.

You have lost that feeling now. That something inside you that has been there all week has now gone. You are so consumed with events unfolding you now don't have time for that nervousness and excitement. The heat race arrives. Not too many cars on track and I manage a 4th place. That's ok in the final. The consolation goes by. There was a freak accident in which the pit gate opened onto the track. The track is hard enough as it is without the fence picking on you as well!!

The final arrives. Bang! It hits you. That feeling is now massive. Adrenalin rush is the only way I can describe it. You feel pumped. This is once a year. The Scottish championship at Cowdenbeath and your in it. This feels good. You are on the start line and you are so ready. This is why you do it. This is worth all those hours at work trying to earn the money to race. This is worth all those hours at the garage getting the car ready. This is what its all about.

The race was hard. It always is. I got slightly bulked at after lap five and lost a few places. On the yellow flag I am not in a bad position but need to make up ground. Of course you are not nervous or excited now. You are just concentrating fully on the race and getting the car home in the best position possible. Toward the end of the race I make up quite a few places and manage to finish 4th. I was really hoping for a top three finish but 4th was ok. You know you have achieved something with two decent results in two races around 'The Wall'.

Unfortunately the Grand National for the night was cancelled which for me was disappointing as I fancied my chances for a few more points but there we go. Then its over. We enjoyed a cracking bbq at the end of the night as you 'come down' from the days events.

I hope that has given you a brief incite to how I felt throughout the week leading up to one of the most challenging but exiting weekends in the Formula One Stock Car calendar