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Crashnet > Reports Index > PRI 1998 Index > Meeting 98/10

Meeting No. 10, Monday, 4th. May, 1998
PRI Banger Team Championship Round 2
1300 Stock Cars Supreme Championship Qualifying Round 1
Lightning Rods
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Lightning Rods
The Lightning Rods came back to Arena Essex on May 4 for a Bank Holiday three race meeting. Kevin Howsgo started well in the first heat, though Lee Sharpe was hot on his tail early on. However the close racing meant an eventual collision which not only brought waved yellows and a closing up of the cars but the demise of several of the leading pack including Sharpe and his tailmen Paul Amos, Mark Collins and Martin Tomlin along the back straight in the rush to avoid the spun John Beaumont car. Rob Carr also got clattered in the scrum leaving Howsgo to the mercies of Darren Ahern who adopted an outside line to take and secure the lead only to be caught late on by Vic Bilkey and Mark Lisowski, though he successfully held these off to win the heat. Heat two seemed to start well for Neil Livermore as he charged out of the yellow grade but he failed to negotiate turn four on the first lap, spun and collected Nick Wiseman and Colin Clark, blocking the track and causing a complete restart. This was more orderly as John Clarke pulled away from the pack not to be caught in the race though Beaumont had a good go at it, being easily the fastest car in that race but with only time enough to overhaul Pete Barnes to get second. Again a few tickles were inevitable in the close action, though the steward judged Darren Rodgers' follow in on Steve Holding to be worthy of a load up, the only one of the day in a relatively clean meeting. Things were now set for a thrilling final where history was to repeat itself as, in a repeat of his previous outing at Arena, Vic Bilkey drove well to cross the line first only to be denied by a contact penalty dropping him to third, the race awarded to Beaumont after a good days' racing and a trophy to add to wife Lynda's 1300 Stock Car trophy from a few events earlier that day, Howsgo making second place having again led in the early stages.

1300 Stock Cars
The 1300 Stock Cars met for their first Supreme Championship qualifier at the Mayday meeting on May 4, and a bruising battle it became. the warm-up race stopping half way through when Dave Imber got in the way of a battle between Steve Davies and Chris Whiteman and was slammed into the armco on turn one. The race was stopped again shortly before the end as Andrew Davies met the wall on turn four. However, by this time the race was becoming a two way battle between Derry Monk and Steve Hall. Hall raced far beyond his yellow grade as he not only stayed on Monk when he was passed but even took his lead back before sliding wide, giving Monk the lead back as the reds came out. The steward had the last word as Hall was awarded the race while Monk suffered a two place penalty for jumping the restart, elevating Dave Collin into second place. The final seemed to go well for Scott Hughes as he got the lead early on, then he was taken first by Grieg Cheeseman, then he got back, then Cheeseman settled the score by spinning Hughes out. Cheeseman was not to keep his lead however as his spin slowed him enough to let Lynda Beaumont through and away for her second win of the season and another final win, with Hall trailing behind in second and Whiteman unable to get further than third while Monk played about with Steve Cassar. Cassar had been put into Monk earlier in the race by Whiteman, which put Monk into the armco on turn one. From that point on, Monk took every opportunity to spin Cassar, at least three occasions in the final and more in the following helter-skelter race. This was won by Dave Edwards after he spun Hall out on the home straight in the closing stages, Whiteman not able to gain in time to get better than second. Daren Wolf made his first appearance of the year and got his best place in that race, coming home third ahead of Monk.

PRI Banger Teams
Round two of the PRI Banger Teams Championship on May 4 started cleanly enough with a win for Stuart Ruff (Vange Destroyers) though the points in this race were evenly spread though the teams, the only real hit of note being a jack from Ruff on the prior leader, Team Don't Know's Ian Greatrex. Tony Wade, racing for the Condoms, had been started at the back as were all the people racing with incorrect roof colours as the steward had a blitz on this rule infringement. Wade had blitz of his own, wrecking up to seventh and showing little mercy as he went in probably the best Condom performance in an otherwise fraught day for the team in pink. By the second heat the Squad/Condom war was heating up nicely as a series of Condom and Rabbit and Squad and Cream and Elite jackings occurred, starting with a head on between Ken Knight of the Elite and Billy King of the Condoms, followed by a jacking of Knight by Kevin Prayle of the Rabbits, Prayle rear-ended by the Cream's Roy Bramley, Bramley by Kev McNess in Condom colours, McNess by Squaddie Buster Woods. Wayne Prayle decided to get in on the act and turned his remaining Rabbit car, one of only two to race at the meeting, and nutted Dennis Whiteman of the Squad before Andy Burroughs creamed him. While all this went off along the home straight, a race was developing for the smaller teams which was nearly won by Kevin Elmore of the Southend Menace until he put himself out at the Aveley end letting Dave Smith through for the win and eight points for the Nads, followed by Paul Dolman for Don't Know and George Rowbotham for the defending champions, the Ant Hill Mob. The points by this stage were very close, the Nads and Vange Destroyers sharing the lead with Don't Know and the Ant Hill Mob tied behind them. The third heat was all about a lone Condom as Mark Ruskin left the track before the gate closed leaving Shane Davies alone to fight off the attentions of Kev Wilsher and Carl Overy of the Squad as well as a head on from Sean Collin, all of which left his car very bent but amazingly still mobile. John Beaumont also took a bit of time off from his Lightning Rod exploits to have a go with the Elite, another car to embed itself in the Davies car. In the race, however, it was Ant Hill Mob time as Paul Stern took eight of the nine points taken for the team to push them into the lead ahead of the Nads and the Destroyers, with a good performance by Dave Barwick in Elite colours though not necessarily team name giving the Elite a presence on the board in second place ahead of Wilsher. Barwick had performed a "lap of honour" before the meeting as part of a pop video that was being filmed that day, his car adorned with the record and band names, though we did get the trophy back off him after his third "lap"! The consolation heat was more controversial as Andy Burrough of the Cream got the win but was denied points as the steward awarded none to the Cream team as a result of Cream hired hand Jason Dobney t-boning Mark Ruskin on the safety area full chat, Ruskin trying to turn his car for a blitz on the fourth turn. Dobney will also sit out the remaining rounds as a result of this, the immediate load up to be followed by a sizeable ban. A large amount of Squad made it through on the strength of the consolation to add to the couple that made it through the heats, the Suicide Squad being one of only two teams to take a full contingent through to the final, the other being the Ant Hill Mob, who led the points by this time. So to the final and the emphasis changed from the Squad and Condom battle to a new battle that developed between the Vange Destroyers and the Ant Hill Mob, both teams destroying each other through the race leaving the Squad an easy trip through the mess to take four of the points scoring positions, led by Brian McGuiness in first place, Kev Wilsher in second and Buster Woods in third, Jack Overy following in sixth after a little wrecking. The result was a crushing victory for the Suicide Squad, with the Ant Hill Mob scoring no further points but hanging on to second ahead of a late surge but the winners of the last round, the Cream Team.

