Crashnet > Reports Index > PRI 1999 Index > Meeting 99/33

1300 Stock Cars Supreme Championship Final National Bangers Rising Stars series, Round 5 PRI Hot Rods

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PRI Hot Rods
A rather pedestrian three race warm up before the Robert Follett Memorial for the PRI Hot Rods on September 26 at Arena Essex started with a win for Rick Fray who inherited the lead after early leader Colin Crocker repeated his practice lap problems and chugged off. Crocker had built up a fair lead as the rest of the field got entangled at the start. Gary Andrews got away well in the main race but after Gary Lyons crashed out in traffic, Stu Hammond found the inside line clear on turn four as Andrews went wide. Hammond kept the lead to win the race despite the last quarter charge by Paul Simmons. Fray notched another up in the "cool down" race as first past the post Simon Smith suffered a one place penalty for an over-enthusiastic start.

1300 Saloon Stock Cars
The 1999 Supreme Championship final for 1300 Saloon Stock Cars at Arena Essex on September 26 seemed fairly predictable as current form driver Derry Monk took pole position. However outside front line driver John McGirr had other ideas. Having tucked himself behind Monk on the start, he then stuck his bumper into Monk on the Aveley end, stuffing out the favourite and then stuck enough space between them to avoid being caught. Behind them, Lynda Beaumont was being pushed backwards after getting an early third spot, first as Delbert Mortimer caught and passed her, then as Ricky Wolf caught and spun her, Dave Collin nipping through before she could recover to a sixth spot finish. As for the other favourites, Steve Davies and Elliott Wainwright both bowed out after a collision with Shane Davies and the wall finished them inside the first couple of laps. Elmo was later to pick up penalties after returning the favour by blitzing the younger Davies banger-style on the Tavern turn in the helter-skelter. Before that, however, we had a sprint heat which was again won by McGirr after a late challenge on Graeme Mackay who himself had taken the lead from Paul Haralambou on a treacherous surface. Wainwright followed McGirr home in second, his only points of the day before his booting off in the helter-skelter that saw a thrilling end to the day's Saloon racing as McGirr and Monk locked together on the back straight and slowed during the final lap, each daring the other to pull away, both suspecting the dummy that Monk had succumbed to in the Championship. It was Mackay who succumbed to the sucker punch, however, as he ran around the pair only for them to pounce gleefully on the less experienced driver before McGirr pulled off another win and a clean sweep for the meeting.

National Bangers
The Rising Stars series at Arena Essex hit its fifth and final round on September 26 with yet another big turnout and more unusual material including an early sixties Consul for Bill Wenham. It was another relic, however, that won the first heat. Bob Kitchener, out for his first run this year, managed to do one better than son Rob had done earlier after a back straight pile up took the front runners out of the picture five or so laps from home. The second heat, however, had shades of the World Final in it as a number of drivers found themselves losing out for corner cutting on turn one after a pile up there had eventually blocked the track. Explaining after the race, the steward gave the reason that although the track was blocked, there was a way back onto the tarmac beyond the blockage, so anyone that took that route was not penalised, only those that stayed on the shale all the way to the back straight. This did, however, stir the nine car finish up somewhat - 47 cars had started this heat - though there was no doubt about the winner, Phil Butler.

There was no consolation for this meeting since this was the occasion of the annual Staff race, won by Alan Rouse in the Kitchener Clockwork Orange car, its last outing that day. Not usually a place for hard wrecking, the Staff actually managed to produce one of the best wrecks of the day when Ken Stevens perched his car, borrowed from Tony Cooper, on top of the Lee Chappell car driven by Darren Harding! All cars donated were sent straight to the final.

Five of thirty-two finished the final, another two were loaded, but that didn't stop a heavy final which pleased race and wreck fans alike. For wreck fans, you had the folding of the Craig Hewitt car on the back straight, a naughty follow in on turn three by Mark Sprawling on James Chilver - Sprawling was one of the two load ups - and a knocking contest between Steve Summer and Alan Greenfield that resulted in Greenfield hitting Summer hard, losing control and hitting the abandoned Chilver car up the diff full throttle. For the race fans, Nick Marsh kept his cool when the cars ahead were being removed to win ahead of Butler and John Roofer, Simon Warner dropping back to fourth in the closing laps and JJ Wing the only finisher otherwise. If the folding of Chilver was something, then the Rawlins Qualifier served up an even better hit as Mark Ruskin returned to Arena Essex and slew Warner on the pit bend with a jacking that left Warner's rear end in the air after he had jammed his nose into Paul Jell's rear. The was a major contribution to a pit bend blockage as the 44 car start whittled itself down quickly with pile ups around the track. Few seemed willing to wait for the chequered flag to start the demolition, Ruskin finishing his car off with a decent jacking for Alan Biggs and only two cars including eventual winner Andy Layton still doing laps. The official derby saw Steve Valledy stuff out Steve Latham before taking on Layton who had also been cleaning up. A double hit from Valledy on Layton and it was all over, Valledy taking the hard route into the Rawlins, Layton the easy way.

Results

1  Banger 1          133 Bob Kitchener /128/434/110/403/508/244/157/374/367/598/415
2  Banger 2          441 Phil Butler   /339/440/345/278/136/420/49/273/129 NOCR
3  -
4  1300 Stx SUPREME  748 John McGirr   /643/697/666/725/750/799/699/758/775
5  HRods w/u          21 Rick Fray     /10/8/51/20/77/9/44
6  Annual Staff Race 133 Al Rouse      /508/187/377/190/239 NOCR
7  1300 Stx Sprint   748 John McGirr   /661/699/643/697/666/668/658
8  HRods Main event    8 Stu Hammond   /51/20/21/77/44/71/121
9  Bangers Final     110 Nick Marsh    /441/434/129/472 NOCR
10 1300 Stx h/s      748 John McGirr   /643/668/750/666/766/699/697
11 HRods Cool down    21 Rick Fray     /10/51/8/20/77/121/44
12 Bangers R2KQ      425 Andy Layton   /479 NOCR  LCR=325 Steve Valledy

Staff list (order of appearance)
333 Tony Hyatt
508 Clarky Cam
487 Ken Stevens
187 Leslie Dash
336 Brian Hooper
220 John Dawson
593 Kevin White
377 Alex Williamson
239 Kevin Sebley
261 "Delboy Tractor"
133 Al Rouse
190 Bryn Collins
337 Darren Harding
472 Don Locky
376 Nick Milbourn