The 1998 Promotasport Festival of Speed
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Crashnet > Reports Index > PRI 1998 Index > Meetings 98/18 & 98/19
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Meeting No. 18/19, Saturday, 20th./Sunday, 21st.
June 1998
The 1998 Promotasport Festival of Speed |
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The 1998 Promotasport Festival of Speed had to have been one of the best in recent times with far reaching interest being shown in much of the racing that took place over the two days starting on June 20. The first day saw racing from Group A, Lightning and PRI Rods along with 1300 Stock Cars and SuperBangers, with the Sunday finals topped off with a Caravan race, the first ever at Arena Essex.
Group A Hot Rods
As usual, the Group A Hot Rods were well represented with
four groups competing on the Saturday night for points toward
the final on the Sunday. The first race saw an early tussle
between Dom Tomlinson and Chris Selleck having displaced
early leader Wes Graves with Darren Read and Jim Richards
charging up from the back. Tomlinson was unable to go the
distance, and an oil drop on turn one made things awkward in
the last few laps but Selleck held his line to win ahead of
Read and Richards, though Richards seemed to be smoking
through the second half of the race. The second race was
halted abruptly toward the end as a pile up saw Nichola
Bearman in trouble on the back straight while Terry Bearman,
Darren Christie and Gary Finch were also stalled. The race
itself was all about how quickly Michael Vitulli could get
from the back of the field which, to his gain, he managed to
do before the reds came out, though Paul King didn't make it
easy for him, snatching the lead back at one point and
staying up to get second place with Zac White also up to take
third. Heat three was also stalled though this time it was
the result of a "heated debate" between Darren Christie and
Terry Skeef which got out of hand when the pair involved the
luckless Nicky Bearman on turn four who ended up stalled
across the track. She was pushed off while the two hotheads
were given the rest of the night off. Alan Yearley had been
going well up to the stop, having overhauled early leader
Wayne Shackleford early on and that was how it would stay,
with Yearley sprinting into the distance while Shackleford
fought an increasingly difficult battle to keep the pack
back. He finally lost out, dropping to sixth but did well to
make it as far as he did, while Terry Bearman and Steve
Wright piled past him for second and third with Gary Rouse
and Mark Cook also ahead by the end. Heat four was a far more
civilised affair though Vitulli's hopes of more points were
dashed by a loose panel. It was Gary Lee's turn to notch up a
win as he ran through the pack along with Andy Johnson, then
ditched Johnson to pull ahead and away for a comfortable
victory with Read and Richards settling for second and third
again, Richards snatching third from Selleck by a nose.
A large number of expert grade drivers showed up on the Sunday for the consolation race including Gary Finch, Glenn Salmon and Darren Christie, now returned to the line up along with Terry Skeef after a nights' repentance. Lee Radcliffe sprinted away early to take a lead that would last well into the race until Barry Miles and Gary Finch caught him up. While Miles managed to get past Radcliffe when the long time leader almost spun on the Aveley turn, Finch was unable to pass in the remaining laps, and that was how it stayed to the line. Darren Read took up pole position for the final with Chris Selleck outside, but the race was really between Read and Jim Richards, who was outside on the second row. Read had been keeping ahead of Richards all through the Festival but this time was unable to stop the Corsa as it pressed and finally outstripped Read. It was then down to Read, along with Michael Vitulli from the third row, to try and find a way past Richards and try as they might, they couldn't do it, and this battle took the three far ahead of the competition headed up by Gary Finch who made good progress from his ninth row start. This just left a helter-skelter which saw 29 cars start out of the many that turned up. Again Wayne Shackleford made a good start and did well to keep ahead but eventually he lost out to experience as first Andy Johnson, then Michael Vitulli swept past along, the succession of passing cars eventually dropping him to seventh. Barry Miles was also in the wars, sliding off to the annoyance of one of the marshalls who suddenly found a hidden turn of speed! Johnson held on to win the final race of the Festival for the Group A's ahead of Vitulli and Terry Bearman, his best performance of the meeting.