The Rawlins 2000 qualifier was all that was left and the Squad celebrated by wiping out the remaining field before wiping each other out. Race winner Buster Woods turned and raced backwards for several laps before Den Whiteman put him out of his misery leaving second place Kev Wilsher, third place Brian McGuiness and other runner Jack Overy to decide the destruction derby among themselves, the final word left with Overy as the last car running.


Results

Event                 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  10th 11th 12th 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1   Grand Parade
2   LRods 1           149  111  122  245  173  222  216  290
3   Bangers 1         260  526  418  464  301  121   33  597  102   14
4   1300 Stx w/u      797  725  643  612  674   57  704  658  633  777
5   Bangers 2          78  164  266  134  232  280  483  284  462  238
6   LRods 2           140  113  173  104  122  111  135  200
7   Bangers 3         300   91   96   66   59   28  588  457  542   24
8   1300 Stx SCQ      750  797  655  697  619  699  666  674  704   57
9   Bangers Cons      429   21   17  268  288   42   10  490  515  311
10  LRods Final       113  135  111  140  122  222  245  200
11  Bangers Final      14   96  238   91  418   17  597  164
12  1300 Stx H/S      619  655  699  543   57  797  658  686
13  R2000             238   96   14  LCR=17
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: 429 (Cream Team) awarded trophy and qualification for final but points 
      deducted due to bad team tactics (see report).
Abbreviations: LRods - Lightning Rods, Stx - Stock Cars, H/S - Helter Skelter
               SCQ - Supreme Championship Qualifier, LCR - Last Car Running
All results subject to confirmation by promotion.

PRI Banger Teams points, Round 2

Team              From 1st rd    H3   H5   H7   H9   H11   Total  Overall
-------------------------------+----+----+----+----+-------------------------
Suicide Squad       23   5th   |  1 |  1 |  6 | 10 |  48    66    89  1st
Cream Team          39   1st   |  6 |  0 |  4 |  0 |   8    18    57  2nd
Vange Destroyers    29   =3rd  |  8 |  5 |  3 |  0 |   0    16    45  =3rd
Ant Hill Mob        21   6th   |  4 |  6 |  9 |  5 |   0    24    45  =3rd
Don't Know          29   =3rd  |  3 |  7 |  0 |  2 |   2    14    43  5th
Cowboys             34   2nd   |  1 |  3 |  2 |  0 |   0     6    40  6th
Nads                 6   9th   |  0 | 13 |  5 |  1 |   0    19    25  7th
Elite                1   13th  |  0 |  0 |  7 |  0 |  10    17    18  8th
.............................................................................
Outlaws              9   7th   |  7 |  0 |  0 |  0 |   0     7    16  9th
Condoms              7   8th   |  2 |  0 |  0 |  0 |   0     2     9  10th
Convicts             2   12th  |  1 |  0 |  0 |  0 |   4     5     7  11th
Dangerous Brothers   0         |  5 |  0 |  1 |  0 |   0     6     6  12th
B Team               5   10th  |  0 |  0 |  0 |  0 |   0     0     5  =13th
Black & Whites       3   11th  |  0 |  2 |  0 |  0 |   0     2     5  =13th
Menace               0         |  0 |  1 |  1 |  1 |   0     3     3  15th
Hurligans            0         |  0 |  0 |  0 |  0 |   0     0     0  =16th
Rabbits              0         |  0 |  0 |  0 |  0 |   0     0     0  =16th
Rebels               0         |  0 |  0 |  0 |  0 |   0     0     0  =16th
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First eight teams at the end of the series qualify for eliminator
round.