Crashnet > Reports Index > PRI 1998 Index > Meeting 98/23

Meeting No. 23, Sunday, 19th. July, 1998 National Bangers Rising Stars Round 4 1300 Stock Cars Supreme Championship Qualifying Round 3 Ministox 999 Charity Race

999 Charity Race
The Essex police have had the run of the Arena Essex circuit for the last couple of years in the 999 Charity event, run in association with the 999 Fayre, a local charity event for the police, fire and ambulance services. This year would see a change to that as John Convey and Danny Saunders got a good start for the fire team. While Saunders dropped back, Simon McNally took up first place before the handling of the well battered Escort, which had already seen a previous meeting at the Arena Rising Stars series and was a bit of a handful, proved too much for McNally. Dave Mayo of the police tried his best to make up what was a disappointing start but was unable to pass Convey who crossed the line first and, with three other finishers to the solitary police finisher, with no ambulance cars finishing, the fire team took this years' title.

Ministox
It proved to be a good day for Ian Thorndyke as the Ministox met at Arena Essex on July 19 for three races. The first heat was twice stopped however, the first time because of a pile up opposite the Raceway Tavern which took a few cars out, either on contact penalties or just plain wrecked, then Laura Milligan hit the turn two armco at full speed which finished the race early. Thorndyke was awarded first place, with James Avison second and Raymond Layton picking up his first Arena trophy in third. The second heat was also stopped halfway with Vic Bilkey stuck inside the Aveley bend after a pile up there. The remaining race was fairly clean apart from a black flag for Johnny Harding and a two place penalty for points leader Dave Devine which dumped him from third to fifth at the end. Thorndyke picked up his second win of the day with Lee Smith in second and Alistair Pizzey getting third from the back having crossed the line behind Devine after a close race through the field. Thorndyke also took first in the final race in the first whitewash this year at Arena while Devine and Pizzey scrapped again from the back to take second and third respectively.

1300 Stock Cars
Rob Porter, resident commentator at Arena Essex, chose the July 19 meeting to get a win in the 1300 Stock Cars as they met for three races. Porter basically ran hard from the start to build up a big lead that would last to the end, though another lap or so would have seen Derry Monk past him as Monk and current success story Andrew Palmer shot through the field to take second and third place. Paul Berksfield, who had put in three wins at Ringwood the night before found things a little more heavy going in the bigger Arena lineup but got fourth place, his best finish of the day, with Alec Berksfield following close behind. Porter tried his best in the main race, managing to slice inside Roger Sugden to get up to second place behind early leader Rob Harman, but he was to suffer at the hands of Paul Berksfield, something which he was to repay in later laps when Porter piled Berksfield into the abandoned Phillip Rumsey car on turn four. The winner was Palmer, predictably managing to get through the throng of cars midfield to run away with the lead toward the end, with Marcus Pollard finishing second ahead of Group A champion Gary Finch, Monk having pulled off in the closing laps. Porter sat the helter-skelter out, maybe rightfully so as the race was stopped twice, the first time when a pile up on the home straight totally scrapped Grieg Cheeseman's car after Lynda Beaumont spun across the track and collected a fair amount of traffic in her wake. A close restart saw Beaumont, Pollard and Harman battle for the lead, places changing hands several times before Dave Edwards dumped Sugden on turn two, then Mark Browne hit the stalled car full on. Beaumont had retired by then (in fact on the previous lap) so the declared result was Pollard followed by Harman, with Palmer in third.

National Bangers
The fourth Rising Stars round for the National Bangers at Arena Essex on July 19 included the 999 Charity event for which all donated cars were put straight into the final, though virtually all of the cars concerned showed up in the heats, no doubt in an attempt to get one of the three qualifying places in each race of the day which would give the lucky driver an entry into the £1000 final on Grand Slam day on October 18. Geoff Hughes had last been seen in the 1300 Stock Car of Rob Porter last season, and not in a Banger for many a meeting, but this week he took the wheel of a Nigel Hepburn car and won the first race flag to flag with over half a lap to spare on second place Andrew Parker and third place Paul Gardiner. The race was a little light on wrecking for a white top race but did see some wreckage including a devastating double hit on Mark Nicholls as he got the somewhat cluttered fourth bend, hitting an abandoned car, spinning into the armco on the home straight before Billy Lee and Dave Dalton made mincemeat of the car. The second race was harder but better attended than the first, the last few laps seeing the first six cars together as Lee Dann saw his early lead cut right down. With the end in sight, Tony Steventon managed to get past Dann to win, Karl Vanner following Dann home in third having got back onto Dann after losing touch earlier in the race. A pile up on the home straight started the consolation, then Tommy McGurk did an x-rated jacking of Dalton while Lee buried himself in Mick Andersey. Steve Evans managed to hang on for a win from Bernie Reid who made a good attempt despite a poor starting position, and Steve Haines also booked himself a place in the October final.

Haines would be one of the first casualties in the final of the day as he rolled on the pit turn while Jeff Waller dumped Stevie Ashdown in traffic to start yet another pit bend pile up. Jon Langford did his best to get through the field, dumping out Hughes and Steve Butler in one go, then repeating the trick with Waller, but Hughes was too quick, managing to regain his momentum as he carved his way through for a heat and final double (and a smacker from Louise of Live TV who were filming the event!). Langford's efforts got him no further than fourth as Lee Hayward and Stephen Lee took the other two places. This just left three possible places in the Rawlins 2000 Qualifier which went fairly quickly into the destruction section, with notable head on shots by Jason Jackson on Paul Hollands and Ian Horton on J.J. Wing and a healthy follow in by Haines on Gary Wesborn into Wing's wreck the best of the action before the chequered flag. A double jacking for Paul Dann did not stop him as first Haines went up, then Paul Hunter went up Haines. Dann limped on while Gardiner fired up Hunter, then a mega-blitz on Con Friel by Stephen Lee left Friel stuck and out of it. Lee finished his own car off with a nutting for Hunter then a final shot on Dann before his much abused car expired, but Dann carried on, the last hits being between Dann, Wesborn and Brian Reid who had picked up second place in the race itself behind Lee and ahead of Hunter. A final head on put Reid and Wesborn out on the back straight, Dann just managing to fire up enough motion to get the last car running award and a place with Lee in the £2000 Rawlins sponsored final, also on October 18.

Results

Event                 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  10th 11th 12th 
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1   Grand Parade
2   999 Charity Race  392F 287P 202F 292F 327F NOCR (Fire win, Police 2nd)
3   Bangers 1          45  433  179  163  201  235  331  431  588  487  474  330
4   Bangers 2         316  219   24  483   13  202  310  299  244  253   63  303
5   Ministox 1         28   20   16  I24  160   25   17   24    6  317
6   1300 Stx w/u      715  643  674  266  466  610  703  658  765  673
7   Bangers Cons      280   22  141  421  307  472  152  220  196  292
8   Ministox 2         28   64   62   16   17   22   29   24   90  M17
9   1300 Stx FINAL    674  703  765  658  619  622  673  777
10  Bangers FINAL      45   63  299  163  152  201  331  179
11  Ministox FINAL     28   17   62   16   64   22  M27  111  I24   34
12  1300 Stx h/s      703  610  674  658  266  466  619  777
13  R2000 q/r         299  231  183  LCR=220
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Abbreviations: w/u - Warm up race, h/s - helter-skelter, R2000 q/r - Rawlins 2000
               qualifying round, LCR - Last car running
All results subject to confirmation by promotion.