PRI Hot Rods
It wasn't Tony Allards' meeting, his Fiesta special going
sick in the PRI Hot Rods either before each race or, on one
occasion, during an otherwise promising attack on a place.
Nelson Love had a better time in the first heat which he won
easily with Stu Hammond second while Dave Hitchen was unable
to hold off Rick Fray and had to settle for fourth while Dave
Fry sat out the latter stages after slicing Roy Rawlins into
the armco on turn one. Fry would do better in the second
heat, going inside Andy Brown for an early lead that would
not be taken from him, while Andrew Armiger, who had been
suffering badly in his first races in this formula, at last
seemed to have ironed the bugs out of his Clio to notch up a
second spot ahead of Hitchen who this time kept Fray behind
him. Adam Scott also seemed to be having a time of it, having
finished in a minor place in the first race and knocking his
steering out in this one when he accidentally hit the back of
Fry's car in his attempt to take the lead. That was all there
was to the first day, and the second started with Rick Fray
on pole in the final, Hitchen outside him while Scott had to
be content with a fourth row start behind a strangely subdued
Paul Simmons. Fray got a good start in but took Hitchen with
him as the pair broke free of the rest of the pack. Fray put
a couple of carlengths between himself and Hitchen before
things started getting messy, first with Armiger blowing up,
then a spin for Tom Springett, followed by Brown's car
blowing up and putting down a bit of oil. Allard also limped
off at this point and things started getting close for Fray
and Hitchen, especially with Scott now reeling the pair of
them in, but it was too close to the end for much to change
and Fray came home first, with Hitchen and Scott following.
Scott made up for his earlier disappointments as he
overhauled Allard and Rawlins early in the helter-skelter to
take at least one winner's trophy home on the day, while
Allard blew up again and Rawlins dropped back, Simmons
bursting into life to get second ahead of Fray who had
started at the back.
1300 Stock Cars
Rob Porter started the first heat for the 1300 Stocks well,
keeping his early lead through most of the race before Martin
Davey came storming through. It was a bit of a bloodless coup
really, Porter drifting a corner wide which gave Davey no
problems while Porter had to suffer the snoot of the Lynda
Beaumont car, put there courtesy of second place Marcus
Pollard with Gary Finch getting third place, a better
performance here on the Saturday than he managed in the Group
A's, Porter coming in fifth behind Phil Blackman. However it
was back to business as usual in the second heat as Andrew
Palmer swept through to victory with Porter managing to hang
on for second at a distance while Derek Mortimer snatched
thrid on the line from Derry Monk in a last corner dash. The
third heat was heavily fought, especially when Dave Edwards,
Marcus Pollard and Steve Hall came together on turn two, Hall
hitting the armco the hardest while Mark Browne nearly rolled
at the other end as he rounded the inner kerb too sharply,
losing his lead to eventual winner Dave Collin and having to
settle for second place, after a little bit of shunting with
Davey, ahead of Mortimer. If the Saturday had been fraught,
the Sunday was even heavier as the final was stopped early on
when Davey was t-boned by Mortimer on the pit bend while
Roger Sugden rolled on his side on the back straight, Grieg
Cheeseman stopping to protect the prone car. Of course,
Cheeseman knows all about rolls from earlier exploits which
earned him the name "Cheese Roll" throughout his first year
of stock racing. Browne was collecting traffic on the restart
and Porter was also dumped out of it as Palmer quickly took
up lead position and stayed there while Monk tried
desperately to dislodge Collin from second place to no effect
as Collin held his line. Monk made up for it in the
helter-skelter, outpacing Collin in a relatively event free
race with Palmer only managing third place while Jon Bendle
had some work to do after taking Browne head on after
Blackman and Browne clashed, this followed by a shunt on
Bendle from Shane Davies courtesy of a put in by Monk on his
way to victory. It was following this race that it was
announced that the winnings of the Stock Car drivers had, by
common consent, been donated to Andrew Davies who had
suffered a major injury as a result of a crash in the 1300
Stock Cars earlier this season; Andrew was in attendance and
was somewhat gobsmacked by the gesture as he took the gift!
Lightning Rods
What better way to start a meeting than a big pile up on
turn one? Well, not really a good start for the Lightning
Rods given the non-contact nature of the formula, but it
allowed Lee Sharpe a clear track to get away but it wouldn't
last. By half way he had a half lap lead on second place Rob
Carr, but this was quickly gobbled up as the back markers got
in the way so that, by the three lap board, Carr was on
Sharpe's bootlid and pressing hard. Carr moved inside Sharpe
to take the lead but not before Kevin Howsgo had put himself
in the way, the collision that followed putting Carr on two
wheels before he righted himself and took the lead anyway.
Paul Harris managed to follow in for second and Shaun Lavelle
managed to squeeze past Sharpe for third. Sharpe had no such
worries in the second heat as Carr tried to get on terms but
too late, though the finish could have been tragic as Mark
Price slid sideways across the line in front of the lead
pair. Happily for them, they both avoided in time, Sharpe
first, Carr second, then Vic Bilkey behind them. So to the
final on Sunday and another epic struggle starting with a
Lisowski squeeze which didn't come off, leaving him back
third while Carr shot away and Lisowski slipped behind
Harris, the lead three pulling clear of the field. Darren
Ahern and Vic Bilkey then started a close race that was to
last the entire race though Ahern was the faster, eventually
overhauling Lisowski to take second off him after Lisowski
had taken Harris who eventually limped off. Ahern took
Lisowski inside on turn one after Lisowski muffed the corner,
braking hard to avoid the armco and slowing as a result, but
both were too far behind to catch eventual winner Rob Carr.
Ahern took the helter-skelter going inside Shaun Lavelle and
outside Lee Sharpe on opposite ends. Sharpe held second but
John Clark had a real task of keeping John Beaumont off in
the last half of the race as they came in third and fourth
after lap after lap of close racing action.
SuperBangers
Still a relatively new formula, it was always a worry as to
how it would take off. The worries were unfounded, so it
seemed, as a bigger field turned up for the SuperBanger's
first Arena Festival which kicked off with a good old
fashioned pile up on turn two, Jamie Wilders getting stuck on
the kerb for a short time, though possibly not a bad position
given what was going on below. Meanwhile Don Anderson was
driving all before him, spinning all before rearranging the
Chris Ringrose back end on his way to an eventual win. The
race really brought back memories as Jimmy Silver made a
return in a bombed out Maestro and Kev King brought out a
super fast Escort Mk. II, one of two of those little
beasties; Wilders had the other. Other names from the past
were drivers such as Vic "Basher" Bilkey, returning after
some little success in the Lightning Rods and Al Jennings, a
brief flirtation with 1300 Stocks being his last
contribution. As the sun set over the QE2 bridge, Tony
Shelvey got going in a mad dash for the line, along with
Martin Monkhouse and Jamie Dyckhoff, though the lead during
most of the race was with Tony MacDonald until Monkhouse,
Dyckhoff and Anderson did for each other in the closing
stages, leaving the way clear for Shelvey to catch MacDonald
three laps out and dump him in the turn one armco. Shelvey
from Steve Jones and Don Anderson by the end, and a karaoke
session ahead for all as the Saturday meeting ended.
The final on Sunday had Anderson on the front row but he was unable to make the most of it, Dyckhoff and Shelvey keeping on him with Jones also in pursuit. Dyckhoff went inside Anderson only a few laps in with Shelvey in tow. Dyckhoff had nothing more to worry about from there as he opened up a lead on Shelvey who now had Jones to keep back. However, Dyckhoff reckoned without his cars' condition and as the race came to an end he got slower. Only back markers and a good lead in the early to mid race kept him safe from attack and he managed to come home a winner in the first ever Festival final for SuperBangers, Shelvey running home second with Jones up his diff all the way. The Finale race was declared as Jamie Wilders demonstrated the use to which rear-wheel drive Escorts were often put to up until a few years ago when he blocked the home straight with a 2 point rollover, MacDonald staying far enough out to get the declared win with another blast from the past, Brian Orriss, coming home second and Jones third. That was good, but the contact was just about to get that much bigger.
National Bangers
If anyone was unsure about the National Bangers and the
first ever Caravan Race at Arena Essex, they need not have
done, though it did suffer at the beginning as Graham Towner
rolled on the fourth corner on the start while the field
congealed on the first turn inside the first lap in one big,
race-stopping lump. Strange things happened during that
section including the burial of Terry Skeef in his caravan
towing hearse - he was still smiling as they dug him out! -
Dean Bateman rolling his own car to free his van and how did
Bernie French demolish his car yet leave his van totally
untouched? There was no mistake about the fate of Garry
Deacon's van as Shane Davies charged right through it, but
the best hit was yet to come! After some major digging, all
that was fit to race was lined up for a complete restart.
Skeef started the mayhem by destroying Mike Sharrods' van,
French also suffering early, then John Harding managed to
roll himself on the pit bend only to right himself and go
wrecking, taking what was left of Garry Deacon among other
things then shooting down the home straight carrying the
destruction before him on the infield, Andy Burrough doing
the same on the outside, almost catching the starter as he
did it! It was at that point that the hit of the year
occurred, which started with a head on pin on Skeef at the
top of the home straight. With only a base left to his van,
Skeef's back end was open and Mark deacon took full
advantage, ramping off Skeef's van base and inserting his car
inside the back of the Skeef hearse! It was beautiful to
watch! The race had become a destruction derby and that hit
left only Burrough and Phil Hudson left legal and running
until Balders lost what was left of his van. Burrough took
the chequered flag then jacked Hudson to finish the 1998
festival on a high note!
Results
Event 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Group A 1 70 2 5 83 174 148 48 161 86 13 2 Hot Rod 1 29 8 21 3 119 51 15 5 4 27 3 1300 Stocks 1 729 703 765 673 715 768 704 640 644 4 Group A 2 89 27 122 8 1 55 100 108 66 111 5 Lightning Rods 1 104 225 143 136 122 245 149 140 118 173 6 SuperBangers 1 15 36 178 90 72 52 42 39 313 206 7 1300 Stocks 2 674 715 697 643 725 642 777 658 640 797 8 Group A 3 187 91 13 63 12 148 86 161 99 55 9 Hot Rod 2 20 15 3 21 51 8 4 29 27 71 10 Lightning Rods 2 136 104 111 122 245 225 149 290 173 113 11 1300 Stocks 3 725 704 697 729 674 642 658 777 765 703 12 Group A 4 1 2 5 70 65 110 108 49 122 83 13 SuperBangers 2 347 30 15 27 52 90 36 42 39 72 14 Grand Parade (Sunday) 15 Group A Cons 77 175 65 7 121 110 3 84 81 49 16 Hot Rod FINAL 21 3 119 8 29 51 20 47 17 1300 Stocks FINAL 674 725 643 642 703 697 777 704 658 673 18 Lightning Rod FINAL 104 149 122 111 245 143 113 140 173 200 19 SuperBanger FINAL 36 347 30 313 27 72 178 145 15 39 19a Smart Caravan contest won by 396 20 Group A FINAL 5 2 89 65 13 83 7 63 3 84 21 Hot Rod Reverse 119 51 21 3 5 29 8 47 27 71 22 1300 Stocks h/s 643 725 674 658 703 697 622 686 640 612 23 Lightning Rod h/s 149 136 140 113 143 135 122 245 104 154 24 SuperBanger Finale 27 313 30 72 273 36 90 145 178 89 25 Group A h/s 110 89 91 65 5 7 148 13 1 83 26 Caravan Race 429 (LCR) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All results subject to confirmation by promotion.